"Snow Dancer is closing in! She's making her move for the lead! Seiun Sky answers back and picks up the pace!"
The announcer's voice tore across the racecourse, and the crowd roared with it, the whole stadium boiling over.
Fujiwara Chiya pressed a hand to his chest, eyes locked on the track.
Either they got swallowed whole by Seiun Sky's trap, or they broke through with a head-on counterattack.
Against a Front Runner who fought with tactics like this, there was only one answer.
Smash straight through.
Beside him, Kiryuin Aoi had gone stiff with tension. She could see it too. Seiun Sky and Shirayuki were both standing on a knife's edge. A race that had looked settled only moments ago had been dragged back into deadlock.
On the track, Seiun Sky desperately told herself not to look back.
Forward.
Only forward.
But the pressure coming from behind kept stabbing at her nerves.
Shirayuki's footsteps were closing in, one after another, each one landing like a blow against Seiun Sky's chest. Her breathing turned faster. Rougher. Heavier.
Watching Shirayuki from the stands and actually being hunted by her were completely different things.
Seiun Sky had seen Shirayuki tear through the pack before. She had even admired that wild, wolf-like aura when Shirayuki bared her fangs and swallowed her opponents whole.
But now that she was the prey, there was no room left to admire anything.
The moment I found out you were entering this race too, I knew it.
This was never going to be easy!
A blue flame flared in Seiun Sky's eyes.
It felt like holes had opened in her body, her stamina spilling out in torrents. Her speed rose, but her rhythm crumbled with it. There was no helping that. Right now, this was the only way she could protect her lead.
"Two lengths! Two lengths! The gap is still two lengths!"
They swept into the final turn.
The distance between Seiun Sky and Shirayuki stayed frozen at two lengths. Shirayuki could not close it.
Behind them, the rest of the field gradually fell away. The Front Runners who had once held second and third had already burned too much stamina in the brutal clashes earlier in the race. Their legs weakened, their pace collapsed, and Shirayuki swallowed them up one by one.
"She can't close the gap! Seiun Sky is still in front!"
Those words steadied Seiun Sky's wavering heart.
By now, sweat drenched her entire body. Her breathing was in tatters. In a high-speed great escape like this, her stamina had already hit rock bottom.
But Shirayuki was no better.
Seiun Sky knew Shirayuki's style.
Shirayuki was the type who unleashed her true strength in the second half. During the early and middle stages, she preserved her legs, avoided unnecessary clashes, and stored power.
Like a drawn bow.
Waiting for the final moment to release the arrow.
But now, that bowstring had been forced loose too early. Shirayuki had fired before the decisive stretch.
Which meant her speed had no real punch behind it.
Hearing that Shirayuki remained stuck at the same distance, unable to come any closer, Seiun Sky's sweat-soaked face curved into a tired smile.
She had done it.
Shirayuki's first defeat would be hers.
"There are only two hundred meters left!"
The announcer's voice echoed through the racecourse.
Seiun Sky felt her steps growing heavier. The others behind her began clawing their way closer, one after another.
Just a little more.
Just a little more!
She wrung strength from her exhausted body by force.
She would not let herself fail here.
And she definitely would not let anyone else steal this race.
Shirayuki was hers.
Victory was hers too.
Move.
Move, my legs!
Move faster!
"Haaah…"
With one deep breath, Seiun Sky's heart suddenly clenched.
Almost unable to believe it, she glanced back.
And in the next instant, she saw white.
A snow-white figure surged toward her.
How…?
How is that possible!?
Seiun Sky's eyes flew wide.
Shirayuki, how do you still have anything left!?
Fujiwara Shirayuki bit down hard on her lip.
Her breathing was so ragged it felt like even Chiya, watching from the stands, was being starved of oxygen. Seeing the shock on Seiun Sky's face, Shirayuki gave a weak little snort.
I was holding back, Seiun Sky!
Seiun Sky had deceived her before the race and made her lower her guard.
So Shirayuki had returned the favor.
Just when she was about to catch up, Shirayuki had deliberately dulled her steps. She created the illusion that she had run out of stamina, making Seiun Sky believe her strength had finally bottomed out.
And once Seiun Sky believed that, she eased off.
Only slightly.
But slightly was enough.
That had been Shirayuki's goal.
From Chiya's side, he had been calculating the distance and speed between them the entire time. He knew that if the race continued as it was, Shirayuki would lose. No question.
So they needed to stop Seiun Sky from accelerating any further.
The answer he came up with was simple.
Show weakness.
Seiun Sky was clever. She would not waste stamina for no reason. Once she believed Shirayuki could no longer reach her, she would stop pushing for a wider gap.
And that was the exact psychology Chiya had targeted.
Only clever people fell for traps like this.
Compared to Seiun Sky, Shirayuki had one overwhelming advantage.
Her acceleration.
From the same distance, Seiun Sky needed more time to reach top speed than Shirayuki did.
And that tiny gap in time was exactly what Chiya wanted.
Seeing Shirayuki burst up from behind, Seiun Sky squeezed out the last of her strength and forced her legs to move.
But she was one step too late.
Shirayuki had already reached her side.
The two of them ran shoulder to shoulder.
"One hundred meters remaining! They're side by side! Snow Dancer and Seiun Sky are side by side! Who will seize the final victory!? Will it be Snow Dancer, or Seiun Sky!?"
Shirayuki pulled ahead by half a head.
Then her speed stopped rising.
Not one step more.
She had hit her limit.
Seiun Sky's eyes were blurred with sweat. The world in front of her had melted into a haze. But compared to Shirayuki, she still had the tiniest bit of stamina left.
The half-head lead Shirayuki had taken began to disappear.
Both of them screamed, wringing out every last drop of strength left in their bodies.
"They cross the line!"
The race ended with the announcer's cry.
Completely drained, the two of them staggered to a stop, their arms and legs trembling like they no longer belonged to them. Sweat streamed down their cheeks.
Then, almost at the same time, they raised their heads and looked toward the massive screen in the center of the racecourse.
Beside first and second place, the word Photo flashed.
The margin was too close.
A photo finish would decide the winner.
The screen flickered several times.
Then, at last, the image appeared.
It showed the exact moment the two of them crossed the finish line.
Shirayuki's body was lowered so far forward that she was nearly folded in half. Seiun Sky, by contrast, had remained more upright.
Because of that final lean, Shirayuki had touched the finish line first.
"It's Snow Dancer! The winner is Snow Dancer!"
The result was announced.
"OOOOOOOOHHHHHH!"
A thunderous cheer exploded across the racecourse.
Fujiwara Shirayuki let out a long breath.
Just standing there was already taking everything she had.
That had been dangerous.
Far too dangerous.
Because of her mistake in the early stage, Seiun Sky had managed to launch a great escape and seize control of the race's rhythm. If not for that final desperate counterattack, and the psychological trap Chiya had laid at the very end, the result might have been completely different.
"Ahh… I failed. Total failure."
Seiun Sky's tone was light, almost playful.
But the disappointment in her eyes refused to hide.
"I really wanted to take Shirayuki's first time."
Just a little.
She had been so close to defeating Shirayuki.
Not even the length of a finger.
What a shame.
Watching Shirayuki stand beneath the crowd's roaring cheers, Seiun Sky folded her hands behind her head.
Looks like it's time for some anti-Shirayuki special training.