Chapter 446: 558

Inside the competitors' tunnel.

The dim lighting stretched the overlapping shadows across the floor.

At that moment, eleven horse girls representing the very highest level of Central racing were gathered there.

Some stood while others crouched. A few leaned against the walls with their arms folded. Every one of them remained silent, the air so heavy it seemed to have frozen solid.

No one knew how long the silence lasted.

"Haha, why's everyone looking so grim?"

Wakaba was the first to break the deathly stillness. Leaning casually against the wall, she shrugged and teased them.

"This atmosphere is so serious, you'd think we were waiting for a death sentence. Come on, isn't this a little much?"

Her words eased some of the tension in the tunnel.

"..."

Hakutai Sei narrowed her eyes and gave a quiet snort, though her folded arms loosened slightly.

Ryan, standing nearby, broke into a grin as well.

"She's right. It's only natural to be nervous, but haven't we been preparing for this all along?"

"We should at least face the race in perfect condition, shouldn't we?"

Once someone had opened the conversation, the others gradually relaxed and began chatting among themselves.

Aines sidled up to Bright and gave her a playful smile before whispering,

"Bright, did you put in extra training again last night? I saw the lights in your dorm stay on for a while around midnight."

"...I couldn't sleep."

Bright glanced at her.

"More importantly, how would you know what time the lights in my dorm went out?"

Aines froze for a moment, then awkwardly scratched her cheek.

"I just happened to be out taking a walk."

"A walk?"

Bright turned away without pressing the matter.

If she had snuck out for some extra training, she could simply admit it.

Calling it a walk was pushing things.

Aside from those few, the other Central racers also gathered into small groups and exchanged idle conversation.

Just then...

Tap.

A distinct footstep echoed through the tunnel.

It was not loud, yet it struck their hearts like a sledgehammer.

A bone-chilling cold raced from the base of their spines all the way to their necks.

All eleven horse girls instantly fell silent. They whipped their heads around, their gazes locking onto the entrance of the competitors' tunnel.

Whoosh!

Without warning, a powerful gust swept in from the entrance.

Then an overwhelming and terrifying presence erupted from around the corner, pouring into the tunnel like something tangible and engulfing every one of them.

The girls' pupils contracted.

Cold sweat instantly beaded across some of their foreheads. Others staggered half a step backward, unable to overcome their bodies' instincts.

Most of them simply clenched their teeth and forced themselves to look up.

"Haha..."

Ryan raised one arm in front of her face as though shielding herself from an invisible gale, yet a grin still spread across her lips.

"So this is the presence of the world's strongest horse girl? No wonder a recording couldn't capture anything close to the real thing."

Wakaba bared her canine teeth and released a low growl, every muscle in her body drawn taut.

"You can still laugh right now?"

"What else am I supposed to do? Cry?"

Ryan turned toward her with a smile.

Under the others' constricted gazes, a purple-haired figure dressed in white slowly emerged from around the corner.

She was doing nothing more than walking into the tunnel.

Yet with every step she took, her presence grew heavier. It was vast as the heavens and crushing as a mountain, seemingly draining all the oxygen from the tunnel as it threatened to grind them into the floor.

[Physical Ability], [Domain], [Technique], [Mental State]...

Each of these factors was an indispensable part of a horse girl's overall strength.

And when a horse girl who possessed every one of those formidable qualities, who had honed each foundation to its absolute pinnacle, and whose overall abilities completely eclipsed theirs finally stood before them...

The instincts of these elite Central racers began screaming frantic warnings.

The blood that should have been boiling before a race began to freeze.

Even the drive to compete, carved into their very genes, fell silent.

[We can't win!]

Those three words appeared before them as though written in blood.

Countless crimson characters converged in midair, transforming in the blink of an eye into hundreds upon hundreds of blood-red chains that bound their bodies and minds.

"Tch!"

Yet after only a few breaths, the atmosphere in the tunnel abruptly shifted.

These Central horse girls had already prepared themselves for this moment. To pursue glory that had always seemed beyond their reach, they had wrung every last drop of potential from their bodies and fought their way here.

They endured that suffocating pressure and forced themselves to stand tall.

Scrape.

McQueen stopped before them.

Weak.

Far too weak.

Her sharp, amethyst eyes slowly swept across the eleven girls before her.

Deep down, however, she could not suppress a quiet sigh.

These fellow racers from Central...

Judging solely by their presences, even the strongest among them was at most comparable to one of the mid-tier racers from the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe two months ago, excluding herself, Suave Dancer, and Generous.

If she were still in Europe, a race of this level would have been little more than a casual tune-up to adjust her condition.

But now...

"Thank you for waiting."

McQueen spoke softly, the pure-white skirt of her race outfit snapping in the wind.

There was no arrogance in her voice.

There was only respect for her fellow Central racers and opponents.

To answer their determination, she would not hold anything back.

"You certainly took your time, Curly."

Ryan drew a deep breath and smiled. Pointing her thumb toward the track outside, she continued,

"Let's go. This is the last race of the year."

"Show everyone how the strongest horse girl in the world runs!"

McQueen looked at Ryan, then swept her gaze across all the familiar faces before her.

"Of course!"

Her response was soft but absolute.

At that moment, the invisible blood-red chains shattered.

As one, the eleven horse girls stepped forward. Following the pure-white figure leading them, they marched toward the roaring ocean of excitement waiting beyond the tunnel.