Even from the side, anyone could clearly see one thing.
As if divided into two dimensions, the pack of seventeen Horse Girls had split into two worlds between the third and fourth lanes of the track.
Sixteen figures ran along the Inner Lane, where conditions were best, charging down the straight facing the spectators toward the bend.
On the Outside Lane, as though she alone had claimed an entirely separate race, there was only the tall figure at the very back of the pack.
The tall figure entered the bend as well.
In the blink of an eye, the wall-like figures of the opponents to her right cast a long shadow.
As the shadow spread across her cheeks like spilled ink, Gold Ship suddenly clenched her teeth, and every Muscle Fiber in her body began trembling with that motion.
The roaring cheers from the stands crashed over her, but all she could hear was the thunderous rush of her heart pumping blood.
At the instant that roar exploded, her ear tip caught Great Kindness's sharp intake of breath, the trembling bells ahead, disordered footsteps, and the quivering breaths of even more runners.
Did you feel it? This lady's overwhelming wave of cards...
But...
You're a little late.
Silently whispering to the air, the corners of her lips curling up as she fixed her gaze on the leading group, she lunged forward.
A raging tidal wave suddenly surged across the track, flying Grass Clippings and mud gathering into sprays of foam.
The shapes of those sprays were strikingly alike, each one carved into a perfect crescent by irresistible force.
The commentator shouted uncontrollably.
"She's coming! She's coming!
"The legendary Unsinkable Battleship!
"At this moment! The golden battleship known as Gold Ship... weighs anchor! Sets sail!"
The boiling cheers from the stands