A Strange Realization
Kitasan Black's expression tightened. As though she were about to begin a second race, the muscles that had relaxed after her victory tensed up once more.
Nervous, she was about to answer Duramente's challenge as she always had when a very strange feeling suddenly rose in her mind.
She couldn't describe what it was. It seemed like an epiphany, yet also as if something had stirred her deeply.
Unconsciously raising her hands to look over herself, she blankly turned toward her surroundings and gazed at the opponents who had just given their all on the track.
Seeing that disappointment, unwillingness, and some indescribable relief once more, she felt something different.
"So what exactly is this...?"
The question echoed in her mind. When her gaze met Duramente's again, she suddenly felt an unfamiliar burning pain rise in her throat.
Unlike the near-suffocating pain of sprinting with all her strength, this burning sensation was something she had never experienced before.
If she had to compare it to something, it was like... some long-dormant power had inexplicably begun charging wildly through her veins.
Feeling this strange sensation, she instinctively clenched her fists. When she realized her palms were frighteningly hot, she couldn't help but grin.
"Alright. I'll be ready for you at the Japan Cup, and..."
She felt as though her voice was lower than usual, carrying an unusual tremor.
"I won't let you beat me so easily either. I... will never lose."
The instant Kitasan Black finished speaking, the fighting spirit in Duramente's eyes wavered, and her pupils suddenly constricted.
In that brief instant, she seemed to see Kitasan Black... surrounded by an aura so tangible it was almost real.
She froze at the sensation, yet it also felt strangely familiar.
However, when she unconsciously blinked, the person before