The instant Kitasan Black cleaved through the curtain of rain like a jet-black greatsword, the entire Tokyo Racecourse seemed to fall into a temporal standstill.
The commentator's voice caught for a moment, and the crowd's clamor froze amid the autumn rain.
Even the raindrops seemed suspended in midair, merely to refract the advancing light in the black haired girl's red pupils.
But the stillness was only an illusion. Kitasan Black's unimaginable turn was like a heavy bomb dropped into a tranquil lake, instantly stirring up towering waves.
The opponents' eyes widened in utter disbelief.
They had already imagined countless possible moves Kitasan Black might make, yet they had never expected such a shocking turn.
Closest to her, Maurice's gaze involuntarily followed that black figure.
The rain blurred her vision, but it could not obscure Kitasan Black's resolve as she charged through the mud.
At the sight, the shock in her heart grew beyond measure.
The black-haired girl beside her was undoubtedly the strongest opponent she had anticipated. Throughout her preparations, in countless simulations and deductions, her Arch-enemy had always been firmly fixed on the other girl.
From conventional front-running to a mid-to-late-race assault, from accelerating along the Outside Lane to using momentum to overtake, she had even imagined Kitasan Black deliberately slowing the pace to wear down her Final Burst advantage.
But no matter the simulation, none could explain Kitasan Black's choice at this very moment.
Even on good ground, the Inner Lane would become uneven and pitted after ten earlier races. In rainy weather, it was muddy enough to swallow horseshoes whole.
To exaggerate, every step was like walking on thin ice; one careless move and she would slip and fall.
Maurice herself had deliberately avoided Cutting In along the Inner Lane just now. She would rather run an