The two fighters encircled each other with their pairs of eyes staring each other down. The crowd went silent with anticipation as everyone watch with bated breath as to who would attack first. Itzel took one step back and threw a Serrated Gale in Siergi's direction. With a leap, Siergi cleared the height of the projectile and angled his foot down for another diving kick. As soon as Siergi called out the name of his Special Technique, she took in a deep breath and spread her arms to either side.
"Wild Wind!"
Itzel timed the Special Technique perfectly. As Siergi came downwards, he landed right into the small burst of wind generated from Itzel's two palms. He was blasted backwards, skidding across the mat on his arm.
"That's how you do it, Itzel!" Janus called out. He got up from his seat, pumping his fist in the air. The audience in the stands became quiet, all gasping together as they watched their favored favor come to a halt at the edge of the mat.
"Serrated Gale!"
Siergi rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the projectile as it crashed against the red perimeter of the fighting area. "Blitz Bolt!" The war of projectiles continued with both opponents blasting away at each other’s attacks.
"All Itzel is doing is letting Siergi getting more EV," Enidri said. "She's still at a big Stamina deficit. All of that EV on Siergi's side is just going to make him more of threat to Gurk once it's his turn! Either she's got a big plan, or she just doesn't want to get Knocked Out by this guy."
"I've got a strong feeling it's the latter," Janus said. His eyes darted up towards the counter at the top of the Challenge Display. There were down to fifty seconds and both Itzel and Siergi were holding onto at least one full EV Bar. Siergi was ahead with half of a bar of Stamina more than her. "I think she’d rather let the match end via time out than let Siergi actually defeat her the old-fashioned way."
"She's probably trying to bait something out from Siergi. Viewers tend to hate slow zoning fights. It's bad for contributions. I've got a sneaking suspicion that Siergi is going to try something careless," Enidri stated.
"I think I know what it is," Janus replied. The projectiles continued. With each clash of lightning and air, both fighters continued to let their EV Bars expand. Itzel always led the exchanges, changing up the timing and speed between each projectile. Siergi slowly moved to the side, blasting back with Blitz Bolts. It wasn't long before he had two and a half bars of EV, putting him only a few Special Techniques shy from being able to utilize his Signature. His grin became wider, expanding synchronously with his EV Gauge.
"Serrated Gale!"
Itzel shouted the name of her Technique and performed the upper cut, but no projectile shot out. Siergi executed another spin kick out of reaction, but halfway through the motion of his Blitz Bolt, Itzel charged forward with the Enhanced Variant of Advancing Tempest. The raging storm that surrounded Itzel's body as she ran forward absorbed the lightning bolt that Siergi attacked with. Itzel's speed wasn't hindered by the Technique, allowing her to charge into Siergi head on. He grunted as the wind hurled him backwards once more.
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"Just like back at the diner!" Janus said. "I knew she was going for that! Siergi couldn't resist getting enough EV to use his Signature, even if it meant making himself vulnerable to counterplay. Anything to make himself look flashy for his audience."
"Bet it helps that he probably didn't bother looking at Itzel's Special Techniques before the match. Siergi probably thought that Itzel would be a pushover like the rest of the Labrissoners that he brings onto his Broadcast," Enidri said.
"That was a solid hit," Janus continued. Siergi's stamina had been reduced to close to seventy percent. "That should put Gurk at a solid advantage for the next round if Itzel loses... Right?"
"Maybe. Don't know what Siergi can do with a full EV Gauge, but I definitely wouldn't want to be in Gurk's shoes."
The timer now had counted down to thirty-one. The audience began to cheer on Siergi. He got to his feet after, glancing back at his audience to show that he was alright. Itzel attacked with one more Serrated Gale, which Siergi blocked this time around. Both fighters moved in closer, ready to use their standard martial arts attack. Siergi began with a long-ranged high kick toward Itzel's left that she deflected with one hand. Itzel responded with a straight hook. Siergi bobbed his head back, making Itzel's punch whiff by a wide margin. The two continued to exchange close-range kicks and punches, only to have their opponent react with a proper dodge or block.
"Siergi's just looking to run out the time," Enidri said. "He doesn't want to use up any of that precious EV he has stored up. He's willing to risk Itzel draining a bit of his Stamina in these final moments of the round if it means putting on the flashiest show possible." All three that sat on the Labrisson Slayers side peeked at the timer. Twenty-one seconds remained.
As Siergi was blocking in preparation for another jab, Itzel grabbed his arm and attempted a judo throw. Her opponent followed the motion of the hold, bending his body so that he wouldn't be lifted off the ground. He pulled his arm back and freed himself from the grapple.
"Itzel had the right idea with the throw, but Siergi's got fast reflexes," Enidri noted. "I would have gotten caught by that."
"Seems like she'll do anything to tack on any bit of damage that she can within fifteen seconds," Janus replied.
"It's over for her, but any damage done at all would be a huge help for Gurk."
"Got it!" Gurk called out to his friend.
With her throw attack properly negated, she continued with another series of standard strikes. Siergi continued to have a proper response for every punch and kick that she used. During his defense, he smiled as the crowd got louder. A low kick was deflected by a clever adjustment of his shin. A forward jab was avoided by a slight tilt of his head. Itzel's sideways hook was met with a parry by his forearm. The audience began to countdown when the timer reached five.
"Four!" The viewers cried out in excitement. Siergi landed a wide kick on Itzel's knee.
"Three!" Itzel buckled over from the previous strike, leaving her vulnerable to the roundhouse kick to the chest.
"Two!" Itzel landed face up. She could see Siergi jump towards her with a somersault.
"One!"
"Thunder Wire!" Siergi stretched out his leg for a kick and darted back down at an unnatural angle. Itzel put her hands over her face and closed her eyes.
"Time!" Siergi landed next to Itzel, his foot barely grazing her arm. Itzel opened her eyes and looked up towards the Challenge Display. The screen said that Siergi was the winner by Time Out. A thin sliver of her Stamina Bar remained. The crowd went wild as Siergi stepped away from his defeated opponent to bask in the praise. His arms spread out as his body turned from side to side so that he faced the entirety of the audience.
"At least she didn't get knocked out," Enidri said.