"They say it takes three years just to learn how to take a fall. It's basic, but it's deep... so I studied three times as hard!"
Rikka was the one to break the stalemate.
"Oh! Rikka makes her move! She takes a half-step back, gathering power for—!"
Rikka threw her body into the air, snapping both feet together to strike Quetzalcoatl.
"—A Dropkick! A massive move! Quetzalcoatl is blown back all the way to the ropes—wait, ah?!"
"—Olé!"
Taking the dropkick head-on, Quetzalcoatl used the momentum to vault between the top and second ropes, spinning her body like a corkscrew. She launched herself back like a rocket—
"Ghaf—!!"
Caught by a full-power Lariat, Rikka was flipped a full 360 degrees in mid-air before being slammed into the mat, bouncing once before flying out of the ring.
—She flipped! A human just did a full rotation in the air!
"Do not fret. That was merely a high-level breakfall."
—A breakfall?!
"Uuuugh..."
Rikka groaned as she lay sprawled on her back outside the ring. Seeing this, Quetzalcoatl took a running start, vaulted off the ropes with a spinning flourish, and—
"Tope Plancha!!"
She plummeted toward Rikka with the weight of her entire being!
"Gah—!!"
Rikka took the follow-up attack, showing the kind of agony that made it clear to anyone watching: That had to hurt.
"A massive hit connects!! Is she okay?! Can Rikka-senshu continue after that?!"
She writhed on the ground, clutching her chest, signaling the damage. And yet—
"Not yet! Mucho, mucho!"
Quetzalcoatl stood in the center of the ring, smiling and beckoning her back. Seeing that look, Rikka's eyes snapped open. She sprang to her feet.
"Not... yet!"
She sprinted back, charging Quetzalcoatl with a tackle.
"I see through—wait, what!?"
Rikka dropped into a sliding move, passing right between the Goddess's legs. She whipped around behind her and seized Quetzalcoatl's ankles.
"Oh! Rikka has tripped the Goddess! She takes the legs, and she's spinning! She's spinning! She's spinning!"
Round and round they went. After six full rotations, she hurled the Goddess into the air—
—A Giant Swing into a—!
"Hell's Nine-Stage Seal: Number One!"
Rikka locked onto Quetzalcoatl's head and legs in mid-air—
"Great Snowy Mountain Flip!!"
She slammed the Goddess back-first into the canvas!
"~~~~!!"
Quetzalcoatl gasped, clutching her back to sell the impact. Rikka immediately transitioned, seizing the Goddess's arm.
"Hell's Nine-Stage Seal: Number Two and Three! Spin Arm..."
She began to twist, moving to pulverize both arms, but—!
"I don't think so!"
The moment she was about to be pinned, Quetzalcoatl planted her feet, arching into a bridge to break the hold. She forced her arms free through sheer strength, cartwheeled to the corner post, and perched on the top turnbuckle.
"Tope Plancha!"
She dove spread-eagled at Rikka. A direct hit. Rikka was pinned to the mat.
"An unbelievable reversal! She elegantly broke the Nine-Stage Seal and countered with a Flying Body Attack! Quetzalcoatl is putting on a masterclass!"
—Ah...!
"Calm yourself. Neither has landed a truly fatal blow yet. However—"
"Wait, the assault isn't over! Quetzalcoatl has crossed Rikka-senshu's legs into a figure-four, locking them with her own...!"
She rolled forward, wrapping Rikka into a tight cradle.
"Ghh... urgh!!"
Rikka let out a pained groan as she was folded into the hold.
—That's 'Mi Amor de mi Novia'! It means 'My Love, My Fiancée' in Spanish! If she stays locked in like that—!!
"1! 2!"
"Daaaah!!"
Just as the count was about to hit three, Rikka kicked out through raw willpower. She scrambled up, pulling Quetzalcoatl with her.
"Hell's Nine-Stage Seal: Four and Five!"
Folding her legs, Rikka drove her knees straight into Quetzalcoatl's knees.
"Double Knee Crusher!!!"
The impact looked like it could shatter bone, dealing immense damage to the Goddess's legs.
"Aieee—! Not enough! Not yet!"
Using only her upper body strength, Quetzalcoatl spun around Rikka, using her damaged legs to wrap around the Master's head.
"Huracanrana!"
She slammed Rikka into the mat with everything she had. Rikka bounced off the canvas, flying toward the edge...
"The ropes! She's grabbed the ropes! And she's using them to—!"
"Asuka Culture Attack!!"
Rikka tucked into a ball, spinning like a projectile, and slammed into Quetzalcoatl!
"~~~~! Mucho! Mucho!"
"I'm not done!!"
"Neither of them is backing down! No one can predict where this battle is headed!"
Just as Enkidu said, their battle to "understand" one another continued without end.
Quetzalcoatl unleashed a barrage of strikes—Lariats, rushes, kicks, dropkicks. Rikka took them, parried them, and dove in for tackles, only to be cut off again.
Rikka threw the Goddess. Quetzalcoatl took every stage of the Nine-Stage Seal (except for the 'Handshake'), but used perfect breakfalls to kill the momentum.
Quetzalcoatl flew. She used the ropes and corners as if she were weightless, soaring at will. Rikka caught her every time, turning the momentum into a counter-attack.
The crowd was in a frenzy. Cheers filled the air.
—Go for it, Master! You can do it, Quetzalcoatl! Do your best, both of you!!
Even Ea, who had been nervous at first, was now shouting at the top of her lungs.
What was manifesting there was the "Free Struggle" that Rikka and Quetzalcoatl were weaving together.
"This is fun! I am having so much fun right now!"
Quetzalcoatl was soaring. Even as her stamina drained and the blows piled up, she was in a trance.
"Giving and receiving techniques! This! This is the 'Free Struggle' I've always wanted! It's so fun I think I might go mad!"
"—, —"
Rikka's body was a wreck. Quetzalcoatl's execution was flawless; if Rikka's breakfalls weren't equally perfect, she would have been broken in half long ago. The accumulated damage was staggering.
And yet—even battered as she was, the fire in Rikka's eyes hadn't dimmed in the slightest.
"Rikka-chan! You are the best! Even as a ruda, you don't neglect your technique, and you show your opponent such respect! Together, we are creating a masterpiece for this crowd!"
"I... studied Lucha... remember?" Rikka managed a weak laugh.
"That's it! 'To know your opponent is to understand them!' Of everyone I have ever fought, you are the only one who studied Lucha for me! You are truly the greatest!"
Rikka laughed breathlessly. Her spirit was willing, but her body was reaching its limit.
(Maybe trying to pop my joints back into place mid-fight was a bit much...)
"Rikka-chan! Whatever the battle, please, never forget to find the joy in it!" Quetzalcoatl called out.
"!"
"I fight because it is fun! Humans, too, fight because they find joy! If you don't hold onto hatred, you don't have to kill! That is the beauty of Lucha Libre! So please, enjoy this! If you do, we will surely understand each other even more!"
...That was—
~~
[...Never forget. To those who find joy in...—]
~~
"No. There's no way fighting is 'fun.'"
Rikka said it clearly.
Fighting was a struggle over lives. It was terrifying. It could never, ever be "fun."
-------------------------------
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