Janus took another look at his Stamina Bar. The thin sliver of meter of his was now flashing red while Arva's remained completely full. He noticed that one and a half of her EV Bars had been filled as well. I can't let Itzel go up against Arva with full stamina and EV..." he thought to himself. Arva dash towards him again, her hands coursing with electricity as she kept her eyes staring into his. Now or never, Janus!

Arva lunged forward, extended one fist aimed towards his exposed chest. Janus thought about the new Special Technique that he had learned. Gravity Layer...

He clapped his hands together. As the palms and fingers touched, a dark purple aura engulfed them. He then spread them apart, stretching his arms to his sides. In the wake of his arms' movement, a large and round purple void formed in front of him. It was thin, like a windowpane of plasma. Through it, he could see Arva's distorted face turn to shock as her fist passed through the barrier. 

A warped boom came from the Gravity Layer. Arva's hand stopped an inch from Janus' chest. He darted back, shocked by how Arva’s entire body remained motionless. She defied physics as her feet hovered an inch above the ground, frozen in a lunging pose. He stepped to the side as his opponent’s eyes remained wide open, stuck staring ahead as if he were still in front of her while small black bolts of static jumped from her body. He waved one hand in front of Arva's eyes, watching as she didn't react. The entire audience gasped at the scene. 

"Follow up with something, Janus!" Itzel called out. He snapped out of his concentration and looked towards Itzel. 

"Huh?" he shouted. Janus turned his head to face his teammate.

"Just—" Itzel's response was caught off when she saw Arva move again. She extended her punch, only hitting thin air. The woman then wobbled forward, losing her balance before turning around to see that Janus had moved behind her. She quickly turned around to face her opponent once more. 

Nervous, Janus clapped his hands together again. He spread his legs apart and readied himself to perform Gravity Layer again. His hands became swarmed with plasma as he spread his arms out once more, creating another window between him and his opponent. This time, Arva stood on the other side and stared back at him. She shook her head from side to side, her smile becoming wider. 

It didn't take long for the Special Technique to vanish completely, leaving Janus' entire front side wide open. He frowned when he saw Arva step forward and attack with another Flurry Rush, bombarding Janus with a long series of rapid punches that pumped electricity throughout his body. His Stamina Bar shrunk into nothingness as he toppled backwards like a tree. 

"Knock Out!" the giant screen read. The audience began to applaud and shout as Arva bowed in front of the viewers. Itzel and Gurk ran onto the mat and both stood over their defeated teammate. Janus' eyes remained closed and his arms sprawled out against the floor. Gurk gave him a nudge in the cheek with his finger, making Janus’ eyes squint tighter. 

"Oh man..." Janus said as he placed a hand over his forehead. One last bolt of electricity crackled, making his other twitch. "It feels like I've been struck by lightning. While wearing a metal suit."

Itzel and Gurk both took one of Janus' hands and hoisted him off the ground. He was able to stand on his own, albeit with some wobbling. Arva came running towards him and extended one hand out for a shake. Janus eyed the gesture and offered his hand but didn't fully commit. 

"You're not trying to shock me again, are you?" he asked coyly. 

"Of course not," Arva said gleefully. "The fight is over! I hope there aren't any hard feelings between us. I couldn't go easy on you seeing how you managed to defeat Maluk."

Janus gave her hand a firm shake. "Oh no, no hard feelings at all. That was a good fight," he said.

"Likewise." 

Everyone turned their head when they heard Enidri snickering to the side. "Don't mind me!" she called out.

"That was quite the Special Technique you used there! What was it called?" Arva asked. 

"Gravity Layer," Janus answered. 

"It was like my entire body became too heavy for me to move. That's one incredible Counter Technique." 

"Counter Technique? That was my first time using it. Had no idea what was going to happen."

"Lucky for you then, eh?"

"Too bad he didn't know to follow up with it!" Itzel butted in. "You could have landed a free Enhanced Variant of Ion Tail!"

"Sorry!" Janus said while shrugging. "I've never seen someone just... lock up like that. Now that I know what the attack does, I'll be able to implement it better."

Itzel gave Janus friendly jab on his shoulder. "Ah, I'm not really upset. I can't be when you managed to take down Maluk on your first ever Ranked Challenge. Arva is going to need all of the EV she can get for the next round."

"If you say so, Itzel." She gave the Labrisson Slayers a wink before heading back to her teammates. "See you in three!"

Janus, Itzel and Gurk all headed back to their designated section. Enidri remained seated as she Janus and Gurk take up two of the chairs. Itzel remained standing and began to stretch her arms and legs. 

"You never seen a Counter Technique before?" Enidri asked Janus.

"No. This is the first time I've heard of it."

"They're a special kind of attack," Enidri began. "They're meant to be utilized with proper timing and prediction. If you use one right when your opponent tries to hit you, you can turn their attack against them. That's why Arva froze when she broke through your Gravity Layer. You had ample time to follow up, but for some reason you were paralyzed longer than she was."

"I was caught off-guard was all," he responded. "I've never expected Arva to just completely freeze like that. I thought she was just going to get zapped like with my other Techniques."

"And now you know,” Enidri scoffed. “Oh, and don't use a Rising Technique like Ion Tail as soon as you get up from being knocked down."

"Why is that?"

Enidri leaned back in her seat and put her arms behind her head. "It's the number one sign of someone's a scrub. You're on the ground and your opponent's coming at you. What's everyone's first instinct? Hit them with a fast and powerful attack to get out of a tough situation. Problem is that most of the time, Rising Techniques leave you vulnerable unless you use the Enhanced Variant. If your opponent decides to block, you're looking to take a lot of damage."

"That would have been nice to know beforehand."

“I guess you can consider this to be ‘beforehand’ for the next time you’re fighting in a Ranked Challenge.”

"Watch and learn, Janus," Itzel said. She rolled her neck before cracking one hand's knuckles after the other. "Time to see what a serious Rumble Circuit match looks like." 

"Make sure you pay attention to the Stamina Bars this time!" Enidri shouted. Itzel didn't turn around, instead responding to the reply by sending a shooing motion in Enidri's direction with her hand. She continued onto the mat and was greeted by cheers from the crowd. Arva stood in the center of the fighting area, bouncing up and down to loosen up her muscles and let blood flow through her body. 

Both fighters went into their default stances while keeping their eyes locked. The moment they got into position, the Challenge Display appeared on the screen in front of the audience. Itzel and Arva were both at full health, but Arva was small sliver away from having all her EV bars filled. 

"You think Itzel has got a chance?" Janus whispered to Enidri. The swordswoman remained slack in her seat and focused on the meters and gauges of the massive Challenge Display. 

"Keep this between you and me, Janus,” she replied as she leaned over in her seat towards him. “But if I had to bet some Tokens, they'd go towards Itzel. All those bonus EV bars you donated to Arva will give her an advantage, but I doubt she's got the same martial talent that Itzel has. I don't know where Arva comes from, but it definitely isn't Labrisson. I've known Itzel for longer than I'd care to admit. She's been fighting and getting into trouble for as long as I've known her. And slaying Essencima for a living helps give her a killer instinct. From what little I've seen, Arva is more flash than substance."

Janus' eyes opened wide in surprise. "That was... surprisingly kind of you to say about Itzel."

"That's why it's going to stay between us, alright?"

Janus used his fingers to fasten the imaginary zipper to his lips shut. 

"Good. The fight's about to start. Watching Ranked Challenges is a decent way to familiarize yourself with strategies and tactics. So I suggest you pay attention to this. You might learn a thing or two."

"Got it." 

The countdown began. The audience quieted down. Janus leaned forward in his seat.

"Three..."

Itzel and Arva remained motionless. 

"Two..."

Their face off continued, neither one breaking their posture. 

"One..."

Both fighters slowly moved their limbs, anticipating the action of their opponent. Arva's smile had faded, looking more like an expression of focus rather than friendliness. 

"Fight!"