"I think those late-night sessions of studying with Gurk might actually pay off," Janus said while watching Siergi talk to the audience. Itzel stood up straight from her leg stretches and faced her teammate. 

"Don't know about that. Watching Siergi ramble for minutes on end about how much he appreciates Contributions is asking a lot for one person to sit through. Even if it does mean getting some insight on how Siergi fights."

"You know, he is being genuine about how much he appreciates those Contributions, Itzel. Without them, we wouldn't be where we are today," Arva said. "Technically, you and the Labrisson Slayers wouldn't even be a team right now without them."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Constantly reminding your viewers about Contributions is effective in making profits, so I can't blame you guys for doing it. But that doesn't mean I have to find it enjoyable, either."

"Fair enough," Arva replied. She shrugged her shoulders and stepped to the side, bowing and pointing both of her arms towards the center ring. "But if you're ready for the next round, be my guest."

Itzel took in a deep breath and kept her body moving. She walked towards the fighting area. Siergi was already there, looking at the crowd as he waved at them with one hand. The audience was at the loudest it had been since the Team Battle started. With a confident strut, he inched closer towards Itzel. With an outstretched fist, he offered the woman a fist bump. Itzel gave it a blank stare. 

"Come on now," Siergi said. "The crowd loves a show of sportsmanship!" He raised his fist, requesting the fist bump once more by raising it slowly. 

"Fine." Begrudgingly, Itzel tapped her knuckles to his. 

"Hope you’re ready," Siergi said as he returned his hand and stepped back into his kickboxer's pose. He stood on one foot and elevated his leg midway. His fists were both wadded and pressed close against his chest. In harmony, the audience applauded as they watch the Broadcaster take his iconic stance. 

Silently, Itzel followed suit. With her legs spread and arms spread apart, she positioned herself for a defensive option. With both combatants in place, the countdown resumed. Both fighters kept their eyes locked; on Siergi's face was a look of pure confidence as his small smile was more than visible for everyone to see. Itzel remained steadfast, looking determined as her eyes narrowed like a predatory creature. 

"Three..."

"Two..."

"One..."

"Fight!"

Itzel opened the round by taking a step forward. Siergi mimicked her movement, dashing forward a short distance with his guard still up. Itzel attacked first with a spinning step kick that Siergi blocked with his raised leg. He flinched from the attack despite his Stamina Bar remaining full. Itzel followed up with an Advancing Tempest that was subsequently guarded as well. She pushed him back with the Special Technique, forcing him to skid back on his heels as his arms absorbed all the damage from the attack. 

"That was Itzel's Advanced Technique," Enidri stated to Janus. "Breath Stealer."

"The spinning step kick?" Janus asked.

Enidri nodded. "Yep. It has a special property that forces an opponent to keep guarding even after it's blocked."

"Why would you want to do that?" Janus asked. Enidri pointed towards the Challenge Display. 

"Look at Siergi's Guard Gauge. He had to block both Breath Stealer and an Advancing Tempest. Now he's already down to having only half of his Guard Gauge! It's one of the few attacks where it might be better to just take the hit rather than block it. The damage isn’t anything to write home about and it’s relatively slow compared to other martial strikes. But it’s got its own strategic niche that makes it effective."

Janus rubbed his hand against his forehead. "That goes against everything I've learned so far about Rumble Circuit."

"And that's why it's so powerful. Use it when your opponent isn’t expecting and you could get an easy Guard Break. Gotta do research on your opponent if you can. That way you know what to look out for."

Both Janus and Enidri focused on the fight again. Itzel kept her pressure going by attacking with a two-hit combination jab. They were both blocked, leaving Siergi's Guard Gauge at only a sliver. Itzel went for one more strike until Siergi spread his arms apart. A small arc of lightning jumped from one hand to the other and pushed Itzel back. From the corner of his eye, Janus could see that the yellow blip above Siergi's EV meter had turned gray. 

"She made him use up his Defensive Technique?"

"Yeah. I'm impressed. For one, you got that right. And two, Itzel made him burn it up pretty quick. Now with his Guard and DT gone, Itzel's essentially free to be as aggressive as she wants for most of the match."

"Siergi's tough," Gurk said. "He'll fight."

"Serrated Gale!"

Itzel threw the projectile directly towards Siergi. Her opponent responded by performing a quick spinning front kick. "Blitz Bolt!" A lightning bolt shot out from his foot and crashed with the Serrated Gale in mid-air. A small thunder cloud burst out from the impact of the two projectiles, creating a bellowing boom. Itzel stepped forward, minimizing the distance by a small amount before attacking with another Serrated Gale. Siergi responded with one more Blitz Bolt, creating another miniature explosion a few feet away between both fighters. 

The crowd roared upon watching the visual spectacle of lighting and wind blasting against each other. Visualization of the fight became muddled as the remnants of the Techniques lingered in the air long after they were destroyed. Two silhouettes that roughly matched both combatants could be seen moving through the smoke. Itzel blocked a high axe kick only to react too late to a following low sweep kick.

The back of Siergi's heel pushed past both of Itzel's ankles. She toppled over to the side and landed on her arm. Siergi stomped his foot on the ground, sending an electrical current out in a circular area. The electricity touched Itzel's arm as she lay on the floor, making her shake from the sudden jolt. Despite her muscles tensing, Itzel mustered to grit through the pain and roll to the side, narrowly avoiding Siergi's second stomp.

Itzel's Stamina Bar was now at halfway while Siergi's was untouched. His Guard Gauge had recovered a small amount as well, leaving him with a fifth of his full Guard power to work with. 

"Looks like Siergi is confident working with only a sliver of his Guard!" Enidri proclaimed. Siergi advanced forward, protecting the front of his body. "If he blocks the wrong move or even just a couple of punches, his defense will completely give out."

Siergi jumped into the air, flipping forward. He pointed one leg down, letting electricity swarm the length of it as she shot back down at a sharp angle. "Thunder Wire!" he shouted as his heel connected with Itzel's arm. With her block successful, Siergi performed the second part of Thunder Wire and performed a flying electric kick in the opposite direction. 

"Oh, that move is going to be a real hassle to deal with," Enidri said. "Looks like it's a low commitment attack. Even if Itzel blocks it, Siergi can just turn around and land like nothing ever happened. Not to mention he gains EV Bars while Itzel's Guard Gauge is slowly chipped away. 

"That sounds like a strong Technique!"

"It is. The damage isn't too high unless it’s the Enhanced Variance, but it really is a nuisance for fighters that like to block a lot." Enidri turned towards Gurk. "That means, you big man!"

"I know."

"You're a big target. Good luck trying to avoid all of those kicks,” Enidri joked.

"Thanks," Gurk grumbled. All three returned their attention to the fight once the majority of the smoke cleared, giving a clear view of the match.