As the demon pushed forward, the two of them crashed into each other between the lines in the ground again. This bout was particularly worth watching. They once again grabbed each other’s mawashi and became locked up, trying to throw each other off-balance. Phalaris was stronger, Arima more cunning. The latter’s moves were more fluid.
“You cheeky demon!!!”
Remaining locked up with Arima, Phalaris began flapping the wings on his back, lifting himself into the air. Arima flapped his small wings too. It was the start of midair sumo! Arima pulled his opponent onto his hips and threw him. The dragon skillfully readjusted his position in midair. Next, Arima performed a Harite Catapult from above, firing a shock wave at Phalaris as his arm broke the sound barrier. Phalaris dodged it with adroit maneuvers. Bouts became really showy when both wrestlers had wings.
“Tunnel ahead!” warned the gray referee, pointing in the direction our Magic Trains were heading in.
There was indeed a pitch-black tunnel ahead. Arima and Phalaris hurried back to the ground. Inside, the tunnel’s orange cave lights illuminated the two wrestlers in the ring as though someone were taking photos using a camera flash. Once we were out of the tunnel, the bright sun illuminated our surroundings anew.
It was like a life-and-death struggle. Arima and Phalaris both were drenched in sweat. The savage looks on their faces were beyond description as they pulled out one top-level sumo technique after another.
“Man, this is fun! This is seriously fun, Arima!”
The demon nodded with a smile on his face.
“Still in, still in!”
They were certainly evenly matched. Phalaris had grown really strong over the years.
With sumo taking place in one of the cars, the Magic Trains ran through a dull red wasteland in what felt like an endless journey, or a scene from a Western. Phalaris had superior strength, and Arima superior technique. It was Grand Sumo, where strength and technique were equally matched. Incidentally, it is when a bout becomes drawn out that we start calling it Grand Sumo.
As Arima shook his shoulders, a smile appeared on his face. Since his face was scary, his smiles were somewhat scary too. Behind him manifested a flame that resembled lava, which started spinning in place. It was his spirit of sumo!
“Ggghhh!!!” groaned Phalaris under Arima’s pushing.
“Looks like the boy is losing,” muttered the water dragoness observing the bout by my side.
“If only Phalaris had his own spirit of sumo...”
“Lady Floortje, we dragons are naturally strong, so gods are not inclined to lend us their strength.”
“Huh?”
Was the spirit of sumo actually just strength granted by gods? I had always thought it was some sort of sumo mystery.
“You see how Arima’s halo looks like lava? ’Tis the symbol of Tohil, the god of volcanoes and etiquette.”
I wondered which god my and the prince’s gears were a symbol of. I suspected it was Takemikazuchi—the oldest god of sumo. According to Records of Ancient Matters, he used his right arm of flame and left arm of ice to defeat Takeminakata, securing the province of Izumo as a reward. Sumo had so much depth to it...
Having lost his advantage in strength, Phalaris was losing ground. Try as he might to resist it, Arima’s simple pushing was unstoppable. The dragon was in deep trouble. Buffed by his spirit of sumo, Arima kept pushing his opponent even in the white part of the ring. Phalaris’s leg hit upon one of the bales set slightly back.
“Don’t give up, Phalaris!”
“Fight on, boy!”
As the mizuchi and I cheered for our wrestler, his shoulder muscles swelled up. He looked beautiful as his sweat flew every which way.
“Everyone is counting on me! There’s no way I can lose here!!!”
Arima nodded with a scary smile.
With a loud sound, twelve feathers appeared behind Phalaris, beginning to revolve.
“Whoa! ’Tis the twelve feathers of the dragon god Nimens! He’s lent the boy his strength!”
Bellowing, Phalaris began to push Arima back. The latter laughed in satisfaction.
“So this is the spirit of sumo?! It feels like limitless strength!”
The life-and-death bout continued on the dohyō, with Phalaris and Arima trying to trip each other, throw each other off-balance, and avoid each other’s techniques. There was something both sacred and severe about their struggle which brought to mind two snakes coiled together, trying to consume each other.
“Show him what for, Phalaris! I’ll give you candy next time!”
“Keep it up, Phalaris!”
As Adela and I cheered for him, Phalaris started moving more smoothly. He seemed to be getting better at utilizing the buff of the spirit of sumo. It was the kind of Grand Sumo where both wrestlers had quickly revolving sumo spirits: their movements were smooth, their techniques deadly.
Arima went for an overarm throw. Phalaris went for an underarm one. Exchanging throws, the two of them ended up at the edge of the ring.
“Time to end this!” shouted Phalaris.
Arima’s arm muscles grew in size, as did those of Phalaris’s thighs. With neither wrestler giving an inch, the explosive power of sumo was directed towards the edge of the ring. Before long, the two ended up in the air. Arima tried to slow down using his small wings, while Phalaris flapped his own to go faster instead.
Smash!!! Who was it? Who landed first?
“Winner, Phalaris!”
The dragon got up, beaming. It appeared his decision to gain speed had been correct. He extended his hand to Arima, which the demon took, getting up as well.
“You’re strong... Phalaris...”
“You’re strong too, Arima! Let’s do this again sometime!”
“Next time...I’ll win...”
“I’m gonna win again next time!”
This was nice. Good wrestlers didn’t lose their spirits regardless of whether they won or lost.
“You did it, boy! How wonderful the dragon god Nimens decided to lend you his strength!”
“So it was Nimens helping me? I’m really grateful for that!”
“Let us visit his shrine in the north sometime in the future.”
“Sure, let’s go together, granny.”
Phalaris had the smile of a lady-killer on his face. It was highly effective.
I wondered whether I needed to visit a shrine too after making use of my sumo spirit. But there was no Kashima Shrine in this world—that is, the place where Takemikazuchi was enshrined. Perhaps inviting him to a branch shrine in Aryagard was in order. Raiden of the Aryakan Sumo Association might be able to help with that. Either way, the score was now two to two. My upcoming bout with the Demon Lord would decide everything. Do your best, Floortje!