[Hardcore Match] Astrid Arvidsson vs Kyoko Akan - When the dragon meets the queen (Apex Qualifier Match)

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"Aaaahhhh!!!" Astrid's scream mixed with her rival's.

At some point, it seemed to her that her right leg would definitely break. At least the amount of pain she experienced at that moment almost made her lose consciousness. But if that was the price she had to pay, then so be it. The blonde always said she was fighting to the very end. Especially in such matches. Especially when she was confronted by a woman like Kyoko.

The noise in the hall was difficult to compare with anything. Most of the audience were ready to tear their hair out because of what was happening. Here, in LAW, every match can cause a real storm of emotions. But what the audience saw today really won their hearts. Seeing how the two women continue to fight, trying to surpass each other, they literally lost the idea of how far Kyoko and Astrid are ready to go.

After the Belly Queen's back slammed into the Golden Dragon's knees and shins, Astrid sprawled on the mat, barely keeping herself conscious. The light in front of her eyes began to flicker again. White flashes alternated with impenetrable darkness. Her body and mind begged for rest. Even breathing was almost impossible, the blonde was taking short breaths, but even this seemed to tear her lungs from the inside. The Golden Dragon clenched her teeth, and her face contorted due to a painful spasm. Astrid turned her head to the side, looking at Kyoko.

Two beaten women, covered here and there with blood, were lying on the mat. Even though the beginning of this match was almost pure hatred, no one could even think that they would drag each other through a real hell. The resilience of each of them was amazing. And even now, many were worried about only one question. Was it really the end?

Astrid stretched out her left arm forward, and then bent it at the elbow. Her body was shaking like an aspen leaf. There were tears on her cheeks that burned the wounds left by her rival. But she pulled herself forward. The blonde was unable to restrain her groans of pain. But she stretched out her right arm too, in order to bend it at the elbow and move herself to the body of the Belly Queen. The audience in the hall began to build up the noise, anticipating the moment that was to be decisive in this amazing match.

Kyoko was close. Not more than half a meter from Astrid. But to the Golden Dragon, that distance seemed like a mile. Yes, she was honest with herself. And she was willing to admit that Kyoko was the first to bring her to this state. Even Astrid herself didn't know what was keeping her from losing consciousness right now. She felt like she had been run over by a freight train. But deep down, she had something else. Even despite all the wounds, injuries and pain, she felt real elation because of the match she went through with her opponent. Kyoko was right in front of her. There was only one last push left to make.

"Mmmmaaahh!!" groaned Astrid, pushing herself forward one last time with the last of her strength.

Her voluminous breasts pressed against the chest of the Japanese woman. Struggling with the desire to leave everything as it is, the descendant of the great Vikings reached for the far leg of her rival. Astrid understood that if by some miracle the Belly Queen could break this pin, then she simply would not be able to continue the match. Therefore, she intended to hook Kyoko's leg under her knee to pull it up to the Japanese woman's chest, thereby at least slightly increasing the pressure on her shoulder blades. A pin attempt that will decide the outcome of this match anyway. The referee girl fell next to Kyoko and Astrid, and then, to the deafening roar of the crowd, she slapped the mat for the first time.

"ONE!"

[Fairy Dragon]

This had been a brutal fight, one that ended with her nearly crippled because of Astrid's drive to break her and end the match. But everyone had a limit and while she had opened many eyes now, the Belly Queen was no different, she was still human and she still had limits. Astrid after hitting her with a finisher on her battered body had finally pushed her past it, her back had taken so much that for anyone else it would be overkill to have used such a move on her at this point. Astrid went the extra mile because she had to make sure that she left no chance for Kyoko to fight out, she knew that much, she tried to do the same thing going for a spear because she thought nothing less than her best shot would finally bring Astrid down. In the end while she hated the pain and with Astrid leaning on her and pulling her up for a pinfall felt the frustration of losing, she couldn't actually hate the fact she was put through so much to put her down. It was almost a sign of respect, to have Astrid do this much to put her down in a hardcore match, one of her choosing because it showed that the Belly Queen walked into her domain and took her to the limit.

"TWO!"

She tried, god knows she tried to keep going. To push her leg up or force her shoulder up and kick out again, no matter what respect she may have earned from this bitch nothing beats winning a match. This was the starting point to the path of Apex, she couldn't let her journey start with a loss, not when she knew that the only path for her was victory. But nothing would come, her strength was gone and despite the shaking of her leg she couldn't force a pin, even when feeling that it was all it took to win the match, to force Astrid's tired body off her and finish her was so close...but too far now.

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Damn, she could feel it. Even though Kyoko remained practically motionless, she could feel it. Astrid felt that her opponent wanted to continue the match. It was difficult to explain, but in the ring, during a fight, when two fighters are standing to the end, a thin thread seems to arise between them. And the Golden Dragon felt with all her soul that the Japanese woman wanted to break this pin in order to get the victory.

And this subtle feeling turned into something more when, after the second count, Kyoko's leg trembled. In any other situation, Astrid would have strained her arms even more in order to increase the pressure and prevent her opponent from breaking the pin. But now she just physically couldn't do it. And now, lying on top of her rival, she could only hope that everything she threw at the Belly Queen was enough to break her body and spirit. The referee's hand went up for the third time. The descendant of the great Vikings involuntarily held her breath. The slap.

"THREE!!!"

Ding-Ding-Ding.

Not only Tokyo. Not only Japan. The whole world could hear the roar that filled the arena at the moment when the bell rang, marking the victory of the Golden Dragon. Many spectators were here just to enjoy another match. But today they got something that you can't see every day. It wasn't just a match. It was a confrontation between two women who were ready to do anything in order to earn the right to call themselves the best. They will not forget this match, which will go down in history, overshadowing even some title matches.

Astrid's arm relaxed and she lowered her opponent's leg. She heard the third count. She heard the bell ringing. She heard the roar of the crowd. But she still couldn't quite believe that it was over. And only her heart, beating at an incredible speed, told her about one simple truth. She won. She managed to defeat one of the toughest, if not the toughest, women she had ever met.

With a groan of pain, the Golden Dragon rolled off Kyoko's body, lying on her back next to her rival almost head to head. By pure chance, her left palm landed on Kyoko's right palm. Completely covered in bruises, wounds and blood, Astrid stared at the ceiling for a few seconds. The Norwegian woman has never had doubts, she has always strived forward, never doubting herself for a second. But today she was ready for defeat. Fighting with the Belly Queen, she made sure that the Japanese woman's words were not just words. Kyoko really was one of the best. That's what made this moment priceless for Astrid. Yes, there was no belt at stake in this match. But now Astrid felt like a champion. The blonde turned her head to the side in order to look at her rival.

Hardly anyone was interested in Astrid's feelings towards the Belly Queen. But inside the blonde there were insurmountable contradictions. She always had a weakness for strong women. Although even without this context, she had a strange mixture of feelings for Kyoko. This woman was someone who was ready to do anything for the sake of victory, even for far from the most noble things. The bleeding belly of the Golden Dragon was clear proof of that. But at the same time, although Kyoko didn't care about it, Astrid now considered this woman a real warrior.

"Great match," she said, and the right corner of her bloody lips lifted slightly.

Astrid's face contorted with pain again as she tried to get to her feet. And she had to stop after she got up on one knee. She could barely move, and now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off from her blood, the pain was noticeably worse. The Golden Dragon wrapped her left arm around her stomach. And at that moment the referee came up to her. Right. The winner must be declared.

And it happened at the moment when the striped shirt took Astrid's right wrist and raised the hand of the descendant of the great Vikings to the shouts and applause of the audience. And although the only thing Astrid wanted right now was rest, she couldn't help but smile broadly. It was a real hell. They both went through it, but today it was she who was the strongest. And today she confirmed the truthfulness of her words. She was here to fight. She was here to get to the top. She was here to be the best. Today she made it clear to everyone that she never throws words to the wind and that she will go forward despite the blood and pain on her way.

Absolute exhaustion and incessant pain, especially in the abdomen and the entire right leg, suggested that she might need a medical examination as soon as she left the arena. But before that, there was one more thing Astrid wanted to do. She turned her gaze back to Kyoko. The blonde wasn't going to lie, when the Belly Queen entered the ring, she hated her. This excessive pride irritated the Norwegian woman. And this hatred grew even more during the match, when Kyoko showed her darkest sides. But now the respect of the descendant of the great Vikings to this woman outweighed all other feelings. Even with all the wounds she had received, she was grateful to her opponent for this historic match. At the beginning, she punched Kyoko in the face. But at the end, the Golden Dragon was going to extend her right hand forward, offering her rival a handshake.

[Fairy Dragon]

No matter how hard she tried the muscles in her body just didn't want to work right, they didn't have the juice to force another serious motion and free herself from the pinfall attempt. When that final count happened she somehow felt more deflated, with how exhausted she already felt it almost didn't seem possible to feel like that but after a match like this when it felt she could overcome anything only to fall short because her back finally took too much, it was devastating. Losing was never part of her plan and even though she knew she was walking into the lair of the dragon by not only accepting the match but letting Astrid pick the stipulation she felt completely confident she could still win, a confidence that didn't fade when she was so close to seeing Astrid fall. She couldn't even stand up properly only able to muster up the will to sit up, and that took all of her strength and more back pain that made it almost not worth the effort before she slumped forward. During the match she was riding a high that she only got during an exhilarating contest but like a drug addict on withdrawals the after effects kicked in once the match was over and they sucked. She didn't think she'd be able to sit up or walk for the next few days, in fact she expected that LAW medical would keep her bedridden while they ran tests on her spine and back to make sure nothing was seriously damaged after what she had just been put through.

Astrid got help from the ref so she could get her hand raised but the Belly Queen was offered no such help, the only thing she was offered was a handshake from Astrid. She knew enough that it was genuine, nothing about Astrid screamed deceit or backwards like the vibes she got from other so-called 'faces' of LAW. She ended up having a hard time wondering if she should try to accept it before slowly moving her hand and slowly shaking Astrid's hand giving the Norwegian warrior her respect. She hated losing, but she had showed everyone what she could do and since this didn't end her road to Apex that would be enough, she just told herself that the next time Astrid and her would meet she would be the one standing up and getting her hand raised.

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Pride is a bitter thing. Astrid knew about this for the simple reason that she herself was an infinitely proud woman. It was hardly her best trait, but it was a fact. And during the match, it became obvious to her that the Belly Queen has no less pride than herself. They were both proud of their talents and fortitude. There must always be a winner in a match. Today it was Astrid. But despite all the cruelty they brought to each other, she didn't want to end it all as bitter enemies. The only question was, would pride allow the Japanese woman to shake her hand after all? She saw the hesitation in her rival's eyes.

But soon the answer to this question was given. Their hands joined in a handshake that was firm even though they were exhausted. The audience cheered. Not knowing anything about each other, they started this match with pure hatred. But now it's become something much bigger. And even the audience felt it. Astrid allowed herself a slight smile again, looking into the eyes of her rival. Perhaps it was too presumptuous to think so, but she was glad that there was some kind of mutual understanding between them, which was definitely not between them at the moment when they started the match.

Releasing her opponent's hand, Astrid took a deep breath and forced herself to get fully to her feet. Perhaps she should have waited for the medical team. But she wanted to leave the arena on her own feet, despite the pain and fatigue. It was a hell of a tough match and she deserved a rest. They both deserved. The Norwegian woman went to the ropes. But before she left the ring, she stopped and looked at Kyoko again.

There was something else. Astrid knew this from the very beginning, but only now has this feeling reached its peak. Exchanging blows with Kyoko, she became more and more convinced that neither of them was ready to lose. Astrid wasn't going to lie, today Kyoko had every chance to be the one whose hand would be raised as the winner. Given the fury they unleashed on each other, no one could make a sure guess who exactly would be the winner. And still the Norwegian woman knew one simple truth. Looking the Belly Queen straight in the eyes, Astrid grinned slightly, but there was no complacency in that grin, only anticipation.

"Until next time, Kyoko," she said.

From the very beginning, she knew that whoever won this match, it would not be the end. Such things never end. Now she was sure that Kyoko was already waiting for their next meeting in the squared circle. Because if she were in the place of the Belly Queen now, she would also be eager to meet again. Therefore, it was only a matter of time now. And Astrid wanted to make it clear that she also intends to fight the Belly Queen again.

The Golden Dragon rolled under the bottom rope. Now every movement gave her painful sensations, and it was better not to say anything about the condition of her right leg at all. Astrid limped up the ramp. Her left arm was still wrapped around her wounded stomach. But nothing prevented her from using her right hand to wave to the fans, who saw off the winner with loud shouts.

It was her first match on the way to the world title. And she began this journey with a resounding victory in a truly strong-willed match. A new page of history was written today, Kyoko and Astrid took care of it. There was a long way ahead, many matches were waiting for her. But she was sure that she would never forget this day. Injuries and blood will turn into memory, and this will make her even stronger. It's not over yet. Everything is just beginning. Stopping at the top of the ramp, Astrid raised her right hand, pointing at herself with her thumb. Kyoko forced her to overcome all unthinkable limits today. But now she needed a long rest before returning to the ring and doing what she was born to do. Astrid took a step forward and disappeared behind the curtains.

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The winner by pinfall is Astrid Arvidsson