Perspiration glowed on her skin as she made steady, yet heavy breaths. Her eyes opened wide in excitement, taking in the constant praise of the crowd enveloping her with their deafening cheers.
“Black Cat! Black Cat! Black Cat!”
“I… I won…” Roxanne beamed to herself, under the guise of her masked identity.
“Ohhh, I can see you’re all riled up now folks, but settle down! The fight is just getting started!!!” The announcer let out in his usual tone.
“Now, the two contestants of the first round will leave the stage, and we’ll welcome our participants of the second round!”
Realizing it was her queue to leave, Roxanne nodded and left the stage, ushered out by thunderous cheers which didn’t occur until she was out of sight, beyond the wide arena.
Since the Goliath was knocked out cold, supporting staffs came to the stage to carry him out.
It was no easy task!
“Whew! Sorry for the wait folks, our fallen champion has more weight than we bargained for ” The announcer jokes, causing an uproar of laughter in response.
It took them over ten minutes to drag out the giant’s body due to his sturdy build. But, that was all over now.
“For the second round, we have….”
The audience held their breath in excitement as they had expectant eyes, waiting for the appearance of the fighters.
A calm before the storm.
Roxanne watched the event live from her resting room, a VIP section within the underground establishment.
As the current champion, her position allowed her such privilege. A tv screen was in front of her as she observed the new contestants, taking note of their move with her wolf eyes.
“Interesting” She smiled as she gulped down the bottled water on her hand.
She needed as much information she could obtain from her next opponents. What happened with the Goliath was not going to repeat itself.
“I wonder who I’ll be fighting next”
[Round 2]
Participants: Jester vs Wrath
Winner: Jester
[Round 3]
Participants: Diablo vs The Hawk
Winner: Diablo
[Round 4]
Participants: The Grappler vs Turbo
Winner: The Grappler
[Round 5]
Participants: Big Boy vs Ripper
Winner: Ripper
[Round 6]
Participants: Xavier vs Knight
Winner: Xavier
Upon closely observing their fights, Roxanne could not help but feel a little intimidated by the level of skill each of them posed. They had more experience in the wrestling department by far, and their techniques were no joke.
However… She felt relieved.
“I was worried there wouldn’t be any challenge for me… What a relief” She muttered, rising from the sofa she sat on.
It was finally her turn.
Before she slammed the door of the room, Roxanne took a final glance at the man who won the sixth round.
“Xavier, uh?”
Upon whispering the name, she shut the door, heading toward her spot before she would be announced.
So far, of all the winners, the final one seemed to be the most skilled. His moves, speed, and flair… They all made her body throb. Most of all, he wore a mask too.
“Who is he?” She wondered to herself.
The fights were chosen randomly, by the head of the Underground fight, so there was no way for her to know for sure. She was only aware of when she was coming in, having nothing about anyone else. Yet, Roxanne wanted so badly to fight the Xavier person.
“Just once… More than anyone else!” She thought to herself.
Even though she was in high favor with the Boss of the establishment, Roxanne doubted he would make an exception, even for her.
There was only one way to guarantee she would fight him.
“You better make it to the finals…” She grinned.
If he was as good as she thought, then she didn’t need to worry too much about his success. If he didn’t make the cut, that meant she was merely overestimating his Ability. But Roxanne doubted it.
Her Wolf eyes couldn’t be wrong.
“What an explosive session! Six out of twelve candidates have been eliminated. With six more, we move on to the second session of this tournament. Get ready folks, it only gets rougher from herein out.”
The crowd cheered upon hearing this, eager to see more action.
“Now that’s more like it! Now then, time to call out our fighters for the second round!”
“Making her re-entry after her first explosive round with the Goliath, we have your favorite rookie, and last year’s Champion… Black Cat!!!”
Once again, Roxanne was greeted by cheers as she entered the stage in her masked form.
“Oh, oh, oh! You’re all right to be excited. Now then, for her adversary… This is quite the tricky opponent. Of all the wrestlers we have seen so far, this maniac possesses the most dangerous style, and aims to entirely break the spirit of his opponents before finishing them off! I’m sure you’ve all seen this and have a clear image of our challenger. Let us welcome to the stage… Ripper!!!”
Bloodthirsty cries were let out as raging shouts filled the air, welcoming the man of action to the stage.
He had a lean, but muscular build, with long dreads dangling all over his body. Bare-chested, with only a pair of pants on him, the man glared at Roxanne with bloodshot eyes.
“Is he on dope?” She asked herself as she noticed his insulated pupils.
Roxanne knew some of the wrestlers got high before their matches in order to perform better. There was no rule against it, since the whole thing was not legal in the first place. As long as no one made it obvious to the spectators, no one would point it out.
“If he needs to get high to face me… I don’t need to worry too much about him” Roxanne said in disappointment.
She had watched his fight against other people, and took note of his savage moves. Sure, they were dangerous, but compared to Damien’s training and her constant time with the Warriors of the pack, this meant nothing to her.
It lacked refinement, no different from a wild beast.
“And now, let the first round of the second session… BEGIN!!!”
“Let’s get this over with,” She said to herself.