Feeling her blood boil, Roxanne tightened her fist once more and decided to pour every ounce of concentration on the man before her. She ignored the endless noise of the crowd, turning down the volume as everything faded away.
All that was left, her and her enemy.
In terms of overall ability, she was superior, but his skill made hers pale in comparison. If she was to replace this with brute strength, she would ruin the game.
“A part of being a werewolf is learning to control your strength” Damien always told her in training.
This was one of the moments. Previously, she had suppressed her strength entirely, in order to make it a fair match. However, this time she was only controlling it to appear proportionally normal in the match. Should she go any further and fully display the full nature of her power, every fight would be a breeze.
“That would be no fun!”
Xavier lunged forward, quickly closing the distance between them like it was nothing. In an instant, he was directly in front of Roxanne and gave a wide swing to break her defense.
She quickly dodged, taking a step back to balance her stance. He exploited this and turned his body, raising his leg, which had longer reach to attack while she was still balancing herself.
“Shit!” Roxanne said as she raised both her elbows and blocked the strike in an instant.
She stepped back a couple of times and strengthened her footing in order to prevent any further breaks.
Realizing her fortified stance would impede any further attempts, Xavier made a retreat.
With the both of them a certain distance from each other again, they carefully studied the motion and pattern of the other, contemplating when to strike.
“Let’s go!” Roxanne said to herself, once again diving in to get her prey.
This exchange lasted for several minutes, as both parties were engaged in a stalemate.
“Tch, at this rate…” Roxanne thought to herself.
Having no choice but to kick things a little up a notch, she heightened her senses a little, gaining a better perception of her surroundings. Smiling to herself, Roxanne stepped forward once again.
However, this time she quickly increased her speed by a little, dashing to him as he took steps backward.
The sudden motion she exhibited flustered Xavier for a split second, causing him to hesitate.
>Bam!<
The pounding sound of her fist hitting his face reverberated across the room as the audience watched in silence. A sharp ringing sound permeated the wars of Xavier as he quickly lifted his face to regain composure.
However, before he could do so, Roxanne slid behind him and broke his stance with her feet, causing him to stumble forward.
Quickly, she grappled him and tightly held onto his body.
"W-What are you-" The man yelled, struggling to shake her off.
"No way! You're mine now" Roxanne grinned with satisfaction as she saw the man's panicked reaction.
Dragging his muscular body, she threw him backward, causing him to hit the sturdy pole behind.
"Garhhh" He yelled in pain as his back landed heavily on the hard surface of one of four corners of the ring.
Roxanne rushed to give him an elbow thrust, aimed directly at his stomach.
This caused him to spit out, feeling more pain. He struggled to raise an arm in defense, but Roxanne quickly grabbed the large arm and twisted it, sending him to yelp further.
Increasing her strength a little further, Roxanne pulled him from the pole, drawing him forward as she raked him, sending his body to the ground in a crash. As he landed, she also dropped with another elbow hit, landing it on his back.
"Uraghh" He bellowed, stifling his sound to stop any further disgrace.
"Get off!" He groaned, raising his leg to kick Roxanne.
"Wrong move!" She responded, grabbing it and twisting it further.
Xavier swallowed the scream about to proceed from his mouth as he felt the sharp surge of agony cording through him. Roxanne quickly stood up, creating distance from the laid figure.
"U-Urghhh" He moaned, struggling to stand, wincing as he felt the sprain on his arm and leg.
As he rose, he felt a strong wind approach him from behind, quickly turning to intercept it. However, before he could stop the attack, the fist of Roxanne landed straight on his nose, causing him to tilt backward, entirely disoriented.
Making a strong kick, Roxanne used her finishing move to send his body flying backward as he fell out of the stage in absolute defeat.
"Knockout!!! It's Black Cat's victory!!!" The announcer declared.
A thunderous yell reverberated around the whole room as Roxanne smiled, raising her hands in victory as her sweaty body moved about the stage in satisfaction
Once again, she won it all.
Even though she had felt miserable for a while after leaving the village, the bright feeling she was now feeling, similar to her final tournament in the last year, was too refreshing. Roxanne basked in it, enjoying every second of pleasure she enjoyed.
The best part was, unlike before… She was in no rush to leave. There was no Asher to run back to, or pack to return to. It was just herx and her fans. She had all the time in the world.
"I love this!" She beamed as she raised her hands even further and the tempo increased.
Every single doubt l, sadness, loneliness, and uncertainty vanished. Right there, in that moment, Roxanne felt like she was born to witness the radiant waves of affection and recognition she received…. As well as the satisfied emotions within her after a good fight.
Even if she might return to her depressed state moments later, that didn't matter to her at the moment. Because, though temporary… Roxanne was satisfied.
"I'm… I'm so happy!"
After the fight, and Roxanne was announced the winner, she was given the trophy of victory. Of course, this was only for sure. The true prize lay within… Money.
She was duly compensated for her match, causing her to smile as she placed the cash in her backpack.
Quickly and subtly, she sneaked out of the Arena, avoiding any prying eyes. However, she felt something behind her which continued tracing her constantly.
"I'm being followed…?!" Roxanne asked herself in alarm.
Now a small distance from the Underground Wrestling Center, Roxanne found it strange that someone would be following her at such a late hour. It was already past 1:00am in the morning, and most of the audience were too occupied getting home.
No one should have noticed her getting out. Yet, she still felt it.
"Very well… I suppose I'll play your game for a little while" Roxanne grinned to herself.
Whoever it was… She would soon find out.