Marceline was having a surprisingly quiet day today. Even though it was LAWless, which meant anyone could have the chance to surprise her and/or defeat her in combat to win the title, no one seemed intent on doing so, most likely because she almost always had eight wrestlers by her side who would defend her. Because even though they also wanted that title, they wouldn’t be capable of betraying their leader over it.
While the stragglers were training at the L.A.W. gym, one of their members, Sari, told her boss that someone was talking about her on the Titantron screen in front of the entire audience. It was Viper Hoshiwara, one of the toughest and cruelest women in the company. Marcy knew of her existence because she already suspected she was one of the potential challengers for the hardcore title, and her hunch proved correct.
Viper made her opinions very clear in the promo: she considered Marcelibe an outdated old witch and a coward who would never dare to have a death match unlike her, and that’s why she challenged her to that kind of match to see if she was worthy of wearing that belt and being called the hardcore champion. After that announcement, Marceline simply left the gym and headed to her dressing room to get her uniform; she and her sister had a few things to say.
The two sisters were heading toward the stage with serious expressions on their faces because of the proposal Marcy had received. This wasn’t a battle of pride; the general had no interest in anything like that other than her family. This was to show that she and her group were worthy of being here. As they walked through the hallways, they were stopped by Daigo, a member of the stragglers, who looked worried.
“Daigo, get out of the way, we have an important match,” Ana said, but Daigo refused.
“No, Marcy, you don’t want to face her in a death match. Viper is one of the cruelest opponents I know in that kind of match. Think about your daughter and your husband and find some other stipulation. I don’t know, but…” Just as the Hardcore Madman was about to continue, he was silenced by his general, who softened his serious expression into a kinder one.
“Daigo, I know you care about me, and that’s fine, but I also worry about you every time you have those hardcore fights where you hurt your body with every match. But I trust you and know you’ll come out okay, because between a leader and her men there must be mutual trust. Do you trust me?” the leader said to her soldier, who hesitated but finally replied,
“I trust you.” She let them through onto the stage.
Once they appeared before the audience with Marceline wearing her LAWless belt, both headed straight for the ring, and once inside, the manager had a few things to say:
“Hello, everyone. I suppose you all know that a certain individual questioned the fact that my sister is the new LAWless champion here, this woman who ruined her whole life for the thrill of extreme emotions, but that’s another matter. The most notable thing she said was that she was challenging my sister to a deathmatch for this company’s hardcore title with electrified barbed wire, and my sister has something to say about that.”
At that moment, she passed the microphone to her sister, who got straight to the point:
“I accept the challenge,” which drew applause from the audience, surprised by Marcy’s decision. Ana took the microphone again and said,
“She’s waiting for you… Momoko.” Ana had researched her rival alongside her brother and knew that this was a low blow worse than any possible insult and a declaration of intent from the snake.
