What a lovely day... was...

[skip-stop]

The acting school from which Emaline graduated has certainly done a great job. The natural arrogance of this woman literally made you believe in her words, but Astrid was adamant. She had no doubt that the pink-haired woman was the one who pushed the first domino. And although the champion frankly did not care that Emaline denied her involvement in the assault, she did care about the direct insult from the mouth of this woman.

"Ah you..."

Astrid's body trembled slightly after Emaline called her a beaten mutt, and this was not related to the pain she felt. The only thing she wanted at that moment was to shove those words back down the pink-haired woman's throat and make her choke. And it took a lot of effort for her to stay put. She might be angry, but the advantage was definitely not on her side. People would see what had happened here anyway, and she didn't want to show herself as a wild beast that could be angered by a single insult.

"You can keep fooling yourself and fooling others," she said, glancing first at the journalist, then at KUREIJI. "But you can't fool me, I know perfectly well why you're here, why we're all here."

Yes, Emaline was the first one who decided to demand what Astrid owned in such a harsh way. However, she was definitely not the first one who wanted it. So the reason they were all here today was crystal clear.

"You want my belt," Astrid said in a lower voice. "Here's your chance, so what's the matter, why are you standing behind a damn journalist?" Now it was Astrid's turn to prick the pink-haired woman. "Kick my ass right now and prove that you should be where I am." The blonde unclenched and clenched her fists again. "At top of LAW."

[Kreydos]

"Ohoho my." Stepping out of the journalist's shadow, Emaline snobbishly laughed in the face of Astrid's challenge. "There is little need for me to confirm the obvious. To go through with your request would earn me nothing, save for a reputation of a dastardly villain who viciously mauls an obstinate pup." The Viper paused and intentionally waited for the Dragon to open her mouth to interrupt her. "Should however, you decide to officially put your vaunted Openweight Belt on the line, I would have no recourse but to accept."

KUREIJI on the other hand, trembled violently. Her hands repeatedly clasped and unclasped while her frenzied glare swapped darted between Emaline and Astrid. The occasional imperious side-eye from the former and the defiant fiery gaze of the latter both emboldened and dissuaded the redhead from continuing the fight. Despite the high of clobbering Astrid still thrumming in KUREIJI's veins, in the end she did nothing but glare and impatiently waited for this farce to play out.

[skip-stop]

"The words of a pathetic coward, who..." Astrid began in response to Emaline's words.

However, she didn't have enough time to finish what she thinks about the pink-haired woman as Emaline put forward her conditions. Emaline did not succumb to Astrid's provocation to solve everything here and now, because even if she were successful, she would not get what she wanted so much. From some point of view, it was even commendable, because in her place, many would have risked taking advantage of the vulnerable state of the champion.

Now Astrid had to make a choice. And as quickly as possible, because she could barely stand on her feet. Emaline wanted an official title shot, and she wanted it so much that she didn't disdain to put on this whole show. Somewhere in the back of her mind, the blonde understood that this was also a provocation, that she should not agree to this. But on the other hand...

"Consider you got it," she said through gritted teeth, confirming that Emaline would get the official title shot.

Even though Astrid already had thoughts about the next contender, she couldn't back down now. And her fiery temperament had nothing to do with it. It was difficult for her to imagine the reaction of the public when they saw the video of what happened here. But she knew for sure that if she left things as they were and did not crush Emaline in an official match, then her reputation would be buried.

And although it was extremely unpleasant for her, she simply had no other choice but to agree to these conditions. It was definitely a risk. However, being a champion is a risk in itself, so now Astrid had only to find out if Emaline got everything she wanted or if she would stop being a drama queen and decide to try to finish off Astrid right now.

[Kreydos]

"Ah, a succinct and decisive answer." Emaline replied, her words accented by seemingly genuine approval. She inclined her head by the barest margin in Astrid's direction. "For that, you have my sincerest gratitude. Though if you do not mind, I have a minor, almost inconsequential request to make of you." Regardless of how the champion answered, the Viper would go ahead with the request anyway. "I implore you, please ensure that the belt is in an acceptably immaculate condition before you relinquish it into my possession." And without even bothering to hear Astrid's response, Emaline elegantly flicked her hair as she turned about and strutted away.

By now, KUREIJI's adrenaline burned itself out. Breathing out a tired sigh, she nonchalantly rested her head on her shoulder. "Oi." She called out to the blonde. "I don't care for no title but I'd be mighty happy to see you rough up that bitch on the big screen. Damn snake..." The redhead talked as if she hadn't savagely pummeled Astrid a moment ago. "Oh, and uh, don't expect me to apologise." She shamelessly admitted.

[skip-stop]

The conversation time was over, so Astrid did not respond to Emaline's last comment. In fact, the blonde began to feel a slight tingling sensation on her fingertips and since she had quite a lot of experience, she knew exactly what it meant. Her body was on edge. So in a way, the blonde was relieved the moment Emaline turned around and left them.

There was only one problem left. Astrid's eyes shifted to KUREIJI. Given her condition, she wasn't sure if another brawl was a good idea. However, if the red-haired girl is willing to take the risk and continue, then so be it. The Norwegian woman even prepared to take a step forward, but the next moment it became clear that this was not necessary.

The champion's lavender eyes were full of rage and she bared her teeth at the lightweight's words. No, she wasn't going to believe those words. KUREIJI attacked her and immediately after that Emaline arrived. It couldn't just be a coincidence. When KUREIJI said her farewell word and began to move away from Astrid, the blonde wanted to say something to her, but did not do it. It was beneath the dignity of the descendant of the great Vikings.

"Wow, this is really sensational stuff..." the journalist muttered.

"Enjoy..." Astrid growled in a voice full of distraction for this woman.

It was only when Emaline and KUREIJI were out of sight that the champion allowed herself to unclench her fists. Now that the situation had been defused and the danger was over, the emotional tension and adrenaline had left her body. She was doused with such a powerful dizziness that she involuntarily backed away, causing her back to press against the wall.

"Fuck..." she said, barely moving her lips.

Astrid's legs gave way and she slowly slid down the wall, sitting on the floor. Dark spots began to appear in front of her eyes. It seems her head wound was even more serious than she thought. She just wanted to fall into darkness. She was even ready to let it all go, but suddenly she realized one thing. With a shaking hand, she took out her phone. Just in time. Along with the incoming call, giga boobs appeared on the screen, which made Astrid smile faintly.

"Hi... listen, I... won't be able to come on a date..." she said after taking the call, and with each word her voice became quieter and quieter. "I'm sorry... Karen..." (@Devilish53)

Before she could press the end call button, Astrid lost consciousness, dropping her phone. The last thing she saw was Victoria approaching her quickly. And the last thing she heard was Karen's voice coming from the speaker of the phone. And since Astrid couldn't make out exactly what the blue-haired woman was saying, she could only hope that she would forgive her for ruining their date.