“The Denzel Porter Invitational. It’s been one year since I first saw it… and now I am part of it, in no less than a Main Event!”

Time had gone by so fast. To Raion Kido, it seemed only yesterday since he was looking at the event sponsored by wrestling’s foremost reporter, under the XWF umbrella. Little did he think that he would be part of it on the same date this year.

“And I am here to face Mr. Deathproof himself - let’s see what degree of truth there is to that.”

Action Wrestling’s Corey Black, a mainstay in the company and the business itself, had chosen him to be his opponent. Both men were coming from being defeated by Chris Page’s CCPE, and this was the chance for the young Saint of Athena to prove that, even outside of the XWF, he would not be taken for granted.

“It seems, though, that there are daemons about him, so let’s show this Creeping Death what the power of Athena can do… BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!”


The cold of the waterfall falling on his hair and shoulders shakes Raion from his thoughts. In the bright afternoon weekend of the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, a Japanese festival was taking place, and the garden was now the site of an artificial spring, under which was the Lion - clad only in a set of bathing shorts, the rest of his clothing safely kept dry outside of the spring. Ryleigh Dixon was looking at him with a sparkle in her eyes.

“Mmm-mmm…”

Realizing she was ogling her boyfriend, she cleared her throat.

“Don’t worry, darling. I’ll warm you up when you’re done!”

Well, that’s far lewder than staring in admiration!  The Lion’s cold is partially alleviated by the sensation of his cheeks blushing. With them was one of the hosts - a Buddhist monk who let out a hearty chuckle at Ryleigh’s comment.

“Hehe, cold, isn’t it? But that’s part of the misogi ritual - only though washing the entire body may the soul be purified!”


Yet another water splash makes the young Saint of Athena shudder, but he clenches both his teeth and his hands, as he joins the latter in prayer and closes his eyes.

“Ooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmm…”

For a while longer the Lion stays under the waterfall, sitting cross-legged in the lotus position until the monk calls to him.

“Good enough, boy! You’re now ready.”

Still shaking like a leaf, the Lion grabs a towel Ryleigh hands him, drying himself before going back to his black tank top and blue jeans. With a slight upward lean, his girlfriend whispers in his ear.

“Later, then? When it’s just the two of us…”

She playfully nibbles on his earlobe before she helps him strap the Gold Cloth box to his back. The Lion freezes in place once more - though this time there’s another sensation flowing through his body - before recollecting that they’re not alone.

“*Gasp!* Ryleigh!”

He holds her in his arms, before turning towards the monk.

*Geez, sir, that was a whole experience.”

“Did you not say you wished to fight daemons? The first thing for doing that, at least, is purging oneself of all evil. This is what we Buddhists do. Now walk with me, I’ll show you the rest of the sights!”

Raion and Ryleigh follow the monk, who takes them through the various attractions in the garden - the several flower arrangements, a festival of Taikô drums, and the replica of Osaka Castle - a landmark from Raion’s own city.

“Ohh, how nice of the garden to do this. Osaka Castle is a beauty, I miss seeing it sometimes.”

Ryleigh’s eyes light up while she studies the replica in awe.

“I’ve never been to Osaka. Tokyo, sure. Maybe one of these days…?”

“No doubt, love! I’ll take you with me next time I go!”

He places a kiss on her cheek, and the monk nods in satisfaction.

“Glad you like it, Raion. Now tell me - why do you want to learn about daemons? Are there some of your own you must purge?”

“We all have our own things with which to deal, sir, but this is not so much a me problem. Rather, I’ve been invited to the Denzel Porter Invitational to take one of them. Or at least it used to live within my opponent.”

“Oh? How would that be?”

“Well, sir, from what little I can gather, this guy used to have this alter-ego. Creeping Death was his name. A violent being that only cared about hurting people. Anything could be a weapon in its urge to cause harm. Now Mr. Corey Black might be rid of it, or so he claims, and so he calls himself “Deathproof”. But I shall not go into a battle unprepared.”

The monk raises a hand and smiles.

“No such thing as something death-proof, son. Plenty of people are swayed by the thought of eternal life, but I’ve spoken to the Buddha for more than 30 years, and I can tell you that nothing is death-proof. In the end, death comes for us all.

Such is the way of life - the old must go for the new to be born.”

Taking a moment, Ryleigh considers those words quietly. A faraway look in her eyes speaks softly without words.

“Corey Black is indeed a veteran, sir, but I wasn’t planning to kill him, sir! Not literally, anyway.”

Both men let out a belly laugh. Quickly, the Crown Jewel of the Dixons joins in as well.

“Besides, it seems to me that there is something personal for you here. You’re one of the best wrestlers in the world, but you’ve had enough of being overlooked. First it was the World Series of Wrestling, then it was CCPE vs. the World. It’s about time you had a triumph of your own.”

“I wasn’t aware you followed me that much!”

“Do you think only Japanese people and Anime fans follow you? There’s a lot more to you than that. Some of us are aware of this. You are a hero - and you teach people how to through example. What should you have to fear from someone who may or may not have a daemon inside them? Don’t you have the power of the cosmos within you?”

This time, it’s the Lion that smiles.

“More than one way to represent what we have within ourselves, sir, and this one’s just my own.”

“Exactly! Now take this - a gift from the Gardens to you.”

Reaching into his robe, the monk hands Raion a rosary made out of golden prayer beads - though some of them appear partially obscured.

“Every time a sin is purged, these beads will change color - from gold to black. See how some of them have begun to change! When you perceive a daemon must be exorcized, this will help you. And make sure you say the words - Daemons be gone!”

The Lion takes the rosary and considers the monk’s words. Was he not right, in the end? Was this solely about Corey Black, or was this also about his own predicament? After all, the frustration had been mounting up for some time, and something was needed to break away from it. Denzel Porter had given him the chance, and Corey Black had wanted a glorious battle.

There was nothing better for the Lion. Therefore, he’d give everyone exactly what they wanted. Although perhaps the battle Black wished for might make him aware of his own mortality.

“Thank you, sir! It might be time to do this now. After all… there is a daemon to exorcize.”

And so, the Lion brandishes his prayer beads.

“Akuryô Taisan! Daemons begone!”


“I knew I wanted to be here.”

Behind the replica of the magnificent Osaka Castle in the Bellagio Botanical Gardens stands Raion Kido, clad now in his resplendent Golden Cloth of Leo, which shimmers in the light just like the gold leaf that adorns the castle tiles, holding the prayer beads rosary in his hand.

“When Mr. Denzel Porter hosted the Invitational last year, I was merely a new arrival to the XWF, but I knew this was where I wanted to be. And now, a year later, it is my personal honor to have been invited by Mr. Porter himself.

To this invitational I come answering to the challenge of Action Wrestling’s decorated star, “Deathproof” Corey Black. A wrestling veteran of more than 20 years, and yet he is the one challenging me, barely out of my very first.

And thus, ladies and gentlemen, should this event prove why Raion Kido is here. Because this event, as several others in which I have partaken, are more than just a chance at glory - they’re a recognition. An honor to the best wrestlers in the world today, the names that have made an impression in the business, and shall be remembered after our time in this world has passed.

But I do not come here merely for the honor, friends. Instead, I come here to perform my charge, for it is a Saint of Athena’s duty to fight evil.

And this time, I come to perform an exorcism.”

The Lion now brandishes the rosary, pointing it straight at the camera. This was what he came to do, and that meant the cosmos had to burn.


“Which brings me to you, Mr. Black. ‘Deathproof’ is your calling card, as if death itself could not touch you. As if you were worthy of eternal life. Perhaps you feel entitled to make that claim after a lifetime in the ring. Perhaps you are content through the road that you have taken, the impression of being the main draw in Action Wrestling even if you don’t compete every show.

Or perhaps, on a more introspective aspect, it’s that Creeping Death daemon lying inside of you that for years whispered so much to you, that now you finally believe you are untouchable, that the bells shall never toll for you. No matter how many times your body takes the kiss of a crowbar, or the punishment in the ring.

But I have learned enough, throughout my short time in the ring, to know that no such thing exists.”

The Lion’s right fist collides against his left palm, the sound of the heavy gauntlets resonating across the garden.

“For death, friends, is but a natural part of life. Flowers bloom and die, stars burst into life and eventually go dark. So it is with humans, and even more so for us wrestlers - there will eventually be that inevitable time when something will hit us, and make us realize that our day is done.

And that, it appears, shall be my charge. For here comes the veteran, the man who wrestled since 17, to face the newcomer of the year 2022. It shall stand as a statement to the Denzel Porter Invitational that the draw of Action Wrestling is taken down by the man that came to shake the XWF to its very core. The measuring stick knocked off by the man whose ascent has no limits.

You may pontificate about the rest of Action Wrestling about how you are staircases ahead of them, but before you stands a man who has been chosen as one of the very best in the entire world.

So tell me now, Mr. Black - where are your staircases from which to preach? Where is the high and mighty patting of your own back when you stand against an opponent of which the world itself knows the measure?

What shall you say to someone to whom death is but a certainty, and lives his life towards what lies beyond?”

This time, the Saint of Athena points a finger towards the camera - the glint in his eyes as bright and as hard as the metal of his golden armor.

“I say this with no boast, Mr. Corey, because of one very simple fact - this match was made at your behest, so the idea has dawned on you that I am more than what you are used to fighting.

You claim that every time you stand upon a ring, someone is guaranteed to bleed and get broken, but everyone that knows the name of Raion Kido knows that he simply does not break. Few can claim to have defeated me, and even they know I eventually come for them. So has it been for all that defeated me, and so too shall it be for Chris Page.

But before that, Mr. Deathproof, the Lion comes for you. For in the road that I have so far travelled, I’ve seen the depths of the human spirit, and I have felt myself rise to the greatest heights of the universe, to rise the power of the cosmos to a limit that lies beyond all comprehension. There is no daemon strong enough to scare me with the thought of Creeping Death, no amount of violence you can conjure that I cannot withstand.

There is nothing, Mr. Black, that you can do to prevent me from ending this Main Event as it should - with Mr. Denzel Porter recognizing that Raion Kido was the right face to put next to yours at the marquee - the face that shall be left after the Lightning Bolt sends you to oblivion.

There is nothing that shall make this rosary I hold black with your sins - and your blood.”

The Saint of Athena draws back his fist, and with a sudden, violent move, thrusts it forward towards the camera.

“And the time for that, Mr. Black, comes now. 2nd Edition of the Denzel Porter Invitational, MGM Arena, Las Vegas. Bring your Deathproof claim, and let us see how long it holds before it’s finally proven for the falsehood it is. Bring your Creeping Death, or any other daemons you can muster, and watch them fall before the light of the Gold Saint of Leo.

And know, before the Lightning Bolt pierces your heart, that you have been sent to reincarnation. Pick whichever realm in which you wish to be reborn, but know, in the end, that all this time, you have been but a shadow that refuses to die. But after darkness comes light, and with it, your end - brought to you by the hands of the Lion.

Because only through Nirvana may we escape the eternal cycle of life and death - and come the Main Event of Night Two, the Lion comes to you to bring you illumination. So make yourself ready, Mr. Death Proof, for at the Denzel Porter Invitational… death finally comes for you.”

Taking hold of his rosary once again, the Lion brandishes it one final time towards the camera, letting out an almighty roar. When the camera takes a glimpse - all the beads have now turned black.

“Akuryô Taisan - daemons be GONE!”

Fade to black.