SHIN SEKAI: SPARK OF THE NEW WORLD

Keeping cool

"Who should I fear more?" Kaen wondered

"Is it the monster that makes me shudder"

"Or is it the vessel that contains it?"

As Kaen prepared to engage his opponent, all that he could think of was the fear that he felt. He could not forget it.

Not many remember it but there was once a great incident that took place in Fubuki island. It was an incident that almost claimed the lives of all who lived on the island.

A great frost, so cold that no flame could resist, quickly spreading and freezing everything in its path. In the dark winter night when many slept, this frost came along to take their breath.

Somehow, everyone woke up in their beds the next morning with no recollection of the past twelve hours. This event sparked many rumors and among them was the rumour that the residents died and were brought back, proponents of this rumor backed their claims by speculating a tragic event within the twelve hours period.

That night came to be known as the night where men slept. The "silent night"

"If there was anything capable of causing such an event to occur" Kaen said to himself

"It may be the thing that looked at me"

"But what exactly..." he thought as he looked at Orie

"...could avert such tragedy and make it look like nothing happened?"

"Ellie porter here"

"Just Incase you haven't noticed"

"The guy standing behind right now is none other than Orie"

"It looks like he ran out of the hospital to come see this match"

"The match holds great importance as it will decide who his next opponent would be"

"Would it be a three time champion"

"Or his lover?"

"So far he's been mumbling some words"

"It's almost like he's praying"

Kaen quickly dashed towards Natsumi, aiming for close combat but she immediately evaded and reopened the distance. It was clear she wanted to keep her distance but her icicles were very eager to make contact. Her attacks made Kaen prance around the arena so much that anyone watching would say that his feet touched every inch of it. Wherever he went, the icicles followed.

Many could tell that despite all his running around, Kaen was not being pushed back. Everyone that that saw the look on his face could tell that he was meeting all the attacks with grace.

He was as calm as a gentle flame and his movements flowed like kindled fire. He was yet to do much in but many could see his victory.

Kaen turned up the heat and began running towards Natsumi with a flames on his hands. With those hands, he blocked every attack that came his way and continued his advancement. Soon he got close his opponent and was ready to land a strike.

The flames on his hands always burned hotter than any other of his flames so when he had closed the distance between he and Natsumi, people that knew him thought that he had secured the victory. But there was something they didn't consider.

"Cold touch" one of Natsumi's skills that causes everything she touches to freeze. As soon as she blocked Kaen's attack, his flames died out.

What had transpired came as a shock to many. They knew Natsumi was powerful but they never thought she would be powerful enough to snuff out the flames on Kaen's hands after touching it once.

Kaen tried again but the same thing happened. Each one of his punches were deprived of their flame as soon as Natsumi blocked them.

Kaen still held the advantage. His flames were dying out on contact but the impact of his punches still weighed on his opponent. He was also better at close combat and it wasn't long before he broke through her defences and landed a direct hit.

Natsumi was not as proficient in close combat but she made up for it with her ability to create distance. Kaen found himself having to step back and evade icicles that came at him without warning, they were hard to evade as most of them were formed in his blogspot and he didn't see them activate.

Kaen started to see that the fight was going to drag on if he continued in his current rhythm. He was not afraid of losing a long match, he just didn't like letting things drag on.

"IGNITE!!" He yelled at the top of his voice and his whole body was engulfed in flames. From his mouth shot out a stream of flames that melted everything in its path untill it got to Natsumi who blocked it with a thick ice wall.

The ice wall barely held out until the flames stopped and as soon as it fell, Natsumi saw Kaen in front of her.

"Oh, shit"

It was a direct hit to the face and after that, Natsumi could hardly block any of the incoming hits. Her icicles were no longer effective as they evaporated at the point of impact with Kaen's flames.

Kaen's plan was to end the fight with an overwhelming multi hit combo but Natsumi was sturdier that she looked, despite the weight of the incoming blows, she refused to fall. Kaen did not let her resistance discourage him, he continued on with the confidence that she would eventually fall.

Kaen would have kept on going if the sky above him didn't suddenly go dark. He looked up see a large meteor falling towards him.

Kojiro saw the incoming meteor and immediately motioned his hands in particular manner. Suddenly, the stadium began to widen until it got wide enough to accommodate the meteor in the middle, then he added extra layers to his barrier and watched as it fell.

Kaen took a few steps away from Natsumi and as soon as the meteor got close, he formed a sword out of flames sliced it into a thousand pieces, resulting in a great mist that covered the entire arena.

The mist turned cold. By the time Kaen noticed what was going on, the flames on his body had gone out. His eyes were directed up and he saw Natsumi hovering above him.

A closer look made him shiver and the words that came out his mouth were "Ahh, there it is"

SHIN SEKAI SECRET: Orie knows a prayer that that stops the actions of evil spirits. Life energy is consumed while saying this prayer.