SHIN SEKAI: SPARK OF THE NEW WORLD

The lion is here

Ellie watched the match play out with full concentration. The cameras were rolling, the stream was on, but there was no commentary, no intro, just total concentration.

Waramaki motioned his hands and the tornado split into four, spinning around the arena randomly but with the ultimate aim of hitting Orie.

At this point, Kojiro had expanded the stadium as wide as he could. This was the fourth expansion, the first was at the beginning of the match, the second was when Waramaki placed his elements all over the arena, and the third was when he saw the tornado. As soon as he saw the tornado split he knew exactly where things were going and expanded the stadium to its maximum capacity. He had initially thought that since Orie wasn't the type to throw around huge attacks, there would be no need for maximum expansion but as the match progressed, he realised that Waramaki would be throwing enough for two.

A tornado is not something that can be evaded at the last minute, it has a pull and that can't be escaped once it is within range. Only extremely heavy objects would be able to resist the pull of a tornado and unfortunately for Orie, he wasn't heavy enough.

The first tornado got him and as soon it did the others surrounded it and began circling round. The resulting force rendered Orie immobile and Waramaki prepared for his next attack.

Waramaki took an archer's stance and a fiery bow formed in his hand, then he pulled the string and aimed the arrow that appeared at Orie.

"You did great Mr. Addison" Waramaki said with a smile

"This was a really fun match" he added as he fired the arrow. The arrow flew at an incredible speed towards its target but just before impact, there was a roar from within the tornado and everything in that area dispersed.

As Waramaki watched Orie escape the tornado, he remembered the words of the dragon.

"I'm starting to see what you meant" he said with a smile on his face.

The fullness of his hair, the golden glow of his eyes, the embroidered lion heads on his pitch black coat, these were all the indicators that Orie was finally getting serious. This was the same mode he used as a last resort against Chris and ended the match shortly after, the crowd had been waiting to see more of what he could do with it.

"A lion is always a good choice" Waramaki said with a smile

"It seems we're thinking in the same direction"

"Wanna see mine?"

A circle appeared in front of Waramaki and flames rushed out from within it. The flames flew around the arena in a frenzied manner before settling beside him and taking the shape of a lion letting out a big roar.

The excitement of the crowd was not something that could be contained, it grew with every passing second. The very air in the stadium felt like pure excitement, it was as if the stadium itself was excited. All this was before Waramaki pulled out the lion.

The excitement that came after was akin to panic. It had been so long since anyone saw Waramaki bring out the lion. The last time he brought it out was when he faced off against Kaen in a match to reclaim his title as champion. This sudden appearance of the lion signified that there was a threat to his title and that he was no longer holding back.

Waramaki ran ahead of the lion towards Orie with his hands covered in flames, similar to Kaen but while Kaen only covered his fists, he covered up to his elbow. He struck at close range and each strike came with a wave of exploding flames that Orie could barely evade.

Orie felt the intense heat as the flames brushed past him. With slight movements, he evaded and parried the incoming strikes and when he struck back, his punch carried a great wave with it.

Waramaki's lion joined in to turn the tide and Orie was completely on the defensive. One would expect something made up of flames to not have much weight but this lion was really really heavy. Orie could barely keep his balance after stopping one of its attacks and this lion was moving as if its weight was nothing.

They came at Orie from many angles, striking many times and getting a few hits in. It seemed like Orie could no longer keep up with them but suddenly, he grabbed Waramaki by the wrist and slammed him on the floor, then he turned the lion and roared in its face sending it flying after that, he went on the offensive. He struck at the downed Waramaki but missed and was pushed back by wind and as soon as he regained balance, he rushed to close the distance. The lion came at him again but he simply grabbed it by its fiery mane and tossed it aside, then he continued charging towards Waramaki who was trying really hard to maintain the distance.

Shot after shot, Orie blocked and evaded as he charged towards Waramaki who was gliding around the arena with flames under his feet. After a few near hits, the lion pounced on him and pinned him to the ground then proceeded to breathe fire in his face.

Another roar sent the lion high into the air and Orie jumped up to meet it. Then he wrapped his hands around it from behind and slammed it head first into the ground. He then immediately rushed to grab it by the neck and choke it until the flames died out and the lion disappeared. Then he stood up and looked around and saw five more lions waiting for him.

"I really didn't consider this" Orie said under his heavy breath

"Not that I was expecting you to give me a break..."

"... But come on"

"Isn't five a bit much?"

Orie stood still as the lions circled around him, carefully observing their steps and keeping an eye on Waramaki who was also carefully watching. The crowd was silent for this moment but their anticipation was loud. Everyone was waiting to see what would happen in the next few seconds.

The lion all pounced with incredible speed but none of them could touch Orie as he vanished from their sights. And when they landed they didn't land on solid ground but in a deep pool of water.

"Too bad they were all made of fire"