The piercing gazes sent toward Noah did not last long as the geniuses soon focused on taking their numbers.
Next came Azazel since she was able to end her fight in a matter of seconds. Of course, the time she must have spent inside the illusion with Baldur should have been much more than that.
One after another, the geniuses took a step forward and seized an arc of white lightning from the black sphere until it was finally Aion's turn.
Everybody focused on the young man with white hair and golden eyes as he raised his right arm, and an arc of white lightning reached it before transforming into a number.
The number on Aion's hand was 6. As soon as the geniuses saw it, they all turned toward Athea since she had the number 5, meaning that they would fight each other, and only one would pass to the last stage of the finals!
Up to this moment, everybody thought that the ones that would reach the last stage would be Noah, Sirik, Beelzebub, Athea, and Aion, but it was clear that things would not be so simple.
The idea that Athea would be disqualified before reaching the last stage was preposterous, but so it was the notion that someone could defeat the mighty Aion.
Athea clenched her right fist holding the lightning number as she turned toward Aion and saw how this one looked back at her with his characteristic calm smile.
Ezequiel saw the tension over the geniuses and the look on his daughter's face but did not let that get in the way of his task and waved his hand, sending everybody away except for the ones that would fight first.
"Beelzebub from the Depravita Race vs. Amazo of the Dream Moon Lineage."
The ones that remained in the arena were the mighty Depravita and a young man with long black hair and a third eye unleashing a radiant moonlight.
Beelzebub stared at Amazo with a calm expression. He was not looking down at the Neo-Demon, but this one used illusions, just like Azazel.
Not only were Depravitas extremely resilient against illusions, but Amazo was weaker than Azazel, someone with whom Beelzebub had fought many times before in the Depravita Sacred Mountain.
"Fight!"
The instant Ezequiel gave the signal, Amazo's third eye burst with power and sought to drive Beelzebub's consciousness into an illusion.
Instead of blindly fighting against the illusion, Beelzebub allowed part of his soul to enter that dream domain and handle Amazo there while using what little he had left to command his body in the real world and unleash a devastating attack.
Amazo used all his power to crush Beelzebub's mind inside the illusion but was not strong enough to do it before the flaming spear of this one came dashing to his forehead.
Just before the spear covered in fiery Depravita Aura was about to destroy Amazo's head, Ezequiel teleported him out of the arena.
"Beelzebub of the Depravita Race is the winner."
Beelzebub's eyes regained their focus as he heard those words. It took everything he had to defeat Amazo. While others only saw a battle that lasted 5 seconds, he spent more than a week in that dream dimension.
The Depravitas in the coliseum cheered since Beelzebub's victory meant that at least one of their race members would reach the last stage of the final and earn a place among the top 5 geniuses of the Daybreak Universes.
Exactly a minute after declaring the winner, Ezequiel sent Amazo and Beelzebub to their seats and brought the next fighter.
"Sirik of the Astral Fiend Lineage vs. Lyla of the Essence Destruction Lineage."
Sirik's opponent was a woman with a body made of dark and explosive energy in humanoid form. Lyla's Essense Destruction Lineage granted her superb domain over spells and immense destructive power.
Although Sirik was the favorite, Lyla's battle style allowed her to keep a safe distance between them while unleashing powerful spells that carried all her power.
"Fight!"
"BOOOMMMMMM!"
That word had just left Ezequiel's mouth when a massive explosion of dark energy flooded the arena. Lyla made a huge sphere clash into the ground, ensuring massive waves would make their way to the Astral Fiend.
Sirik did not simply remain standing as he flashed toward Lyla at superluminal speed, adopting his Astral Fiend Form while black and white flames covered his swords. Using superb swordplay, he managed to sever the energy waves that sought to drown him and made his way toward the Neo-Demon with the Essence Destroyer Lineage.
One chased and cut every obstacle with his swords, while the other ran away, sending powerful spells at every chance she had.
The battle lasted for nearly an hour, leaving the arena covered in sword scars and raging destructive energy. Everything came to an end as Sirik made his way through a wall of burning force and hacked at Lyla's neck.
Just as the swords were about to separate Lyla's head from her body, the Emptiness Thearch brought her out of the arena.
"Sirik, of the Astral Fiend Lineage, is the winner."
The Astral Fiend showed a tired smile as he heard Ezequiel's voice and streams of black-white lightning flooded his body, healing all the severe injuries he took in the battle.
It did not take long for Ezequiel to send Sirik and Lyla out of the arena, bringing the next fighters, and as soon as they appeared, the entire coliseum went quiet.
The battles that involved Sirik and Beelzebub were impressive, but none could match the excitement that duo in the arena generated in the hearts of all those seeing them. Despite having no idea how their fight would go on, everybody was sure it would be epic.
On the right side was a young woman with a fearless aura and crown made of four shining suns, while on the other side was a young man with white hair and golden eyes.
Athea's eyes were sharp as he stared at the man before her. There was only one thing certain in her heart right now. The next battle will be the greatest of her life.
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