Zaphirox's eyes widened as the bones on his neck shattered. He could not believe what just happened. He launched that attack that was supposed to be as fast as time itself and unleashed a gravitational domain that sealed all space, yet Aion not only dodged the punch but countered it with his own!
The Eldar genius received a strike that carried all of his strength plus the power of Aion's fist. That was enough to shatter his neck, and it did not end there because he felt with horror how his head was about to leave his body.
Just before Aion's counterattack ripped Zaphirox's head, Ezequiel teleported the young Eldar genius to his side and began to heal this one.
Silence reigned in the coliseum as people could not process that incredible turn of events. That counter was the first time Aion performed any form of attack, and it was all this one needed to rip the head of Zaphirox!
Aion's smile returned as he looked to the sky.
Ezequiel examined the young man with white hair, sensing that he harbored a secret that could evade even his near-omniscient awareness.
Nevertheless, Ezequiel did not let his thoughts conflict with his role as referee.
"Aion of the Human Lineage is the winner!"
The coliseum was still silent, but as soon as Ezequiel spoke those words, a beautiful woman and two small children began to cheer.
It did not take long for the rest of the coliseum to join the trio, but that did not matter for Aion. He focused on the woman, and a profound love appeared in his eyes as he jumped toward her.
Ezequiel noticed that Aion left the arena on his own, but he didn't pay much attention to it. Normally, he would let the victor enjoy their triumph for a full minute, but there was no point in doing so if they weren't interested.
"The first round of the final is over, and seventeen of you have passed. I can allow you a day to rest, or we can start the next round right now."
There was no need to question the decision of the young geniuses since the eyes of every single one of them were burning with battle will and wanted nothing more than to enter the arena again.
The Emptiness Thearch did not waste time and sent a new black sphere full of arcs of white lightning into the sky before waving his hand and bringing all seventeen geniuses back into the arena.
"Aion, you were the last winner of the first round, so you have the right to choose first. Noah, you will select last since you did not fight in the first round.
The one that picks number 17 will pass directly to the next round."
Aion walked forward and focused on the black sphere. The next second, an arc of white lightning appeared in his hand and turned into a number.
Unlike the first time that Aion took a number, all the geniuses focused on it this time since a fight with the mysterious holder of the Human Lineage would push any of them to their limit.
Aion did not hide it and show everybody he had the number 7. After him, the rest of the geniuses stepped forward, and the alignment for the second round of the finals began to appear in their minds.
It did not take long for the sixteen geniuses to have their numbers, and it was finally Noah's turn.
Noah's smile appeared awkward as he sensed the piercing gazes of the other geniuses.
The reason for the young geniuses' gazes was simple. There was only one number left, and it was the 17th.
Noah only sighed as he raised his hand, and an arc of white lighting reached it. He immediately stored the arc since there was no reason to rub it into the other geniuses' faces.
Ezequiel stared at Noah momentarily but did not think too much of this one picking the special number twice. The chances of it happening were low, but not so much as to consider it anything else but luck.
"Akius of the Sunlight Dragon Lineage vs. Beelzebub from the Depravita Race."
Those words echoed across the arena, and Ezequiel teleported out all the geniuses except the duo.
The first battle of the second round of the finals would be between no other than Beelzebub, the greatest young genius of the Depravita Race, and the previously unknown Akius.
Although Akius displayed terrific talent and battle power during the first round, defeating Katan of the Equilibrium Sacred Mountain, he was still far from equaling Beelzebub.
Akius stared at Beelzebub, and a powerful silver flame appeared in his eyes as his willpower exploded and majestic golden flames covered his figure. The phantom of a giant dragon carrying a sun on its back appeared behind the young man.
Beelzebub's eyes narrowed as he saw the young Neo-Demon unleash so much power from the beginning. He extended his hand, taking his spear out of his space ring before unleashing the full might of his Depravita Aura, and that was not all.
The Depravita Aura in Beelzebub's spear went chaotic, and its power grew exponentially. Since the opponent showed such a magnificent battle will, Beelzebub was ready to respond with all he had.
Akius jumped forward, morphing into a giant Sun Dragon, while Beelzebub took the form of a mighty arc of chaotic Depravita Aura.
The battle between the duo lasted less than a minute but was magnificent.
Akius' massive dragon body was very fast, and every time it opened its maws, he would shoot a gigantic beam of golden fire that traveled at superluminal speed.
Beelzebub had become one with his spear, and every time he clashed with Akius, he would send the dragon flying away.
It took only one hundred clashes for a winner to emerge. Just as Beelzebub was about to pierce Akius' head, Ezequiel teleported the last one out of the arena.
"Winner of the first battle of the second round, Beelzebub of the Depravita Race."
