After the announcement from the instructor, the fifth battle commenced. Alicia Telon against Leo Acalo.
The audience had, meanwhile, mostly recovered from the shock of Iris's 'lucky' victory; though many students among the top 500 held a tinge of envy, not for Iris's talent or her combat abilities, but for her apparent luck in reaching the top 5.
On the stage, Alicia stood opposite Leo.
Leo wasted no time, as he lunged towards Alicia with a swift movement technique.
However, before he could strike, Alicia activated her own technique, gracefully floating into the air.
Her aerial advantage was clear, but it seemed that Leo had been prepared for this.
He remained undeterred as he continued moving forward with the same momentum and then suddenly propelled himself towards Alicia at an astonishing speed, defying gravity for a brief moment.
Alicia was surprised by Leo's sudden burst of speed but she had been attentive.
She nimbly maneuvered herself even higher in the air. But she was not done yet. A spear made of fire elemental spiritual energy materialized in Alicia's hand, and she thrust it sharply towards Leo.
Leo, who had now landed on the stage, swiftly conjured a shield around himself using his earth element. The spear collided with shield and after a brief tussle the spear faded away.
This was a difficult battle for Leo. While his earth element provided substantial defense abilities, his offensive capabilities were weaker.
His strategy was to engage Alicia in close combat, believing his earth-enhanced physique could give him an edge.
Despite considering Alicia initially weak, the previous match had made him wary, and he did not want to underestimate her.
He relentlessly chased Alicia propelling himself in air, but she expertly maintained her distance, peppering him with occasional fire-based attacks that Leo easily shielded. With a flight based movement technique lacking in his arsenal, he had very few limited options in engaging Alicia.
Suddenly, the spiritual energy surrounding Alicia began to churn and become chaotic. The temperature in the arena started to rise at an alarming rate, the heat this time far more intense than before.
Then came Alicia's monotonous voice, "Time to end things."
The moment she finished speaking, an enormous bird materialized behind her. The bird was formed purely of fire elemental spiritual energy. Her red hair seemed to glow even more brilliantly against the majestic firebird. The creature resembled a crow but possessed razor-sharp claws that glinted ominously.
Leo's expression turned grim as he beheld the firebird. He poured all his spiritual energy into creating the strongest earth shield he could muster.
Moments later, the firebird slammed into the shield with a resounding impact. Leo, along with his shield, was violently smashed onto the stage floor.
Debris flew in all directions, and thick smoke billowed from the point of impact. Everyone craned their necks, curious about the outcome. Had Leo survived the devastating attack?
Soon, the dust and debris settled, revealing the sorry figure of Leo. His flesh was burned in numerous places, and many of his body parts were charred black. He was in an extremely pitiful state. Alicia had decisively won the battle. With an indifferent expression, she descended from the air and walked off the stage.
In the VIP room, Novan Acalo was trembling with barely suppressed rage.
He hissed, "This bitch... Wait one day, I will definitely make you pay."
Although he desperately wanted to rush down and tear Alicia apart, he managed to restrain his rash impulses. Leo was soon carried away for medical attention.
The instructor who had taken over Vale's position floated into the air once more.
He announced the obvious, "Alcia Telon Wins."
"Now, we have the top 5 students of our entrance test," he continued. "Since only two pairs can be formed, one student will get a direct entry to the next round without a battle. The remaining four will fight. Come and choose your tokens."
Everyone moved forward and chose their token. Luna drew a token with a star engraved on it, indicating her direct advancement to the next round.
Lucas and Alicia both drew tokens marked with the number 1.
Iris and Tim both drew tokens marked with the number 2.
The semifinals were about to begin.