The Illusion of Defeat

Everyone was dumbfounded and just continued to stare at the same spot where Leon's body had just fallen in bewilderment—noticing there was nothing. Nothing to point to as evidence of him even being there. The crocodile beast was also at a complete standstill, confused and aware. 

Suddenly a bizarre purple aura started to swirl around the beast, wrapping it up in storm like fashion; its reptilian eyes wide in alarm. It turned its head, and there stood Leon, right behind it, smiling innocently. 

"What, you thought you could kill me that easily?" Leon said, in a cool calm voice. 

In the stands Finn, Isla, Fanny, and anyone else in the class couldn't believe their eyes. 

"We all saw him get pierced by that crystal...but he looks completely fine!" Finn exclaimed. 

"That's impossible," Fanny added glaring intensely. 

Isla was also standing still, speechless, but then she had a eureka moment in her head. Her eyes giant when in realization."It was not him back then..." she whispered. 

"Huh? What do you mean?" Finn turned to her quickly.

"That-that was a clone," Isla said with conviction.

"A clone?! Since when can Leon create clones?!" Finn shouted, his voice cracking.

"I don't know.... maybe he unlocked something during the fight," Isla answered now adoptling a gaze of awe. "Some people do unlock new powers when their lives are at stake."

"So it was all a trick," Fanny murmured.

Isla nodded, a slight smirk creeping across her face as her gaze fell upon Leon all by himself. He's okay... he's really okay.

Back on the battlefield, Leon raised his hand looking into the sky. The air around the crocodile emanated visible warps, and before it could even realize, an invisible force lifted it into the air. The fighting beast threw its arms and legs out hastily trying to move-- bu the thing was locked in place, caught in Leon's cold hold of telekinesis. 

"Now, it's my turn..." Leon said coldly.

He lifted his hand quickly and slammed the beast into the ground. A massive BOOM rocked all corners of the arena. Dust and smoke sprayed into the outside air like a miniature explosion. 

Everyone had their heads cocked forward with wide eyes. 

As the dust started to settle… the massive crocodilian lay limp in a hole blasted into the ground, not moving at all. 

Finn let out all the air and fell to the ground with a huge grin.

Selena Ma'am stood up and raised her hand. "Leon is the winner! And with that, the training is done!" 

Finn and Isla both erupted, in glee. Isla took off towards Leon with open arms, and Finn saw her and bolted towards Leon too. Right before Isla was about to reach him-

WHAM! Finn was faster and his arms were wrapped around Leon before Isla could get there, nearly taking him off his feet. 

"Bro!! I was so scared! I thought I lost my best friend!" said Finn, squeezing Leon. "Also… how the heck did you even make that illusion?!"

Isla skidded to a stop, completely caught off guard. "Did he just… steal my hug?" she said, pouting a little. 

"Finn! let go!" said Leon as he struggled to breathe.

"Oops! Sorry bro," Finn yarded his hands away as he rubbed the back of his head.

Isla stepped forward, crossing her arms over her chest but maintaining a gentle smile. "You did so good. That fight... you were amazing."

"Yeah!" shouted Fanny. "I still can't believe that illusion-you completely obliterated that beast!"

Leon was a little embarrassed and scratched the back of his head. "I don't know. I was so desperate... I was just trying to test the limits of my powers. And all of a sudden... I saw it. The illusion, the clone... it just came to me."

Finn smiled and threw his arms back around Leon, "I'm just happy you're alright!"

Leon sighed and used his powers to lightly push Finn away.

Later, at the Teachers' Cabin....

Leon, Isla, Finn, Fanny, and the twins all stood inside the teacher's cabin. Edric Sir, Darius Sir, Selena Ma'am, and Magnus Sir were all seated in front of them.

Magnus Sir stood and smiled, "To start, congratulations! I was not expecting all six of you to finish the training-and it seems you have a bright future ahead of you."

But then Magnus's face turned serious. "As you all know, only four students can represent our school at the upcoming tournament." 

The six students stiffened in the seats, tension in the room was obvious.

"Leon and Isla," Magnus said, "please step forward."

The two students stepped forward and gave each other confused looks.

"The two of you have been picked to compete," Magnus said.

Leon and Isla blinked rapidly, seemingly shocked. "Why us?" Leon asked.

"Because you both completed the training and you both finished at the top of the written tests. You are prepared."

Everyone turned to look at Finn, Fanny and the twins.

"You three performed nice enough in the practical," Magnus said. "But your written results left something to be desired."

Finn dropped his head down.

"But, we still need to pick two more students. Here is how it is going to work. Finn, Fanny and the twins will make two teams. The team that wins the battle will join Leon and Isla in the identification tournament."

Finn nearly fell out of his seat. "No way. There is no way I can even breathe near a girl, and you want me to fight with one?"

Fanny whacked him on the head. "You moron! I don't want to be on your team either—but don't forget what those twin idiots did to Isla." 

Finn's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah... I didn't even think about that." 

"Of course you didn't. Your brain is in your legs," Fanny made a face. 

"Shut up!" Finn yelled. "But yeah, fine. I'm in." 

They turned to Magnus. "We agree," both said. 

Magnus nodded, then turned to the twins. 

The twin boys stood up, both grinning with smug, evil smiles. 

"We would love to crush those weaklings," one said. 

"Yeah. Let's see if they can handle us this time," the other said. 

Magnus gave a nod. "Good. You will have time to rest. I will let you know when the match is. Dismissed." 

They all nodded silently as the weight of their upcoming battle sat heavy on their shoulders.