Akasha explained, "Gravity Bind prevents monsters of Level 4 or higher from attacking. So as long as this card remains on the field, none of Hoshino-nee's Illyas can attack."

After all, in a Magical Girl deck, even the lowest-level form—the base version—was still Level 4. Unless that Gravity Bind was destroyed, it completely sealed off the Magical Girls' ability to fight.

Looking at Illya, who had fallen flat on the ground with her rear sticking up, Hoshino knew that at least for this turn, she wouldn't be able to launch another attack.

"I'll set one card face-down and end my turn."

[Hoshino's: 4 Hand Cards | 1 Set Card]

As the Battle Phase ended, Illya finally managed to shake off the crushing weight of Gravity Bind and stood up shakily.

"Ugh, that hurt so much… My body suddenly felt so heavy—I thought I'd just gotten fat over New Year's…"

"My turn—draw!"

Having sealed off Hoshino's offense, Hakutaku successfully completed the first step of his strategy. He flipped the monster he had set last turn face-up.

"Flip Summon—Des Koala!"

[Des Koala ★★★ (Level 3)][DARK][Beast/Effect][ATK 1100/DEF 1800]

[FLIP: Inflict 400 damage to your opponent for each card in their hand.]

"Since Des Koala was Flip Summoned—Hoshino-sensei, you currently have 4 cards in your hand! That's 4 × 400 = 1600 damage directly to you!"

Though the creature looked adorably pudgy, the roar of its effect dealt very real pain to Hoshino.

[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 4000 → 2400]

"He just shaved off nearly half the Headmistress's Life Points in one move! Professor Hakutaku's playing strong this time!"

The Yellow students, who had fallen into despair after Bastion's loss, began to see a flicker of hope.

"And with Gravity Bind limiting the Headmistress's attacks, maybe… maybe he's got this one!"

Hakutaku continued his turn, discarding a card from his hand to the Graveyard.

"I'm sure you remember this one, Headmistress—Puppet Plant! I discard it from my hand to activate its effect!"

[Puppet Plant Effect: Discard this card from your hand to target 1 Warrior or Spellcaster monster your opponent controls; take control of that monster until the End Phase.]

As the plant hit the Graveyard, thorn-covered vines shot out, wrapping tightly around Illya's wrists and thighs.

"Ah—Master, this is… really bad!"

With a soft cry, Illya found herself completely restrained. Her exposed fair skin was cut by the sharp thorns, and thin lines of blood traced down her body.

"Mmm… even though I've seen this kind of scene before, watching it again after so long… it's still so indecent. This really isn't good…"

Hoshino covered her flushed cheeks in embarrassment. As the academy Headmistress and a teacher, having her students see this kind of spectacle was… not ideal.

But there was no helping it—an effect was an effect. If anyone was to blame, it was KaibaCorp for designing such a questionable monster.

Under the control of Puppet Plant, Illya switched sides, now standing on Hakutaku's field.

"Even if you control my Illya, don't forget—Gravity Bind's effect applies to both sides. You can't attack with her either."

"True enough," Hakutaku said with a smirk, "but don't forget—my Des Koala is a Level 3 monster."

He slid another card into his Duel Disk. Illya's body trembled again as if something was being siphoned out of her, her already weakened form going limp.

"—I activate the Spell Card Riryoku!"

[Riryoku Effect: Target 2 face-up monsters on the field. Until the end of this turn, one target's ATK is halved, and the other gains that same amount.]

"I target Illya and Des Koala. I'll halve Illya's ATK and add that amount to Des Koala!"

[Okita Illya ATK 2500 → 1250]

"Ahh… Master… I can feel all my strength… leaving me…"

[Des Koala ATK 1100 → 2350]

The once-dumpy koala transformed—its body now clad in samurai armor, gripping a sword fit to its size.

"And next, I'll Normal Summon Bowganian in Attack Position!"

[Bowganian ★★★ (Level 3)][DARK][Machine/Effect][ATK 1300/DEF 1000]

Akasha gasped. "Oh no, another Level 3 attacker!? That means Professor Hakutaku's combined ATK is higher than Hoshino-nee's remaining Life Points!"

"Hoshino-sensei—this is the duel where I finally redeem myself! …And maybe earn a year's worth of salary, too."

He quickly initiated the Battle Phase. The newly empowered Des Koala raised its blade and slashed toward Hoshino.

"Quick-Play Spell activate—Heroic Spirit – Emergency Summoning! If I control no monsters, I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Heroic Spirit monster from my Deck in Defense Position! Come forth—Heroic Spirit – Spartacus!"

[Heroic Spirit – Spartacus ★★★ (Level 3)][FIRE][Warrior/Effect][ATK 1500/DEF 1500]

"So you summoned a Level 3 monster unaffected by Gravity Bind—but it still has to take my Des Koala's attack!"

The blade tore through Spartacus's chest, unleashing a blinding surge of energy.

"This pain—return it to you in full!"

[Heroic Spirit – Spartacus destroyed]

"When Spartacus is destroyed by battle, I recover 500 Life Points, and inflict 500 damage to you!"

[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 2400 → 2900]

[Hakutaku LP 4000 → 3500]

"And next—Bowganian, attack directly!"

The bolt cut through the air, striking Hoshino squarely in her unguarded chest.

[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 2900 → 1600]

Jaden frowned, concerned. "She's completely on the defensive! I didn't know Professor Hakutaku was this strong!"

But Akasha just laughed. "ヾ(ﾟ∀ﾟゞ) Nope—now that Spartacus has appeared, Hakutaku-sensei's already done for. After all, anyone who's ever been kicked by Spartacus… has never survived!"

As the Battle Phase ended, Hakutaku analyzed calmly, "As long as Spartacus is in the Graveyard, he can revive himself—a troublesome effect. And being Level 3 means he isn't affected by Gravity Bind. But, Headmistress, I predicted every one of your moves."

He slid his final card into his Duel Disk. A divine light reached into Hoshino's Graveyard.

"Even from the Graveyard, some Heroic Spirits have quite the annoying effects. So I'll play the Spell Card—Soul Release!"

[Soul Release – Spell Card Effect: Target up to 5 cards in any GY(s); banish them.]

"I'll banish your Spartacus, Illya, and Okita from your Graveyard, Headmistress Hoshino. That should keep you from reviving anything."

The purging light of Soul Release erased every monster from Hoshino's Graveyard.

Okita: "Why…? I didn't even get screen time before getting sent to the Graveyard and banished… that's just cruel."

Glancing at her now-empty Graveyard, Hoshino frowned. "You really did study my deck inside and out, Hakutaku."

Lowering his Duel Disk, Hakutaku declared, "If I can't even threaten you at this level, I'd have no right to call myself a teacher. I end my turn."

[Hakutaku's: 1 Hand Card]

The moment his turn ended, the vines binding Illya loosened. Exhausted, she staggered back to Hoshino's field, her ATK returning to normal.

"Master… I can't take much more of this… this kind of duel brings no smiles at all…"

"You really countered me perfectly, Hakutaku," Hoshino admitted, drawing her next card with a confident smirk. "But…"

Her eyes gleamed. "If you think that's enough to stop me—you're dead wrong! I Normal Summon, in Attack Position—Heroic Spirit – Zhuge Liang!"

[Heroic Spirit – Zhuge Liang ★★★★(Level 4)][DARK][Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect][ATK 1000/DEF 1000]

A tall, slender figure appeared, a cigar between his lips—refined and calm as ever. Illya's eyes lit up in relief.

"Professor Waver! You're here to work overtime too? As you can see, I've been restrained, drained of my soul—ugh, overtime's so rough!"

"No, Illya." Flicking away his finished cigar, Kongming looked revitalized—glowing with energy. "I'm already max bond. I clocked out a long time ago~"

"(ﾟ△ﾟ;ﾉ)ﾉ Whaaaat!? You betrayed me! Those overtime manuals you gave me—you didn't even need them yourself!?"

"—Now then," Hoshino's lips curled into a wicked grin, "the real show begins."

She drew a sinister-looking card from her hand and laughed. "I activate the special effect of Heroic Spirit – Chen Gong from my hand!"

Illya: "!!"

Kongming: "!!"

[①: You can Special Summon this card from your hand by Tributing 1 "Heroic Spirit" monster you control.]

With a mischievous smile, Hoshino placed Chen Gong's card onto the field.

"So, for the first shot… I choose you, Waver~ (smiles)"

[Heroic Spirit – Chen Gong ★★(Level 2)][DARK][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK 0/DEF 500]

Stepping into battle with a bamboo scroll in hand and a sly grin, Chen Gong patted Waver's shoulder. "My NP gauge is full—you know what that means, right?"

"W-Wait, what are you doing!? Ame—Ame—!" Waver tried to back away, but his body locked under his own ally's magic.

"—Perfect position. This is what we call the Two-Pronged Formation."

Two-Pronged Formation—an unorthodox Noble Phantasm crafted from leftover military technology, using micro-magic accelerators to temporarily overcharge a friendly unit, pushing their power past its limits at the cost of their life.

In other words: "launching Stella—but with someone else's life."

Yeah. Pure evil.

[②: If this card is Special Summoned by its own effect, inflict damage to your opponent equal to half the Tributed monster's ATK.]

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH—!!" Waver screamed as the circuits overloaded, his body bursting into radiant fragments that streaked across the field and detonated in Hakutaku's area.

Chen Gong adjusted his glasses calmly. "Oh, by the way, Arash asked me to tell you something—'I've been waiting for this moment for so long~.'"

BOOM!

[Hakutaku LP 3500 → 3000]

Jaden winced. "That's so cruel, Sensei… Don't you feel even a little guilty?"

Akasha sighed. "Looks like Hoshino-nee's level of heartlessness just went up again."

Hoshino & Chen Gong (in unison): "No. It was a necessary sacrifice."

[Heroic Spirit – Zhuge Liang effect: If sent from the Monster Zone to the Graveyard, you can place it in your Spell & Trap Zone as a Continuous Spell.]

Hoshino retrieved the card from the Monster Zone and set it face-up in her back row. The tattered and singed Waver reappeared in the Spell Zone, looking utterly dejected.

"Even for the sake of my effect, I'd rather not go through that again…"

"And when Heroic Spirit – Zhuge Liang moves to the back row, he gains another effect—I discard 1 card from my hand to add 1 Spell or Trap that lists 'Heroic Spirit' from my Deck to my hand."

Hoshino snatched the searched card from her deck, activating it immediately.

"I activate the Continuous Spell—Necessary Sacrifice!"

[Necessary Sacrifice – Continuous Spell Effect: At the end of each player's turn, draw cards equal to the number of "Heroic Spirit" monsters you Tributed this turn.]

Illya shivered, her whole body trembling. "Master… activating that card… don't tell me you mean—"

Chen Gong handed her the same micro-magic accelerator. "I didn't want to do this to such a girl, truly. But we all face hard decisions sometimes—you understand, right?"

Illya shook her head desperately, tears welling in her eyes. "N-no! I don't understand! I don't understand at all!"

[③: Tribute 1 "Heroic Spirit" monster other than "Heroic Spirit – Chen Gong"; destroy all monsters your opponent controls with ATK less than or equal to the Tributed monster's original ATK.]

Hoshino raised her hand dramatically. "Forgive me, Illya! This too… is a necessary sacrifice!!"

"I don't wanna work anymore—!!!"

And with a blinding flash, Illya ascended right then and there.