[Valor ×12]
Heracles' massive, pitch-black, steel-like body—gripping a stone axe and roaring—left everyone at the academy utterly stunned.
"A Tribute Summon using three monsters… isn't that already on par with the gods?!"
"I've often seen the Headmistress perform a Fusion Summon of Illya's Heracles form, but this is the first time I've seen the authentic Heracles!"
"The real thing really is different—his presence is far more overwhelming than Illya's version!"
Illya: "==I feel strangely offended…"
"Battle!"
Without a moment's hesitation, carrying a full twelve Valor counters, Hoshino waved her hand and entered the Battle Phase.
"ROAAAR—!"
Responding to Hoshino's command with a roar that shook the earth, Heracles wrenched his heavy stone axe free from the shattered, magma-seething ground. His battle-hungry gaze locked firmly onto Uria ahead.
"Go, Heracles! With the power of the gods—crush the Sacred Beast!"
With agility completely at odds with his enormous frame, Heracles bent his knees to gather strength, stomped the ground with tremendous force, and leapt skyward, swinging his stone axe toward Uria circling above.
"Attack power clash—3000 vs. 3000!" Jaden shouted nervously.
"Heh heh, Hoshino's got this in the bag!" Jonouchi pumped his fist excitedly, already familiar with Heracles' effects.
Kagemaru immediately declared a counterattack.
"Don't be fooled by that flashy presence—counterattack, Uria! Hyper Breath!"
Scorching energy burst from the flaming dragon's maw, Uria's counterattack engulfing and searing Heracles' mighty body.
"I won't lose to you—Heracles! Nine Lives!"
The stone axe lashed out in a frenzy, carving blazing arcs through the crimson flames. The technique Nine Lives, used by Heracles as a 'style,' was the divine skill that once slew the Hydra.
Point detonated into plane—the violent heat waves from their collision caused the temperature across Duel Academy to skyrocket.
"GRAAAAH—!"
With Heracles' final roar, his body—nearly half-burned—came crashing down with overwhelming force, cleaving apart Uria's massive dragon head.
[Uria, Lord of Searing Flames Destroyed]
"Ahh~~~"
A delicate, girlish moan echoed from behind Hoshino. Face flushed, Uria collapsed weakly to the ground, her arms tightly hugging her chest.
"That's the feeling… Hoshino's intense impact. It's so painful my whole body feels numb—ahh, it feels so good~!"
"Oh no, I almost forgot—this girl is a hardcore masochist…" Hoshino muttered, the corner of her mouth twitching as she glanced back at the clearly aroused Uria.
Wait—are your senses actually linked?!
Uria's reaction left Hoshino, who had just successfully destroyed Uria, feeling inexplicably conflicted.
"Hmph. So you used a mutual-destruction tactic to trade for Uria?"
Sending Uria, Lord of Searing Flames to the Graveyard, Kagemaru pointed sharply at the scorched Heracles before him.
"But with equal attack power at 3000, Heracles should be destroyed as well!"
"No—the only one destroyed in the end is Uria! The great hero of Greece possesses a miracle of resurrection—God Hand!"
[Heracles' Effect: If this card would be destroyed by battle or sent to the GY by an opponent's effect, remove half of this card's Valor counters instead.]
"As a substitute for being destroyed, I remove six of the twelve Valor counters on Heracles!"
The burned, damaged body regenerated at a visible speed. This Noble Phantasm of immortality—both a divine blessing and a curse—restored Heracles completely after what should have been fatal destruction.
"He revived by removing counters?!" Kagemaru exclaimed in disbelief.
"How ignorant," Hoshino mocked mercilessly.
"Have you spent so long in a life-support device that you've fallen behind modern dueling?"
Veins bulged on Kagemaru's forehead as he shot back,
"You dare say I've fallen behind?! Just because you barely defeated Uria with a destruction-substitution effect, you get cocky?!"
"Besides, Uria's effect allows it to revive by discarding a Trap Card—and when it does, its attack power will surpass Heracles!"
As he spoke, Kagemaru glanced at the Trap Card he had deliberately kept in his hand last turn.
"Surpass Heracles' attack? Sorry—you won't get the chance!"
[Valor ×12 → 6]
As Hoshino removed six Valor counters from the card, the ferocious power of Heracles on her field surged instantly.
"Heracles' effect—each time 1 Valor counter is removed, this card gains 300 ATK! Removing six as a substitute for destruction means—"
[Heracles ATK 3000 → 4800]
"4800 attack?!" Minazuki cried out, eyes wide.
"That already surpasses Hamon! No—he's even beyond Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"
"This is my head-on breakthrough—shaking the earth with divine power!"
Hoshino declared coldly.
"Two Sacred Beasts—neither of you is surviving this turn!"
Ending the Battle Phase, she smoothly activated Heracles' final finishing effect.
[Once per turn, during your Main Phase: Target 1 Defense Position monster your opponent controls or a monster with lower ATK than this card; remove 1 Valor counter, and destroy that monster.]
"With 4800 ATK, Heracles already exceeds Hamon's 4000! Now—remove one Valor counter and be crushed beneath the earth-shaking roar!"
[Valor ×6 → 5]
[Heracles ATK 4800 → 5100]
Raising the stone axe high overhead, Heracles gathered his power and brought it down with cataclysmic force.
Rolling waves of shattered earth formed a shockwave laced with lingering flames—like a roaring dragon surging through the planet's core—engulfing Hamon on Kagemaru's field.
[Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder Destroyed]
"How can this be…?! My invincible Sacred Beasts—destroyed in a single turn…?!"
The scene where he had confidently summoned two Sacred Beasts hadn't even lasted a full turn under Hoshino's command. For Kagemaru, a centenarian who had waited decades for this moment, the shock was overwhelming.
"And that's not all—look at how many cards Hoshino-nee still has!" Akasha exclaimed excitedly.
Five cards.
Hoshino still held a full five cards in her hand.
That entire chain of searches, summons, and devastation—culminating in Heracles—had only consumed one card from her hand.
"One card… Headmistress destroyed two Sacred Beasts with just one card?!"
Even on their own side, the terrifying power Hoshino displayed—far beyond anyone's expectations—sent chills down the spines of the watching students.
"This is way too scary… is this really the Headmistress's true strength?"
"So all those Duels at the academy… Headmistress was never even being serious."
"Why does it feel like everyone around me has been planting death flags on me ever since just now?"
Rather than basking in the praise from the surrounding students, Hoshino remained cautious.
That last sequence of plays had looked flashy and overwhelming—destroying two Sacred Beasts in a single turn—and counting Heracles on the field, it had truly cost her only one card from her hand.
—but that was already the absolute limit of what Hoshino could do right now.
At present, the Trap Cards in Hoshino's hand were completely unusable due to Uria's effect. On top of that, one card was stubbornly being "sat on" by Okita, leaving her with only a handful of truly usable resources.
"Finally, I set one card. Turn end."
"Damn it! Don't get so full of yourself, Hoshino!"
Mocked as a duelist left behind by the times—and having his prized Sacred Beasts wiped out two in one turn—Kagemaru was boiling with rage. Yet, he had no grounds to refute Hoshino's performance.
"My turn—draw! Then I activate the Continuous Spell Card Card of Safe Return from my hand!"
[Card of Safe Return – Continuous Spell Effect: When a monster in your Graveyard is Special Summoned, draw 3 cards from your Deck.]
"Next, I activate the special effect of Uria, Lord of Searing Flames in my Graveyard! By discarding one Trap Card from my hand, this card can be Special Summoned from the Graveyard!"
Beneath the cracked earth, scorching magma boiled once more. The revived Uria grew even stronger as the number of Trap Cards in the Graveyard increased.
[Uria, Lord of Searing Flames ATK 4000]
Alexis said nervously, "So it really does revive Uria. But even with 4000 ATK, that's still not enough to defeat Heracles!"
"Heh, the real show is just getting started. I intend to settle the score from last turn properly!"
At the moment Uria revived, it also triggered the effect of the Continuous Spell Card Card of Safe Return, allowing Kagemaru to replenish his hand with three more cards.
"I activate a Field Spell from my hand—Fallen Paradise!"
Crushing through the academy floor, a pitch-black giant tree erupted from the very center of the plaza, plunging the area into an even darker, more oppressive atmosphere.
"The Field Spell Fallen Paradise grants the Three Sacred Beasts immunity to destruction by card effects. In addition, once per turn, if I control a Sacred Beast, I can draw two cards from my Deck!"
With his hand continuously refilled, the combination of Fallen Paradise and Card of Safe Return restored Kagemaru's resources to their peak—just like his rejuvenated body.
"Immunity to effect destruction… that's troublesome," Jaden muttered gloomily, scratching his head. "That means Sensei can't destroy it by removing Valor counters anymore."
Minazuki said excitedly, "But even so, Headmistress's monster still has higher attack power! And it keeps getting stronger every time it revives—it practically has 'invincible' written all over it!"
"…Huh?!"
Hoshino stared at Minazuki in disbelief.
We don't have a grudge between us—so why are you cursing me with buffs I don't need?!
"Then, Uria's effect—Trap Destruction! Let the purifying divine flames destroy the set card in your back row!"
Magma surged across Hoshino's back row, yet failed to engulf or destroy the single set card.
Kagemaru clicked his tongue in irritation. "Tch. So it wasn't a Trap Card—looks like you do understand the Phantasmal Lords' effects."
During her previous battle with Atticus, Hoshino had already experienced firsthand how devastating Uria was against Trap Cards. Knowing full well that Uria would revive, she wasn't foolish enough to set one.
"But do you really think that's enough? This turn, I'll make you experience the true fear of the Sacred Beasts, Chiyuki Hoshino!"
Placing another card into his Duel Disk, the oppressive atmosphere of Fallen Paradise, combined with the feral grin on Kagemaru's face, sent chills down everyone's spine.
"I activate a Spell Card—Phantasmal Martyrs! As long as I control a Sacred Beast, I can send two cards from my hand to the Graveyard to Special Summon three Phantasmal Martyr Tokens to my field!"
[Phantasmal Martyr Tokens ★][DARK][Fiend/Token][ATK 0 / DEF 0]
Hoshino raised an eyebrow. "Paying two cards just to summon Tokens with no effects and 0 ATK / DEF?"
"No matter how great the cost, it's worth it! Now, I offer the three Phantasmal Martyr Tokens as tributes to awaken the final—and strongest—Sacred Beast!"
The three fiendish Tokens transformed into sacrificial energy and surged into the pitch-black sky. Answering the martyrs' offering of life force, the strongest Sacred Beast seemed to tear the heavens apart as it descended.
"Fear—and then submit! Special Summon—Raviel, Lord of Phantasms!"
[Raviel, Lord of Phantasms ★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 10)][DARK][Fiend/Effect][ATK 4000/DEF 4000]
[This card cannot be Normal Summoned. It must be Special Summoned by Tributing 3 Fiend-Type monsters you control.]
Its massive blue body and terrifying raised claws made it resemble a fusion of the Egyptian God Obelisk the Tormentor and the Wicked God Dreadroot. The strongest Sacred Beast shattered the ground beneath its feet and locked eyes with Heracles on Hoshino's field.
"So this is the strongest Sacred Beast? Only 4000 ATK, huh?" Jonouchi said casually.
"Hmph. A Sacred Beast that absorbs the life force of all spirits and reduces Duel Monsters to nothingness—the effect of Raviel, Lord of Phantasms! Once per turn, I can Tribute any number of monsters I control; until the end of the turn, Raviel gains ATK equal to the total ATK of the Tributed monsters!"
"Tribute monsters on the field…?" Facing a Raviel with 4000 ATK, Hoshino didn't share Jonouchi's calm—instead, a dreadful premonition crept in.
This monster was ominous in every sense. From the moment it appeared, the world's spiritual energy began to stir violently, drawn irresistibly into its body.
Raviel—once known as Raphael, one of the four archangels in Judaic and Christian belief—was worshiped as a deity in the Neo-Babylonian Chaldean Kingdom of Mesopotamia around the 6th century BCE, where its ancient name was Raviel.
That ancient civilization was also the origin of the name Chaldea.
It was likely just a coincidence—but Hoshino sensed an elusive, deeper connection lurking beneath it all.
"That's right—tribute monsters! And the only monster I have on my field is Uria! Now, by Raviel's effect, I offer it as a tribute!"
Kagemaru removed Uria's card from his Duel Disk and sent it to the Graveyard. After absorbing the power of a fellow Sacred Beast, Raviel's attack power skyrocketed, doubling in an instant.
[Raviel, Lord of Phantasms ATK 4000 → 8000]
"Take this, Chiyuki Hoshino—the strike that fuses the power of two Sacred Beasts! Heaven-Shattering Fist—!!"