Time exists everywhere, yet few can grasp it in their hands; one knows of its presence yet cannot see it, much like the young woman before them—she is everywhere, yet no one can master her existence... Sakuya Izayoi, known by all, the unfathomably powerful young woman who secured second place in the martial arts tournament.

“Teacher Sakuya, why are you here?” Negi and the others were unaware of Sakuya’s alliance with Choka Rin, so her appearance greatly surprised them, instilling a subtle sense of unease.

“Sakuya Izayoi, is this Choka Rin’s setup!” The other magic teachers, having interacted with her yesterday, understood the situation. Though they couldn't fathom why they hadn't realized it sooner, her presence here meant she was undeniably an adversary.

Soldiers against soldiers, King against King, Ace against Ace—this was Choka Rin’s tactic.

As the sharpest mind in Mahora Academy, no one in the entire school could surpass her in intellect. She had meticulously calculated every potential obstacle to her plan, using various methods to map out Mahora’s most probable strategic deployment, resulting in the current arrangement.

Mahora was already short-handed; with her army of combat robots, she held an undeniable, overwhelming advantage. If her movements were entirely unforeseen, the outcome would be certain. Conversely, if Mahora discovered her operational sequence, she already had stable countermeasures prepared.

With Mahora’s existing forces, deploying six teams to counter her was impossible; three was the absolute limit. Therefore, using Mana Ryuguji and Chachamaru as bait, supplemented by a large contingent of robots to tie down one of the opposing forces, would serve as the Soldier-vs-Soldier engagement.

Then, she herself would invade one of the strongholds. Her combat strength had already been partially displayed, and anyone with a shred of intelligence would know that sheer numbers were useless against her; victory would have to be secured through quality. Thus, the strongest headmaster of Mahora Academy was destined for this role—the King-vs-King confrontation.

Finally, Mahora would undoubtedly dispatch a main force, the team guaranteed to secure victory in this decisive battle, one that would commit everything to thwarting her plans. This unit’s combat prowess would be formidable. Relying solely on combat robots would likely result in defeat, meaning only one person could suppress that elite force: Sakuya Izayoi... This was the Ace-vs-Ace showdown!

“As expected, I knew Sakuya would make her move now,” Lin Luo observed the scene below, a look of understanding dawning on his face. Choka Rin’s configuration was indeed flawless. With Sakuya’s power, she could single-handedly defeat the entire student body and faculty of Mahora. As long as he, Evangeline, or Konoe remained uninvolved, Sakuya alone could wipe out Mahora.

Evangeline was content to watch the conflict unfold, holding the mindset of an entertained spectator, and naturally would not intervene. As for Lin Luo, having finally secured Sakuya’s favor, he certainly wouldn't act against her. Sacrificing Sakuya’s goodwill over the trivial matter of whether forbidden magic was revealed was an act only a fool would commit, so both could be ruled out.

As for Alf, although he too was world-class, he had spent the last decade recuperating at Mahora Academy, and his body had not returned to its peak condition. The body he currently used was merely a "virtual form," possessing at most sixty to seventy percent of his full power. He would be unable to resist the "Sakuya World" and would never engage such a terrifying opponent for the sake of Mahora.

The outcome, therefore, was clear... With the Academy’s Supreme, the Director, and the Three Strongest staying out, who could contend?

“It seems the ending is settled,” Alf chuckled, narrowing his eyes.

“Not seems, but utterly conclusive,” Evangeline retorted with a wry smile. Having clashed with Sakuya before, she understood her opponent’s strength perfectly. Neither mass attacks nor single-target strategies held any sway over Sakuya. For those unable to resist it, time itself was godlike.

For the people below to defeat Sakuya without a miracle occurring was impossible, but miracles were not an everyday occurrence.

“Teacher Sakuya, are you also siding with Classmate Choka to do bad things?” Negi and the others cried out in dismay. Judging by the expressions of the surrounding magic teachers, they now understood the full implication.

“As for ‘bad things,’ such matters are trivial to me,” Sakuya replied, hands clasped behind her back, smiling languidly. “If I wish to do something, I do it; if I don’t, I don’t. It’s that simple. Therefore…”

As she spoke, Sakuya brought her hands forward. Sandwiched between her fingers were three throwing knives. “Defeating you here, I will treat it as a mission to be accomplished. If you wish to pass, you must strike me down first.”

Sakuya’s words, in some overly melodramatic anime or game, would be the classic line uttered by a final villainess who was about to be overthrown by the protagonist party. She might be powerful at the start, but against the protagonist team's sudden power spikes, such villains rarely ended well. However...

Melodrama seldom plays out in reality, and the question of who is the protagonist and who is the supporting character remains open to debate.

“If that is the case, then we will defeat you right here!” Having reached this impasse, neither side had room for retreat. Two magic teachers rushed towards Sakuya with blazing speed.

In terms of pure velocity, they were far beyond ordinary humans, appearing to be magic swordsmen rather than pure casters. In an instant, they reached Sakuya’s side, attacking simultaneously from the left and right flanks, but!

Thump! Thump!

No one saw what transpired, nor did anyone understand the mechanism. Those two magic teachers lay sprawled on the ground, motionless and unconscious.

“This is…” Everyone was stunned. Although they had witnessed Sakuya fight during the martial arts tournament and found her power incredible, facing her firsthand revealed that this power wasn't just incredible—it was inscrutable, almost supernatural!

“Her ability feels very similar to Choka Rin’s,” Kaede Nagase stated grimly.

“Classmate Choka?” Her remark made Negi’s eyes light up. “I remember Classmate Choka saying she came from the future and possessed some ability to influence time. Does Teacher Sakuya have that too?”

“Though I’m not entirely clear on what you mean, Teacher Sakuya shares the same ability as Choka, right?” Kū Feilù revealed a slightly excited smile. “If so, this makes things easier. We’ve already fought Choka once; the same trick won’t work indefinitely.”

“It’s quite impressive that you guessed the true nature of my power so quickly,” Sakuya showed a hint of approval, then smiled. “However, you were mistaken about one point. My ability is different from Choka’s. She merely performs temporal jumps, while I can completely... control time.”

“Control time?!” Not only Negi and the others but even the still "active" magic teachers were deeply affected. Indeed, if her power involved dominion over time, it explained the inexplicable attack just now, as well as the strange occurrences at the martial arts tournament. But... how could a mere human possess an ability belonging to the divine realm?

“Impossible! Humans cannot control time!” a magic teacher shouted in disbelief.

“Oh? Then... how do you explain this?” Sakuya smiled faintly. Without any warning, Negi and the others saw the magic teacher who had just spoken collapse beside her, just like the first two—motionless.

“Don’t worry. If I intended to kill them, they would already be dead. They are merely unconscious, though it will be impossible for them to wake up anytime soon,” Sakuya said calmly, observing their panicked expressions.

“Speaking of which, I heard Teacher Lin Luo and Classmate Evangeline mention that there really are people in this world capable of dominating time. Could it be…” Asuna suddenly interjected. Hearing this, Negi also recalled that when they first entered the Time Room, they had indeed heard the two of them say something similar.

“Does Teacher Sakuya truly dominate time?!” Everyone’s faces contorted in shock. If that were true, they had absolutely no chance of winning.

Although Sakuya’s power brought them near despair, the group refused to surrender. Two figures suddenly charged forward with even greater speed. “Kamnari-ryū Secret Art... Tetsuzan...” It was Setsuna Sakurazaki, along with her former sword master, Sensei Tōko.

Concurrently, Miyasaki Wakana displayed her contracted artifact. “Ad astra, the Ego Pictura Diary, read...”

Although this was their first time fighting together as a combination, their coordination was clearly high. A sudden assault by two masters of the Kamnari Style, followed by the book-keeper attempting to read Sakuya’s thoughts, was a clever move, but... the gap in levels, or rather, the difference in their core abilities, was too vast.

Before the names of their techniques were even fully uttered, everyone watched as Sakuya vanished from her spot. Simultaneously, the Ego Pictura Diary held by the book-keeper was struck by a throwing knife aimed directly skyward, and in the next moment, over a dozen knives swept down like meteors, instantly shredding the diary into paper confetti.

“Mind-reading is a bit troublesome. Even if you knew my thoughts, it would be pointless, but I don't like others peering into my mind easily, so you should get some sleep now.” As she finished speaking, the book-keeper groaned and slumped over.

On the other side, the two Kamnari Style swordsmen attacking Sakuya fared no better. While still mid-air, dozens of throwing knives whirled around them, and then... Swish-swish-swish-swish!

In an instant, the uniforms they wore were sliced into tatters, leaving only scraps of cloth covering the essential parts of their bodies.

In truth, Sakuya was somewhat conflicted. They were colleagues and students she had spent three months with; either killing them or inflicting serious injuries felt excessive. The throwing knives needed careful handling. After some consideration... tearing off their clothes seemed like a suitable compromise, at least for the young women involved.