Cat Noir's face instantly turned several shades more embarrassed than the black bodysuit he was wearing.
He stiffly raised a hand and scratched his fluffy blonde hair, feeling his face burning.
In front of his beloved "Lady" and the seemingly all-knowing Jaden, to so publicly announce a secret plan that had just been "live-streamed" was practically a historical blunder in his hero career.
"Uh... that..." He tried to salvage the situation, "Perhaps... she was just looking at the rooftop door and didn't notice the monitor screen?"
Jaden and Ladybug almost simultaneously ignored his weak and pale excuse.
With great tacit agreement, they both took out their respective "communication devices." Jaden pulled out his smartphone, while Ladybug skillfully opened her versatile yo-yo.
Jaden tapped the screen, entering the city-wide live broadcast channel that the Agreste Group had forcibly pinned to the top.
Dozens of monitoring screens from different angles instantly popped up on the interface, like a professional security control console.
In one inconspicuous corner, there was a view of the small elevator where the three of them currently were.
Jaden's gaze did not linger on his own screen for even half a second; he precisely and quickly found the screen labeled "Rooftop Main View."
On the screen, Stormy Weather, as he expected, had her back to most of the surveillance cameras, her eyes, filled with anticipation and madness, staring fixedly at the door leading to the rooftop as if glued to it.
Behind her, a drone hovering high in the sky was capturing her back and the distant city view from a tricky angle.
"Good thing..." Ladybug also saw this scene and let out a long sigh of relief, "She really wasn't looking."
However, this relief lasted for less than two seconds.
"Zzzzt—"
A faint electrical current sound was heard, and the screen on Jaden's phone showing the inside of the elevator, along with all other surveillance screens inside the TV station building, instantly turned pitch black, with only the white words "Signal Interrupted" remaining in the center of the screen.
...It seems we've been discovered." Jaden's tone was calm, as if he had anticipated this.
Meanwhile, at the Agreste Mansion, Gabriel, having just used the pretext of protecting the heroes to instruct his employees to swiftly cut the TV station's internal video signal, curled his lips into a cold smile.
Online, the sudden signal interruption instantly caused an uproar.
"What's going on? Why cut off the most fun part? I wanted to see how the heroes would enter! That Cat Noir was too funny! Discussing a secret plan in front of all of Paris? Hahahahaha!"
"Don't laugh, upstairs! Didn't you hear what Stormy Weather said in the live broadcast? She said Mireille's championship was fixed! I knew it! How could Aurore, who is so excellent, possibly lose?!"
"Bullshit! Which eye saw a conspiracy? Miss Mireille is beautiful and kind-hearted, and her strength is obvious to all. She is number one in our hearts!"
"Stop arguing, stop arguing! Look! The live broadcast on the rooftop hasn't cut out yet! It seems the real show is yet to come!"
...Inside the elevator, with the disappearance of the surveillance footage, the awkward atmosphere eased slightly.
Ladybug put away her yo-yo, her expression becoming more serious than ever before.
She walked over to Jaden, lowering her voice, her blue eyes filled with deep confusion and worry.
"Jaden... I've noticed that it seems every... Akumatized Person connected to you... their obsession... becomes unusually deep and fanatical," she carefully phrased, "For example: Mr. Pigeon, and now this Stormy Weather, too. Do you know why this is?"
Jaden was silent for a moment, then gently shook his head: "To be honest, I don't know either."
He truly didn't know. He looked at Ladybug's worried face, and his tone also carried a touch of genuine helplessness: "Aurore's Akumatization, I now feel... was entirely caused by me.
But, I distinctly remember that before leaving the TV station, she didn't have much negative emotion left.
There must be some step I missed.
So, right now... I'm also at a loss."
"Uh... how about we discuss other battle plans?" Cat Noir, seeing the atmosphere was a bit heavy, couldn't help but interject again.
"Shut up!"
This time, Jaden and Ladybug almost simultaneously turned and glared at him.
...Alright." Cat Noir shrank his neck in an aggrieved manner and silently retreated to a corner to draw circles.
Stung by Jaden's phrase "at a loss," Marinette's heart was now in turmoil.
Oh my goodness... even Jaden said he had no way... what should I do now? Her heart was filled with anxiety.
This Stormy Weather, her target is Jaden!
What if... what if she really hurts Jaden?!
No! I absolutely cannot let that happen! But... but what can I do? Lucky Charm?
In this enclosed corridor, what would it give me? A mop? Or a bunch of keys? What good would that be!
She took a deep breath, forcing her heart, which was pounding with worry, to calm down.
No, this is not the time to panic. Jaden is right here, she cannot show him the helpless, clumsy Marinette.
She is Ladybug. She is Paris's hero. She must be reliable, she must be calm!
After composing herself, she looked at Jaden again, her eyes having regained the determination of a hero.
"So what do we do... next?"
"No plan." Jaden's answer was simple and direct, "I'm going straight up. First, save Nathalie and Mireille, then we'll talk."
"That's too dangerous!" Ladybug immediately objected.
"It's the only way right now." Jaden looked at her, "She wants me. As soon as I appear, her attention will be completely drawn. That will be your chance."
Just as they were still discussing—
With a "ding," the elevator had already reached the top floor.
And during the time they spent in the elevator, Gabriel was not idle either.
As Hawk Moth, he continuously "vaccinated" Stormy Weather in her mind.
"Stormy Weather, my queen. Those two little bugs, and that arrogant young man, just discussed a ridiculous sneak attack plan in the elevator... They want that young man to distract your attention, and then from behind... But then they seemed to notice the surveillance and started speaking softly, I couldn't hear what they were saying... In short, be careful, don't be fooled by their little tricks."
"Hmph, a bunch of clowns."
Stormy Weather couldn't be bothered with him. All her senses were focused on the door that was about to open, dismissing Hawk Moth's warnings with disdain.
On the rooftop, Mireille was almost unable to hold on; the biting cold wind had turned her small face purple, and her body trembled incessantly.
Nathalie took off her suit jacket and wrapped herself and Mireille tightly together, both huddling, drawing the last bit of warmth from each other.
Around them, the frozen corporate executives, like silent, lonely spectators, added a touch of eerie background to this mad drama.
The elevator door opened to a slightly dim corridor leading to the rooftop. The door at the end showed the pale light from the blizzard outside.
Jaden took a deep breath and adjusted his collar. He could feel a hot and cold, obsessive gaze fixed on this spot from behind that door.
He gave Ladybug and Cat Noir behind him a look, signaling them to hide for now and act when the opportunity arose. Then, he alone, with steady steps, pushed open the large door leading to the eye of the storm.
"Creak—"
The moment the door was pushed open, a gust of fierce wind mixed with ice crystals instantly poured in, making his hair and clothes flutter wildly.
Almost the second he stepped onto the rooftop, Stormy Weather's figure appeared before him as if teleported! Her face wore a victorious, morbid ecstasy.
Before Jaden could say anything, she eagerly poured out all her grievances, unwillingness, and anger like a bursting dam!
"Do you know?! This is all fake! It's all a scam designed by those hypocrites!"
She pointed at the ice sculptures, her voice sharp and trembling: "They deliberately favored that Mireille, who knows nothing, for the sake of 'popularity'! They stole everything that should have belonged to me! The winner... should have been me!
It's me, Aurore!
Her once beautiful eyes were now filled with tears and madness.
Like a child who had suffered a great injustice, she revealed all the darkness in her heart, without reservation, to the only person who could make her drop her guard.
Jaden listened to her outpouring quietly, without interrupting or refuting.
His eyes held no fear, no calculation, only a pure, gentle pity.
When her agitated emotions had calmed down slightly from the outpouring, he slowly extended his arms and gently embraced the poor girl, trembling in the wind.
"I know," his voice was as gentle as the warm sun that could melt all the world's ice, he gently patted her back, "I know you've been wronged. It's okay... everything is over now."
Stormy Weather froze completely. She could even smell the faint, pleasant scent of grass on him. Incredulously, she slightly raised her head and saw his eyes filled with tenderness and understanding.
In that instant, all the madness and violence in her heart seemed to melt away with this sudden, warm embrace.
She finally let down all her guard, buried her head in his arms, and cried out her grievances like a true child.
And at this very moment.
Just as all of Stormy Weather's attention was completely immersed in this embrace.
Behind them, by the rooftop door, a red figure, with a nearly silent, panther-like graceful posture, quietly peeked out.
Ladybug looked at Jaden, who had his back to her, and Stormy Weather, who was crying in his arms, then glanced at the two shivering hostages not far away...
His gaze instantly became incredibly resolute.
Now!
Without the slightest hesitation, she pressed her body low, like a swallow flying close to the ground, and with dazzling speed, she silently rushed towards Nathalie and Mireille! She scooped them both up, one in each arm, and then, with the same lightning speed, retreated back inside the rooftop door!
The entire process was fluid, quick as lightning, not even stirring a breath of wind!
Meanwhile, Cat Noir, who was supposed to be responsible for the "sneak attack," was utterly bewildered by the scene unfolding before him, which far exceeded his plans.
He... he hadn't even had a chance to move yet... His Cataclysm... His "perfect battle plan"... His Lady... had actually rescued the hostages all by herself?!
His heroic heart, which had prepared countless dashing poses and planned to make a grand show at the critical moment, now looked like a deflated balloon, utterly shriveled.
He watched as Ladybug led the two still-shaken Nathalie and Mireille to safety, even thoughtfully providing them with thick blankets. Finally, he couldn't resist showing off his "tactical insight" to save a little face.
"My..."
He had barely uttered two words when Ladybug glared him back with a sharp look that screamed, "Say one more word and you're dead."
The warning in her eyes was so strong and undeniable that he instantly swallowed the rest of his words.
...Cough, I mean, Ladybug," he quickly changed his tone, a fawning smile plastered on his face, "The timing of your rescue was absolutely perfect! It's the best rescue operation I've ever seen!"
After a flurry of praise, he cautiously offered his "professional opinion": "But... speaking of which, why didn't you take the opportunity to snatch the umbrella from her hand just now?
I saw her completely engrossed in her embrace with Jaden, totally defenseless! That was the best chance!"
Ladybug, without turning her head, while wrapping the still-trembling Mireille tighter in a blanket, said in a tone of "I can't do anything with you": "She was defenseless against the hostages. From her perspective, rescuing them was a 'minor action' that wouldn't affect the overall situation, so she might not have cared.
But," she paused, her gaze instantly becoming serious, "that umbrella is the source of her power and the core of her obsession. If you had tried to touch that, I guarantee, in her eyes, it would have been equivalent to directly declaring war on her. Do you think she would have been defenseless then?"
"Hmph, not necessarily." With his tactics dismissed by his partner in a few words, Cat Noir's restless heroic heart began to stir again.
He stylishly twirled his metal staff a few times in his hand, a confident smile on his face: "Then let this Cat personally test how strong her 'defenses' really are!"
Before his words faded, he pushed off with his legs, and like a black arrow released from a bow, he transformed into an afterimage, instantly rushing out of the rooftop door! His target was clear and direct—the ice-crystal parasol in Stormy Weather's hand, symbolizing the source of all evil!
However, just as his fingertips were about to touch the cold umbrella handle...
"Whoosh—!!!"
A blizzard, sudden and imbued with terrifying power, violently erupted from around Stormy Weather! The force of the gale was so strong that it caused the entire rooftop to tremble!
Cat Noir's charging figure, at such close proximity, was mercilessly blown back by this sudden, immense force!
He didn't even have time to let out a gasp before he was slammed against the wall by the rooftop door with a dull thud, in an extremely disheveled posture, like a painting "stuck" firmly to it.
...I knew it."
Ladybug looked at the black figure slowly sliding down the wall, no longer resembling a cat, and with an "as expected" expression, she pressed her hand to her forehead.
Stormy Weather, on the other hand, seemed to pay no attention to the overconfident attacker. She slowly lifted her head from Jaden's embrace, the tear streaks in the corners of her eyes not yet dry, but her face bloomed with a smile so gentle it was almost eerie, filled with a sense of fulfillment.
She gently opened her eyes, and the gaze that had once burned with mad fury now held only a pure, chilling tenderness and obsession.
"Just a moment..." Her voice was as soft as a lover's murmur, and she extended her other hand, gently caressing Jaden's cheek, "Just a moment, and you will become my true, my only Knight."
With that, she lightly tightened her grip on the umbrella handle and pressed the ice-crystal parasol directly against Jaden's chest!
"—!"
An extreme chill, as if capable of freezing the soul, instantly erupted from the umbrella!
"Crack! Crack, crack, crack—!"
Deep purple ice crystals, at a visible speed, spread wildly across his entire body from the point of contact between the umbrella and Jaden's chest! In just a blink of an eye, Jaden's entire body, from the neck down, was completely covered by a thick layer of ice crystals emitting an ominous purple glow! His posture remained in an embrace, and his face was frozen with that gentle expression he hadn't had time to change!
He was completely frozen! Unable to move even a single finger!
Jaden's consciousness was still clear, and he stared in shock at the girl smiling like a flower before him, completely unable to understand what she intended to do?!
Stormy Weather looked at his frozen form, her smile growing even more tender, even more loving: "Don't be afraid..." She continued to caress his face with the hand that wasn't frozen, "You see, the butterfly that brought me power... it can also bring you power.
From today on, we will be together forever, never to be separated again. We will together, under the gaze of all Parisian citizens, be crowned King and Queen!"
Meanwhile, in Agreste Mansion, Gabriel, watching this scene through a drone, was absolutely furious!
This madwoman! What in the world was she doing?! Her mission was to seize the miraculous! Not to conduct some lovey-dovey coronation ceremony here! And she wanted to Akumatization that uncontrollable young man too?!
He immediately roared at Stormy Weather through the mental link: "Stop! You fool! Who allowed you to do this?! It won't work! Stop it now!"
However, before he could finish his words, an anomaly occurred that he would never forget, one that overturned all his understanding—
He suddenly felt that beyond his mental link with Stormy Weather, a brand new, connectable mental node had appeared out of thin air!
And that node originated from... the frozen Jaden!
Gabriel was utterly stunned, an expression of shock as if he had seen a ghost, but then immediately showed a look of joy.
On the rooftop.
"Jaden!"
Ladybug and Cat Noir, who had just climbed up from the wall, simultaneously let out shouts of alarm and anger upon seeing Jaden frozen!
Without further hesitation, they rushed forward from left and right, forming a standoff with Stormy Weather, who was floating in mid-air.
"What exactly is your goal?!" Cat Noir roared, completely shedding all his flippancy, his eyes becoming incredibly sharp.
"Of course... to make him my Knight," Stormy Weather replied with a smile, as if stating the most obvious thing.
"Impossible!" Ladybug immediately retorted, "An Akumatized Person can absolutely not Akumatization anyone else! This has never happened before!"
"Oh? Is that so?" Stormy Weather's smile was full of disdain, "That only proves that the previous failures were all too useless.
Today, you will witness with your own eyes, history will be Rewritten by me!"
Seeing her fantastical madness, the two heroes exchanged glances, both understanding that further words were useless, and only a direct assault would work!
"We can't delay any longer!"
"Go!"
Cat Noir struck first! He brandished his metal staff, pouncing like a leopard, attempting to close in with his exquisite close-quarters combat skills.
Stormy Weather merely smiled disdainfully, her body slowly floating upwards, and with a gentle wave of her hand: "Hail!"
Countless fist-sized hailstones, shimmering with purple light, rained down like a dense barrage, instantly blocking all of Cat Noir's attack routes!
Ladybug dared not delay, her yo-yo flying out like a red lightning bolt, accurately shattering most of the hailstones attacking Cat Noir with a series of "clang, clang, clang" sounds;
At the same time, another gust of wind struck, and she immediately spun her yo-yo into a shield, firmly protecting both of them behind her.
The two sides exchanged blows, instantly engaging in fierce combat!
And at this moment, within that frozen body, in that unknown spiritual world, another, more perilous battle had quietly begun.
Jaden felt his consciousness plunging into an endless, cold darkness. A familiar yet evil voice, like poison, slowly echoed in his mind: "We meet again, Poet of the Abyss."
It was Hawk Moth.
"Look at you... You always treat others so gently, but what do you get in return? Betrayal, hurt, being used as a tool to fulfill their insane desires."
"No..."
Jaden's consciousness struggled.
"Stop deceiving yourself. That loneliness within you, that emptiness, I know better than anyone. What you crave is not some ordinary happiness at all.
What you crave is someone who can truly fall into the abyss with you, forever by your side."
Hawk Moth's voice was filled with enchanting power.
"So, give up. Give up that superfluous, gentle heart of yours that only brings you pain.
Let it be frozen forever. Transform into a ruthless Knight who fights only for your Queen!"
"Come, accept my power! From today on, you will have a new name—"
—Winter Knight."
"No..."
Jaden's consciousness was making its final resistance. But Hawk Moth's words, like the purest venom, accurately injected into the deepest, most fragile crack in his soul.
A cold, dark energy began to spread from the ice-crystal parasol plunged into his chest, slowly, like a venomous snake, towards his limbs and bones, towards the depths of his soul...