Past

There was a certain itch that the sound of cartilage, groaning under the crack of his fist echoing in the night, scratched, something that got the dopamine flowing. Chat Noir didn't care how sturdy Defect's muscles were against his super strength, it felt good to dig his fist into Defect's stomach, and it felt even better to watch the mountain of a man get sent skidding across the length of the roof from the impact.

Before, even Chat's enhanced strength wouldn't be able to accomplish that, but that was yesterday's Chat Noir. Today's Chat was hungry, was energized, and was putting Su-Han's lessons to test. The power of the Black Cat was not just a deadly touch, it was a grip of the fabric of destruction's chaos itself. And if you could weave the threads of that power, just a fraction of his cataclysm was enough, wrap it around your fists like a bandage…

It made for one hell of a boxing glove.

Chat charged forward after his prey, knowing that even a moment to breathe was more than he could afford for Defect. Before Defect had a moment to dig his heels in Chat was there, dropping down into a smooth slide and colliding with Defect's leg, crumpling the man to his knees. Still not letting up, Chat rolled over, carrying his slide's momentum into flipping onto his feet and hefty his baton up over his shoulders.

He put it all into one swing, launching himself up while his baton stabbed downwards, digging into whatever it could find. There was Defect's growling swears, a metallic crunch, and then the roar of roof panels tearing apart under the weight of it all before Defect's body fell through the roof into the room below.

"Looks like this cowboy wasn't fit for the rode-"

The annoying thing about gun shots was that there was no reaction time. If you heard the shot, you were already fucked.

Defect's special bullet slammed into Chat's gut with the power of a freight train, digging deep and dragging Chat's entire helpless body up into the sky. When it reached the peak of it's ascent, it ignited, a burning crimson star engulfing Chat's entire body with pain and fire before he could even let out a scream.

When the smoke parted, Chat's battered and bruised body was dropped back down, crumbling on the very roof top he started this night upon. He wasn't down yet, not by a long shot, but by god he knew he was gonna have a ringing in his ear for the next few weeks.

He had no hard time hearing the loud thump that announced Defect jumping across toe greet him, sending little tremors throughout the building with his every step. "You know, I was hoping you and me were gonna have a little talk."

"You murdered the love of my life." Chat spat, "I have nothing to say to you."

In an instant, he'd spun around his baton and extended it into a spear, thrusting the tip forward to meet Defect's head. However, it found itself stopping one inch shot as Defect's gloved hand caught the shaft, leaving the two in a tense struggle for control that left their muscles twitching.

"And I do feel awful for you, Fella." Defect expressed bluntly, though it was hard to pin down any emotion that was anger with this guy. "Gotta understand that it weren't nothing personal, just survival."

He paused long enough for a bitter thought to tinge his words. "Well, for me." He sighed. "Chrysalis was pleased as punch to wipe her off the board."

Chat couldn't help but give a dark, mocking chuckle. "Is this the part where you tell me that you're not a bad guy and spin a sob story?"

Defect shoved the baton aside, knocking Chat off balance for a split-second, but that split-second was long enough for the man to charge forward and plant his giant boot on Chat's face and slam the boy into the ground.

"Don't get me wrong, Kitty." He hissed, "I'm the worst kind of guy. Absolute scum, some would say."

With two hands occupied holding Defect's foot at bay, Chat had to rely on his legs, swilildly swinging them until his heel stabbed into the ground with enough force to crack. It was a little effect, a few meters of stone coming undone, but it was enough to give Chat wiggle room, to make Defect's position unbalanced enough to make his body sway back.

"Glad we can agree on something."

It was a split-second, but a split-second was all Chat needed. He rolled his shoulder through the minuscule gap created and rolled away. Throwing his arms back, he pressed his palms flat against the ground, right over his shoulders and flipped his body upwards. After bringing his knees down to his chest it was all just a matter of shooting his legs forward and- BOOM. Defect was left stumbling backwards.

"Ohoho!" Defect howled just as he stopped himself from tumbling over the edge of the roof. "It looks like past all the bravado and puns, there's an actual fighter!"

"And under that funky accent and desperate attention-whoring," Chat sneered, "There's a dead man."

"Kid," Defect said, and Chat could only imagine a smirk creeping up his face, "You have no idea how right you are."

Chat narrowed his eyes, taken off guard by the cryptic response. "...What do you mean?"

Defect shrugged, casual as if they were discussing the weather. "Death. I've tried it. It did… so much for me."

Chat raised his brow, a bitter laugh escaping him. "What, you're telling me you're a zombie?"

Defect's smile turned darker, his eyes gleaming with a hollow amusement. "A lost soul," he corrected, his voice unsettlingly calm. "I came back from the depths of hell to do battle with my killer, but your lady stole him from me."

Chat's eyes widened as the pieces began to fall into place. "Wait… you're not Chrysalis' akuma… You're Hawkmoth's?!"

Defect gave a slow, mocking nod. "His first akuma, to be exact."

Chat's grip tightened around his baton, struggling to process this revelation. "If you're just after revenge, you already took it out on Ladybug for 'stealing your kill.' Why go along with Chrysalis? What do you get out of it?"

Defect's face twisted, his voice falling to a bitter whisper. "I don't have many options, Partner. Neither of us do." He looked away for a moment, almost as if he were ashamed, before meeting Chat's gaze with a hollow intensity. "Truth is, if I could, I'd kill myself."

For a moment, Chat faltered. Behind Defect's brutal exterior, there was something raw, haunted. Something he didn't like staring into, a void that threatened to suck him in and keep him trapped.

He shook it off. He had to. All that mattered was winning, all he could think of was Marinette's corpse, her beautiful loving features lifeless and crumpled in the dirt like she was trash on the street. All that mattered was the scum in front of him, and how much this scum needed to be reduced to paste.

Chat's blood boiled, fury ripping through his restraint. He lunged forward, slamming his baton into Defect's gut with the intent to knock the air out of him. But instead of flinching, Defect just withstood the blow like a statue being pushed back, his head tilted in amusement. Chat felt a strange resistance in his swing, as though he were hitting something solid and unyielding—not flesh and bone

In an instant, Defect's body tensed, and his arm shot out in a brutal swipe, catching Chat in the ribs and sending him sprawling across the rooftop. Chat barely had time to recover before Defect loomed over him, his shadow stretching across the roof like a dark omen. He reached down to grab Chat by the throat. His grip was a vice, unyielding as metal.

With a roar, Chat swung his baton upward, forcing a surge of power into it. The baton collided with Defect's arm, the impact strong enough to make the man's hand release its grip. Chat rolled free, using Defect's chest as a springboard to launch himself far and wide. He landed a building over, gripping his ribs, breathing heavily – but his determination didn't waver.

"This isn't over, Defect," he spat, forcing himself to stand tall despite the pain, his fist uncurling to reveal cataclysmic energy. "You may be Hawkmoth's first, but I'll make sure you're Chrysalis' last."

"Watcha think ya gonna accomplish with that?" Defect called over, waving Chat's fallen baton mockingly. "That cataclysm ain't gonna hit shit on the other side of the street."

Chat allowed himself to smirk, eager to show Defect just what he could do. "Then I'll just close the distance."

He broke into a sprint, holding his cataclysm tightly close to his chest, never letting his gaze or his smile waver. He wanted Defect to see his teeth, before he realizes just how sharp they were. Without hesitation Chat hit the edge of the roof and threw himself across the gap, spinning through the air with the cat-like grace that was imbedded into his very bones.

"You idiot! You can't dodge in the air." Defect howled with laughter, snatching his gun from it's holster and cocking back the hammer. "All you've done is make yourself an easy target."

The world came to a halt in the moment of truth. Chat Noir stuck in the air, staring down the barrel of a gun that could shatter buildings. It wouldn't be the bullet that killed Chat, it would rattle him, bruise him, but all it would do was leave him incapacitated while Defect snapped him like a twig and dragged him to hell.

Of course, that was only if Chat was still there to get hit.

Chat let the crackling energy run down to his fingers, extending from his finger tips like emerald claws before he unleashed them in one powerful slash. Not aimed at Defect, he was too far away. Not at the bullet, he wasn't that fast.

No, Chat decided to cataclysm the space between them.

"Calamity Dash!"

A surge of green energy exploded from Chat's fingertips, ripping through the air in front of him. The cataclysm tore into the very fabric of the rooftop, disintegrating tiles, metal, and debris in a line that connected him to Defect. It wasn't like destroying the objects around him, no, it was like the world had become a glass image and he'd fractured it into shards. For a split second, there was only the crackling hum of destruction hanging between them—a narrow, unstoppable bridge carved by his power.

The shards didn't remain broken, they shuffled around him, water parting around a blockage in it's path, until the picture was clear again. The rooftop returned, the tiles remade, the debris fell back into place; but the space that Chat occupied had been skipped over, boosting him ahead and, most importantly, over Defect.

Defect had to bend himself back just to meet Chat's gaze, his entire body limp from shock of what, from his point of view, was Chat literally popping out of existence for second. "What the hell!?"

"Neat trick, huh?" Chat grinned down at him, forming a finger gun motion with his hand and aiming right at Defect's head. "Bang."

And unlike Chat, Defect really didn't have any way to dodge.

The remainder of the destruction energy shot out of Chat's fingertip, a small fireball with the power of the God of Destruction. And it slammed against Defect's cheek.

The impact was catastrophic.

The tiny, blazing sphere of Chat's cataclysm hit Defect's cheek, and for a heartbeat, everything was still—almost serene. Then, the energy ignited, expanding in a violent wave that tore through the air around Defect's face. The sheer force sent him reeling, his body skidding backward across the rooftop, smoke trailing in his wake. Chat landed with a cat-like precision, watching as Defect scrambled to regain his balance, his hand clutching his scorched face.

"You're a tricky little thing, I'll give you that," He spat, his voice distorted by the crackling energy.

Quickly, Defect's fingers dug into his bandages, desperately tearing them to shreds and pulling them off him. Whether by luck or skill, he cast them aside just in time before the cataclysm travelled to the rest of his body.

He huffed, almost sounding out of breath. "And I really liked the bandages too…"

Defect's face wasn't exactly what Chat expected. He was waiting for something really ugly and scarred, like charred flesh or some hideous deformity. At the very least, he expected something recognisably human.

He expected a face.

There were no eyes, no lips, no flesh at all – there was only smooth metal plating.

The rest of Defect's outfit fell with a disgruntled huff, no longer seeing any point in hiding his true form. It was all metal, an entirely mechanical body, scuffed, rusted and held together by wires that almost looked like stitches from the way they bridged that gap between all his joints and indents. On his chest plate stood the only thing that looked human, a butterfly symbol, sickly purple and with the texture of flesh, throbbing and pulling like there was something underneath trying to free itself.

Defect caught Chat's silent, astonished stare and raked his hand over his grotesque metal form. "Oh, this? It's just an old wound." He tried to play it off cool, but Chat could hear the way his voice shook. "I got it from trusting the wrong person."

"Y-You're a robot?!" Chat stammered, his voice catching as the realization settled in.

Defect's mouthless visage seemed to twist into an approximation of a sneer, his droning voice somehow carrying an eerie echo of bitterness. "My flesh may be metal now, but I assure you that the tormented soul that writhes within this machine is far more than 1's and 0's."

Now that Chat knew the truth, Defect's voice sounded different. There was a slight distortion, a mechanical hum under each syllable, like an old recording, muffled and cold.

The metal body seemed to come alive as a deep crimson glow pulsed from somewhere within, creeping through the network of wires, like veins filled with blood-red light. "I was dragged down to hell by Hawkmoth's akuma," Defect continued, the glow intensifying with each word, as if the memory itself triggered the surge of power. "I fell before the Devil himself, and he was left wanting."

The red light coursed through his metallic frame, growing brighter as he continued, each word seething with a fury that had long since calcified into something twisted and hollow. "He ripped me apart, hollowed me out. But there was nothing left for him to use. No one who could sate his hunger like Hawkmoth could."

The glow faded slightly, but the malevolence in Defect's tone remained. "He left me like this, with only my… malevolence. Left me a defect, only able to cling to this machine body." His voice dropped to a near whisper, reverberating through the empty rooftop as he added, "And then he latched on to Chrysalis."

Chat felt a shiver run through him, his mind reeling as he tried to process this. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked, fighting to keep the tremor out of his voice.

"Because I want you to understand, as you struggle against us…" Defect's words dripped with a strange mix of bitterness and satisfaction. "There's something far, far worse on the way."

Chat's grip on his baton tightened as he narrowed his eyes. "Then we'll stop that after we stop you."

Defect chuckled, a low, grating sound that scraped against Chat's ears. "That's not how this is gonna go down, Cat." His gaze seemed to pierce right through Chat. "The seeds were planted long ago. Hawkmoth's madness merely accelerated the growth. His roots are spread all throughout Paris now, leaking his decay into the very lifeblood of this city."

He gestured vaguely, as if tracing the city's veins in the air. "It's too late to stop his wretched tree from sprouting, but we can mitigate the damage, build a better future from the ashes." His tone turned almost reverent. "A paradise for everyone."

Chat felt a surge of anger flare up, mixing with the confusion and frustration churning inside him. "If you really believed any of that crap, you wouldn't be our enemy. You wouldn't have murdered Ladybug. You wouldn't terrorize Paris."

He clenched his fists, feeling the anger boiling over. "Please, tell me why we can't be a part of Chrysalis' oh-so-noble plan."

"Before creation comes destruction. And Chrysalis knows none of you would abide by the sacrifices that need to be made."

A cold silence fell between them, and for a moment, Defect's metal frame seemed almost still, as if some part of him hesitated.

Then he spoke, his voice void of any lingering mockery. "If you're waiting for a good reason, a purpose to why Marinette had to die, there isn't." He tilted his head, his red glow casting eerie shadows over his metal face. "Her death was pure spite and vileness. Chrysalis still would have offed her even if it wasn't convenient for the plan."

Chat's vision blurred with rage, his breathing shallow as he fought the urge to lunge at Defect. "You… you destroyed someone who only ever wanted to save people."

"And that's the tragedy, isn't it?" Defect replied, his voice laced with a twisted amusement. "She thought she could protect everyone. She thought she could change things." He shook his head, his tone turning scornful. "But she was just one girl. And this world—this world is far bigger, far darker than any one person can save."

Chat felt the weight of Defect's words pressing down on him, but he refused to let them take hold. Gritting his teeth, he raised his baton, the glint in his eyes sharpening into a deadly focus. "Ladybug's dream isn't dead, no matter what you or Chrysalis think."

He took a step forward, his voice steady and unyielding. "Paris isn't giving in to monsters like you. Not while I'm still standing."

He sprinted forward, his speed blurring him into motion. Defect raised his gun, preparing to aim, but Chat was already on him, moving in unpredictable arcs, never staying in one place long enough for Defect to catch his rhythm. Each step he took destabilized Defect's stance, keeping him off balance. Chat feinted left, drawing Defect's attention just long enough to sidestep and close in from the right.

"And what about Argos, huh? What did you offer him to turn on us?" He spat, throwing all his weight into tackling Defect by the neck, bringing them both down.

"Nothing." Defect answered coldly, caught between explaining and struggling against Chat's movements. There was a level of frustration raking over his voice, but Chat couldn't tell if it was for him, or for Felix. "He was never supposed to be part of the plan, really. I even tried to convince him to walk away, find a nice place to settle down and hide. But he wouldn't hand over the damn peacock unless he had a role to play."

Defect could be lying. He had everything to gain from lying, but something told Chat that this man wasn't that good with subtlety; and that he already knew Defect was right.

"T-That bastard."

A rough shove from Defect smacked Chat out of his thoughts and pushed him away, putting some distance between the two as Defect rushed for his gun and Chat dived for his discarded baton.

Chat Noir's hand tightened around his baton as he watched Defect across the torn rooftop. His breathing was heavy, his pulse pounding like a war drum in his ears. His entire body screamed with the urge to unleash everything he had on this man—no, on this monster who had taken Ladybug from him, who was now trying to make Felix just as twisted. He didn't care about Defect's backstory or whatever sympathy he tried to conjure; nothing could justify the damage he had done.

Defect gave a metallic chuckle, adjusting his stance with a mocking leisure, like he was daring Chat to do his worst. "Don't judge him too harshly," he said, his voice almost thoughtful, even regretful. "He has… good reason to be wary of letting go of the peacock miraculous, and for his distaste for humanity. His father wasn't a good man, or a good teacher."

The way Defect said it, like he was passing down a confession before the end, dug into Chat's patience. "That doesn't justify what he's done, what he did to—" His voice cracked, and his grip on the baton faltered, just for a second. "What is it with you people? Why do you have to ruin everything you touch?!"

Chat gritted his teeth, growling. "Do you think any of this excuses what you've done?"

His voice was calm, too calm. "No."

The admission caught Chat off guard, but it only stoked his fury. "Then why are you even telling me this?! Trying to wring out some pity?"

"Not pity. Understanding, maybe. Or perhaps I just hate leaving loose ends," Defect replied. "I left a lot of questions when I died. It was unbearable. Someone should at least get some of the picture."

Chat's eyes narrowed. "And that lucky person is me, huh?" He spat the words, disgusted.

"Well, you strike me as a kindred spirit, in a way." Defect's tone was unsettlingly light, as though he was discussing the weather. "We're both the side characters in someone else's grand story. But without our leading ladies…" He let the words hang in the air, twisting like a knife.

Chat's fury flared, as much at Defect's comparison as at the painful truth in his words. "I know the perfect place for guys like you. How about I help send you there?" He raised his baton, the dark energy of his cataclysm crackling at the tip, lighting up the rooftop with an eerie green glow.

Defect's metal body tensed, his stance shifting into a defensive posture. "That's right, Kitten, get angry." His voice was taunting, almost gleeful. "Show me your claws."

Chat didn't need any further encouragement. With a snarl, he surged forward, swinging his baton with all his might, aiming right for Defect's core. But Defect anticipated the move, sidestepping at the last second and countering with a brutal punch that sent Chat skidding backward across the rooftop.

He barely had a second to recover before Defect was on him again, his metallic fists crashing down like sledgehammers. Chat twisted to the side, evading the blow by inches, and brought his baton up to block the next strike. The impact jarred his bones, the sheer force behind it almost staggering, but Chat held firm, teeth gritted as he pushed back with all his strength.

Defect leaned in close, his faceless metal mask hovering just inches from Chat's. "That's it," he goaded, his voice low and taunting. "Show me how much you hate me."

Chat's fingers clenched tightly around his baton, a mixture of rage and frustration bubbling up within him as Defect's words echoed in his mind. If he put in enough rage, if he channeled enough of his power, he knew he could knock that metal head off in one devastating blow. Every taunt, every twisted attempt at justification, just seemed to push him further toward the edge.

And yet, even with all that anger, he couldn't quite bring himself to cross the line, to let loose the part of him that wanted nothing more than to tear this metal shell apart. Defect met him blow for blow, his metal fists clashing with Chat's baton in a symphony of sparks and echoes that reverberated across the rooftop. But no matter how much power Chat threw into his attacks, there was a hesitation, a restraint he couldn't shake.

"Come on, I know you can be more aggressive than that." Defect, sensing that restraint, scoffed, his tone dripping with scorn. "Come on, Chat Noir! Where's that anger? That killer instinct? You think you're protecting something by holding back?"

Chat snarled, twisting his baton to strike at Defect's torso, but even as he hit, he couldn't bring himself to put his full weight behind it. Somewhere in the depths of his mind, Adrien's heart still ached with the knowledge that hurting someone—anyone—felt like crossing a line he didn't want to reach.

Defect's featureless, metal face leaned closer, an eerie glow flaring in his chest as if something vile pulsed beneath the surface. "How's your friend holding up? What did you call her after I broke her bones? Mom? I hope I didn't make her scream too much."

Chat's heart clenched as the memory of Nathalie, broken and helpless on the pavement, flashed through his mind. She'd nearly died because of Defect—he'd thrown her off a rooftop, knowing Chat would be forced to watch. The cold, gleeful cruelty in his taunt sent a shiver of disgust down Adrien's spine.

"Shut up!" Chat hissed, barely containing the venom in his voice. His grip on his baton tightened as he fought the urge to unleash everything he had on this monster.

Defect laughed, the metallic tone of his voice echoing, mechanical and inhuman. "Make me shut up. Damn it, boy, I've screwed over your family, I've pulverized your team, I killed your girl. What does it take to make you stop holding back?!"

"I hate you," Chat growled, his voice trembling with barely suppressed fury. "I hate you so much I'm trembling just looking at you."

"Then show it!" Defect challenged, spreading his arms in a taunt. "Show me what you're made of."

Chat took a shaky breath, steadying himself. "But you know what?" he said, his voice quiet yet firm. "I hate hurting people even more. Even bad people. You have no idea how much damage I can do with just a touch, how dangerous it would be if I lost control even once." His gaze flickered with something both pained and resolute. "I even felt guilty when I cataclysmed Monarch."

"You've got to be kidding me." Defect's tone dripped with disbelief. "The miraculous holder of destruction hates destruction?!"

"It's not the only legacy I'm holding right now," Chat replied, his voice unwavering. "I won't sully my Lady's name by using it in bloodlust. I owe her that."

A sudden, roaring yell escaped Defect's featureless metal face. "You don't owe her shit. Not after what she's done to you."

Chat's brow furrowed, suspicion rising. "What are you blabbering about?"

Defect's tone shifted, becoming colder, more controlled. "She had a chance to end all of this, but she decided to help Hawkmoth instead."

Chat's eyes narrowed, his heart pounding at the absurdity of the claim. "You're lying."

"Oh, I'm many things," Defect said, his voice dripping with bitterness. "But I'm not lying. Every advantage we have, every opportunity we seize, every step forward we make—it's all because she betrayed you." He leaned in, voice like a whisper of poison. "She betrayed all of you."

Just before Defect could shoulder onwards to deliver another blow, his head snapped up, the butterfly symbol appearing over his faceplate. Chat didn't want to admit it, but that was a god sent. The fight had run long enough and he couldn't deny how high a toll it had taken on his body, leaving him a ragged, huffing mess barely standing straight as he stared down Defect.

Defect nodded, presumably to Chrysalis, before the symbol disappeared. He pulled himself back into his normal stance, gazing down at the crumpled patches of metal where Chat Noir's attacks had landed. He almost looked impressed.

"I'm being called away now, but make sure to stew on that for a while, okay?" He turned away, knowing that Chat Noir wasn't going to follow. "Turn that pain, that anger, into power; you're gonna need it the next time we fight. 'Cus one of us has gotta die."

As Defect's form disappeared into the shadows, Chat struggled to keep himself from collapsing. His vision blurred slightly from exhaustion and the sting of Defect's words. He clutched his side, feeling the bruises beneath his suit and barely holding himself together.

Raising a trembling hand, he pressed his communicator. "You guys there?"

The response was immediate. "Chat, are you alive?!" Rena's frantic voice came through, her relief barely concealing her worry.

"Barely," Chat rasped, attempting a weak smile that none of them could see.

"And Defect?"

"Flown the coop, and talked my ear off," He muttered, unable to hide his frustration. "We've got a lot to go over when I get back."

Carapace's voice joined in, cautious but supportive. "Man, I don't wanna sound rude, but you don't sound like you're in fighting shape."

"Cara-Dork's right," Queen Bee chimed in, sounding unusually sympathetic. "We can handle this one without you."

Chat hesitated, pride and exhaustion battling in his mind. "Are you guys sure?"

Viperion's calm voice answered. "You kiddin'? That jerk took on three of us at the same time. The fact that you came out of a solo bout still standing and with him on the run..."

Rena's tone was softer now, almost maternal. "Get some rest, Adrien. That's an order."

He couldn't help but laugh despite everything. "Thanks, Moms."

Chat took a steadying breath, shifting to a more serious tone. "But just to run down the bullet points, Alya..." And then so something more petty and smug. "There's a third mastermind, just like I said."

"Oh, fuck off," Rena huffed.

"Felix is a dirty traitor," Chat added, the anger creeping back into his voice. "And I give full permission for anyone interested in kicking him in the—"

"I better start forming a line," Viperion interrupted dryly.

Chat continued, his tone more sombre, "And the Miraculous Task Force is 100% working with Chrysalis."

Pegasus's voice crackled through with confusion. "How'd you figure that?"

"Old wound. My face. You keep staring at it." He stated matter-of-factly, a slight tired edge informing Adrien that Chalot has had to explain this more than once. "I know I move oddly at times, it's cus of an old wound."

"Oh, was it from your time in the military?"

"I just trusted the wrong person."

"Because Defect is Chalot F. Moth," Chat said, his voice filled with grim certainty.

Next Time - Simple Comforts:

Adrien's heart pounded, his eyes tracking every page Su-Han turned. He saw sketches and names of past wielders, flashes of Ladybugs, Chat Noirs, and other miraculous holders he vaguely recognized. Finally, Su-Han's fingers came to a halt on a page depicting a butterfly holder.

Alya leaned closer. "So, this is the last guy?"

Su-Han's face took on an unexpectedly grave look as he examined the page. His voice was a tense murmur, filled with unease. "...No, it isn't."

Adrien's brows furrowed. "Huh? But I don't see any more after him."

Su-Han nodded. "I can see that." His voice dropped even lower. "But there should be one more."

Alya looked at him skeptically. "How do you know?"

Su-Han's gaze darkened as his fingers tightened on the book. "Because this holder's time is before the butterfly miraculous was broken."

The words hung heavy in the air, hitting Adrien with the force of a wave. "Broken!?"

For a second, Nathalie looked up, and in that instant, Adrien caught a brief flash of panic in her usually composed expression. Her mask of calm cracked before she glanced back down, eyes fixed on the table in front of her.