You'll never hear any more ridicule, and you'll never be hurt again.
Ivan's breathing hitched. Invincible? Turn to stone? No more ridicule?
It sounded... too tempting.
His mind flashed with Kim's hateful smiling face, the principal's condescending gaze, and the looks of his classmates, whether sympathetic or enjoying the show.
But! He didn't want any of that!
He just wanted to quietly... be with Mylène... Your hesitation is the source of your pain." Hawk Moth's voice was like a worm in his stomach, precisely capturing the fleeting thought in his mind, "Accept my power, and you can protect those you want to protect, and destroy all obstacles in your way.
I... I..." Ivan's defenses were crumbling.
Say 'agree', Stoneheart. Say it, and this power will be yours.
I... agree!"
Ivan squeezed out these two words as if he had used all his strength.
The moment the words fell, the crumpled paper in his pocket suddenly erupted with a thick, inky dark energy. These black liquids, as if alive, rapidly surged out of his pocket, spread up his pant leg, and instantly covered his feet, his legs, and his torso.
Ivan? Are you alright? The principal wants you to..." Just then, Ms. Caline, who had finished her tasks, rushed over. As she turned the corner of the corridor, she saw Ivan standing at the principal's office door, and was about to tell him to go in, but was struck speechless by the terrifying scene before her.
She watched as the black liquid completely engulfed Ivan, flowing, reorganizing, and solidifying on him. The black receded, replaced by hard, rough gray rock. Ivan's body swelled and transformed into a giant humanoid rock monster. His facial features became blurred, with only two burning orange-red flames of anger where his eyes should be.
The crumpled paper, which was the core of the Akumatization, was now firmly fixed in a groove at his rocky waist, protected by a semicircular, even stronger rock shell, like an indestructible safe.
Ivan, who had become "Stoneheart," or rather, the monster now known as Stoneheart,
Ms. Caline's face turned pale with fright, and she instinctively took two steps back, feeling cold all over.
Stoneheart completely ignored her. His massive rocky body turned towards the closed door of the principal's office. He didn't push it with his hand, but directly slammed into it with his broad, rocky shoulder!
Boom—!!!
With a loud bang, the solid wood door, along with its frame, was violently smashed to pieces, sending splinters flying!
Inside the office, Principal Damocles, who was about to call out again through the door for the student to come in, was scared out of his wits by the explosion-like roar. He scrambled under his sturdy desk, trembling, his mustache quivering with fear.
Stoneheart had no interest in the cowering "coward." His orange-red gaze swept around and finally locked onto the direction of the gymnasium.
Kim—!!!
Another roar filled with rage. This time, he didn't go through the door, nor the corridor. He turned to the side wall, raised his massive rocky fist high, and delivered a heavy blow to the load-bearing wall!
Rumble!!!
Bricks cracked, and wall dust billowed. The sturdy wall was as fragile as a biscuit before him, and a huge hole appeared. The sunlight from outside and the noise of the street instantly poured in.
Stoneheart leaped out of the hole without hesitation, his heavy body landing on the street outside the school, creating two deep indentations in the hard asphalt road. He didn't stop for a moment, taking heavy strides and running swiftly in the direction of the gymnasium in his memory.
Inside the office, Principal Damocles shakily crawled out from under the desk, looked at the huge hole in the wall and the distant, massive stone back outside the window, and frantically picked up the phone on his desk.
Hello?! Police station?! Monster! There's a monster at our school! His voice was sharp and distorted.
The operator on the other end was clearly impatient: "Sir, please calm down. This is the Paris Police Department, how can I help you?"
I said! There's a monster! A stone monster! He just destroyed my office!
A stone monster? Sir, are you perhaps joking? Is today April Fools' Day?
I'm not joking!" the principal shouted exasperatedly, "Send someone immediately! Just have the nearby patrol police come and see! Hurry!
...Alright, sir, please wait a moment. The operator's tone was full of perfunctoriness, but he still followed procedure and notified the patrol car in the nearby district.
However, what no one expected was that in less than thirty seconds, the patrol car's radio crackled with the terrified call of a patrol officer: Command Center! Command Center! We see it! It's real! Oh my God! A giant stone monster is running down the street! Requesting backup! Requesting backup!
The impatience on the operator's face instantly turned to horror. He immediately pressed the highest level alarm. Suddenly, the entire Paris Police Department sprang into action, sirens blared from all directions, and several police cars sped towards Francois Dupont High School.
By the hole in the principal's office, Principal Damocles had just hung up the phone when he saw Ms. Caline, who was equally shaken.
Ms. Caline! Where... where is that student? Where did he go?" the principal asked anxiously.
Ms. Caline's lips were still trembling, and she pointed in the direction Stoneheart had gone, her voice choked with tears: "Mr. Principal... that... that stone monster just now... that was Ivan!"
What?! A student... turned into a monster?" The principal felt like his heart attack was about to strike, and also, the Kim he had been shouting about earlier... What exactly was going on?
A word to awaken a dreamer!
Ms. Caline reacted instantly. Kim! Gym class! Gymnasium! The whole class!
Ivan's target was Kim in the gymnasium!
Oh, no!" she exclaimed, no longer bothering to answer the principal's question, her face drained of color. She turned and sprinted downstairs, shouting as she ran: "Danger! The gymnasium is in danger!
On the streets of Paris, a surreal chase was unfolding. Stoneheart's massive body thundered down the sidewalk, each step shaking the ground, setting off car alarms along the roadside in a cacophony. Terrified pedestrians screamed and scattered, the scene a chaotic mess.
The first few police cars to arrive tried to block him, and the police bravely drew their pistols and fired at Stoneheart's back.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets struck his rocky body, only sparking a series of flashes, not even leaving a white mark. What was even more terrifying was that these attacks seemed to be his nourishment; with each hit, his body visibly grew another increment, his original three-meter height quickly reaching nearly four meters.
Attack ineffective! Attack ineffective! The monster is growing! The police reported desperately over their walkie-talkies.
On the other side
At Agreste Mansion, Adrien was idly watching the huge screen in his room. The news channel urgently interrupted with a live broadcast, showing Stoneheart rampaging through the streets... an unidentified giant rock monster was causing widespread panic in downtown Paris, and the police were currently helpless... Adrien's eyes suddenly lit up.
In those emerald green eyes, weariness and suppression vanished, replaced by a kindled flame called "hope."
Plagg! Look!" he exclaimed excitedly.
Plagg, who was munching on a piece of cheese, floated over and lazily glanced at the screen: "Oh, another poor soul. What does it have to do with us? You can't go out anyway."
No! Adrien suddenly stood up from the sofa, his fists clenched, "This time it's different! This is an opportunity! A chance to change everything!"
He was no longer a caged canary; he was Cat Noir! A superhero with the power of "destruction"! He had the responsibility, and the right, to go out into the world!
Are you serious?" Plagg raised an eyebrow.
I am absolutely serious!" Adrien's eyes were unwavering, "Plagg, let's go!"
I haven't finished my cheese—!"
Plagg's complaints were interrupted by a green light that was sucked into the ring. A brilliant green light enveloped Adrien's entire body. A black combat suit, cat ears, a mask, a long tail belt around his waist, and an omnipotent metal staff were instantly equipped.
Cat Noir agilely ran to the window and pushed it open without hesitation. He looked at the free sky outside, felt the breeze that did not belong to the Agreste Mansion blowing on his face, and a confident and flamboyant smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He forcefully propped the metal staff on the ground, and his entire body, like a black arrow, shot up into the sky, leaping rapidly across the rooftops of Paris, rushing towards the center of the chaos.
The gymnasium of Francois Dupont High School was still peaceful at this moment.
The students were doing warm-up exercises under the guidance of their teacher, stretching and jumping, completely unaware that a huge crisis was approaching. Of course, the center of everyone's conversation was still the protagonist of the farce that had just occurred.
"Kim really went too far this time," Alya said to Marinette and Lino next to her while pressing her leg. "Ivan, although usually quiet, shouldn't be bullied like this."
"That's right," Lino agreed. "Joking with other people's feelings is not cool at all."
On the other side, Rose and Julie gathered together, their faces full of worry.
"Mylène seemed to have cried just now," Rose whispered. "She must have been scared."
Julie nodded silently. She could deeply understand the pain and helplessness of having one's scars exposed in public.
Chloé and Sabrina were doing stretches in a corner. Chloé curled her lip in disdain: "It's such a fuss. It's just a note, isn't it? Both of them are stupid and fragile. If anyone dared to do that to me, my father would make him disappear from Paris immediately."
"Exactly, exactly, Chloé is right!" Sabrina quickly echoed.
Jaden was alone at the end of the line, doing his warm-up exercises with standard movements, but his ears were like radar, collecting all the information around him. He watched Kim, who was being "judged" by everyone, still looking unrepentant and even a little smug, boasting about his "heroic deeds" to Max.
Jaden's heart was calm. The plot, finally, had begun.
Suddenly!
Boom—!!!
A loud bang came from the roof of the gymnasium! Immediately after, a black figure, like a meteorite, fell from the sky, crashing heavily onto the wooden floor in the center of the gymnasium!
The floor instantly cracked, and a shallow pit several meters in diameter appeared before everyone's eyes, with wood chips and dust flying everywhere!
The students were all startled by this sudden change and screamed, backing away in fear, looking at the figure slowly climbing out of the pit.
It was a young man in a black leotard, wearing cat ears and a mask. He brushed the dust off his body, twirled the metal staff in his hand, and revealed a roguishly handsome smile.
"Good afternoon, everyone! Sorry, my entrance might have been a bit... impactful." Cat Noir looked around, His gaze finally fixed on the commotion in the distance. "However, the situation is urgent, I suggest everyone leave here quickly! The farther, the better!"
Everyone was still in a daze, not understanding who this strangely dressed guy was, when another thunderous boom came from the roof of the gymnasium!
Stoneheart's massive body directly leaped onto the roof of the gymnasium, the translucent ceiling creaking under his weight, and a huge shadow enveloped the entire venue.
"Kim—!!!"
That roar, full of anger, echoed like thunder in everyone's ears.
This time, everyone heard clearly. They looked up in horror and saw the terrifying monster made of rock, emitting an ominous red glow.
"Ah—! It's Ivan!" Someone recognized the voice and let out an even more shrill scream. "Run!"
Panic spread like a virus instantly. The students no longer cared about warm-up exercises, crying, screaming, and scattering like headless chickens, the scene completely out of control.
Stoneheart's scarlet gaze quickly searched through the chaotic crowd and instantly locked onto his equally terrified target.
"Let's see where you can run now, coward!"
He roared and leaped from the roof, his heavy body once again smashing a large pit into the floor. He ignored the other students who were scattering and ran towards Kim with a clear target.
Kim was scared out of his wits, scrambling and crawling towards the gymnasium exit. Stoneheart pursued relentlessly, each giant stride shaking the entire gymnasium.
"Let's see who the coward is!" he roared in anger as he chased.
The other students desperately dodged his huge and heavy footsteps, fearing being trampled into pulp.
In the midst of this chaos, Alya made a move that went against everyone else. Not only did she not run away, but her eyes lit up, and she pulled out her phone from her pocket, activating video recording mode.
"Oh my god! A real supervillain! This is breaking news!" she muttered excitedly to herself, trying to find a good angle to film this once-in-a-lifetime scene up close.
She completely failed to notice that Stoneheart, with a casual wave during the chase, had sent a large wooden plank, mixed with rubble, torn from the floor, whistling towards her!
"Look out!"
Just at this critical moment, a figure rushed over like lightning. Jaden grabbed Alya's arm and pulled her back forcefully.
Almost at the same instant, the deadly rubble smashed with a "bang" onto the spot where Alya had just been standing, creating a shocking crater in the ground.
Alya stumbled from the great force, directly crashing into Jaden's firm embrace. She could smell a faint, pleasant scent like a gentle breeze from him, and she could feel the undeniable strength from his arm. Still in shock, she looked up, meeting Jaden's unfathomable dark eyes.
"Do you want news, or your life?" Jaden's voice was low, but it carried an undeniable coldness. He didn't give Alya any time to react, directly pulling her wrist and dragging her to a relatively safe corner, where she stayed with several other trembling students.
"Stay here and don't move! Find cover and hide!" Jaden's voice was not loud, but it was exceptionally steady, miraculously calming the frantic emotions of the surrounding students.
Lino, Mark, Julie, and Rose, among others, instinctively obeyed his command, all hiding behind the bleacher seats.
Alya finally came to her senses. She looked at the terrifying pit on the ground, swallowed nervously in hindsight, but her journalist's soul made her unable to resist saying something: "I... I just wanted to..."
"Shut up. You can only write news if you survive." Jaden interrupted her concisely, his gaze fixed intently on the battle in the arena.
Cat Noir had already engaged Stoneheart.
Alya composed herself and began to count the people, suddenly realizing something was wrong: "Marinette! Marinette is gone!"
Jaden's gaze shifted slightly, but he didn't turn around, merely saying calmly: "She's probably scared and hiding somewhere else. Let's take care of ourselves first."
His tone was so calm, as if he was talking about a trivial matter unrelated to him. But he knew better than anyone that Marinette, at this moment, must be hiding in a corner, preparing to transform.
Sure enough, in the girls' locker room at the other end of the gymnasium, Marinette was leaning against a row of lockers, trembling with fear, her face ashen. The loud noises and screams outside made her almost unable to stand steady.
"I... I can't do it, Tikki..." She clutched her head, her voice tearful. "That's a monster! A real monster! I... I'm just an ordinary girl. I can't even argue with Chloé, how can I possibly fight a monster!"
The little red sprite, Tikki, flew out of her purse, her face full of anxiety and encouragement.
"You can do it, Marinette!" Tikki's voice was clear and firm. "You were chosen for a reason! What you possess is the power of creation! You are much braver than you think!"
"But... but I'm so scared!" Marinette's tears welled up in her eyes.
"It's normal to be scared, Marinette. The real..."