Past nine at night, ink-dark sky spilled over the hotel rooftop; three silhouettes faced off like three blades against the wind.

“Huh, didn’t think Coco had this many Abnormals watching her,” Avril said, eyes glinting like a cat tracking twin flames.

Gu Xin’s voice came like a frost blade. “Avril Will, where did you take Coco?!”

Avril smiled, light as a breeze over water. “Before questions, names first, right?”

Meng Yuting’s face set like stone under moonlight. “Shadow Division. Phantom. Princess.”

“Shadow Division?” Avril’s chuckle chimed like bells in mist. “Didn’t expect a big Shadow Division name in little Ninghai.”

Meng Yuting’s tone smoothed like silk over steel. “Since you know us, tell us where Tang Coco is. You don’t want a clash.”

Avril’s eyes danced like ripples in wine. “Heard Shadow Division even slipped into our family. No comment on that?”

Gu Xin’s brow tightened, storm rolling under calm; then the blade of thought cut clean. “No—she’s stalling. Damn!”

Her arm lifted, and ice lances unfurled with a whoosh, streaking like pale comets toward Avril.

Avril didn’t flinch; calm pooled like a lake before dawn. She spread her hands, and countless petals rose like a red tide. Anomalous Energy bled crimson; a petal vortex knit a shield. The ice lances slammed, crackling like sleet on glass, and broke.

A shadow smudged across the night. Avril slipped sideways; a black figure blurred through where she’d stood. A dagger kissed air and shattered the floating petal shield with a sharp crack.

“Whew, that’s sharp,” Avril laughed, eyes bright like lanterns. “No wonder you’re Phantom. Fighting you in the dark isn’t a wise pick.”

“Then you should surrender,” Meng Yuting purred, voice like warm wine, her Shadow Division grace coiling like smoke.

“Relax, I’m not that flimsy.” Avril flicked her wrist, body swaying like a willow, and slid again; a massive ice lance hammered down where she’d been with a thud. Shards burst like starlight and skittered into dust.

“Your Anomaly Power control is fierce,” she smiled toward Gu Xin, frost-light in the distance. “Thanks for not wrecking my hotel—repairs are a pain.”

“Alright then, time to show you Avril Will isn’t like the ordinary Abnormals in my house.”

Petals billowed around her like a blooming storm. Two ovals the size of doorways swarmed together; petals peeled back, revealing two humanoid flower sprites, faces like buds, limbs like vines. Avril flicked her fingers; the sprites surged—one at Gu Xin, one at Meng Yuting.

Steel and bloom tangled. Meng Yuting skimmed the air to Gu Xin’s side like a swallow; the flower sprite trailed, shadow-hungry. Meng Yuting slipped into a seam of darkness, a ripple vanishing under the moon. Losing its mark, the sprite whirled and attacked Gu Xin. Gu Xin’s hands flared; ice blades grew like winter leaves, and she parried both sprites with crisp rings.

Avril watched from afar, wind teasing her hair like silver threads, while an invisible earpiece whispered in her ear like a low drum underwater.

“Miss, we’ve begun the plan,” a low male voice rumbled, steady as night tide.

A pinprick of dread, a spark in the eye—Avril’s pupils tightened; her body cut right and down like a swallow diving.

“Teleport—Millisecond Assassination!” The words flowed like cold ink.

Meng Yuting blinked through space, shadow swift; she appeared behind Avril, blade a moon sliver. Mercy held the edge—she aimed for the shoulder. Cloth tore with a hiss; Avril slipped just enough, the dagger only nicking fabric.

“Wow, that was close,” Avril said, fingers tugging the torn cloth; the dress refused to cover. A snow-white shoulder caught moonlight like frost on porcelain.

“But… seems you missed,” she smiled, voice a petal floating on water.

Meng Yuting’s smile curved like a crescent blade. “Don’t underestimate the Princess. And don’t forget—she’s no Princess now. She’s the White Demon.”

Avril’s brow creased, a thin line drawn by the cold; bare skin felt it first. The air threaded with a chilling edge like needles of winter. She turned toward Gu Xin, who glowed in the distance like a white flame.

On Gu Xin’s side, the two flower sprites had gone still as statues. Crystal-white frost sheathed them, locking them in ice. Gu Xin’s black hair carried a dusting of hoarfrost; a white breath of Anomalous Energy haloed her like a winter moon. Her gaze cut to Avril, cold as glacier glass.

“Where is Coco!”

Her words fell like sleet. Frost crawled from under her feet, jagged shards blooming like icy thorns. The rooftop glazed over in a breath. Meng Yuting had already leapt clear; Avril’s ankles seized, ice gripping like shackles.

Cold pressed close; Avril felt it like a pale tide, yet her calm held like a lantern in wind. She weighed a dozen plays, then sighed, soft as a falling petal.

“Seems Shadow Division shouldn’t be underestimated,” she said, voice steady as tea in a storm. “It’s not pretty, but tonight—I still win.”

Silence answered, heavy as snow on pines; Gu Xin and Meng Yuting watched, faces set like carved jade.

“I’m sure you smelled roses in the lobby,” Avril said, tone light as fragrance. “Just ordinary perfume to the nose. But my Anomaly doesn’t only guide flowers. It guides scent. So changing its nature and effect? That’s easy.”

A beat hit like a distant gong. Unease pricked both hearts, a shadow crossing the moon.

Avril’s pupils flared gold, bright as coins in firelight. Gu Xin and Meng Yuting felt their inner sea of Anomaly stutter, power losing current like a river cut by ice. Nothing moved. No flow, no spark.

“Damn,” Gu Xin thought, cold biting deeper; first time meeting this kind of Abnormal, and they’d stepped into her net. Peace had dulled their edge.

“You two are strong,” Avril said, smile thin as silk. “I can only seal your Anomaly Powers for a few seconds. But… that’s enough.”

“Rime-Thorn Bloom.”

Her hand swept, and dense golden flowers erupted like a storm of suns. Petals sharpened to razor crescents; a thousand blades of bloom shrieked toward Gu Xin.

“Xin’er!” Meng Yuting cried, voice like a swallow breaking dawn.