The second round of knocking was louder, making the security door hum with the vibrations.
In the living room, Starshine immediately unfolded her legs from the sofa, the pencil in her mouth stopping midair.
On the yoga mat in the corner, Azure Gale held two Core Shards and went still as well.
The two exchanged a glance.
Their light receded at the same time. Gold faded into a chest, green sank into palm lines, and their battle dresses scattered into fine dust as their transformations ended.
A gray stone buckle on the corner of the coffee table dimmed a notch too.
The little gadget had been issued along with the Core Shards. Their teacher called it a Breath-Concealing Buckle, designed specifically to absorb the fluctuations that leaked out when they transformed or reverted.
There was no sound from the hallway, but Su Xiaoxiao was already panicking.
She looked down at her pajamas, then up at the evidence covering the coffee table. Red arrays drawn in crayon overlapped in layers, and draft paper spilled from the tabletop onto the floor.
The notebook lay open right in the middle, its last page reading: Personally tested by this Saintess. It works.
If the Monster Hunting Bureau saw all this and matched it to their apartment number, their family would be put on the priority watchlist tonight. Her brother's file would be pinned right alongside hers.
With a swish, she snatched the black cloak off the sofa and covered the entire coffee table.
She grabbed the light blanket and wrapped it around herself, then peeled the cooling patch off her forehead, crumpled it up, and stuffed it into a crack in the sofa.
The blanket was long and wide, trailing on the floor.
Over on the other side, Ye Qingqing was much calmer, slipping