Chapter 25: Little 9
The Shrouded One, knowing he was in the wrong, did not utter a word in his defense. Instead, he knelt before the Master, his head bowed, ready to accept whatever reprimand was deemed fitting.
"You were very serious back then when I wanted to assign this task to Little 5," the Master said, his voice filled with unmistakable disappointment. "You insisted that you could get the job done, and now here we are—the mission unaccomplished, and you don't even have your powers."
The last statement shocked the Shrouded One. His eyes widened as if they might pop out of their sockets. He could only think of one person: Percy. Turning toward Percy, he found the latter merely shrugging his shoulders, as though to say it had nothing to do with him. But the Shrouded One didn't believe him—and honestly, he didn't care.
"What? You didn't think you could hide that from me, did you?" the Master continued. "I'm your Master. I raised and trained you all. How could I not sense something different about you?"
"Had you not come, I might not have known," the Master went on. "But the moment you reached the gate, I sensed something unusual. Then it occurred to me—if you could escape with scars from your own attack, then being powerless isn't strange at all."
At that reminder, the Shrouded One—referred to as Little 9—believed that Percy had not gone behind his back to tell on him.
He turned to Percy, who just shrugged again, glancing at him as if saying, "I told you so."
"So tell me," the Master said, his eyes glistening with anger, "how should I punish you? And how will we accomplish the mission? I don't want to continue living in the wilderness like an animal when I should be a king."
"Master may punish me however he wishes," the Shrouded One whispered. "This humble son shall not object."
"In that case," the Master declared with a roar, "you shall stay here and train. Meanwhile, the mission will be assigned to Little 5, as per my original plan. Is that clear?"
Upon hearing that, Little 9 was shocked. His jaw tightened, and his fingers dug deep into his palm, the force of his restraint drawing blood. The ground beneath him was soon stained with his own blood.
"As the Master says, so shall it be done," he spat out coldly, before standing to leave. But suddenly…
"I haven't finished with you yet," the Master growled. "Who gave you the audacity to walk out on me?"
With that, a surge of power erupted, lifting Little 9 off his feet and hurling him across the room.
Thud!
His body hit the wall with a heavy crash, and blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. The scene shocked Percy to the core. Little 9 had always been the Master's favorite, and despite how many times he had been wrong, the Master had never used his powers to punish him—not until now. This was the first time, and Percy came to one conclusion:
The Master was truly beyond angry this time.