Chapter 37: A Moment of distraction
The Shrouded One was shocked. He stared at his empty hands—hands that a moment ago held people he had wanted to snap the necks of. Now, suddenly, they were empty. In that moment, he regained his rationality. The deep red of his anger faded, leaving behind his usual, less intense shade.
That brief distraction allowed the birds they had been searching for to seize the opportunity. With a burst of fiery breath, they unleashed a devastating wave of flame that engulfed everything in an instant, not sparing the Shrouded One. Not even Little 5 escaped. They burned, but just as quickly, their minds cleared, and they teleported away from the flames. Still, they weren't unscathed; they had burn injuries.
They fled to the Shrouded One's home in the forest. "What just happened? Did the girls disappear and get replaced by birds, or did the girls themselves turn into birds?" Little 5 asked, confusion evident in his voice.
Beside him, Little 9 looked far from pleased. He was burned—again—by the same person. How on earth did these girls manage to harm him every time he came close to destroying them? Every time, something always happened to distract him, and that distraction was always so powerful, so intense, that he couldn't avoid it. And that was all they needed. A minute.
He decided to ignore Little 5 and focused on checking his injuries. Fortunately, this time, they weren't too severe. He still had his powers. To test them, he blew wind, and Little 5 was immediately carried away and dumped outside the house. Little 5 screamed as he hit the ground, grumbling angrily as he tried to stand up.
"Hey, what did I do to deserve that? If you wanted a spar to feel better, you should have just asked instead of sneaking an attack behind my back. You don't have to take your anger out on me! It was those girls! And don't forget, I only came to help you, and now I have injuries too," Little 5 shouted.
"Sorry, I wanted to be sure my powers were working," Little 9 muttered, not even bothering to check if Little 5 had sustained serious injuries. Fortunately for him, his body was resilient, unlike the other brothers, and the wounds weren't severe enough to require immediate attention.
What annoyed him, however, was that now he would have to ask Percy to heal them. Not that he wanted to include Little 9—this was all his fault. He planned to call Percy over when Little 9 was away so he could heal without Little 9 knowing.
"That serves him right. He deserves it, hmph," Little 5 scoffed, then silently called for Percy in his mind.
Back at the castle, Percy, who had been stewing over how to avenge himself ever since Little 9 unleashed his blood rage, wasn't pleased to be called, but he had no choice. It was the Master's rule—they had to respond when called. So, grumbling between clenched teeth, he stood up and headed toward Little 5.
"Why did you call for me, you stupid boy?" Percy growled, clearly irritated.
"Come on, little brother. Your ancestor here needs your expertise," Little 5 replied, unaffected by Percy's mood.
Among them, only Percy and the Master had healing powers, so Percy always had to stay at the castle, available for emergencies.
"What happened? These wounds feel familiar. Don't tell me those girls dealt with you too," Percy said, then suddenly burst into laughter, forgetting his earlier frustration. "Hahaha, I didn't expect you, the cunning Little 5, to be tricked too!"
Little 5, on the other hand, just let him laugh it out. As long as it eased Percy's anger and he healed him quickly, Little 5 wouldn't complain. After all, he needed Percy to heal him before Little 9 came back. The punishment was for Little 9 to suffer with the wounds for a while.
Unbeknownst to Little 5, his scheming was unnecessary. The Shrouded One had no intention of calling Percy to heal him. In fact, when he first got burned, his instincts had triggered a call for Percy. By the time he realized it was too late, the call had already been made. He tried to mask his scent, hoping Percy wouldn't find him. But the Master, knowing exactly where to look, would have found him regardless. Even if he hadn't called for Percy, the Master would have known. The Shrouded One decided to let his wounds heal on their own—an ongoing reminder to deal with the girls and exact his revenge.