Drak, Cenk, and Yuno looked at each other, their minds buzzing and going completely blank.
Sen, their direct superior and a man with immense influence within the League, had joined the Team Magma.
What about them?
The implications were self-evident.
The trio's gazes subconsciously fell upon the tactical short sword discarded on the ground; Sen's blood still clung to the blade, glinting coldly in the dim forest.
Do we... have to cut too?
This thought surfaced uncontrollably, causing all three of them to shudder in unison.
Those were fingers, not fingernails.
Seeing the few of them standing frozen in place, their faces written with hesitation and fear, an anonymous rage surged straight to Sen's head.
Damn it, what's this?
I've already gone this far, and you're still being picky?
"Is following Lord Tabitha beneath you?"
"Do it already! Are you waiting for me to treat you to dinner!"
Sen's voice was hoarse; due to blood loss and intense pain, it sounded like a worn-out bellows.
He wasn't just urging them; it was more like he was venting.
Venting his anger at his own incompetence, venting his resentment at the unfairness of fate.
He transformed all his humiliation and unwillingness into fury directed at his subordinates.
Looking into Sen's bloodshot, nearly crazed eyes, the trio's hearts trembled.
They knew there was no way back.
Either die now, or... like Sen, sever a finger to survive.
Drak was the eldest of the three; he took a deep breath as if making a momentous decision.
He stepped forward silently and picked up the short sword from the ground.
The hilt was slippery, and the sticky sensation made his stomach churn.
He didn't look at his own hand; he simply closed his eyes and, mimicking Sen's earlier action, swung down hard against his left ring finger!
"Ugh!"
With a short, muffled groan, Drak staggered, his face instantly turning as white as paper.
With the first one done, the second followed.
Cenk and Yuno exchanged a glance, both seeing despair in the other's eyes.
They gritted their teeth and took the short sword.
*Squelch!*
*Squelch!*
Two more soft sounds of flesh being sliced open followed.
For a moment, only heavy breathing and suppressed groans of pain remained in the forest.
Four people, eight severed finger segments, like offerings for some evil ritual, lay scattered on the muddy moss.
Tabitha watched this scene, feeling satisfied.
What he wanted wasn't just a few fingers, but this total break and submission.
"Hahahaha! Good! Very good!"
He laughed out loud, his laughter sounding exceptionally piercing in the oppressive woods.
He stepped forward and slapped Sen heavily on the shoulder; the force was so great that the already tottering Sen almost knelt on the ground.
"From today on, you are brothers of my Team Magma!"
Tabitha put his arm around Sen and announced loudly to the team members behind him, his tone full of bravado.
The corner of Sen's mouth twitched into a difficult arc, an expression uglier than crying.
The sharp pain from his shoulder intertwined with the agony in his hand, but he could no longer feel it.
A deeper pain, originating from his soul, submerged him.
Only he knew how miserable he felt.
Once a high-ranking League official whose every word was law, wherever he went, wasn't he surrounded by attendants and feared by all?
He enjoyed the pleasure that power brought, the feeling of playing with the fates of others in the palm of his hand.
But now?
He had become a stray dog that needed to wag its tail for pity.
There was no going back.
He knew clearly in his heart that from the moment he swung that first blow, there was no turning back.
The glory of the League and his past power had all become illusions.
Amidst this bizarre atmosphere of harmony, an extremely faint rustling sound came from the nearby bushes.
Everyone became alert.
The Team Magma members immediately placed their hands on the Poké Balls at their waists.
A sleek-furred Linoone darted vigorously out of the waist-high grass; it glanced warily at the crowd and then stopped obediently in front of a pair of boots.
Immediately after, a tall figure pushed aside the branches and stepped out.
The newcomer wore a proper Gym Leader uniform, his face resolute and his eyes calm; it was the Gym Leader of Petalburg Gym, Norman.
As soon as Norman appeared, the air seemed to stagnate.
His gaze swept across the scene, first seeing the wary Team Magma members, then landing on Sen, who was being held by Tabitha.
When he saw the bloody left hands of Sen and the other three, as well as the severed fingers on the ground, a ripple finally appeared in his calm eyes.
Norman looked at the strange display of camaraderie between Sen and Tabitha with an unfriendly expression.
"Sen, what is the meaning of this?"
His voice wasn't loud, yet it was like a stone thrown into a dead pond, instantly shattering the delicate balance of the scene.
Sen's body froze.
Norman?
Why would he be here?!
In an instant, everyone's eyes focused on Sen.
Tabitha sized up Norman with interest, then laughed. Instead of letting go of Sen, he tightened his grip, almost dragging half of Sen's body into his own embrace.
"Oh, isn't this the famous Petalburg Gym Leader? What, do you have an objection to me having a gathering with our new Team Magma brother?"
As he spoke, like he was showing off a trophy, he suddenly yanked up Sen's still-dripping left hand and held it in front of Norman.
"See this? This is Minister Sen's pledge of loyalty for joining our Team Magma! From now on, he's one of ours!"
At that moment, Sen's face completely lost all color.
He felt like a prisoner stripped of his clothes, dragged out for public display before the crowd.
That mutilated hand was a brand of shame he could never wash away.
Endless regret submerged him like a tide.
He regretted it so much!
If only he had hesitated for one more second back then, even just one second!
If he had just waited until Norman appeared, everything would have been different!
He might have been caught by Norman and sent to the League court, but at least he would still be the League's Sen! He would still have room to maneuver, a possibility for a comeback!
Instead of being like this—a traitor, a useless piece of trash who couldn't even keep his own fingers!
One wrong step led to many more.
In those few short minutes just now, he had personally pushed his life into an abyss of eternal damnation.
Norman's gaze moved away from the bloody hand and fell back onto Sen's face.
That gaze turned cold.
There were no more questions, no more surprise, only the coldness of looking at a stranger, or even... a dead man.
He slowly spat out a single word.
"Oh?"
"You mean to say, you've betrayed the League?"