Chapter 258: 258: The Race for Morgana

I made up my mind.

Rivalries and vendetta's aside, all I had to do as their leader was make a decision based on what I needed, and I could agree on the one thing – I needed strong nestlings.

But not just that, they also had to be loyal to me.

Both of these qualities were present in some nestlings and sorely lacking or misplaced in others, and I needed to fix that.

While Morgana would class as strong, she was willing to attack my most loyal captain which made her the furthest thing from what I needed – unless I personally took action.

Sensei sensed my dark thoughts, and I heard his evil laugh. «So what will you do?»

Why did he have to ask when he already had an idea?

Did he want me to say it out loud just to prove he was right?

"What I have to do." I stubbornly replied, which only made Sensei burst into laughter.

The bastard.

«You're going to reset her mind?»

I nodded.

«Take away her free will and make her your bloodhound.»

I nodded again.

It was only fair after what Morgana did to Typhon, but why did he have to say it like that? He was making me out to be the villain.

Sensei chuckled even more, and I scowled – wasn't he having far too much fun?

«I can't say I'm not relieved, but it will take some skill.» Sensei warned. «You don't want to make her a vegetable, because you're rusty from the lack of practice.»

I nodded. "I won't. I only plan on looking through her memories to find the reason for her hatred for Typhon, after that I will take it away."

«Hmm.» Sensei mused thoughtfully. «How will you break the news to them?»

I looked over at the nestlings who were now so relaxed they were even playing.

The Veladrys were still seated around me, but Sylrin had left them to go and play with Ophelia even using him as a cushion.

Only Typhon remained to chat with me, with Arsinoe hanging around to pester him.

Yet Sensei wanted to ruin this positive atmosphere!

"Tell them I plan to change one of their peers? How about I don't? They don't have to know."

«They do, if you want them to trust you. They will notice a difference, especially Typhon, so you have to be open with your decisions, so they don't misjudge you.»

"Wouldn't this make them more afraid of me?" I pondered.

«They only need to be afraid if they do something wrong.» Sensei replied. «If they obey you, this will never become their fate so it shouldn't concern them, which is why you and your captains need to come to a consensus – It's your job to convince them this is a necessary endeavour.»

A joint decision? It was a terrible idea, but it could work in theory.

"I could pretend I need advice." I admitted.

«Exactly. Make them believe it was their idea. That way they won't blame you, because you didn't make the choice alone.»

I felt gross just thinking about it. Yet it was a smart idea.

"Guess I'll ruin the mood by telling them now." I sighed in defeat.

«I'm rooting for you…» Sensei humorously said, and I grimaced in disgust.

This mild break was all well and good, but it was time for a meeting.

I asked Sylrin to watch over the nestlings before calling all the current captains and those affected by Morgana's deeds.

This list of nestlings was quite long, as she was not short of enemies after what she did and from the scathing looks I got at the mention of her name – one of them was going to try and kill her soon.

I sighed at the thought.

It made sense that this would be Typhon, but he looked rather calm for someone who wanted revenge.

Rather, it was Europa who was the most upset, followed by Cygnus and Artemis. 

Which made me think, we would arrive at a conclusion rather quickly.

And so, I asked them all to meet me in the cave, where it would be more private, before blinking away. 

Inside the cave, I saw the Veladrys had been hard at work.

The roof of the cave had some cracks from the battle, but most had already been knitted together by creeping vines whose leaves draped down like a waterfall. The pillars were also decorated with tendrils, and the fighting pit had turned into a pool filled with sparkling water – there were even flower petals floating inside.

Seeing all of this made me freeze in horror.

The inside of my cave was ruined! What happened to my dungeon-like décor?

What was this Nymph plotting?

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Wasn't this actually an infestation of weeds?

My bad mood went up a notch higher and I wished I could slap her and all of her meddling spirits.

«Why did you ask for Apollo?» Sensei asked when he saw me pacing. «He isn't a captain, neither is he involved.»

But he was wrong to say he wasn't involved.

Apollo's situation was just as bad as Morgana's, though he was slightly better because he didn't actually harm Ophelia, he only watched.

No one else knew but me so he was noticeably safer.

Yet, I wasn't at all calm because unlike Morgana he was even more skilled at influencing the bottom feeders, and there were far more of them. 

The threat that acted out in the open was far better than the one who didn't.

The moment I revealed to him that I knew, there were no guarantees he wouldn't try to escape, or worse, overrun the cave with bottom feeders while he escaped. 

This was exactly why I wanted him to witness Morgana's fate, so he would be too scared to rebel again. 

«It's not a bad plan.» Sensei admitted. «But why are you so sure he will escape and not attack? Fear is an incredible motivator, especially for those that feel cornered.» 

I wasn't, but Apollo didn't strike me as a fool.

His resistance would only make his life much harder, as he should have realised by now that it was impossible to defeat me with his current strength. 

Yet, as I looked below the cave with [Mind's Eye], I glimpsed another serpent who was desperately trying to resist the inevitable.

Morgana was already making her move – and what an insidious move it was!

Since none of my captains had arrived yet, I settled down to watch her efforts, curious as to what shape her escape plan would take. 

----

As the captains reached the cave, the calm soon erupted to a heated discussion with each one stating their reasons why Morgana should die.

Everyone remotely involved was here.

Ophelia because she was the one who subdued Morgana and her creatures. Lyra, Europa, and Cygnus because they were the ones she attacked the most, and even tried to kill.

Artemis was there because he saved them, and he had a stake in this as a captain.

Ana was an odd one because she revealed one of Morgana's creatures had saved her from a scorpion during the battle. Typhon didn't know if this was true or not, but hers was a unique case because those in defence of Morgana were unsurprisingly few.

Ophelia was extremely upset on his behalf, so she did not defend their friendship as enthusiastically as she would have before.

Artemis would have been neutral because he considered Morgana an asset, but after her attack she was no better than a rabid serpent that couldn't control her impulses.

Europa was upset because he and Lyra had become her target, and he did not feel they were safe.

Ana was loyal to Morgana and defended her because she had saved her life, as well as given her a name. And Lyra was forever the caring creature who was willing to forgive.

Cygnus didn't care either way, he just wanted her to be punished and to remain on a short leash.

But then there were those like Arsinoe and Apollo who also happened to be here, for some reason.

Typhon thought they were out of place, as he was confused as to why 'she' included them. They had no stakes in this fight, and yet they were the most vocal.

Arsinoe was easily the loudest advocate for Morgana's death, and Apollo fought just as earnestly as her in Morgana's defence.

Typhon remained soberly in their midst as their arguments escalated, eagerly wishing he could sink them both into the ground, so there would be less noise.

He could feel his head stinging at their words.

Interestingly, 'she' listened to all their claims with rapt attention, and even asked questions like a curious child.

At least that was what he thought, until 'she' revealed one of her abilities to them.

What did 'she' mean to erase Morgana? Was she really that powerful?

'She' even wanted to place this new Morgana under his command! As if the deed was as easy to her as breathing.

The mood suddenly shifted with everyone surprised and even horrified.

And this made Typhon pay attention.

He had come to believe she wasn't as fearsome as she looked, but even this punishment was a sentence worse than death for Morgana.

She was so proud, that he couldn't phantom her ever grovelling to him. So, for there to be such a convenient solution, Typhon found himself amused for the first time during this meeting.

He approved and even resolved to tell Morgana exactly what she was going to become, right before the deed was done, just to see the look of suffering and humiliation on her face.

However, the captains around him were appalled, some were even reversing their previous stance.

Ophelia was also of a different opinion. She was concerned that doing such a thing would put a strain on their leader's conscience. Being such a caring being, she did not want her to shoulder the guilt such a burden entailed.

Another surprising reversal was Arsinoe, the moment she saw he was satisfied, she suddenly wanted Morgana to be set free without any alterations.

Soon all the arguments that had been put to rest started up again, and this made Typhon want to bury his head.

This was going to take a while.

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