Chapter 262: 262: High Stakes

Morgana was pleading with me for safety with her eyes and not far behind her was Arsinoe, who was in a murderous fit. She'd already tried to kill Morgana with an attack, but since Morgana's defences were quite strong, her attack was not as deep as she would have liked.

Some nestlings had even joined Morgana to shield her from Arsinoe's assault, there was even one serpent protecting her as fiercely as a mother would to her chick, causing Arsinoe to hiss at Morgana in frustration – fully determined to attack again.

However, with no way of targeting Morgana without hitting the others, she could only rush into the crowd, which forced Typhon to act. In an instant she was knocked away with a stone rod, before her body was fully enclosed.

Right now she was fastened to the ground by heavy binds, where she could only hiss and scream like some out of control banshee that was struggling to get free.

Typhon was fuming as he glanced at Arsinoe, his aura so severe it filled the cave with a suffocating feeling, causing the rest of the nestlings to feel fear.

Ophelia who was beside him, was eerily calm, as if immune.

Which made me want to roll my eyes at all of them.

Arsinoe had ignored my instructions, while Ophelia's internal anxiety had stirred up all of their emotions so much, Morgana didn't need to do much to achieve this situation, which she was desperately trying to use to her advantage.

It was amazing just how quickly everything had fragmented into chaos.

And as I watched them all, I found myself wondering if I should just…leave them to it, since they all seemed determined to fight. 

But then, once the situation was under their control, Typhon and Ophelia dropped down before me, remorseful and full of apologies for Arsinoe and Morgana's actions.

[She is misguided and extremely foolish, but please forgive her.] Typhon said.

[It's my fault that Morgana is the way she is.] Ophelia confessed. [I didn't show her the best example, so please punish me in her stead.] 

Seeing this, Morgana stopped weeping immediately, and Arsinoe who had been struggling stopped, as if realising what she had done was wrong. 

Typhon glanced at Ophelia in disbelief, and Arsinoe began to struggle against her bonds for an entirely different reason. It seemed she was afraid for Typhon's life.

With the two seemingly so defeated, perhaps she thought I was going to kill them.

Shortly after the entire cave fell to silence, as the rest of the nestlings began to fear for their captains and the only sound I could hear now were the growls of the reptiles who wanted to be set free. 

Soon, all the nestlings present joined Typhon and Ophelia to bow.

I was happy they at least had some awareness to realise they were wrong.

But what was I supposed to feel here?

"Would it kill them to behave properly even for a short time?" I complained to Sensei.

They were ill mannered, rebellious, had terrible attitudes, were morally questionable, and each one seemed to have a talent for making my head hurt.

I was this close to leaving them to join Sylrin. 

Why was he allowed to play when I had to deal with this mess?

However Sensei, and my moral judgement refused to let me leave them.

«It's indeed unfortunate that you aren't destined to become a carefree lizard.» Sensei chuckled at my inner turmoil. «You do, however, seem to appeal to all these 'carefree' creatures, so as annoying as their feuds may be – you have to do something about them.»

Clearly.

Though I couldn't consider Typhon as carefree.

He genuinely seemed embarrassed by how things had escalated.

I looked over at all the nestlings, particularly the ones that were terrified for Morgana's life.

Their size had drastically increased to include all the members of her team, including Lyra, as well as Europa, Artemis, and some of their teams, Apollo, and many other nestlings who simply detested Arsinoe's actions.

«She's good.» Sensei admitted.

"Definitely." I hated to agree.

Morgana had succeeded in turning nearly everyone to her favour by using their fear of Typhon and Ophelia to make herself a victim.

Even Ophelia was supporting her, although she was conflicted about it because of Typhon.

Whether it was on purpose or not, she had influenced the nestlings to feel sympathetic for Morgana, and yet she never voiced an opinion in favour of saving her during the meeting. 

If these were her true feelings, then why didn't she make it known? 

Ophelia's porcelain white figure looked rather miserable with her head low, and I decided to speak to her using [Thought Transference].

[If you disagreed with Typhon, you should have said so. I won't choose his wishes over yours. You are both my captains.]

Ophelia looked up in surprise, before glancing away to cover her face with one of her many wings.

And I sighed – why was she acting so shy?

It was clear the [Pit] was split between two very contrasting opinions and it was evident from their dynamic.

Morgana followed Ophelia, and Arsinoe followed Typhon. I didn't want to assume the rest of the nestlings were also split between them, but from the way certain nestlings reacted, I could conclude this was the case.

While it was okay to have differences, it was very wrong to let one side dominate the other, and this was clearly what had happened. Typhon had a very strong presence and Ophelia did not, and this had affected the decision.

It was no wonder no one could agree on anything.

As for the things Morgana had said, they were very damning accusations to make, which may very well be true. 

Typhon seemed a little too worried about the things Morgana had said to me, which made me suspect some of it was true.

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But I didn't care about something Ophelia may have done a long time ago, because I knew she was loyal to me, as was Typhon.

Morgana and Arsinoe, on the other hand, were debatable.

And as I peered over Typhon's lowered head, I could tell he was anxious, as were the rest of the nestlings who saw me as the villain. 

Since I couldn't change their opinions, perhaps it was time I played my role?

|[You've been accused of a very serious crime.]| I addressed Ophelia. |[Are you prepared to face your punishment?]|

Ophelia trembled as she looked at me, but before she could speak, Morgana's voice interrupted her.

[Punishment? What do you mean?] She seemed very anxious, and I ignored her and spoke to Typhon. 

|[Arsinoe will also be punished for her actions, are you okay with that?]|

Typhon nodded, much to Arsinoe's panic.

But this time Morgana slithered over to shield Ophelia from me – as if I was going to eat her.

It was funny how she could suddenly move well, when she'd spent so long acting weak.

[Please don't punish her.] Morgana pleaded. [Ophelia doesn't deserve it.]

I could feel my irritation rising. Didn't she just betray her, and now she wanted her to live?

|[If you don't want Ophelia to pay for her crimes, why did you say those things?]|

Instead of answering, Morgana turned away, refusing to meet my eyes, and I suddenly felt like throwing her off a cliff. Perhaps Sylrin liked his serpents grilled?

|[So this was your revenge?]| I glared at Morgana who had her head lowered. |[How can I be sure anything you said is true?]|

Surprisingly Morgana looked up with a rather fierce gaze.

[You can take my body as the proof of what Typhon did – he is wicked. Everyone would agree with me if they weren't too afraid of him to speak.]

|[So you hate them?]| I asked.

Morgana shook her head at my use of 'them'. [Just Typhon.]

While that might be the case, she harmed more than just Typhon today and I found her unconvincing.

|[You can't blame only Typhon, if he deserves to be punished, so does Ophelia. I placed both of them in charge.]|

Morgana began to think, and I could tell she was trying to find a way to prevent Ophelia from coming to any harm. However, in the end she couldn't find any good excuse and resorted to pleading with me.

[Ophelia wasn't there, she wasn't involved, please don't hurt her.]

I felt myself twitch in annoyance.

|[From what you've told me – Ophelia deserves to be expelled from the [Pit] just as much as you do. So why should she be spared?]|

Hearing this Morgana cried out in panic. [I don't hate Ophelia. I only told you because I thought you wouldn't punish her. I don't mind being punished, but please don't touch her!]

How arrogant of her to assume she knew my intentions! And to threaten me!

Clearly she didn't know her limits, but what was this obscene attachment she had to Ophelia?

[Don't hurt her – she was only trying to help me.] Morgana said.

She seemed genuinely upset to have involved Ophelia, who remained beautifully still like an ice sculpture beside Typhon, even when she continued to plead on her behalf.

I thought Ophelia would never speak up, but eventually she did.

[I don't want you to erase her.] Ophelia pleaded. [You can punish her in any way you like, but don't take her memories away. I like her the way she is.]

I was taken aback, and so was Morgana, because when Ophelia spoke she immediately rushed over to her side and started sobbing.

And even then, she was shielding Ophelia like she thought I was going to steal her away, not caring at all that Typhon gave her a look of disgust.

I didn't know what to say anymore.

Since Ophelia was otherwise occupied, I spoke to Typhon using [Thought Transference], to ask what he thought about this revolting scene. 

He paused for a while before grudgingly responding. [If you erase her, their bond will break. Ophelia may forgive you, but it will take a long time.]

The last thing I wanted was to turn Ophelia against me, which was likely why he said this.

[But Ophelia wouldn't be upset if her death was unavoidable.] Typhon added.

His words caught my attention.

[What do you mean?] I asked.

[We just had a victory, but it's not truly over until all the scorpions are dead.]

Hmm. That was true.

[So, set her a task as her punishment.] Typhon said with a rather sinister look at Morgana. 

[Command her to bring you the head of their Queen.]

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