Chapters 243: Taking the Reigns

Sora Brontarion

Everyone in our combined cluster stared at Stravos as he feasted on one of the eggs we had found in the nest.

We were all hungry, but Stravos was the only one who had let his hunger get the better of him. It was the first time I had seen his mask slip.

But at that moment, it didn’t look like he cared. I knew he didn’t; I could feel his shamelessness emanating from him.

“Those eggs must be good if Stravos is eating them,” Sigmond said, taking a seat on the ground.

“Yeah, he actually hates them. He got food poisoning from them when we were little and swore he’d never eat them again,” Ida said, chuckling as she took a seat beside Sigmond.

I was almost taken aback by how quickly their attitude toward Stravos had changed. Joy and even love radiated from them now.

Normally it was cut and dry.

He was the leader, their ruler, and they were his loyal subjects.

Seeing a different side of them was refreshing, despite knowing their clans were at odds with mine back in the physical realm.

Maybe there is a chance to mend the bridge one day.

I must have made a face because Sigmund caught it and turned to me with a flirtatious grin.

“You look good when you smile.”

I rolled my eyes.

Or they’ll eventually become even more indoctrinated into the savagery of their clan.

That was exactly why I needed to become the leader of the Coterie. If I wanted to change the clans, I needed the power and influence to lead them.

While Stravos's group laughed and reminisced about their childhood, he kept scarfing down the eggs. The sound of his chewing grew increasingly obnoxious, and he didn't so much as crack a smile at any of their stories.

Is he really that hungry?

Then I noticed Kuru and Jossie’s concordant get up and head over to where Stravos was.

“I understand you are hungry, but based on the cosmic energy they emit, we might be able to use them to help replenish the reserves of everyone at camp, and hasten their recovery.” Jossie’s concordant said, tapping Stravo’s shoulder.

I walked over towards them, sensing the irritation seep from Stravos.

Stravos turned and swiped the kid's arm away, his eyes glazed over and his mouth full of a glowing light blue substance.

He looked like he was in a trance of some kind, and his normal calculated demeanor seemed to fade.

“Voen and Nerena, can you come over here for a second?” I asked through our tether link.

They both trotted over.

“What’s up? What do you need?” Voen asked.

“Stravos doesn’t look well, does he?”

I watched as Voen and Nerena both took long looks at him, fighting with the concordant, who was trying to take the eggs away from him.

“He looks ill,” Nerena said.

“It actually looks like he was on the verge of a cosmic energy backlash,” Voen said.

“How is that possible? Shouldn’t he have way more reserves than us?” I responded.

“He does. But if you pay attention, constantly keeping his titan manifested requires a great deal of cosmic energy, and he has been making up the difference for our weak spots, leading the way to make sure we are not putting ourselves at risk.” Nerena said.

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I replayed everything that had happened leading up to this point, and it was starting to become clear. He was doing exactly what she said he was.

I’d just been too overwhelmed by others’ emotions to see it.

“I really don’t like the guy at all, but I will give him his props; he is giving it his all,” Voen said.

Voen’s words made me second-guess myself.

Am I not giving my all? Could I be doing more?

“But I kinda agree with the concordant. We could definitely use those eggs to treat others back at the camp. They are rich in cosmic energy, and there seems to be enough that we could make multiple different types of medicines to aid us.” Voen continued, looking at me, as if it were a sign for me to do something.

I took a deep breath and let out a sigh before walking over to break up the spat between Stravos and the Concordant.

When I walked over there, I sensed a great deal of irritation coming from Stravos and Jossie’s Concordant. Kuru, on the other hand, was nibbling on one of the glowing eggs, but would spit something out every few bites.

“Hey Stravos, we need to save these for everyone back at the base,” I said, as I gestured for the concordant to step aside.

But he said nothing and continued to eat the glowing eggs.

“Stravos!”

“Can you please shut up? Your voice is making this experience much more nauseating than it needs to be.” He said, taking another bite.

There were five large, glowing eggs left. Kuru had given up trying to eat them and walked away, cursing as he tried to get the taste off his tongue.

Stravos reached for another one.

I gritted my teeth and sparked my hands with electricity, preparing to try and alter his emotion.

“No, Stravos, we have to think about everyone else. We need them.” I said, stepping closer.

He turned and swiped at me, but I was quick enough to dodge his wild attack.

“What everyone needs is me at full strength; this is an order!” He yelled, his cosmic energy surging, making the pressure around us thick and hard to breathe.

What is wrong with him? Has he gone mad? Did the eggs do this to him?

“Jossie, I'm gonna need your help!”

“W-what do you need?” She asked, her mental voice choppy.

“Use a command art on Stravos. Tell him to calm down, and hand over the rest of the eggs.”

“But he’s a stage above us. I don’t know if it will affect him.”

“I'm going to use one on him as well. He shouldn’t be able to resist the potency of two commands. He’s also not in his sound mind right now.”

“Alright,” she said.

As she used her command art, I sent multiple currents through the ground aimed at Stravos.

I needed to make him more agreeable before I unleashed my command art.

Before I used mine, I noticed the pressure was weakening, making it easier to move. My strategy was working.

Then I yelled out next.

“I command Stravos to calm down and hand over the eggs,” I said aloud, making sure everyone could hear me, unlike Jossie, who must have given her command through the tether link.

The entire group fell silent.

Even Stravos looked surprised that I had commanded him so directly. But he had no choice but to obey.

The pressure began to subside as he walked over and placed the eggs at my feet.

For the first time, I felt like I was truly taking the reins of this group.

Then I felt it.

Anger. Hostility

It radiated from Stravos’s cluster.

Probably because they felt like I disrespected their leader.

I sent a subtle spark towards all of them, diffusing the situation quickly.

“Simon, can you fashion something that would make carrying these easier as we travel back to camp?” I asked, creating a barrier between the eggs and Stravos.

Simon nodded, grabbed the eggs, and carried them off to the side.

“Now how do we feel, Stravos?”

I could see his once-glazed-over eyes return to normal, and his cosmic energy become a bit more stable.

He crossed his arms.

“I'm fine.”

“We aren’t gonna have any more issues, are we?”

He rolled his eyes.

“No.”

“Alright, good. Then I guess we will head back to the camp.” I said, turning my back to him, and began walking out of the nest.

When I got closer to my cluster, I noticed Voen’s body was shaking a bit.

I placed a hand on his shoulder.

“What’s wrong?”

He turned towards me, dread plastered on his face.

“We need to run now!”

Then the ceiling of the large nest started to crumble as something began punching holes in it, and within a few moments, dozens of human-sized centipedes crawled through and lunged out at us.