Chapter 707  The Gambit Against Voraxa    

    "Either way, your life is already at stake the moment you let us enter here. Whether you eat the meat or not, Voraxa will kill you. Am I not right?" Ren challenged, his words hanging in the air like a sobering truth. The villagers, caught in the moral quandary of their own making, exchanged uneasy glances as the weight of their choices bore down on them. The once-unquestionable authority of the elder now faced scrutiny, and the town square became a battleground of conflicting interests and impending doom.

Morgrimm sighed heavily, the weight of the situation evident in the lines etched on his weathered face. "We shouldn't have let you in if we had known that you killed a Giant Purple Worm. But you saved Nori," he admitted, a mix of regret and frustration in his voice. "We were ecstatic at the thought of having meat after so many years. But when Nori told us about it, we were horrified at what's about to come."

"Hoi brat! So it's your fault!" Lorelai growled, her accusation cutting through the heavy air. Nori, visibly shaken, shrunk back and stammered, "I-I was drunk! I'm sorry!"

"Anyway, where's Azazel?" Elena interjected, her eyes scanning the surroundings in search of the missing individual. "Why is that kid always missing? Where in the seven hells did he went?"

Ren couldn't help but be appalled that she could still think of someone else in this dire situation.

"Should you really be concerned about him right now?" Evie chided, her words carrying a touch of exasperation. The tension in the air was palpable, and the focus on Azazel seemed almost incongruous amid the impending threat they faced.

As the accusations and inquiries flew in all directions, the once-united village now stood divided by mistrust and fear. The festive atmosphere of celebration had given way to a grim realization that their actions had consequences far beyond the immediate revelry. The revelation of the Giant Purple Worm's demise had set in motion a series of events that now threatened to consume them all.

The flickering flames of the impending fire cast eerie shadows on their faces.

Ren and the others were surrounded by a town that had once welcomed them but now sought retribution for a crime that had inadvertently unraveled the fragile equilibrium of the Netherworld.

In the electrically charged atmosphere of the town square, Ren's declaration sliced through the tension with the precision of a blade. Bound to the stake, he focused on maintaining an outward calm while desperately brainstorming an escape plan.

This, he realized, was a high-stakes game. Every action and word he chose could tip the balance in this precarious situation. He feared that his demise in this place would mean a return to the surface, rendering all the efforts to open the Netherworld futile.

He couldn't afford to make mistakes here. "Either way, I have a solution to your problem," he announced, his words hanging in the air like a challenge. Morgrimm popped one eyes from his sagging eyelid. "Oh, and pray tell, what might that be?"

Ren's response was delivered with a calm certainty that belied the gravity of the situation. "Simple. We want something from Voraxa, and you want to live. I guess the most apparent course of action is to kill her and be done and over with it."

The proclamation echoed through the square, leaving a stunned silence in its wake. The villagers, previously clamoring for sacrifice, now found themselves confronted with a proposal that defied their expectations. The audacity of Ren's suggestion sent shockwaves through the crowd, and a palpable fear settled over the once-unified town.

Morgrimm's eyes popped open behind his sagging eyelids, his expression a mix of surprise and disbelief. The simplicity and directness of Ren's proposal had caught him off guard.

The villagers exchanged uneasy glances. Killing Voraxa, a formidable entity they had sought to appease, was a notion that struck at the core of their fears. The silence lingered, heavy and pregnant with the weight of an unthinkable choice.

The villagers broke the silence with a skeptical chuckle. "Kill Voraxa? Do you even know what you're suggesting?!"

"Voraxa is a force of nature, a being beyond our comprehension. How do you propose we accomplish such a feat?!"

"Just the mere thought of killing her is a sin, punishable by generational death!"

"Many had proclaimed such words, but they found themselves dead in the end!"

Ren met their gazes with unwavering determination. "We've faced formidable adversaries before. We find Voraxa, confront her, and kill her. It's a risk, but it's better than being sacrificed for a cause that won't save you."

The proposition hung in the air, a daring gamble that demanded a shift in perspective. They knew within themselves that Ren spoke the truth . . . there was no telling if Voraxa would let them go even if they offered Ren and the other's souls.

The villagers, initially shaken by Ren's bold suggestion, began to murmur among themselves. The fear that had gripped them slowly transformed into a murmur of hesitant contemplation.

Morgrimm, recovering from his initial surprise, regarded Ren seriously. "You're suggesting we let you go, and in return you will kill Voraxa?"

Ren nodded. "It's our best chance. You don't want to die, and we don't want to be sacrificed. There's common ground here. I think it's a win-win situation."

The once-unified town now stood at a crossroads, torn between the ingrained fear of Voraxa and the audacious proposal to challenge her. The murmurs intensified as the villagers grappled with the enormity of the decision before them.

"Can they even succeed against a being like Voraxa? What if they failed?"

"Then we will all die."

"You'll die nonetheless even if you kill us," Evie said. "But if you let us go and we kill Voraxa, you'll get to live and eat all the food you like in peace. I think you see which choice gives you the highest chance of survival here."

The villagers exchanged unknown glances. The weight of the decision hung in the air. The once-festive square now transformed into a deliberative arena where the villagers contemplated the audacious proposal that Ren and the others had laid before them.