"Nicely said!"
In the charged atmosphere of the town square, a sudden shift in attention occurred as a voice rang out, drawing all eyes toward its source.
There, perched atop a rocky roof with an insouciant grin, was Azazel. His posture exuded a careless amusement, hands leisurely cradling his chin as though watching an entertaining spectacle unfold.
Lorelai's frustration erupted like a volcano, and she couldn't hold back her anger any longer. "There you are, you little brat!"
The veins on her forehead pulsed visibly with the intensity of her emotions. "You cheated last night, didn't you?! There's no way you could have beaten me in our drinking match!"
Ren and the others looked at her with deadpan faces.
"Shouldn't you be more concerned about our current situation here?" they collectively thought.
Morgrimm's eyes widened in surprise as Azazel materialized seemingly out of thin air. The elder had assumed the mischievous child had vanished into the shadows.
"Hoi, Azazel, where have you been all this time?" Elena questioned her tone a mix of curiosity and suspicion.
Ren and Evie, too, exchanged wary glances, sensing an enigma in the young boy's sudden reappearance and disappearance.
Azazel descended gracefully from the rocky roof, landing in the square between the villagers and Ren and his companions.
His demeanor exuded an air of nonchalance, an irreverent contrast to the gravity of the situation. "If you all choose to burn these people and cower for the rest of your miserable lives in this hellhole, I would have wiped out this village myself," he declared with a smug grin.
Ren and the others exchanged incredulous glances, their annoyance evident as veins popped on their foreheads one after another.
The villagers, caught between confusion and frustration, threw a barrage of words at Azazel.
"Huh?! What did you say?!"
"Say that again you brat!"
However, the audacious child, undeterred, boldly continued, "This isn't the citizens I've governed for thousands of years should act like! You should be full of pride and cunningness, not act like cowards in the face of a stronger force!"
The square crackled with tension as Azazel's words echoed in the chamber. The villagers, accustomed to being governed, now found themselves confronted by a child who seemingly held authority over their destinies.
The audacity of his declaration stirred a cocktail of emotions within the crowd –– defiance, anger, and a tinge of reluctant introspection.
Some of them couldn't let Azazel's provocations slide and threw accusing words at the boy.
"Who do you think you are talking to us like that?!"
"We've survived for centuries by doing whatever is necessary to survive!"
Azazel remained unfazed, his grin widening. "Survived, perhaps, but what kind of life is it? A life in perpetual fear, sacrificing surface dwellers instead of fighting for their souls to claim as your own, all for the sake of appeasing a force you're too afraid to confront? Is that truly living?"
"Hoi, what do you mean, 'take our soul'?" Elena deadpanned.
"Wait until I'm released here, and you'll definitely get what's coming for you," Lorelai added, her voice carrying a promise of revenge.
The question hung in the air, a rhetorical challenge that burrowed into the collective consciousness of the villagers.
Morgrimm was torn between the familiarity of Azazel's name and his audacity.
The villagers, angered by Azazel's smug demeanor and audacious words, unleashed a barrage of questions and accusations.
"You brat! What do you know?!"
"And who are you to evens speak like that to us?!"
"You're just a kid!"
"Don't make me hit you, you insolent brat!"
"Who do you think you are talking to us like that?!"
Elena, Ren, and Evie exchanged wary glances, sensing that Azazel's was about to take an unexpected turn.
In response to the villagers' continued uproar, Azazel finally spoke, his voice laced with pride as he boldly declared.
"Me? Ehehehe, I'm the one and only Demon King! Obsidian X! I have saved some of my powers in another body and got reborn, and finally back to reclaim my throne!"
The villagers fell silent for a moment, stunned by Azazel's unexpected revelation.
Morgrimm and Nori, in particular, were so shocked that they found themselves momentarily speechless.
Ren and the others, however, exchanged incredulous glances, and they even wanted to facepalm at the absurdity of the situation.
This was not the turn of events that they were hoping for.
"Why did he have to go and ruin the mood?" Ren muttered under his breath, realizing that Azazel's proclamation was derailing the momentum they had built to unite the villagers against Voraxa.
The villagers were now confused and angry and reacted with disbelief. Instead of rallying against Voraxa, they redirected their frustration towards Azazel.
They swarmed the audacious child, their attacks ranging from punches to kicks, each blow aimed at expressing their displeasure.
The only ones exempt from the assault were Ren and his group, who remained tied up, as well as Morgrimm and Nori, who were still too stunned at the turn of events.
Nori shook her head and sighed. "What an idiot."
Morgrimm stayed focused on Azazel before releasing a resigned breath. "That couldn't be . . ."
Nori noticed the elder's troubled expression and asked, "What is it, Elder?"
"That kid . . ."
Nori shrugged and sighed. "He just suddenly showed up and begged for food. Ever since then, he's been like a wraith, appearing here and there. Come to think of it, he's rather annoying. Only shows his face when it's time to eat. He didn't help out in preparing the food, too."
Morgrimm shook his head. "No, not that . . . his name . . ."
"What about his name?"
Morgrimm hesitated for a moment before finally uttering in a low voice, "It's the real name of the Demon King even before he became Obsidian X, the monarch of the Netherworld."
Nori blinked and then stared at the foolish face of Azazel. She then stuck out her tongue. "There's no way. Just look at him. Obsidian X died, and demons and devils couldn't reincarnate, remember? So there's no way that kid is the respectable and powerful monarch I heard so much about."
Morgrimm closed his eyes tight and sighed. "You're probably right . . ."