The Smiling Death-Chapter 363: Everything Went Good

"As Roland said... we need to leave this place."

A new voice echoed through the gathering.

This time it belonged to a woman.

She had dark burgundy hair and looked like a human. Her age seemed to be somewhere in her mid-forties. Her name was Karen.

She stepped forward slowly and looked at the villagers with calm but determined eyes.

"I am someone who was born in this village," she said gently. "I have lived here for more than forty years now."

Some of the villagers nodded slightly. Many of them knew her well.

Karen continued with a soft but steady voice. "I understand your worries... your fear... and your uncertainty about going outside... about seeing the world beyond this place."

Roland quietly stepped aside, allowing her to speak.

Karen looked around at the villagers, at the elders, the young people, and the children standing beside their parents.

"You all know this," she continued, her voice carrying emotion. "Those of us who were born here... we only know about the outside world from stories. From the words of those who came here from outside... or from the stories our parents told us."

Several young villagers lowered their eyes as they listened.

Karen raised her hand slightly and pointed toward the dark forest surrounding the village.

"Since childhood... all we have seen is these black trees... this black grass..." She then looked up at the gray sky above them. "And above it... only this gray sky."

Her voice softened. "The stars... the moon... the sun..."

She paused briefly. "They are things we have only heard about in stories."

A quiet murmur spread through the younger villagers.

Some of the children looked up at the gray sky instinctively, as if trying to imagine those things.

Karen continued with a small smile.

"All we could do was imagine them."

Her expression slowly turned more hopeful.

"But now..."

She took a deep breath.

"But now we finally have a chance."

Her voice grew stronger.

"The dream that many of us have had since childhood... the dream of leaving this place... of exploring the true world..."

She looked at the villagers with shining eyes.

"We finally have a way."

The crowd became quieter. Some of the younger villagers looked at each other with excitement.

Karen then asked softly but clearly, "Don’t you want to leave this place?"

She slowly looked across the gathering.

"Don’t you want to see the true world... the world we have only heard about in stories?"

A boy standing beside his mother whispered excitedly, "The sun... I want to see the sun..."

Another young girl nodded eagerly. Some older villagers exchanged uncertain glances.

A few of them still looked hesitant.

At that moment, another figure stepped forward.

Malphas.

He tapped his cane lightly on the ground and spoke in a deep, steady voice.

"Karen is right."

The murmuring quieted as people turned to look at him.

Malphas’s sharp eyes scanned the crowd.

"I am someone who once lived in the outside world," he said slowly.

A few people nodded respectfully.

"I have seen the sky filled with stars... I have seen the sun rise over mountains... and I have walked through forests that stretch farther than the eye can see."

Many villagers listened with wide eyes.

Malphas continued firmly.

"The world outside this place is vast. Beautiful. And full of life."

He then looked around at everyone.

"But we are not meant to spend our entire lives trapped inside this small loop."

His voice became heavier.

"We were never meant to remain prisoners here."

A few villagers clenched their fists.

Then Ria stepped forward as well. She looked at the people with determination.

"We know this won’t be easy," she said honestly. "There will be danger."

Some villagers tensed slightly.

"But if we stay here forever... nothing will ever change."

She pointed toward the forest beyond the village.

"Beyond this place is the real world."

Her eyes shone with resolve.

"And for the first time in many years... we finally have a chance to reach it."

Silence fell for a moment.

Then someone in the crowd spoke.

"If there really is a way... then we should try."

Another villager nodded.

"Yes... we cannot stay trapped here forever."

A young man raised his fist.

"I want to see the real sky!"

Soon more voices joined.

"I want to go!"

"Me too!"

"If there is a chance... we should take it!"

Julian, Katherine, Ethan, Steffeny, and Oliver were also present in the crowd.

"I-I can’t wait to go outside!" Julian couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

"Yes! So it’s possible!" Ethan exclaimed.

"It is... and we all... can go out together," Steffeny said with an excited expression.

"Haha, this is crazy!" Oliver grabbed his hair in shock.

"I think you are going crazier," Katherine smiled while telling Oliver about his state.

The murmuring slowly turned into agreement. Hope began spreading through the crowd.

Roland watched the villagers carefully.

Then he nodded slightly.

It seemed that the people of the village had finally made their decision.

---

"That went better than I thought. They succeeded in making the villagers agree to it." Amon said in amusement.

"It’s natural... even if some of them were born here... each one of them at least wants to see the outside world... while people like us... we want to go back... no matter what," Scarlett said as she ran her left hand through her hair.

"Yeah, that’s true..." Amon nodded at her words.

But then he frowned.

"By the way... what about weapons? I don’t think we have metals or steel in this place to make them... do we have enough of them to provide each villager?"

There were 200 or maybe more than 250 villagers, including children.

So Amon was curious about it.

Scarlett looked at him and answered him.

"Many people over the years came from outside. Many of them died... so they collected those weapons for many years. And there are a few who know how to make weapons. So we have steel..."

She paused for a while, staring at Amon’s curious face.

"They made new ones from it... so we have many. Don’t worry."

"So that’s how it is."

Amon extended his hand and intertwined his fingers with hers.

She frowned at his touch. "What now?"

"It’s afternoon. Let’s go to lunch... or people might think we ran out somewhere together again." His eyes gleamed with mischievousness.

"Tch!" She clicked her tongue. But followed him.