Dragon's Awakening: The Duke's Son Is Changing The Plot
Chapter 198 - 197 - One down, four more to go.

Chapter 198: Chapter 197 - One down, four more to go.

The air was thick with sweat, heat, and the stench of freshly disintegrated demons.

The group stood in the newly exposed chamber, still catching their breath.

Lava bubbled from cracks beneath the obsidian tiles, casting dancing lights over battered armor and scorched faces.

Raven slowly pulled Selena closer, steadying her.

She was trembling—half from exhaustion, half from relief. He didn’t know what had happened, but he was sure that Mistress had a hand in all this.

Only she could turn the tables like this.

Especially the demon that brought Selena here.

Raven was sure it wasn’t following Selena’s words but Mistress’s.

"I’m fine," Selena whispered against his shoulder, her voice shaky but solid. "I... I just needed to know you were real."

He held her for a heartbeat longer before smiling at her. "Fortunately, I’m real."

"Boy!" Crisaius marched over, blade slung behind his back like it was weightless. "You reek of character growth. I’m so proud I could cry blood."

"...Please don’t," Raven said. "That feels medically unsound."

"Too late." Crisaius wiped his eye. But there was nothing to wipe, not even tears.

Before Raven could point that out, the old man continued, "Also, I killed like seventy-two demons, a mimic pretending to be a sword, and three angsty monologues from a succubus trying to trauma-dump mid-fight on my way here."

"I hate how believable that is," Jessy muttered.

Argon finally stepped forward, towering beside Crisaius like a statue that had decided to become a disappointed father.

He looked at Raven with calm pride. "You’ve grown strong."

Raven blinked. "Thanks. But seriously, how did you run here with that sword?"

Argon hesitated. Then, with a completely straight face, he said, "...Well, you could say I sprinted into action."

Silence.

Clara pinched the bridge of her nose. "No."

Jessy’s soul visibly left her body. "Sir, please."

"Permission to attack our duke," Rufus muttered.

Even Omni groaned from Raven’s sheath. "I felt that in my pommel, man."

"Why are you not like him?" Blargh asked Alex. "I need more chaos in my life."

"I’m this close to leaving," Jake signed with two fingers before vanishing back into a nearby shadow.

Argon, completely unbothered, folded his arms. "That one was free."

Then—

CRUNCH.

The sound echoed—sickening, wet, and final.

The group spun, Raven’s blood freezing.

From the hallway behind Selena—

Steps.

Heavy, slow, deliberate.

The lava in the surroundings began to hiss.

Not a bubble. Not a roar. Hiss.

As though the magma itself realized what was coming.

The shadows warped near the ruined archway, and the heat turned suffocating.

It wasn’t the wild, ambient heat of lava, but focused, malicious warmth like the breath of a furnace waiting to swallow them whole.

Footsteps continued.

Not hurried.

Not loud.

Just deliberate.

Thud.

Step.

Crack.

Drag.

Then, they saw him.

Theon.

Golden mask. Burning flames.

Empty behind the eyes.

In his right hand, dangling like a discarded puppet—

Lirus’s severed head.

His blindfold was torn, and blood leaked from his empty sockets, still weeping.

His mouth twitched with what might’ve been the last syllables of a spell... or just a curse. Theon’s grip tightened, and the head burned to ash.

Silence fell like a guillotine.

"No..." Selena whispered as she knew that Lirus wouldn’t have met that fate if he hadn’t stepped up to help her.

Crisaius stopped smiling.

Argon’s stance shifted subtly—just a fraction. But Raven noticed.

But before they could even understand the situation, the others came.

From behind Theon, shadows peeled away to reveal the rest. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Mala, bloated and towering, dragged a corpse that wasn’t quite dead and looked like a human. It blinked at them in confusion.

"Is this... home?" It rasped before she crushed its skull lovingly.

Everyone’s jaws clenched as they saw another human dying like that.

Raven didn’t know why, but the moment that human was killed, he had a strange feeling. It was as if something was triggered.

Before he could explore that feeling, the remaining two demons stepped forward.

Krall slithered sideways, his spiral mouths murmuring and whispering. Even Clara flinched, her blade arm twitching.

Veyron hovered more than walked, his skeletal wings cracking as bone reshaped itself with every glide.

He glanced over the group with clinical interest, as though measuring their ribcages.

Five generals.

Now four.

Standing before them in full force.

"Lirus betrayed us," Theon said, his voice as flat as fire consuming oxygen. "He thought he could buy time for you guys."

He took another step forward, mask unmoving. The flames behind his face grew brighter.

"You will give it back."

Raven stepped forward, slowly pushing Selena behind him. "We didn’t ask him to buy us anything."

His eyes were now serious as he knew who these four were.

Above all, he knew who Lirus was. He was also someone who was supposed to be loyal to the demon sovereign in the plot, but here he wasn’t.

It seemed like he was on Selena’s side, which was why he died helping them.

It finally made sense how the Malformed King had found them and arrived right on time to take care of the other demonic warlord.

It was always Lirus helping them secretly.

Now, that guy was dead.

Of course, Raven knew that his soul must’ve returned to hell, but that was worse because now, his soul would be tortured.

"Lirus was a fool to betray us," Veyron said. "But you are a bigger fool for not trying to run away."

Mala giggled as she stared at Clara. Her giggles sounded like babies crying. "I think I’ll wear your skin first, little girl. You have such tight stitching~."

Clara didn’t reply. She was too focused, too silent.

Jake melted into the shadows without a word.

"Team name later," Raven muttered to Rufus. "For now—formation Bravo."

"Copy that," Rufus said, his armor already lighting up.

Alex and Blargh stood tall. "We grilling?"

"We’re grilling," Raven confirmed.

Jessy inhaled. Sparks lit her palms.

Crisaius stepped beside Raven, swords drawn. "Now this is the kind of character development I missed."

Argon joined on the other side, his massive sword sliding into his hand. "I’ll handle Veyron."

Raven didn’t say anything to that as he realized something.

Their lineup was a mess.

They weren’t evenly matched.

The demon side had four general ranks, who were similar to the Plate-Ten magic swordsmen in power, while they had two Plate-Tens and one group of children who might be able to handle one demon general.

The problem was the remaining one.

They needed to eliminate one of them before the fight began.

Raven’s eyes turned toward Argon, who seemed to be having the same thought.

Raven nodded his head, his teeth grinding.

Argon returned the nod, ready to draw his sword on a moment’s notice.

The father and son, who had started talking some time ago, were already communicating with expressions.

They were surprisingly good at it.

Raven took a deep breath, as he knew that this was a risky move, but he had to do it.

He reached into himself—not into mana, not his physical strength—

—but his soul.

It was a dangerous decision. He needed to save it, but he was using it.

Above all, since his enemies were all of general rank, a small amount of soul power won’t do them anything.

If he wanted to affect all of them, he would need to expend fifty percent of his soul power reserve.

That could make it so that he wouldn’t have enough when he would need it, but nothing could be done.

He took one step forward. "You said Lirus bought us time."

The demons didn’t speak. They didn’t need to.

He smiled, cold and sharp.

"Then let me show you how we’re going to spend it."

Then—

He unleashed it.

A pulse.

Not of sound.

Not of light.

But of the soul.

It tore through the room like a thunderclap that existed only in the marrow.

The air warped.

The space itself recoiled.

The very floor cracked beneath Raven’s feet as a wave of invisible, bone-deep pressure slammed outward in all directions.

Mala jerked.

Krall twisted mid-whisper.

Veyron’s wings spasmed.

Theon’s flame stuttered.

They didn’t fall.

But for the space of one second—

They froze.

That was all Argon needed.

"Now," Raven growled.

Argon moved.

No build-up. No war cry. No glow of magic.

Just raw, instantaneous speed.

He was across the field before anyone else had even drawn breath. His sword—a slab of myth-forged steel—cleaved through the air, gleaming with terrifying clarity.

Krall’s mouths began to move, just a second too late.

One clean stroke.

SHLICK.

The spiral of mouths paused—

—And the entire head slid sideways, falling off with a wet crunch.

The body collapsed moments later, twitching violently.

A demon general.

Gone in a flash.

Argon didn’t linger. He already jumped back, sword resting casually across one shoulder.

The stunned demons watched him return.

Some would wonder why Raven didn’t make others attack as well.

The answer to that was simple.

If he did that, then the demons would’ve noticed and would’ve been on high alert, making it hard for Raven to stun them for even a second with the amount of soul power he used.

Now, everyone, including the demons, was shell-shocked.

"You see that?" Crisaius cackled, trying to hide his surprise. "That’s a dad doing chores!"

Jessy’s eyes widened. "He just—what?!"

Even Clara’s usual calm faltered. "...He’s fast."

Jake peeked out of a shadow, blinking twice. "Noted."

The soul stun began to break.

Theon’s fire roared back to full strength.

Veyron’s wings snapped open in fury.

Mala shrieked with a thousand mouths that didn’t belong to her.

Raven exhaled and lowered his hand. He felt lightheaded. Spent.

He looked at the remaining demons.

"Now we’re even."

Theon pointed forward—and the world exploded.

Fire rained. Bones launched. Screams collided.

The battle truly began.

Blades clashed with claws.

Magic met death.

The chamber turned into chaos.

Raven grinned through the haze.

Because now?

Now it was a fair fight... Maybe.