Dragon's Awakening: The Duke's Son Is Changing The Plot
Chapter 205 - 204 - “Did we one-shot a secret boss?”

Chapter 205: Chapter 204 - “Did we one-shot a secret boss?”

Smoke hung in the air like the gods had rage-vaped.

The crater where the eye once glared was now a quiet chasm, glowing faintly with residual cosmic heartburn.

Cracks still etched the sky like broken glass, but...

The eye was gone.

Jessy, standing in the back with one hand on her waist, asked, "Did we... Did we one-shot a secret boss?"

Siris blinked. "Wait, no weird monologue? No, ’You have not seen my final form’? Just poof?"

Rufus wobbled, sparks flying off his armor. "I’m okay with this. I am extremely okay with this. Let’s go home and never speak of it again."

Alex, still magma-skinned and symbiote-dripping, fist-pumped. "Woo! See that? Boom, eye gone. That’s right! Blargh and I just blasted a god’s pupil!"

Omni, for once, stayed quiet.

Even Crisaius looked stunned. He held up his charred sock like it had become a holy relic. "Did... did I just throw a magical spear into an ancient horror’s face, and it worked because I had my lucky sock?"

Argon nodded slowly, arms crossed. "That was... surprisingly effective."

They all stood there, dumbstruck, as a soft breeze carried the scent of ozone and cooked mana.

Jake sat down, patting Nibbles.

While Nibbles held a board saying, "That’s it. We peak here."

Selena exhaled, walking forward and leaning on Raven’s shoulder. "I thought that we were a goner. But now I feel like retiring. With a beach. And drinks. With umbrellas."

Clara let out a surprised laugh. "So... we stopped an ancient evil. Does anyone else feel underqualified?"

Siris just flopped to the ground and sighed, even though she did nothing in the last attack. "Can someone get me a towel and three cupcakes?"

"You literally did nothing," Jessy side-eyed her.

"I was Raven’s moral support!" Siris glared at the Wal Vaise girl.

But Raven didn’t speak.

He stood still, gazing up at the crack. His posture was too stiff. Too tense. His eyes hadn’t left the sky.

Selena noticed first. "Raven?"

Then Clara. "Something wrong?"

Raven’s voice came quietly. "...The claws are still there."

Everyone froze.

Omni followed.

"You guys... been celebratin’ somethin’ that didn’t even happen," Omni said, his tone heavy, grave, like a weight dropped in the room.

The smoke began to drift. Slowly, ominously.

The space between the claws remained open, wider than before. The sky trembled with each passing second.

Then—

The eye reappeared.

Same size. Same stare.

Except now...

It was smiling.

Not literally. But the tilt of the iris, the glint in that cosmic void of a pupil, radiated smug amusement. It was like the eye was watching children throw sticks at a dragon.

Jessy’s voice cracked. "I thought we killed it."

Raven didn’t blink. "No."

The others turned to him.

He clenched his jaw. "It dodged."

"What?" Rufus croaked.

"It moved just before impact. It waited—let me paralyze it, let us attack, and then—moved." Raven’s voice was hard, controlled, and terrifyingly certain. "My Soul Freeze? It didn’t work. I know because I cast it. It didn’t even twitch internally."

They stared at him.

He continued, voice low, "It faked being frozen. It made us think we won."

"...That’s some Disney villain-level flex, I know," Omni murmured, his voice low and grave. "But it did happen."

Silence spread across the field like a slow fog.

Rufus finally whispered, "...Then what the hell are we supposed to do?"

The eye blinked once.

The sky cracked wider.

Crisaius took a slow step back. "Even at full strength... I don’t think I can stop that thing."

Even Argon looked a little pale, his expression solemn. "If we fought it now, we’d die."

Jessy’s fists clenched. "We’re exhausted. Out of mana. Out of big attacks."

Selena frowned. "And it looks like it’s just getting started..."

"Should we run away?" Rufus asked, staring at the eyes, his expression changing every second.

The others didn’t answer. Seriously contemplating.

After all, running away was the only way to win.

Whatever that thing was, they were sure it wouldn’t be able to remain here for long.

It was summoned here, so the moment its time limit is over, it will be unsummoned.

Above all, there should be a range of its movements.

A being summoned by magic circles can’t move far from it.

Then, the dumbest sentence of the day came from the dumbest mouth.

Alex, still steaming, slowly raised a hand.

"Uh... guys?" He said awkwardly. "What about the people in the capital?"

They all turned.

His eyes were wide. Honest. Afraid.

"If we run... who’s gonna stop that thing? Who’s gonna protect them?"

A beat of silence.

Like the world itself was holding its breath.

Raven looked around—the faces of his friends, his teammates, the scarred warriors who had fought beside him through hell.

He saw Clara, stepping beside him, biting her lip but nodding.

Selena and Siris didn’t say anything. They didn’t care what happened to the world.

They stared at him, wanting to know what he wanted. They would do whatever he wanted them to.

Jessy, fists up, face pale but defiant.

Jake, flipping his scythe, nodded at Raven, showing his resolve.

Rufus, powering up what little juice his armor had left.

Alex, standing taller than ever.

Argon and Crisaius both watched the rift, their expressions grim and determined, knowing what was coming.

Omni was quiet for once.

Then whispered.

"...We staying?"

Raven inhaled.

He didn’t smile. He didn’t crack a joke.

He just looked at that great cosmic eye... and narrowed his own.

"...Yeah," he said. "We’re staying."

Then, he opened his system interface, staring at the plot armor option.

[Plot Armor (Third Use): 10,000 Plot Points.]

His finger hovered above the panel, but he hesitated.

Because he had noticed something during his last two uses of plot armor.

Using the plot armor did save him from immediate threats, but it also raised the difficulty level for him.

The plot problems became harder to solve with every use.

He had thought that he would never use this until absolutely necessary, because the next raise in difficulty would make it impossible for the plot to remain the same.

He didn’t think that even the plotline of the world would remain the same.

As he looked at the crack once again, widening further, he knew that he had no other choice.

With a final glance at his teammates, he clicked on the plot armor option.

But then, something changed again.

The moment he clicked at the plot armor, the system glitched for a second.

Then, the value of the plot armor went static.

When it reappeared, it was increasing in number.

From 10,000 to 20,000, then 30,000, and it kept increasing, finally stopping at 50,000.

[The plot armor’s value has increased because of the difficulty of host’s predicament.]

[Will you still use the plot armor?]

Two notifications appeared one after another, making Raven pause for a second.

He stared at the hovering system window, the number glaring back at him.

[Plot Armor (Third Use): 50,000 Plot Points]

He had seen this number before—but only in the trade channel.

Windy had told him that 50,000 divinity (plot points) was the cost of a peak mortal-grade weapon.

A price meant for legendary swords that could cleave mountains or spears forged from dying stars.

Yet... here that number was.

Just to protect them.

He clenched his fist, the glow of the system interface reflecting in his narrowed eyes.

’If it costs the same as a peak mortal weapon...’ Raven muttered inwardly, his thought gloomy.

’Then what we’re up against is peak mortal level,’ he concluded grimly.

The realization hit like a slap with a holy fish.

There was no way they could win.

Even if Crisaius and Argon were at full strength—which they weren’t—and even if Raven had another 30 seconds of his transformation—which he didn’t—they’d still lose.

The crack widened further.

Then, they saw it.

A face.

If it could even be called that.

It looked like someone had slapped a rotten jellyfish onto a cow skull, added a dozen mismatched fangs stolen from a nightmare, and topped it off with glowing pustules that blinked independently.

The creature grinned at them.

A grin full of gleaming needle-teeth, layered in rows like it had tried to swallow a haunted fishbone factory.

Everyone just... stared.

"...Dear gods," Clara whispered.

Selena’s face twisted. "Why does it look like it was assembled by blind goblins?"

Alex gagged. "Did... did it just wink at me?!"

Rufus dry-heaved. "I think it just slimed at me."

Jake turned away, his nose scrunched.

Omni recoiled, his voice cracking. "Man, I take back every yo mama joke I ever made. Whatever this is? It wins. I surrender. That mug needs a priest and a pressure washer."

Even Siris, who had stabbed a man in the lungs and called it foreplay, was squinting in disgust. "I’ve seen corpses look more photogenic than that."

The creature grinned wider.

Then... the pressure dropped.

Like someone had flipped gravity upside down and then added a metric ton of despair.

Everyone fell to their knees.

Raven’s breath caught in his throat.

He hadn’t even realized he was trembling until Selena, beside him, let out a soft gasp and collapsed, her hands clutching her chest.

Jessy was biting her lip, blood dripping.

Jake’s scythe was cracking. Alex had dropped to all fours, symbiote trembling.

Rufus’ armor was flickering like a dying candle.

Clara was still also on her knees—but barely.

Even Siris’ mad eyes were wide now, not with bloodlust... but pure fear.

Only two remained upright: Crisaius and Argon.

Crisaius’ robes fluttered against the invisible force, his charred form standing firm, like a storm-beaten tree refusing to bend.

Argon gritted his teeth, blood trailing from the corner of his mouth. "I won’t... kneel... to you."

It was silent.

No music. No wind. Just the groaning of the sky as the creature reached further in—

Raven’s hand moved.

His thumb slammed into the ’YES’ button without thinking.

[Plot Armor Activated.]

Nothing happened.

The pressure remained.

The creature’s face twisted into a smirk so smug it could’ve passed for a nobleman with unpaid taxes.

Then—

A voice.

It wasn’t loud. It didn’t boom like thunder.

It simply was.

It existed in their ears, in the air, and in the marrow of their bones.

A calm, commanding, echoing voice, tinged with annoyance and authority.

"You do not belong here."

The pressure vanished instantly.

Everyone collapsed, gasping.

The voice continued.

"You are not meant to cross into this realm. This is not your time. Return."

"You are bound to the demon realm’s deepest pit. Stay there. Do not break the treaty."

The creature recoiled slightly.

Its eye blinked. Once. Twice.

Then it growled, and the air buzzed with hostility.

It didn’t care.

It reached out again, claws tearing at the crack with renewed fury.

"Of course it’s ignoring the voice of God. Of course," Raven muttered, dragging himself to his feet.

"Someone wake me when it learns manners," Jessy gasped.

Omni whispered, suspicion lacing his tone, "Yo, boss... that voice? Didn’t it sound kinda familiar? Like the one you heard back in your soul trial?"

Raven squinted his eyes.

But just when they thought they’d have to face it again—

A new hand appeared.

No—a claw.

A single, massive, silver-gold draconic claw.

Twice the size of the creature’s entire face, it tore through the veil like parchment and grabbed the creature’s head from behind.

Time froze.

The being’s eyes widened.

The group’s mouths dropped.

Nibbles held up a new sign: "OH SNAP."