Dragon's Awakening: The Duke's Son Is Changing The Plot
Chapter 218 - 217 - “He’s back...”

Chapter 218: Chapter 217 - “He’s back...”

Silence still lingered like dust in the air.

Raven, now fully upright, glanced sideways at his companions.

Still blinking, dazed from burnout, most of them looked like they’d just staggered out of a tavern brawl with a tornado.

Then—

Valeria started walking toward him.

Slowly. Cautiously. Like someone approaching a wild animal—or a long-lost sibling who used to steal her boots and fill them with slime.

Raven stared at her.

The girl was the most beautiful he had ever seen, until he met Arietta.

Then, he glanced at his group—at the girls.

’They are all as stunning as Valeria.’

Yes, the girls hadn’t just grown in power. Their looks had also leveled up.

Valeria, on the other hand, opened her arms ever so slightly. "Raven, I—"

She wanted a hug from her brother, whom she hadn’t been able to talk to for a long time.

She was scared of rejection, thinking that he might not want to talk to her as he had when he was younger.

But then, the news of his death reached her ears, and she started regretting everything.

Now, although Raven was alive and kicking, Valeira didn’t want to go back to how things were.

She wanted to make up with Raven. She wanted him to know that she was unlike his other siblings and that she would do anything for him.

It was then that the atmosphere shifted.

Because before she could take another step or even complete her words—

Boom.

Ten auras flared at once, like an orchestra of lightning, shadows, poison, steel, and nuclear disappointment.

A spectral wolf howled, static sparked, a nearby rock liquefied, and a boulder floated because Alex still hadn’t fully shut down his symbiote.

Selena stepped forward like a queen of ice and water, shadows curling around her like a cloak.

Clara hovered right above the ground, vibrations singing through her hands, her gaze unusually sharp.

Siris twirled a dagger between her fingers, smiling like a cornered cat. "Can we keep her, or do we need to vaporize her?"

Graye wasn’t even trying to be subtle—her hair was already spiked and her eyes gleaming with battle lust. "Ooooh, she wants a hug?! Battle-hug?"

Lia held back a sigh, but even her plants coiled around her like suspicious sentries.

Jake cracked his knuckles. Jessy’s hair sparked. Alex’s symbiote opened a toothy grin.

Even Nibbles had a sign out: "Approach denied. Emotional contact under review."

Valeria froze mid-step.

Her eyes widened.

She muttered, half-breathless: "What the f—"

The aura Raven’s group was emanating wasn’t something they should have. Not at their age.

Valeria was strong and didn’t fear anything, yet as the aura of the group members crashed into her, she felt it was dangerous to approach them.

Their auras were wild and unstable, but they were still powerful.

However, before she could even think deeply about it, her world spun.

Argon appeared behind her in a single flash of distorted space, his palm casually tapping the back of her neck.

Thud.

She dropped like a sack of potatoes wrapped in aristocracy.

The group blinked.

Argon stood tall, brushing imaginary dust off his shoulder, expression unreadable.

A long pause.

Then, without changing tone or blinking, he muttered, "...She really couldn’t handle the sibling pressure."

Groans. Immediate and universal.

"Uggghhh..." Jessy flopped back onto the floor like her spine gave up.

Clara facepalmed. "He’s back..."

Raven massaged his temples. "...Yup. That confirms it. This makes me feel like I’m back in this world."

Argon didn’t respond. Just walked past Valeria’s unconscious form and sat on a rock.

He glanced at Raven once, a flicker of unspoken meaning in his eyes, then said nothing.

He didn’t ask where they had been or how they had become so powerful in such a short time.

He kept quiet.

Because he’d already seen the hastily scrawled note Raven left behind before vanishing:

"Hey, Dad. Be back in a week. Probably. Don’t tell anyone. Or do. Idk. –Raven."

It had been stuffed under a teacup with jam on it.

So Argon just exhaled.

"...You could’ve chosen a better exit strategy."

Raven shrugged. "It worked."

Argon tilted his head toward the half-unconscious party. "Clearly."

Jessy coughed out a spark. "We were fine until someone made us do divine push-ups..."

Rufus raised a trembling arm. "Can confirm. Died twice. Saw a squirrel with wings. Might’ve been Nibbles..."

Nibbles nodded solemnly and flipped a sign: "I was majestic."

Argon’s gaze scanned the group again, his aura gently pressing down.

Even in their half-recovered state, all ten of them were flaring mana without control—leaking energy like drunk demigods at a rave.

"You’re leaking," he muttered.

"It’s fine," Raven replied. "We’re just... resting."

Argon arched a brow. "While pulsing chaotic mana in a cave full of dead, corrupted wildlife."

As if responding to his words, the corpse of a corrupt wolf lying not far away twitched.

It was as if it was about to wake up, but the next second—

Squeak!

A corrupt Rat jumped out from under the corpse and rushed away. It seemed like the twitch was its fault.

"...Still counts as resting," Clara added quickly.

Argon’s gaze lingered a second longer. "This... is a mess."

"I call it post-upgrade stabilization," Raven said with a grin.

Graye raised a hand. "So technically, we are on steroids, right?"

Siris poked her head out from behind Clara. "Mana steroids. Sponsored by divine insanity."

Selena nodded solemnly. "Side effects include nausea, explosions, and increased death tolerance."

Argon let out a low sigh and finally muttered, half to himself:

"...Now I need to come up with a lie for Talon."

"Can’t you just tell him it’s none of his business?" Jake asked.

Argon gave him a look. "It is none of his business. Which is why he’ll absolutely try to find out."

Raven snorted. "So, lie better."

"I’m already a parent," Argon replied, deadpan. "That’s half of parenting."

The squad collectively groaned again.

"Please stop with the horrible dad jokes," Selena hissed.

"I’d rather die again," Rufus wheezed.

"You will if you keep hearing him talk," Lia reminded.

"I feel the same."

Meanwhile, Nibbles held up a sign: "I miss the coma."

Argon closed his eyes, resting his chin on his fist.

"...So, when are you going to stabilize your mana?"

Raven blinked. "For now, I have another thing to do, and these guys have all absorbed more mana than their bodies can handle at once, so they should rest."

"You do know that one week of your month-long training is over, right?" Argon asked, voice calm but stern. "You only have three and a half weeks more before that one-month period ends."

"Oh, right," Raven nodded. "I had almost forgotten that."

Argon leaned back slightly, his crimson eyes half-lidded as a faint smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

"...What I wanted to say was for you to get stable soon, or you’ll all be mana-festing some serious problems."

"Mana-festing," Jessy repeated flatly, her tone dripping with existential regret.

The others could only groan.

After all, even if they had grown stronger, they didn’t think they would win against Argon to shut him up.

Worse, they felt like he wouldn’t even need to fight as his dad jokes were enough to kill him without mana.

"What are the chances that he was a banshee in his last life?" Rufus whispered to Jake, who merely shook his head, not wanting to deal with the patriarch of the family.

The others did the same, deciding to ignore Argon’s dad jokes, as that was the best way to survive an attack like that.

...........................

Not far from the Ashen Expanse, deep within the main Vaise estate, the eldest son of Argon sat alone in a high-backed chair, one leg crossed over the other.

The chamber was dim—silent save for the faint hum of mana stones somewhere below.

Black hair cascaded across his shoulders in precise, combed layers, and his violet eyes glowed faintly in the low light as he toyed with a crystal sphere, watching mana swirl lazily within.

A sharp knock echoed.

"Enter."

A robed subordinate stepped in, head bowed low. "Young Lord Zephyr... Lady Valeria has left the estate."

Zephyr didn’t react at first. Then, with a faint smile, he hummed. "Hmm... to the Ashen Expanse, I presume?"

The subordinate hesitated, then nodded. "Y-Yes. Alone."

Zephyr’s smile grew wider.

"Perfect," he said softly, setting the sphere down with a delicate clink. "Then I suppose it’s time we test our little project."

He stood, his coat billowing behind him like a shadow given form. "Inform the good doctor. Tell him to release ten of the new specimens."

The subordinate stiffened. "T-Ten, my lord? That’s—shouldn’t three or four be enough to deal with Lady Valeria?"

Zephyr turned his head slightly, the glow in his eyes intensifying. "Of course. But where’s the fun in enough?"

He stepped forward, placing a hand on the man’s trembling shoulder. "You see, this isn’t about victory. This is about love."

"L-Love...?"

Zephyr’s grin deepened. "Yes. Brotherly love. I must know—has our dear sister been training diligently... or slacking like the noble princess she always pretended not to be?"

He let go, turning back toward the chamber’s depths.

"Release ten. Let them hunt."

A pause.

"Let’s see if little Valeria can still scream."

The subordinate bowed and vanished.

Zephyr stood alone again, smiling as the swirling mana in the crystal pulsed once more—brighter now, hungrier.

"Valeria," he murmured, "feel my care for you and tell me if you can remain living with your mindset."

She was the only one of his siblings who could come between him and the Patriarch position.

Then his eyes sharpened as Raven’s face flashed past his head.

"I hope you stay dead, little brother," he whispered, tracing the window’s exterior. "Because staying alive would only make your death uglier."