Dragon's Awakening: The Duke's Son Is Changing The Plot
Chapter 81 - 80 - The Demonic Beast.

Chapter 81: Chapter 80 - The Demonic Beast.

The Bestiary Mountain was located around the border of the Vaise Dukedom and the Astazin Dukedom.

If the Vaise Dukedom covered the southern part of the kingdom, the Astazin Dukedom occupied the east side.

It was originally a part of the Great Forest covering a large part of the Ashen Expanse along with the Hector kingdom that was right next to Velmoria.

Still, over time, the Great Forest got smaller, leaving behind a small part, now known as Bestiary Mountain.

Now, why was a forest named like a mountain?

It was because of a mountain at the center of the forest, housing exotic beasts, but it was equally dangerous.

There was a myth that this forest was created by a spirit, but no one believed in it as it seemed completely made up.

In the same forest, a group of people, along with two squirrels, were sprinting from one clearing to another.

Leaves tore past their faces.

The night was cool, but every heartbeat felt like fire—racing through muscle, echoing in breathless silence.

Commander Nibbles sat perched on Alex’s shoulder, trembling.

His fur was matted with stress, his tiny claws dug into Alex’s collar, and his round eyes—usually calm and commanding—were glassy with panic.

He had not spoken since he relayed Squeaky’s message.

Not with paws.

Not with a tail.

Only silence.

A squirrel commander’s silence was worth more than any scream—and Raven felt it.

Raven was running—but not out of rage, fury, or vengeance.

He was running because Nibbles was crying.

Because the commander, who had faced boars with nothing but his teeth (at least that’s what Nibbles had told them), who sat on Alex’s head like a fluffy war crown, was breaking.

It wasn’t about beasts or demonic threats.

It was about family.

Nutwatch was Nibbles’s squad.

His people.

His kin.

And they were dying.

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

Back at Willow Flats, the place where the demonic beast was.

Blood soaked into the grass.

Tiny weapons—acorns carved into spears, bottle lids turned into shields—lay scattered across the ground, broken.

The air was heavy with corruption.

The demon beast loomed over a crumbled nest carved into a willow’s roots. Its jagged stomach-mouth dripped purple drool, sizzling as it hit the dirt.

Its eye darted, blinking as if confused by the courage of its prey.

Three squirrels remained.

Chatterfang stood on the front lines, swaying.

Behind him, Pvt. Snaps sobbed quietly, trying to shield the unconscious body of Lieutenant Scurry.

They had fought hard.

Too hard.

The enemy wasn’t natural.

No amount of furry valor could stop the spread of death crawling toward them.

The only reason they had survived until now was because the beast hadn’t used magic and they were small, capable of running into small places.

But Chatterfang didn’t back down.

"CHIT CHIT—TILL THE LAST NUT!" He screamed hoarsely, his fur soaked in blackened blood.

The beast raised a leg, poised to crush them—

—Only to freeze.

Its eye jerked toward the woods.

A rustle. A sound. A shift in the air.

Something was coming.

Something it didn’t think was easy prey.

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

Back in the forest.

They arrived at the edge of Willow Flats.

And Raven stopped.

He hadn’t seen the beast yet—but he felt it.

Mana twisted. The wind was sour.

And ahead—

Commander Nibbles leaped from Alex’s shoulder and landed in the clearing.

He dropped to his knees. Tiny, trembling knees.

And he begged.

His head lowered. His paws pressed together.

Tears ran down his cheeks.

He didn’t look back.

He just knelt in front of Raven in full submission—desperate, broken, and terrified.

It wasn’t just Nibbles; even Squeaky, who was sitting atop Clara’s shoulder, jumped down, his weapon clenched in his small paws.

It smashed its head on the ground, making everyone feel strangely emotional.

Raven had never seen that.

Not from Nibbles.

Not from a squirrel.

For a moment, the world stood still.

’Are they really animals?’ All of them thought.

He didn’t seem like an animal. Or maybe they didn’t know much about animals.

Everyone stood frozen before Nibbles.

Even Siris.

Raven looked at Nibbles. Then at Alex.

"What is it—no, he—saying?"

Alex lowered his head. For the first time, that dumb guy felt sad for someone else. "...Chatterfang is his brother."

That was all they needed to hear, and they knew why Nibbles was so desperate.

Raven looked beyond the bushes, toward the battlefield—

And then he saw it.

The beast.

Six limbs.

One eye.

A mouth on its stomach.

Purple veins pulsing.

It was gnawing on something small. He didn’t want to guess what it was.

The demon beast paused as its eye landed on Raven.

And Raven...

His expression changed.

His face became blank—cold, like iron before the strike.

’I’m sorry for your loss,’ Raven inwardly apologized to Nibbles.

He took one slow step forward, brushing past Nibbles without a word.

Then another.

His aura didn’t explode.

It didn’t roar.

It just deepened—sank.

The air got heavy. Pressure rolled over the clearing like a black tide.

Behind him, Clara stiffened.

"...He’s serious," she muttered.

She wasn’t the only one who thought that.

Everyone there could feel it—Raven’s anger.

It might feel strange that he was feeling angry for a squirrel, but to Raven, they were no longer squirrels.

They were the family members of his friend, Nibbles.

Selena, however, was biting her nails.

’No! Don’t go! That beast is a level six demonic beast!’

Unlike others here, she knew the demons. She knew how strong they could be and other things related to them.

Demonic beasts were also demons. But unlike the demons that possessed humans, they possessed animals.

The best way to classify them was the spikes on their body.

The more the spikes, the stronger a beast was.

The beast before them had six spikes.

A beast with six spikes would be at least as strong as a plate-six magic swordsman.

Raven was simply a plate-four.

Yes, he had defeated a layer-six knight before, but the difference between a knight and a magic swordsman was vast.

But Selena didn’t know how she could stop him.

If she tried, everyone would get suspicious about how she knew it.

Glancing at Clara, who didn’t seem concerned about Raven, brought her some relief, but she didn’t know if it was confidence or overconfidence.

For now, she could just hope it was confidence.

Siris and Lia, on the other hand, stood behind.

The only difference was that Siris was ready to move whenever she could, while Lia was staring at everything wide-eyed, her instincts telling her that she wasn’t even strong enough to survive next to that beast.

But for some reason, they felt that Raven wouldn’t lose.

Jake, Jessy, Rufus, Clara, and Alex, who had known Raven for some time, knew he wouldn’t act without a plan, so they were strangely relaxed.

That was until Raven spoke.

"This guy is fast," he said, his eyes locked with the demonic beast growling at them, spitting the thing it held in its jaw.

Raven, however, continued. "I want you all to surround this area. Don’t let the beast escape."

It wasn’t that Raven wasn’t confident about defeating the beast, but he knew more about this beast than even Selena did.

It was a level six demonic beast, sure. But there was more to it.

The purple shade on its body indicated that it was a speed-type beast—the most annoying kind.

Yes, he had fought a plate-six magic swordsman before and won, but that was purely because his luck was good.

Above all, even a plate-six magic swordsman would struggle against a speed-type beast because they could just dodge everything.

You needed the right elemental magic or powers to restrain them.

Fortunately for Raven, he could control all four basic elements, unlike others, who could control only one.

Still, he didn’t want to let this beast escape, so he made everyone stand alert.

No one questioned, and they moved.

Even Siris had moved, covering Raven’s flank.

Jessy, Jake, and Rufus were ready with their mana cracking and aura charged.

Their eyes were locked on the beast.

"Alex, protect Selena and Li...o."

The strange pause Raven took there confused everyone, but they didn’t think much of it.

Lia, however, almost had a mini heart attack. She thought that Raven was about to call her by her real name instead of Lio.

But she sighed as she heard him complete his words.

Raven’s gaze lingered a bit longer on Selena, who lowered her head, inadvertently avoiding her eyes.

That action made Raven’s eyes sharpen, but he turned back, focusing on the situation ahead.

Then, he cracked his fingers; dragon scales shimmered faintly over his arm.

"Clara," he said, not turning. "Check on the squirrels. I’ll take the front."

It was clear that the squirrels were dead, but it didn’t hurt to check.

Clara, however, reached out. "Are you going to be fine, alone—?"

"I’m not alone," he cut her off, glancing down.

Squeaky had walked past him, fur standing on end.

He pointed his tiny paw at the beast.

"Squeak."

Raven didn’t need translation this time; he understood what the little guy wanted to say and smiled.

"Yeah, let’s kill it."

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