Dragon's Awakening: The Duke's Son Is Changing The Plot-Chapter 122 - 121 - The Late Rescue.

In the darkness, only a few hundred feet past where Raven’s group sat laughing and bickering under the soft flicker of firelight, the forest twisted into shadows.

Hidden in those shadows, the professors stood—cloaks drawn tight, expressions anything but calm.

Professor Yulenne removed her glasses with practiced grace and rubbed the lenses with a cloth, though her hands trembled just slightly.

"This wasn’t supposed to happen," muttered a younger man—Professor Callen, his face flushed with fury. "She was supposed to die. Siris was dead. We saw her dead. We confirmed and reported that she was dead."

"Well," another muttered, voice low and bitter, "apparently she got better."

"Not just her," added Professor Larth, an older, sharp-eyed man who usually taught magical beast theory. "Raven’s alive. His squad is intact. And worse—they’re thriving. Like some backwater family picnic."

Yulenne said nothing, staring toward the faint glow of the fire.

"Then let’s finish the job," Callen snapped, leaning in, his voice a whisper of malice. "We attack them in their sleep—one clean attack. It’s nighttime; they’ll sleep. Then, we interrogate the survivors. Get information about the creature, then clean it all up."

Another professor, a woman with short red hair, shook her head. "You’re being reckless. You want to torture a Vaise? You know what happens if even one of them escapes. The capital will burn half the forest trying to find us. Not to mention the creature could vanish again."

"Then we split," Larth proposed. "Some stay and watch the Vaises. The rest would search for the beast. If it’s really the one with an ancient bloodline—the winged rodent—then it’s worth more than a dozen Vaises. We grab it before anyone even realizes its value."

Yulenne finally slipped her glasses back on and sighed through her nose. "You’re all letting your tails wag too hard."

Everyone turned toward her.

She folded her arms. "We follow Travis’s plan. That was the agreement. Our mission was to gather information. Observe. Blend in. The order to pursue the creature was revoked when the leaders decided it might draw unwanted attention. Above all, Raven is powerful."

"But we—"

"No." Her voice cut like frozen glass. "We are not disobedient soldiers. We are infiltrators. Survivors. The second we start making selfish moves, we become disposable liabilities."

The others grew silent.

Because they were doing more than they were supposed to do.

They were ordered not to pursue the legendary creature, but they were still doing it because of greed.

They were greedy for recognition.

They wanted to be praised by the Five Eyes of the Deep.

They thought that by doing what Travis, one of the best among them, failed to accomplish, they might get recognized for their abilities.

Yulenne’s gaze turned again toward the campfire. Recalling Raven’s expressions, her brows furrowed.

"...Besides," she added, softer now. "I have a bad feeling. Raven—he didn’t flinch when we appeared. He didn’t look surprised. Just... mildly inconvenienced. Like he already knew everything."

The others shifted uncomfortably.

"That’s paranoid," Callen muttered, but no one agreed with him. In fact, no one said anything.

Because deep down, none of them could confidently say she was wrong.

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

Meanwhile, back at the campfire—

A small squirrel emerged from a patch of leaves like a goblin war veteran returning from recon.

His fur was windswept. His eyes were narrowed.

His tiny paw extended toward Raven in the universal squirrel sign for "mission complete, the pests are gone."

Raven nodded once, the faintest motion.

His expression didn’t change, but internally, his mental checklist ticked a very satisfying box labeled "Confirm Paranoia: Complete."

He turned toward his group.

Clara was recounting the time she kicked a corrupt wolf in the jaw in mid-air. Rufus was comparing blade lengths with Jake (a silent war of inches).

Selena was still glued to his side, her cheek warm against his bicep. Siris was busy whispering to her dagger like it had an opinion worth hearing.

"Hey," Raven said casually.

Heads turned toward him.

"The professors were demonic humans."

Alex dropped his marshmallow into the fire.

Jessy blinked. "...I’m sorry, could you repeat that in a language with less ’insane’ in it?"

Raven looked into the fire as if narrating a bedtime story.

"They were all demons. Or corrupted by them. Whatever the specifics, they weren’t here to help. I didn’t say anything earlier because I was waiting for them to leave."

Siris immediately stood up and drew a knife. "I can chase—"

"No," Raven cut in, raising a hand. "If I wanted to attack them, I would’ve done it. We can’t make a move without concrete evidence. Besides, I wanted to confirm my suspicions."

Jake raised a brow. "And how did you do that, exactly?"

Raven smirked slightly. "By doing nothing. If they thought I knew, they would’ve struck. But they didn’t. Which means they’re not confident. Yet."

Clara narrowed her eyes. "But how do you know they were demonic?"

Raven stretched his arms as if this entire moment was just annoying paperwork.

"Easy. Think about it. They claimed the Royals had already made the demonic human situation public, right?"

"Right..." Jessy nodded slowly. "Which is why they said they came to help."

"But that’s the problem," Raven said, voice now sharper. "Crisaius went to the palace for that very meeting. If that meeting had ended and some national decision had been made, what’s the first thing he’d do?"

Clara answered instantly. "He’d come back here and insult us."

"Exactly." Raven pointed. "Maybe train us a bit. Maybe laugh at our trauma. But either way, he’d show up, which he hasn’t."

Rufus leaned forward. "That means..."

"The meeting’s still happening," Raven said. "The decision hasn’t been made yet. There’s no way the information is officially public."

Jessy nodded. "So the professors were using that as a cover. Sloppy one, too."

Selena blinked, her expression turning cold. "But... that means they had access to royal information before it became public."

"Which means," Clara growled, "they’re deep in the system."

"Exactly." Raven’s eyes glinted. "And they’re scared of us."

Siris tilted her head. "Why?"

Raven shrugged. "Because we’re scary."

"I’m not scary," said Selena softly.

"Your shadow devours demonic humans," Raven said.

"...Oh."

They all fell into silence.

Then Alex coughed. "So... what now?"

"We wait," Raven replied. "Until the meeting’s over. Until Crisaius comes back to roast us with facts and threats. Then we report what happened. Until then..."

He looked at each of them.

"We play dumb. We recover. We prepare."

Siris nodded. "And if they come back?"

Raven smiled faintly. "Then we teach them why you don’t mess with our group."

Selena whispered, "Together?"

Raven looked at her, at Clara, at Siris, at all of them.

"...Yeah," he said. "Together."

From the edge of the camp, the squirrel raised his paw again.

Thumbs up.

Soon, the forest turned silent while the other students continued their search for the gems in this vast forest.

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

The next morning dawned with the gentle rustle of wind through the trees and a suspicious lack of screaming—always a good sign in this part of the forest.

Raven stood up from his makeshift seat and stretched, bones cracking in protest, only to feel Selena’s soft palms massaging him, making him sigh in relief.

’This is life,’ he muttered.

Clara yawned and began tying her boots. She saw Selena’s actions, but she didn’t mind letting her have the upper hand sometimes.

Siris, however, started doing lunges with two knives in hand as she saw that.

Rufus had carved a wooden training dummy in the night and was now using it to sharpen his blades, along with Jake, who was always ready for training.

Meanwhile, Alex was attempting to talk to a fern near their camp, only to groan as it didn’t reply to him.

Just then, with the precision of a royal procession, Nibbles emerged from the treeline.

Flanked by two squirrel guards dressed in acorn armor and smug expressions, the commander marched forward like a conquering hero returning from war.

He stopped in front of Raven and gave a crisp salute—paw to forehead, then to chest, then a dramatic twirl for flair.

"Morning, Nibbles," Raven greeted. "I assume the diplomatic mission was a success?"

Nibbles squeaked twice, twitched his tail, and pointed directly into the dense forest behind him with great ceremony.

"Right," Raven said, nodding slowly. "Now... the gems. You know, the shiny things? Mana crystals? Supposed to be red or blue, egg-sized, and look vaguely important?"

Nibbles blinked at him with the confidence of someone who had absolutely crushed their assignment.

Then he snapped his claws, and one of the armored squirrels blew into a tiny, walnut-shaped horn.

From the trees came the sound of dozens of squirrels mobilizing like a military parade.

Marching. Chattering. Victory squeaks.

Raven turned toward his group. "Alright, everyone up. Let’s follow the dramatic rodent."

They walked.

And walked.

And walked.

The deeper they went into the forest, the weirder it got—some trees were bent unnaturally, and others had strange claw marks.

At one point, they passed what looked like a squirrel-sized trench system, complete with watchtowers made of bark and moss.

"I feel like we’re being led somewhere," Jessy muttered.

"No kidding," said Clara. "Next he’ll show us a squirrel shrine or something."

"I hope they didn’t eat the gems," Alex said.

Siris was sniffing the air like a bloodhound. "I smell... victory. Or... nuts. One of the two."

Finally, Nibbles stopped at a moss-covered stump that looked deceptively mundane—until he slammed a tiny paw onto a pressure leaf.

The stump groaned, then split in half with a slow mechanical creak. Beneath it, stairs.

Stone stairs.

Glowing faintly with red and blue light.

The group exchanged glances.

Jessy muttered, "...Why do I feel like we’re about to see something illegal?"

Jake nodded in agreement.

Raven sighed and gestured. "Let’s go. If they stored lint and shiny rocks instead of the actual gems, we’ll just have to hunt down some poor noble’s kids and take their stash."

They descended slowly.

With each step, the light grew brighter. The tunnel was damp but reinforced with stone bricks—no human hand had built this. This was squirrel engineering.

The air shimmered with mana.

Then they turned a corner.

And stopped.

Silence.

No one spoke. No one breathed.

Siris blinked. "...Huh."

Clara tilted her head. "What... is this?"

Jessy frowned. "Are those..."

Rufus scratched his chin. "Well, damn."

Alex dropped his jaw. "I—what?"

He couldn’t even find words for the scene before him. None of them could.

Selena quietly whispered, "This... is a problem."

At the front, Raven stood still, eyes scanning the scene before him.

He said nothing.

He only blinked once.

Then twice.

Finally, with his hand on his forehead, he whispered, more to himself than anyone else—

"...You’ve got to be kidding me."

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