Dragon's Awakening: The Duke's Son Is Changing The Plot-Chapter 369 - 368 - The demons’ discussion and another reunion.

Chapter 369: Chapter 368 - The demons’ discussion and another reunion.

Somewhere in the demon realm.

The air in the chamber was thick—so thick that even sound seemed to crawl instead of echo.

It was a place that devoured light.

A long, round obsidian table stretched across the center of the room, reflecting faint glimmers from the only visible features of the beings that sat around it—eyes.

Dozens of them, red, violet, gold, and green, all gleaming faintly in the suffocating dark.

The air itself seemed alive, pulsing faintly with demonic energy. The faint hum of ancient enchantments crawled across the walls like whispers from forgotten graves.

"...So," a low, rasping voice finally broke the silence. "We failed."

The words hung like poison in the air.

Another voice followed—deep, guttural, and resentful. "Failed, yes. Because someone decided to lose every Seed we collected from the human realm."

A snarl cut through the room. "Watch your tone, Kharzel. You think I planned to have them stolen?"

"Then you failed to guard them."

A thud—someone’s fist slammed the table. The obsidian cracked but did not break.

"Enough." The voice came from the head of the table, cold, measured, and carrying the weight of authority. Its owner leaned forward slightly, a faint glint of silver in his vertical pupils. "We gain nothing by blaming one another."

A pause followed. The shadows stirred as if bowing to the speaker.

The head demon continued, "The Seeds are gone. That alone cripples our current campaign. Without them, the human realm’s barrier remains intact—and we can’t send someone strong enough to pose a threat to them anymore."

The silence that followed was bitter and heavy.

One of the demons, his voice sharp and serpentine, finally spoke. "I heard... something else. About the black dragon."

Instantly, the temperature in the room seemed to drop. The faint hum of mana froze.

Dozens of eyes turned toward him.

"...What of it?" the leader asked slowly.

"The black dragon was revived."

For a moment, no one breathed.

Even demons, creatures who thrived in chaos and death, knew that name carried weight beyond reason.

The black dragon had once reduced an entire demon nation to cinders. His flames had turned seas to boiling pits and mountains to ash. His very existence was enough to make kingdoms kneel.

That dragon was someone even the demon kings feared.

The mention of him brought a faint echo of fear into the room—an emotion most of them hadn’t felt in centuries.

But before the tension could thicken further, the same demon spoke again.

"...And it was slain."

The room stirred.

"What?"

"By whom?"

The demon’s golden eyes glimmered faintly. "By a human. Or something close to one. Raven—the one who wields the voidfire."

A murmur rippled through the room, half shock, half disbelief.

"That brat again?" One of them hissed. "Impossible. No mortal could kill the black dragon."

"He could," the golden-eyed one replied coldly. "The dragon was only at the first level of the Imperial Realm after revival. He was incomplete. His body was reborn, but his soul hadn’t fully recovered."

The murmurs softened.

The demons slowly leaned back in their chairs. The fear that had begun to slither through their veins turned into mockery.

"Hmph. So the terror of the black dragon ends as a half-born beast slain by a lucky child. Pathetic."

"Indeed. Though..." another voice rumbled, deep as thunder, "...if the black dragon was tied to the barrier around Velmoria, then doesn’t his death mean...?"

A beat of silence.

Then realization dawned.

One by one, their grins appeared in the darkness—rows of teeth gleaming faintly like crescent moons in hell.

"...That the barrier that keeps the four kingdoms protected from the outside world will weaken."

"Once it falls..."

"Velmoria and the other three kingdoms will be exposed to everyone, including the two empires around them."

Their laughter began as a whisper. Then it grew.

Low, chilling, guttural.

The table vibrated as mana flared across the room—each demonic presence swelling with anticipation.

"The humans think they’ve won a war," one sneered, claws tapping the table rhythmically. "But they’ve merely rung their own funeral bells."

Another leaned forward, voice dripping with glee. "When the barrier falls, the floodgates open. And this time, we won’t need Seeds or summoning. Our kin already infest the outer lands of the human world."

"I heard even the Demon Sovereign lives somewhere in the human realm," said the leader, his voice soft but poisonous. "And when his command comes..."

"Velmoria and the other three useless kingdoms will burn."

Their eyes gleamed in unison, like dying stars on the edge of oblivion.

The room’s shadows twisted, seeming to laugh along with them.

"Let them rebuild," the leader said, rising from his chair, his outline massive and serpentine. "Let them celebrate their peace. The next time we come..."

The air quaked.

"...we come as extinction."

With that, the darkness swallowed their laughter—

—Until only the echo of their amusement remained.

Faint.

Distant.

Inevitable.

Raven and his group, however, remained oblivious to all that.

They didn’t know anything other than the fact that they had won, all because Raven hadn’t read the plot after this point.

Right now, they were all in a chamber in the capital city of Velmoria.

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

Warm evening sunlight streamed through the tall windows, bathing the room in an orangish glow, while the scent of herbal incense lingered in the air.

It was a scent meant to soothe both the patient and everyone who’d nearly had a collective breakdown watching said patient die to an ugly dragon.

Raven lay back on the bed, now propped up by pillows. He looked better—a lot better—though his hair was still a mess, and his expression said, ’he’d rather be fighting dragons than being doted on right now.’

"...So Rufus is in another room?" Raven asked, scratching the back of his neck.

"Yeah," Jessy answered, lounging on a chair and spinning a mana crystal in her fingers. "Apparently, his nano-core overloaded during the last explosion. He’s fine, just glowing like a holy disco ball right now."

Graye grinned. "I went to see him earlier. He’s literally sparkling. Like—" she wiggled her fingers, "—twinkle twinkle holy star sparkling."

"Don’t touch him," Clara said calmly. "He’s still unstable."

Graye pouted. "But he’s shiny."

"Exactly," Siris muttered. "You’re not a moth, Graye."

"I might be," Graye countered proudly.

Selena sighed, elegantly crossing her legs beside the bed. "While everyone else is talking about moths and glow sticks, I’d like to note that the capital’s reconstruction is already underway. The nobles are mobilizing resources."

Alex yawned. "Wow, nobles doing something useful. What’s next, Nibbles becoming a dad?"

There was a pause, as if the universe itself was considering that option, and the next second—

A shadow zipped past the window.

Followed by another.

Then another.

A high-pitched chirp squeal echoed, and before anyone could react, the window burst open.

"—SQUEAK!!" (—NIBBLES!!)

A pink blur smashed into Alex’s head and sent him sprawling backward.

When the dust settled, a fluffy, glowing creature—round, soft, and very pink—was latched onto Alex’s hair like a puffball meteor.

Two tiny squirrel babies peeked from her fur, squeaking adorably.

"Is that Fluffy?" Raven blinked.

Nibbles froze mid-snack (he’d been eating almonds like a mob boss this whole time), his little paws trembling as he turned.

His helmet fell off.

"Squeak?" (Fluff?) He squeaked, eyes wide.

For a moment, no one moved.

Then—

"FLUFFYYYY!!!"

"NIBBBLESSS!!!"

The two launched toward each other in slow motion—complete with dramatic orchestral music no one else could hear.

They met in midair, tiny arms wrapping around each other as sparkles and squeaks filled the room.

The two baby squirrels rolled out of Fluffy’s fur and landed on Raven’s blanket, staring up at their parents like they were watching an anime reunion episode.

"Oh my god..." Jessy muttered. "This is too cute. I think my heart just got diabetes."

"Daddy Nibbles!" Graye gasped, clapping. "They look like him! Especially the small one with the violent eyes!"

Siris tilted her head. "Wait, Nibbles is married?"

Nibbles flashed a sign that read, "Long story, blood, romance, nuts, drama."

Fluffy squeaked proudly and handed him another sign she’d apparently carried herself: "He forgot child support, too."

Everyone paused, staring at Fluffy as if she were an alien.

"...Since when could she do that?" Raven muttered.

"I am a smart squirrel." Fluffy raised another sign before she went back to cuddling Nibbles, whom she had met after a long time.

For the last month, she had been taking care of her children and dreaming about Nibbles, but today, she had decided to meet him.

Yes, Nibbles had told her not to leave Acornia, but what could she do? She couldn’t keep telling her children that their father would be back on time when she herself didn’t know when he would come back.

Looking at the family union of Nibbles, everyone would smile warmly.

Even Argon cracked a smile from where he stood at the corner, arms folded. "Well, at least the squirrel knows how to handle family reunions."

"Yeah," Alex said, nursing a bump on his head. "Unlike you, Duke Dad-core."

Argon raised a brow, his tone carrying that ancient fatherly menace. "Careful, boy. I’ve been dishing out punishments since before sarcasm was invented."

Then he smirked faintly. "Keep that up, and I’ll turn your confidence into a family heirloom—buried six feet under."

Jessy let out a nervous cluck. "That was... impressively vintage."

Siris chuckled. "He just threatened him in medieval dad language."

Argon shrugged. "What can I say? My jokes age like fine threats." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

That made Siris snort, Clara cover her smile, and Jessy choke on her drink.

Selena, ever regal, whispered, "Well, at least he’s back to his dreadful humor."

That is when Jessy noticed something.

She blinked, mid-sip, when movement at the window caught her eye.

"...Uh, guys?" She called slowly. "Why are there tiny armored squirrels outside?"

Everyone turned.

There, on the window ledge, stood a dozen imperial squirrel knights—each barely the size of an apple, wearing gleaming silver acorn-shaped helmets and holding toothpick-sized lances.

One of them puffed his chest out and saluted Fluffy with dramatic squeaks, nearly tipping backward. Another tried to unfurl a miniature flag but got tangled in it instead.

Graye burst out laughing. "They’ve got formation issues!"

Even Argon’s lips twitched as Nibbles facepalmed.

Fluffy, however, squeaked proudly, and the room erupted in laughter.

Raven chuckled weakly. "Guess everything’s... normal again."

"Normal?" Siris raised a brow. "You almost died, the capital almost exploded, Nibbles became a father, and squirrels now have imperial knights, who can’t even stand straight. I’d call that an upgrade."

Nibbles puffed his chest proudly, his tiny armor glinting in the light as his two babies clung to his tail like fluffy dumplings.

Raven watched them for a moment—a rare, peaceful smile tugging at his lips.

The laughter, the chatter, the faint sound of Fluffy scolding Nibbles for eating too fast—it was all so alive.

He exhaled slowly, feeling warmth spread through his chest. For the first time since the battle, the silence in his head wasn’t heavy. It was comforting.

Until—

A flicker passed through his mind.

He noticed the absence of someone he was expecting to meet as soon as he woke up.

That old man who always knew how to annoy people.

His smile faded slightly.

He looked around the room, then toward Argon and Lia.

"...Wait," he said quietly. "Where’s Crisaius?"

The chatter stopped.

Clara looked confused. "Huh? Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen him anywhere in the castle."

Selena’s expression sharpened slightly. "From what I heard from Velric, he was fighting against the demon with him."

She gestured at Argon.

That’s when Raven noticed it—the subtle stiffness in Lia’s hands, the way Argon’s eyes flickered toward the window instead of meeting his.

Lia’s lips parted, then closed again.

Argon sighed softly, the faint smile gone from his face.

"...He’s—" Lia began, her voice faltering.

Raven’s eyes narrowed slightly. "He’s what?"

The room went silent.

Outside, the sun finally slipped beneath the horizon, casting long shadows through the glass—the warm light fading from gold to gray.

Neither of them spoke.

In that quiet, everyone else realized that whatever came next... wouldn’t be easy.