Dragon's Awakening: The Duke's Son Is Changing The Plot-Chapter 167 - 166 - “Wrong TwitChapter ”

Silence.

Thick and awkward.

It was as if someone had burped during a funeral.

The Malformed King knelt in the cracked earth, head lowered not out of shame or defeat—but sheer, oppressive soul pressure.

The crater they stood in still steamed from his arrival, jagged with molten edges and demon-shaped dents.

Yet, the demon’s voice, when it came, was oddly calm.

"I never came here to kill anyone."

That single line pulled the emotional brakes hard enough to make everyone mentally rear-end each other.

Raven’s eyes narrowed as he frowned. "Then explain."

The demon, still pressed to the ground, was having a hard time breathing, so he spoke slowly and carefully, like a bear trying not to spook a hunter.

"Could I please be released of this pressure? I swear that I won’t attack."

Raven narrowed his eyes, contemplating.

The Malformed King was a man of his word, but Raven couldn’t be sure. There was no way to tell if this guy had changed or not.

If he hadn’t, then whatever Raven was doing wasn’t good, but if he had, then this was exactly what Raven should be doing.

Just then—

"Yo, why you overthinking this, man?" Omni’s voice echoed in his head, calm but cocky. "If that fool even twitches wrong, you could fry his soul with a thought. Light work."

’That’s not it, Omni,’ Raven groaned inwardly. ’He’s too strong. What if he kills someone before I can kill him? What if he’s faster than my thoughts?’

There was a short silence before Omni spoke again.

"Someone’s gotta take the first step, right?" He said with an imaginary shrug. "Ain’t no glory without a little risk, my man." freewebnøvel_com

Hearing those words, Raven glanced at his teammates—especially Selena, recalling how he had trusted Mistress.

So, he decided to do it again.

He nodded to the demon and waved his hand. "One wrong twitch and you will die."

He warned, and the Malformed King nodded. "I never go back on my words."

There was a silence before Raven raised a brow. "So?"

The Malformed King nodded. "I was sent to deliver a message. My intentions were never to attack."

Alex, sitting on a rock with blood and soot smeared across his cheeks like war paint, coughed. "Wait... you were the mailman?"

The Malformed King looked at him, utterly unbothered. "I prefer... imperial emissary."

Jessy blinked. "So... you weren’t here to kill anyone?"

"As I said, no."

Everyone turned.

Eyes locked onto Alex and Rufus like lasers powered by disbelief and sheer betrayal.

Selena rubbed her forehead. "Did you two idiots attack a diplomatic envoy?"

Even Siris stopped chewing her popcorn. "Oh, wow. That’s new levels of stupidity."

Raven arched a brow, sighing. "Explain. Now."

Alex laughed nervously. "Okay, so, technically, he did say something ominous before throwing hands."

The Malformed King, still kneeling, clarified, "I said: ’Round two... begins now.’"

"Which is exactly the kind of thing someone says before murdering you!" Alex yelled defensively. "Context matters!"

Rufus mumbled, eyes shifting. "I thought it was a trap... and well, I may have... attacked first."

"You what?" Selena hissed.

"You didn’t even ask me!" Alex pointed, voice shrill with the weight of years shaved off his lifespan. "You scanned him, and the next second, those magic blasters in your palms were shooting beams at the guy!"

Rufus scowled. "He looked dangerous!"

"He was walking calmly!"

"I was about to speak," the Malformed King interjected flatly. "But you charged at me."

"...You weren’t even scratched," Rufus said quietly.

"My speech was interrupted."

A heavy silence fell over them again.

Then everyone turned toward Rufus.

Even the wind paused to judge.

Rufus looked around, caught between pride and the burning need to teleport to a new continent.

"I mean, we survived, didn’t we?"

"You survived because he decided not to murder you," Clara said flatly.

"He could’ve sat on you," Jessy added.

Lia squinted. "You attacked a diplomatic demon while screaming about honor. No wonder Raven never lets you guys do anything alone."

"I think I’m weeping," Graye muttered, arms folded.

Rufus looked to Alex for help. Alex immediately looked the other way.

"Coward," Rufus mouthed.

"It’s your fault," Alex mouthed back.

The Malformed King merely sighed, his cracked exoskeleton shifting as he sat down cross-legged, bringing himself level with the rest of the group.

The group tensed, and Raven almost attacked if not for the fatally relaxed position of the demon.

Yet, despite the relaxed attitude of the demon, he was still radiating a pressure most would call existential dread wearing shoes, but now it had a calm, oddly teacher-ish vibe.

It was like a battle-scarred professor who didn’t grade on a curve but might spare you if your essay had a soul.

Even so, none of them relaxed.

Clara had her sword’s hilt grabbed behind her back. Jessy’s iron dust twitched like irritated snakes. Siris still held a second popcorn bag—unopened but dangerously buttery.

And Raven... Raven stood in front, arms crossed, golden slits for pupils glinting under his hood.

His presence alone made even the wind second-guess blowing too hard.

"You’ll understand," Raven finally said, "if we’re a little cautious."

The Malformed King nodded. "I understand. I would do the same."

But then, he twitched.

Just slightly.

His hand moved toward his neck, maybe to scratch, but before he could do it—

CRACK.

Before anyone could blink, Raven’s soul pressure descended again.

One moment the demon sat cross-legged, and the next, his face was in the dirt, half the crater flattened further from the impact.

A deep gouge lined the ground where Raven’s pressure had slammed him down.

The demon let out a low, confused groan.

"What... was that for...?" He growled, muffled by soil and regret.

Raven stood before him, his brows frowned. "Wrong twitch."

"...I was itchy."

"...Still the wrong twitch."

Another silence.

Graye slowly raised a hand. "Permission to laugh?"

"No," Raven and Clara said in unison.

Jessy’s eye twitched. "He just got pinned for scratching himself."

Alex nodded solemnly. "This is why I moisturize."

The Malformed King groaned again, this time more insulted than injured. "Do you always attack itchy people?"

"No," Raven replied, relieving the demon of the pressure. "Only when they look like they could punch through a mountain and have a murder record."

The demon sat back up with all the grace of someone who’d just been hit by karma itself.

His exoskeletal plates clicked as he rolled his shoulders with a grimace.

"I am not used to being... handled."

"You’ll get used to it," Raven said casually. "If not, you’ll be a crater outline."

Siris tossed her popcorn in the air, catching one kernel in her mouth. "Y’know... I’m starting to feel the need to poke a few holes in that guy."

"You want to poke everyone who gets on Raven’s bad side," Clara said, glancing sideways.

"No," Siris smiled sweetly. "Just everyone he slams."

Rufus tried to hide behind Alex, realizing that he might be on that list. Alex was the same, so he immediately tried to hide behind Lia. Lia didn’t even flinch, being royalty and therefore used to absurdity.

Finally, Raven sat down on a jagged rock, still watching the demon. "You said you brought a message. Let’s hear it. No more itching. No more twitching. Just talking."

The Malformed King nodded.

"Very well," he said. "But please know that my words aren’t to be taken lightly."

"Buddy," Alex coughed into his fist, "you threw us through six walls before this ’talk.’ You’ve already set the tone."

The Malformed King stared at Alex, then turned to look around, observing the destroyed surroundings, and then turned toward Raven.

Raven, however, shook his head. "You can continue. But before that, do tell us, whose messenger are you?"

Malformed King paused, realizing that he had missed out on something so important, and then he lowered his head slightly.

"Yes, I apologize for not saying that before, but the one who sent me is someone you guys know. It is someone who has lost her rightful position because of some brute, the Imperial Princess, Zarethia Vel’Zarath."

The others, however, merely stared at him, their heads tilted.

"Who?" All of them asked in unison.

The demon paused again, his expression going from serious to confused. "What?"

Raven took a deep breath, wondering why this more than a hundred-year-old demon seemed like an idiot right now.

But then it clicked, as there was only one demon all of them knew other than the Malformed King.

"Are you talking about Mistress?" He asked and everyone’s eyes lit up with realization.

Well, everyone except Graye.

"You have a mistress, Raven? What about Clara, Selena, and Siris?"

That was her question.

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