Dragon's Awakening: The Duke's Son Is Changing The Plot-Chapter 45 - 44 - The Arena 2.

The air outside the arena was charged—not with cheers or excitement from a historic moment—but with silence, suspicion, and tension sharp enough to cut steel.

A place that should have been filled with spectators was empty. The arena, surrounded by black walls and obsidian spikes, loomed like a tomb waiting to be sealed.

And in front of it—two guards.

Only, they weren’t just guards.

Something was off; everyone could tell when they were stopped.

"Stop," one of them had said, trying to sound firm, but his voice betrayed his nerves.

"What do you mean by this?" Clara stepped forward, her voice cool, her eyes colder.

The guard flinched, his mouth trembling as his training clashed with sheer instinct—his instinct that screamed run when faced with the Vaise blood.

Jessy’s aura had already flared.

Rufus didn’t even blink before reaching for the hilt of his sword. Alex, already pissed from earlier, didn’t even ask for permission—he just started rotating his fists like a windmill of pain.

But Raven...

Raven wasn’t looking at the flinching guard. His eyes were locked on the other one—the silent one.

The one who hadn’t moved or blinked.

He stood like a statue.

Lean, clad in a standard academy uniform, with nothing outwardly intimidating about him.

But Raven knew better.

’This guy was supposed to appear in the latter part of the plot...’ He thought.

"...You’re here," Raven muttered, loud enough for only Clara to hear.

The guard frowned as it looked like Raven recognized him, and some thoughts started to brew in his mind.

Clara, however, followed Raven’s gaze, her brows furrowing as she studied the man he was staring at.

"Who is he?"

Raven didn’t answer immediately.

Because even he didn’t know the guy’s name.

"...He’s one of ours," Raven said, his tone flat.

After all, that was all said about this guy in the plot.

He was someone who had been in the academy for a long time, always failing in his tests and being held back for two years.

It was already his third time in the academy’s fourth year, and according to the plot, he would repeat the same thing for two more years before he was turned into an escape goat for an assassination.

There was only one mention of him in the story.

So, how did Raven know it was the same guy?

Well, it was because there was no one else who could be this strong, almost a plate six, while in the academy.

It would be better to say that, other than him, Raven knew others who could reach that level.

But hearing his words, Clara froze.

"He’s a Vaise?" She whispered, unable to believe she had no information about him.

Jake, who had sharp ears, turned his head slightly. The others caught on as well.

Jessy, narrowing her eyes, took a closer look—and then it hit her.

That posture. That gaze. That indifference.

It was extraordinary.

The way he carried himself made him seem better than others.

He had that Vaise look.

"I don’t recognize him," Rufus, who is most informative in the group after Calra, muttered.

"No shit. Even Clara doesn’t know."

At Alex’s words, Rufus lowered his head in shame.

Everyone raised a brow at something like that coming from Alex’s mouth, as he seemed to understand the situation for the first time.

"You’re not supposed to," Raven finally said.

That man—no, that hound—was a special existence within the family.

He was a covert blade trained for absolute obedience. Not many outside the inner circle even knew he existed.

Even Raven wasn’t supposed to know it yet, but he does because of the plot.

However, that guy’s presence here made something else very clear.

Someone powerful was involved in this case, and they had ordered this guy to do this.

"He’s a peak plate-five swordsman," Raven said casually, as if talking about the weather. "Magic-enhanced. One of the best assassins the Vaise family has ever raised. Trained by a retired Nine-plate elder."

The group turned pale.

Even Alex, who once thought he could punch through a dragon if hyped enough, took a step back.

Yet, in a cracked voice, he said, "But... we could all fight him—"

"No," Clara interrupted. "He was ordered to do this by someone ranked high among the Vaise. That means the Patriarch knows about this."

Jessy, Rufus, and Jake had a glint passing through their eyes.

"If we fight him," Jessy added, "We would be going against the Patriarch."

Rufus and Jake didn’t speak, nor did Alex, but they realized the severity of the case.

But as if that wasn’t all, Clara continued. "If we were to disregard our family’s intervention. The Principal is still there. He can use this incident as an excuse not to admit Raven into the academy."

"So we do nothing?" Alex asked, frowning while cracking his fists. "Why does the Principal have to be such an ass, anyway?"

Raven didn’t say anything for a while as he was still deep in thought.

’It’s probably him,’ he concluded, now aware of who was behind this incident.

The plot had completely changed, but the people probably didn’t, and that was enough for him to understand who was behind this.

He could be wrong, but there was only one way to confirm things further.

He turned to the guard, who had flinched and taken a nervous step back.

"I’m going in alone," Raven announced.

The words struck his team like a slap.

"Wait—what?!" Alex exclaimed. "Bro, we’re not letting them do this, are we?"

"Raven—" Clara stepped forward, grabbing his wrist.

He paused.

Her hand tightened just a bit, and she leaned closer, voice dropping to a whisper only he could hear.

"If something’s wrong inside... call us."

Her tone was steady, but the worry behind her eyes wasn’t hidden.

Raven turned to face her, their faces inches apart.

Then he smiled. It was cocky, sharp, and reckless.

"I’m the guy who beat all of you bloody," he said, smugness radiating off him. "What could possibly make me call for help?"

Clara rolled her eyes. "So modest."

Still, she didn’t say more. Neither did the others.

Because while they might argue, doubt, or even resent each other... when danger loomed over one of them, they all stood behind him.

That was the Vaise way.

Without another word, Raven walked up to the arena gates.

The flinching guard stepped aside.

But the silent one—the other Vaise—didn’t move an inch.

Their eyes met as Raven passed.

No words were exchanged.

No gesture.

It was just the guy remembering Raven’s face.

Then, the gate creaked open, the massive steel doors groaning as they parted.

Raven stepped into the shadow of the arena, swallowed whole by its silence.

Behind him, the gates slammed shut.

The sound echoed like a war drum in the distance.

He took a few steps forward into the darkness, and then, he saw him.

Principal Gerax.

Standing in the middle of the empty arena, a polite smile on his face, one hand adjusting his glasses.

"You’re late," he said smoothly.

Raven didn’t reply.

Didn’t greet him.

Didn’t even slow his pace.

Because, as the heir to the Vaise family line, the only person he was expected to bow to was the king.

And this man?

He wasn’t even worth a nod.

At least not from Raven, who knew about every sick deed this guy has done.

Gerax’s smile twitched at the corners, but he said nothing.

He merely clicked his tongue. ’He’s going to die anyway.’

Suddenly, when Gerax clicked a switch-like thing, the arena’s lights flared to life, revealing the stage.

Empty, save for two figures.

Raven.

And someone else, slowly emerging from the far tunnel, chains still clinking, and head bowed.

Raven narrowed his eyes.

’So you’re the second participant—’

His voice got stuck in his throat the moment the figure’s face became visible.

"W-What the fuck..."

He muttered audibly, unable to believe what he was looking at.