Re-Awakened :I Ascend as an SSS-Ranked Dragon Summoner

*_Rarrrrrghhhhh_ !!!!*

The roar shattered the night.

It wasn't just sound—it was primal force given voice, a cry that resonated at frequencies that made air itself shudder.

Through the corridors of School 8's sprawling campus, through dormitories and training grounds, through administrative offices and guard posts, that single sound carried a message older than civilization: apex predator.

In the barracks, seasoned soldiers jolted awake, hands reaching for weapons. In the dorms, students pressed against windows, searching the darkness for its source. Even the air seemed to hold its breath, waiting.

'What the hell?' Diana thought, her dead zone wavering as she stared at the portal before her. The red mist pouring from it felt wrong—ancient, heavy with power that made her skin crawl. Her power required focus, demanded complete control, but every instinct screamed at her to run.

Emergency klaxons began blaring across the campus. In the security center, operators stared at readings that shouldn't exist.

"Energy signature detected in Sector 7!"

"Not Harbinger—checking beast classification."

"Categories 1 through 3, negative."

"Category 4... negative."

"Category 5... negative?"

"Sir, it's not registering on our scale!"

Closer to the epicenter, combat had come to a standstill. The ongoing battle between Lucas's squad and Jayden's team had been intense. Students locked in combat froze mid-fight. The pressure in the air had changed, becoming thick with something ancient and terrible. Fear, pure and instinctual, crept into their bones.

But in the tunnel where Lucas faced Jayden, a different reaction played out. Lucas's lips curved into a knowing smile, electricity crackling around him with renewed vigor.

'So,' he thought, 'the kid actually did it. Brought out his pet on enemy territory.' he could only smirk seeing the confusion on Jayden's face.

Through the red mist surrounding Diana, status notifications flickered in Noah's vision:

[Volcanic Roar- Active]

[Fear Aura - Active]

Diana, the unshakeable Number 2 of School 8, stood transfixed. Her powers required absolute concentration, perfect control over her environment. But how could anyone maintain control when every cell in their body was screaming danger? The roar had bypassed conscious thought, reaching straight into the primitive brain where ancient memories of being prey still lived.

She couldn't look away from the portal. Couldn't risk turning her back on whatever was emerging from that red fog. And that was exactly what Noah had counted on.

He moved through the mist like a ghost, his footsteps silent against the metal floor. The mighty Diana, who had held him at her mercy, who had lectured him about momentum and control, now stood vulnerable. Her power, so absolute moments ago, wavered with her focus.

'Not very noble,' Noah thought as he closed the distance. 'But then again, neither was torturing me with that dead zone.'

The red mist swirled between them, thick enough to cut visibility to mere feet. But Noah didn't need to see far. His target was right there, still staring at the portal where Nyx's roar had originated, her back exposed.

Through the chaos of alarms and confusion, through the wave of primal fear sweeping the campus, Noah allowed himself a small smile. Sometimes the best way to counter absolute control wasn't to fight it—but to introduce a little chaos.

And nothing said chaos quite like a dragon.

Through the red mist, Noah became a phantom. No hesitation, no mercy—just calculated violence.

The first strike caught Diana in her lower back, a precise hit that sent her stumbling forward. Before she could recover, he was already gone, swallowed by the red fog. Her dead zone flickered outward, searching, but found nothing but mist.

'Can't nullify what you can't see coming,' Noah thought, circling silently.

Another hit—this time to her right kidney. Diana spun, trying to establish a momentum field, but Noah was already elsewhere. The mist worked against her, distorting her sense of direction, making every shadow seem like a threat.

"Where—" She started, but a brutal strike to her solar plexus cut off her words.@@novelbin@@

Noah moved like water through the red haze, each attack flowing into the next. A hit to the ribs. An elbow to the shoulder blade. A swift strike behind the knee. No pattern, no rhythm for her to predict. Just relentless, precise brutality.

Diana's breathing became ragged, her perfect control slipping further with each impact. The dead zone, once so absolute, now wavered like a candle in a storm. She tried to track him, to anticipate, but the mist and fear made everything uncertain.

The end came with shocking finality.

Noah emerged from the fog one last time, rotating his body into a spinning kick that connected perfectly with Diana's temple. The impact echoed through the corridor, and School 8's Number 2 crumpled to the ground, unconscious before she hit the floor.

Silence fell, broken only by the distant sound of alarms and Nyx's lingering growl from within the portal.

Noah touched the comm unit in his ear, voice steady despite the exertion. "Number 2 is down."

The words carried through the team's communication network, reaching each member in their separate battles. Bailey, in the midst of his confrontation. Oba, hands glowing with redirected energy. Micah, just setting to the ground because the road stopped everything he had with the twin.

And Lucas, standing before Jayden's plasma blade, a proud smile spreading across his face.

"What was that you were saying?" Lucas asked, electricity crackling around him with renewed intensity. "About having the perfect counter for everyone on my team?"

Jayden's jaw clenched as he tapped his comm again. "Comms check. Report."

One by one, the voices came through.

"Viktor, standing by."

"Maya and Milo, all clear."

But Diana?

Silence.

Jayden's grip tightened. He tried again. "Diana, report."

Nothing. Not even static.

His stomach twisted. Diana was his Number 2, a powerhouse in her own right. She wouldn't just go dark. Not unless—

His eyes flicked toward the corridor where she had engaged Noah. The impossible roar still echoed in his mind, not just heard but felt. And then, minutes later—silence.

Jayden's grip on his plasma sword tightened, his earlier confidence cracking like thin ice. The year one student—the afterthought in his perfect plan—had just taken down Diana. Diana, who had never lost a school confrontation. Diana, who was supposed to be unbeatable in close quarters.

The red mist continued to spread through the corridors of School 8, carrying with it the unmistakable message: the game had changed.

And somewhere in that red fog, a first-year student stood over the unconscious form of a legend, proving that even the most perfect plans could be undone by what you didn't see coming.

The red mist began to recede, pulled back into the portal like water down a drain. Noah watched it swirl and vanish, his command simple and clear:

"Nyx, rest."

[Summoning Complete: Red Death Dragon - Dormant]

[Portal Closing...]

The portal sealed itself with a quiet hiss, leaving behind no trace of the otherworldly power that had filled the corridor moments before. Diana lay unconscious at his feet, a testament to how quickly fortunes could change.

In the security center, operators stared at their screens in confusion.

"Sir, the energy signature... it's gone."

"No residual traces?"

"Nothing. It's like it was never here."

"Response teams are two minutes out—"

"Belay that. We've lost the target completely."

Through the comm link, Lucas's voice carried clear and confident: "Exfil. We're done here."

In the tunnel, Lucas stared at Jayden, his expression unreadable. "Tournament grounds. Two weeks. No more games, no more tricks." Electricity sparked briefly around his fingers. "Just you and me."

"Looking forward to it," Jayden replied, plasma blade still humming.

Lucas turned and walked away, leaving Jayden alone in the flickering emergency lights. For a moment, the Number 1 of School 8 stood silent, his face twisted in apparent frustration.

"Diana?" He spoke into his comm. "Diana, report."

Nothing but static.

His frown deepened. How had everything unraveled so quickly? That sound, that presence—it wasn't just unexpected, it was impossible. None of their intelligence suggested...

Then, slowly, his frown transformed into a knowing smirk. He touched his earpiece, switching to a different frequency.

"Mission accomplished," he said softly. "We were the perfect distraction for the distraction. They never saw the real play."

'Diana did her part. I told her she could hold back from outrightly killing anyone. Her control is getting stronger,' Jayden thought.

But even as satisfaction settled over him, a question nagged at the back of his mind. The year one student—Noah. He hadn't just survived Diana; he'd beaten her at the end. He knew Diana , her pride wouldn't let her take such a fall. So it was no fluke.

And that thing they all heard, he was sure it came from Diana's end. What the hell was it?

'Who are you really?' Jayden thought, staring down the now-empty corridor. 'What kind of first-year survives Diana?'

The emergency lights continued to flicker, casting alternating patterns of light and shadow across his face. In the distance, response teams could be heard mobilizing, but Jayden hardly noticed. His mind was already racing ahead, recalculating, replanning.

Because while their true mission might have succeeded, they'd stumbled onto something far more interesting. Something that wasn't in any of their plans, wasn't part of any briefing.

They'd found a wild card.

And in the game they were really playing, wild cards changed everything. Which led him to the next step he took.

Jayden's smirk faltered. A cold sensation slid down his spine as he switched his comms to an encrypted frequency. His voice was level, but his fingers curled slightly around the comm.

"Confirming. The infiltrators were exactly as expected. Everything matched the intel. However..." He hesitated for a fraction of a second, then pressed on. "There was a hiccup. A year-one student—Noah. I need every detail you can pull on him. Something's off. He—"

The answer came instantly.

"Negative."

Jayden's brow furrowed. "What do you mean negative? You don't even know what I was about to say."

"Doesn't matter."

The voice on the other end was hoarse.

Jayden froze. His thoughts screeched to a halt. A rare, genuine frown crossed his face.

Eclipse.

He wasn't easily shaken, but that name—why did it remind him of something he couldn't quite place his hands on?

And now, somehow, it was tied to a year-one nobody?

Jayden exhaled slowly, forcing himself to regain composure. "Clarify."

Silence.

Then, finally—

"Drop it, Jayden. Do not engage. Do not investigate. Do not interfere."

His fingers twitched. "And if I do?"

"Then you will wish you hadn't."

The line went dead.

For a moment, Jayden just stood there, the flickering lights painting shifting patterns of gold and shadow across his face.

Eclipse.

What the hell had he just stumbled into?