novelraw Chapter 195 : Latessi War (1)
Chapter 195 : Latessi War (1)
“I’m going to get myself a proper meal the moment we get out of here.”
“Me too.”
“I’m heading straight for the bathhouse.”
The chatter of the kids drifted through my ears.
Two weeks of training in the Arena, followed by another two weeks in the Tower. At last, the training was complete.
For days now, they’d been babbling about what they’d do once they were free. Most of it revolved around food.
French cuisine. Kimchi stew. A home-cooked meal.
And I’d heard “sundae soup” so many times, I was sick of it.
Others wanted nothing more than to collapse in bed for three days or soak in a tub until they were wrinkled like prunes.
Me? I just wanted one day of peace.
Living side by side with twenty-four people every waking hour was exhausting. I wanted a day to myself, without anyone.
And now, finally, I have some breathing room.
We had achieved everything we set out to do. All that remained was to leave the dungeon, make final preparations, and wait for Phase 3.
At least, that’s what I thought—until I stepped out of the portal with the others and froze in place.
“What? What’s going on?”
“Why is the sky so red…?”
“Is that a portal up there?”
Their murmurs spread like wildfire.
My mind went blank.
Why?
Why had Phase 3 already begun?
Both the Arena and the Tower were supposed to be open-type dungeons. Two weeks ago, when we left the Arena, only a few seconds had passed outside.
So why is the Tower different…?
Then a memory struck me.
“At this rate, you will complete the final main scenario without difficulty.”
“But that outcome does not align with my intent.”
“So, I will make a slight adjustment to the difficulty.”
That dream. That voice I knew so well.
Don’t tell me… that wasn’t a dream?
My heart pounded wildly.
Back in the game, whenever I stumbled into an unknown event or hidden route, my chest would thrill with excitement.
But now? There was no excitement. Only a chill that seeped into my bones.
“Yein…”
I snapped out of my daze and turned.
Lumina was staring at me, fear in her eyes. Beside her, Seo Yui and Meiling were also watching me intently.
Get it together.
I could figure out why later. For now, quick action mattered most.
The first step was obvious: find out what time it was.
I pulled out my phone.
It had been dead inside the dungeon, but now that it had synced, the display showed the current time.
Two weeks had passed.
The exact same amount of time we had spent inside the Tower.
“What the hell? Two weeks went by?”
“But the Tower’s supposed to be open-type!”
“That didn’t happen when we left the Arena…”
The others began to murmur nervously.
“Aaahhh!”
A sudden scream drew all eyes to one spot.
Nia was trembling, clutching her phone.
“Nia, what is it?”
Rune, her team leader, rushed to her side.
“T-this…”
Her hand shook as she shoved the phone toward his face.
“!!”
Rune’s eyes widened. He snatched the phone from her.
“What the…?”
“What is it? H-holy—!” Zen, peering over his shoulder, shouted.
“The news sites—what the hell? Is this some kind of hack?”
I immediately opened my own browser.
“…Shit.” The curse slipped out before I could stop it.
Every headline had been replaced with the same words.
The articles themselves were no better—just endless repetition of the same phrase.
“What the hell… it’s all the same, no matter where you click.”
“Are we dreaming?” George and Poff muttered, staring at their screens.
“Lumina.”
“Y-yeah?”
“Check London’s news sites.”
“O-okay…”
She tapped through her phone, then gasped.
“What does it say?” Meiling pressed in close.
Lumina swallowed and translated.
“‘Strange phenomenon in Seoul. Most institutions cut off from contact. Witness reports of invasion by unidentified creatures. A barrier prevents entry into the city. Winged humans sighted…’”
“Invasion? Does that mean monsters?”
“Winged humans…?”
Meiling and Seo Yui looked puzzled.
Latessi.
Winged humans—the trademark of the Yedum and Horima Latessi.
“Damn it!”
Iris cursed loudly.
Her face was pale as she held her phone to her ear. The person she was calling was obvious.
Eleanor…
A bitter taste filled my mouth.
Then Iris shoved the phone into her pocket and bolted.
“Iris!”
“Sorry, Tobi! My sister isn’t answering—I have to go!”
She shouted as she ran.
“Wait! Iris!”
I yelled sharply.
“If you go alone now, you’ll never save Eleanor!”
She froze mid-step.
Then, in a blur, she spun and closed the distance, seizing me by the collar.
“What did you just say?” she snarled, eyes blazing.
“Let him go!”
“Back off, Iris.”
Meiling and Seo Yui stepped forward. Behind Iris, Lumina stood frozen, clutching a dagger in her trembling hands.
I spoke quickly, before things escalated into friendly fire.
“I said if you run off alone, you won’t be able to save Eleanor.”
“…You know what’s happening, don’t you?”
She ignored the others, eyes locked on mine. Nothing else mattered to her but her sister.
“Yeah. I know.”
No time for subtle manipulations now.
“This world has been hit by the Latessi.”
“Latessi…? What did they do to Eleanor?” Iris’s brow furrowed—
“Wait! Look!” Zen shouted, pointing.
The air rippled like heat haze, and from nothing, winged humans emerged into view.
The students froze, staring.
“Humans.”
“Awakened.”
“Unbaptized.”
“Seize them.”
“Offer them to the Valro Lords.”
The five Yedum Latessi raised both hands to the sky, as if in prayer, lifting them above their heads.
Immediately, dozens of monsters erupted from the ground around us.
“What the hell!?”
“Outside a dungeon!?”
The students froze, wide-eyed at the sight.
“Seize them.”
“Seize them.”
“Seize them.”
At the Latessi’s command, the monsters charged straight at us.
And then—
A blinding flash of light.
The entire horde was sliced neatly in half, collapsing in heaps before us.
“Stay out of my way.”
Iris stood before the corpses, her blade glowing with the radiance of Conqueror’s Sword. She had moved so fast I hadn’t even noticed her leave my side.
The Yedum Latessi hovered above, wings beating as they gazed down at her.
“A hero.”
“A hero has appeared.”
“We must report this.”
“We cannot capture her.”
“We are returning.”
The space behind them shimmered, and a portal opened.
But before they could escape—
Once more, golden light flared.
The five Yedum Latessi were cleaved apart, their bisected bodies tumbling lifelessly to the ground.
Iris sheathed the sword, its glow fading, and strode back toward me.
“What were those things?”
“They’re a type of Latessi. They have the power to summon monsters. You handled it well, even without me explaining.”
“What?”
“If you’d let them go, next you’d have been facing brainwashed hunters and Awakened instead.”
“Brainwashed…?”
That word sent a ripple through the others as they crowded in.
“Yein, what the hell do you know?” Rio demanded, his face hard.
“Those winged humans—were they really human? Or… monsters?”
“Why has the whole world turned into this?” Maria’s voice shook.
I took a breath, organized my thoughts, and spoke.
“From here on, everything I tell you is the truth.”
The story I gave them was the same one I had told Mayor Cheon Jiweon.
The Latessi, deep within the Demon Realm.
What the appearance of gates, monsters, and dungeons on Earth truly meant.
The merging of Earth and the Demon Realm.
The three classes of Latessi.
Their powers.
And their ultimate purpose.
The students listened in stunned silence. Even Kim Sangshik, standing behind them, stared at me wordlessly.
“…Let’s say everything you just said is true.” Iris’s face was carved in stone as she spoke. “How do you know all this?”
“Because I’ve lived it already.”
“What?”
“Y-Yein, what do you mean…?”
“Nam Yein, you—”
“Yein…?”
Lumina, Meiling, and Seo Yui—all three, who had been beside me the whole time, stared at me with different, conflicted expressions.
“I’m not from this world. I came from another one—almost the same as this—but I witnessed the Latessi drive humanity to extinction there.”
Strictly speaking, it was the game’s bad ending.
“And we’re just supposed to believe that?” Iris’s frown deepened.
“As I said, it’s the truth. Believe me or not, that’s up to you. But remember this: if you want to save Eleanor, stop acting alone.”
“And what the hell is that supposed to mean—!”
Iris lunged to grab me again, but Seo Yui caught her arm.
“Seo Yui. You…?”
“He’ll tell you everything without you choking him.”
“……”
Iris stared at her, then reluctantly dropped her arm.
“Most of humanity and the Awakened have already been brainwashed by the Horima Latessi,” I said. “You all saw the internet, didn’t you? Every news site plastered with ‘Long live Lord Nerom.’ That was their doing. People under their control.”
“Then Eleanor…” Iris’s voice cracked.
“There’s a high chance, yes.”
Her teeth ground audibly, her face twisting into something almost demonic with rage.
“And sadly, that includes your families as well,” I said, looking around at their frozen faces.
“Your parents, your relatives, your friends—most of them are likely already serving Valro Latessi. Any hunters or Awakened with strength? They’re probably being used in the Latessi’s war games.”
“So that’s why there hasn’t been a single person in sight since we came out…” Tobi muttered.
“Exactly. They’ve all been pulled to Valro Latessi’s side.”
“Then all we have to do is kill this Valro bastard, right?” Iris snapped at me.
“Right. That’s the only way.”
“But the Latessi can brainwash Awakened. By your logic, wouldn’t that happen to us too?” Tobi asked.
“That’s why level 150 matters. At that point, their brainwashing no longer works.”
Tobi’s eyes widened.
“Nam Yein… so that’s why?” Rune said, staring at me.
“You mean this was your plan all along?”
“What are you talking about? It was K who set 150 as the goal.” George cut in.
“And who was it that brought K here?” Magica’s Yoon Horim said sharply.
The mood among the students shifted instantly.
“So… from the start, Demons’ Class was gathered to fight the Latessi.” Jo Inhu murmured.
“Nam Yein, you bastard!!!”
Iris slammed into me, tackling me to the ground before anyone could react.
Even Seo Yui and Lumina were too slow to stop her.
“You knew this would happen, and you locked us in a dungeon anyway!?” she shouted, pinning me down.
“People—Eleanor—are being used by those monsters, and you…!”
“I didn’t know!!!”
Her face froze.
“I didn’t know, damn it! I thought the Tower was open-type, that time would reset outside! I thought we had until before the Latessi arrived! But when we came out—it was already like this!”
“What…?”
“No one wanted to stop this more than me!”
“……”
Silence.
I shoved Iris off. She fell back limply as I stood and looked at them all.
“Would you have believed me if I’d told you this before? Without seeing the red sky, without those Yedum Latessi attacking us, you’d have written me off as a lunatic.”
No one denied it.
“I didn’t expect this, but it’s not over. This is only the beginning.”
I pulled out my item sling.
“We’re going to hunt down the Valro Latessi ruling this area. We kill it, and we free the people from its control. We’re the only ones left who can resist them.”
One by one, they drew their weapons.
All of them weapons I had crafted for them.
“Iris.”
She was still sitting on the ground, her face shadowed.
“Get up. We’re going to save Eleanor.”
I held out my hand.
“…Even if you hadn’t said it, I’d be going.”
She grasped my hand, rose, and pulled a greatsword from her inventory.
A violet aura radiated from the blade.
“Teacher, you’re coming too. We need to check on Jodie.”
“…Yeah.”
Kim Sangshik nodded, removing his mask at last.
I took the lead, guiding them forward.
To hunt the Valro Latessi that ruled this place.
(End of Chapter)