The Academy Geniuses I Raised and Dressed-Chapter 198 : Latessi War (4)

“Gaaahhh!!!”
Nerom’s screams didn’t stop.
“He’s tougher than that Pan guy,” Maria muttered, staring at the flames where Nerom’s form had all but vanished.
“Didn’t Yein say earlier that when one of them dies, the others get stronger? Maybe that’s why,” Rio said.
That was true, but this was different. This was Nerom’s trait.
Among the six Valro Latessi, Nerom had the greatest endurance. Or rather than endurance, it was persistence—like a cockroach that just wouldn’t die.
I walked up to Bella, who was standing frozen.
“Bella.”
“Whaaat?”
“Do you still have the fire-resist potion and the all-purpose potion K gave us before?”
“Yesss, I’ve got them.”
“Get them ready. You’ll be using them soon.”
“Reallyyy? Okayyy.”
Leaving Bella to dig out the potions, I quickly gave instructions to Nia, Tobi, and Rio.
“Oh. He’s dead,” Zen suddenly said.
I looked up. Nerom lay sprawled on the ground.
“Something’s off.” Rune frowned.
“When we killed Pan, he came out of Kaji Yuu’s body. But this time he hasn’t.”
Sharp observation.
“It’s not over. Nerom will resurrect.”
“What?” Rune scowled at me—right as Nerom bolted upright and shot into the air.
“You bastards!!! You dared kill me! I’ll never forgive you!!”
He swung his staff. Fireballs filled the sky.
“Senior Nia!” I shouted.
“Got it!”
Nia stepped forward, raising her shield that pulsed with violet aura. She activated her ability—
Gravity Field
.
At the same time, I, Rio, Tobi, and Bella positioned ourselves behind her.
Bella chugged a crimson potion in one gulp, then splashed the same potion over Nia. Red smoke billowed off both of them.
At that moment, all the fireballs that had been aimed at the others curved sharply toward Nia.
And right before impact, Rio activated his ability:
Soul Shield
, massively boosting her defense.
KWOOM!!
The fire rained down, exploding in a deafening chain of blasts against Nia’s shield.
“Kh…!” Nia gritted her teeth.
I tossed HP recovery potions and burn salves over her nonstop, while Bella did the same. Tobi pressed a hand to her back, pouring healing energy into her.
Thanks to that, Nia’s HP never dropped despite tanking dozens of fireballs.
“Wh-what… what is this!?” Nerom’s voice cracked with shock.
Michael Ray’s ability, twisted by Nerom, was called
“Bewitching Flames of Infinity.”
It continuously hurled fire until the target died or Nerom canceled it. The longer it lasted, the stronger it burned—and each strike carried a 50% chance of causing
Confusion
, making allies attack each other.
It was a nightmare ability. Not because of the damage, but because of that insane confusion chance.
And there was no immunity item against it.
That’s why, in the game, the fight against Nerom was grueling. You’d barely keep up with the damage, then half your party would suddenly go berserk and slaughter each other.
And to make things worse, Nerom had one resurrection.
That was why he was always my first target among the Valro—to end him before he got any stronger.
“Why the hell are my flames all bending toward her?!” Nerom raged.
Normally, Nia’s Gravity Field dragged enemies toward her.
But now, equipped with the legendary shield
“Devouring Darkness,”
it had gained an additional effect—redirecting
all
projectile attacks onto her.
It was a shield no sane tank would ever use.
Sure, its stats were drool-worthy: huge defense, bonus HP, regen, stun immunity. But in hardcore fights, it was suicide.
No healer could keep up with the sheer volume of attacks, and the constant debuffs would overwhelm anyone.
Against a boss, it meant instant death.
“Raaaghhh!!”
Suddenly Nia let out a guttural roar, whirling on us with bloodshot eyes.
“Ahh!” Bella yelped, but quickly threw a potion that shimmered with sparkling motes.
Nia’s eyes cleared.
I smiled.
Here, we had three people focused solely on healing.
That meant we could completely negate the shield’s penalties.
A strategy impossible in the game—perfectly viable here.
And even with five of us tied up in pure defense, we still had nineteen more fighters behind us.
“Everyone—finish Nerom now!” I shouted.
“He only revives once. Kill him here and it’s over!”
The magic users and ranged attackers all raised their weapons.
Spells, arrows, and blades of wind surged toward Nerom in a relentless barrage.
“This… this is impossible!!”
His scream was cut off as the storm of magic exploded around him.
The earth-shaking roar that followed sounded, to me, like fireworks celebrating our victory.
The rain of attacks struck Nerom, sending him crashing to the ground.
Melee fighters swarmed him at once.
Ten straight seconds of savage strikes tore into him—until finally, Nerom burst out of Michael Ray’s body.
Just as the fighters lunged at the exposed Latessi—
“W-wait!!”
Nerom dropped to his knees, lowering himself to the dirt and shouting,
“I yield! I’ll do anything you ask—just spare me! Spare me! I can give you information on the other Valro! Or I can make the humans of this district obey you instead! So please…!”
But Iris lifted her greatsword.
“The only thing I want is your death.”
The glowing blade swung down and cleaved through his neck.
Nerom’s severed head and torso dissolved into motes of light a moment later.
The battle against Nerom was over.
“Nam Yein. Does that mean the people in Yongsan are freed now?” Iris asked, still holding her greatsword.
“Yeah.”
At my brief answer, Iris quickly stowed her weapon and pulled out her phone.
The others did the same, almost in unison.
With Yongsan packed with academies and such a large population, of course many of them had family and friends there.
Soon, everyone was chattering anxiously into phones.
Only our squad stood quietly.
Lumina’s family lived in London. Meiling and Seo Yui had no proper family.
And me—I’d had none even before coming to this world.
The one time I thought I might have had someone, she’d turned out to be a fake.
Looking at it now, aside from Lumina, our little group was a collection of the family-less and the unlucky.
“Eleanor!”
Iris’s voice cut through the noise.
“Eleanor! It’s me—your sister. You’re safe, right? Yes, I’m safe too. We just killed the monster controlling Yongsan, so everyone should be back to their senses. Hm? What!? Naked!? What do you mean by—Eleanor! Elli!!”
Iris’s face twisted in visible panic as she stared at her phone screen.
All around us, the others were wearing equally bewildered expressions as they called their own families.
Just as I thought…
Nerom’s emblem phrase was
indiscriminate love
.
In the zones he controlled, all suppressed desires of affection burst uncontrollably to the surface.
The game had always glossed this over with vague descriptions, likely for censorship reasons. But here, in reality, it manifested in raw, explicit chaos.
I’d worried about how bad it might get if we had to see it firsthand.
Luckily, Nerom had come to us instead.
Thanks to that, we didn’t have to witness that hell in person.
A little later, Iris managed to get her sister back on the line.
“Elli! No, Eleanor. Are you really okay!? Mm. Yeah. Good. You said the workshop, right? I’ll come straight there.”
Iris hung up and turned to me.
“I’m going to the Hunter Market.”
Her tone was one of pure declaration.
“Not yet.”
At my words, her expression turned vicious.
“So I can’t go to my sister—but it’s fine if the others go to
their
families and friends?”
Her face looked like she’d just been struck.
“Hold on. Just a little longer. Only two are left now.”
“…Tch.”
She clicked her tongue and pulled her phone back out, no doubt to let Eleanor know.
At that moment, my phone buzzed in my pocket.
It was a message from Lee Hanye.
[Brother, did you already beat Nerom? Everyone’s broken free of the brainwashing!]
I texted back:
[Yeah. Tell Choi Yuri she can move around as she likes now.]
[She’s already running laps around the house like crazy.]
Is she a kid or what…
I couldn’t help but laugh under my breath.
“Nam Yein! Where are we going next!?”
Iris’s voice snapped, edged with frustration—clearly angry at me for keeping her from her sister.
But I couldn’t answer right away.
The ones left were Homd, Rajatu, Woburn—and the final boss of the main scenario, Caymon.
In the game, you fought them one by one until Caymon appeared last. But here? Who knew?
And then, the answer came immediately.
My skin prickled as cold dread surged through me.
“Yein!”
Seo Yui yanked me behind her and raised her shield.
BOOOM!!
The impact sent us both crashing back.
“Yein!!” Lumina’s scream.
“That thing!!” Meiling’s shout.
Pinned under Yui, I looked up.
Hovering above was a bald man in a leather jacket, glaring down at us.
Bird Hill… Homd.
One of the Seven Pioneers—rare among Latessi for his ability to fly. Now, he was possessed by the Valro Latessi of Happiness, Homd.
Then Yui sprang up and pulled me to my feet.
I turned my gaze again.
And felt like swearing out loud.
Because Homd wasn’t alone.
The sky-blue-haired woman in a pale blue dress—Ha Mijin—now host to Woburn, Valro of Patience.
The blonde bob-cut woman with the staff tipped by a silver cross—Claire Williams, the leader of the Seven Pioneers—now taken by Rajatu, Valro of Peace.
Three Valro had arrived together.
And then—
“Mayor Cheon Jiwon!!”
Ao’s scream rang out.
No way.
I turned.
At the end of Ao’s gaze stood Cheon Jiwon—and beside him, Nadia Hassan.
“Unbelievable.”
I let out a dry laugh.
All my effort to keep Jiwon out of their clutches… wasted.
“As I thought. You’re the singularity, Nam Yein.” Cheon Jiwon said.
“Whenever I peered into this world, your image kept appearing. Just a child with low level and poor aptitude. I wondered why you stood out at all.”
Cheon Jiwon.
Nadia Hassan.
Bird Hill.
Ha Mijin.
Claire Williams.
Five former members of the Seven Pioneers now surrounded us.
“Everyone, battle stations!” I shouted, lifting my item sling.
“All four remaining Valro are here!”
The others raised their weapons instantly.
Now what…
In the game, the Valro never cooperated. They always fought each other, never teaming up.
But here they stood—united.
A battle that had never once existed in the game.
Which meant only one option remained:
Force this as close to the game as possible.
(End of Chapter)