Chapter 103: Moin’s King (2)

Maslow’s Tower, the 5th floor ‘Layer of Self-Actualization Desire.’

A fierce battle was unfolding in the corridor covered in multicolored gems and gold.

At that moment.

Poof— poof— poof— poof— poof— poof—

Red lotuses bloomed like embroidery on the corridor’s red carpet.

Large flower buds with tightly closed mouths.

Depending on the viewing angle, they shimmered black or red.

Soon, the voice of the Red Mage Tower Lord Shin Sodam echoed.

“Bloom.”

『Red Ultimate 4th Fusion: Blazing Lotus』

The dark red flower buds burst open, spewing dark red lava.

Gurgle gurgle gurgle gurgle gurgle—

Waves of lava covering the surrounding area.

Maslow’s clones were swallowed by the lava and melted away.

Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!

Some clones avoided the lava by climbing pillars, but.

Swoosh— Swoooosh—

Hand shapes emerged from the lava covering the ground, snatching the clones.

Hundreds of lava hands attacked only the clones precisely, as if possessing wills of their own.

That wasn’t all.

Poof— Poof-poof— Poof-poof-poof-poof—

Burning dark red volcanic bombs erupted simultaneously from the lotuses’ seed pods.

Flaming rock fragments rained down like a shower, striking the ground.

Boom! Crash-boom! Crash-crash-boom!

Clones had their heads shattered, hearts pierced, and bodies burned to death.

Fierce flames began to scorch the ground.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!

Marble floors and pillars melted stickily like wax, flowing like rivers.

At that moment.

Crack-crack-crack—

Dozens of ice pillars, spiked like rose stems, extended out.

The chill emanating from them solidified the melted marble, and moisture in the air froze white, falling like hail with plops.

From atop the towering ice pillars, the Blue Mage Tower Lord Han Seoha shouted.

“…How many times have I warned you to use wide-area magic without involving allies? Oops~ Could it be that using red magic burns your brain cells too, lowering your intelligence?”

Shin Sodam retorted with an indifferent face.

“Ah, yes. Yes. Since it’s the superstar Han Seoha speaking, I should listen with both ears and let it flow out both. Ye~es— Please handle the cleanup like now.”

With those words, Shin Sodam began casting her next spell.

Meanwhile, in the center of the corridor, a being was engaged in intense close combat.

Thud! Crack!

Maslow’s clone’s skull was crushed by Ma Seokdong’s fist.

A fast and concise jab.

Followed immediately by a powerful left hook.

Crack—!

Another clone’s head was pulverized.

But at that moment.

Stab!

Sharp claws pierced Ma Seokdong’s side.

“Urgh…! How…!?”

Ma Seokdong, with Indestructible Diamond Body activated, possessed durability tens of thousands of times greater than an ordinary person’s.

Yet, it was pierced in a single strike.

Soon, Maslow’s clone murmured.

[Human… weak… inferior race…]

“A fur-covered beast dares to babble!”

Ma Seokdong swung his clenched fist.

The clone’s head caved in deeply upon contact with the heavy fist.

At the same time.

Poof!

The clone vanished with a cloud.

Ma Seokdong clutched his side and dropped to his knees.

At that moment.

Hummm—

A pure white light enveloped Ma Seokdong.

The blood gushing like a fountain stopped instantly, and new flesh began to grow over the pierced wound.

Soon, Yun Yeobaek’s voice echoed.

“Are you okay, Ma Seokdong!”

“Mmm. Thanks to you, I can catch my breath. Yun Yeobaek, stay behind me. Each of those monkey bastards is an A-rank or higher monster.”

Yun Yeobaek swallowed dryly and replied.

“Ma Seokdong, this is awkward timing to say, but… I sense powerful mana waves from the clones’ bodies.”

Ma Seokdong’s expression darkened.

Soon, he growled.

“So they’re monsters specialized in magic, not close combat.”

Ma Seokdong was a hunter specialized in hand-to-hand combat among A+ ranks.

For clones that made even him struggle in close quarters to actually be ranged specialists.

At that moment, HardboiledPC landed in front of the two.

“Honeys! Why the long faces? Yeobaek sweetie, something wrong?”

“HardboiledPC. It’s…”

“Wait wait. Let me guess. Hmm~ No matter how many clones we take down, no end in sight? Ah, guess not. Then this? It’s already tough, but the clones are hiding their power?”

“Ah, you knew?”

HardboiledPC winked and said.

“Of course! Look at their hands. Big, but no calluses? Muscles like that are innate, no signs of training.”

“You grasped even such minor details during battle. As you know, HardboiledPC, the current situation is overwhelmingly against us. We need to devise some countermeasure… Eep!?”

HardboiledPC’s index finger gently pressed Yun Yeobaek’s lips.

“Yeobaek sweetie, in the end, what we have to do is one thing. Take down all the clones and give that arrogant old monkey sitting back there a good spanking! If we give up, it’s all over.”

“HardboiledPC…”

“We have to defeat them to save the civilians and hunters trapped in the dungeon. For love and peace, we can’t stop!”

With those words, HardboiledPC kicked off the ground and leaped.

But the situation was dire.

Hairs endlessly spewed from Maslow’s main body.

Hair tufts scattering in all directions like dandelion seeds.

Each time.

Poof— Poof-bang— Poof-poof-poof-bang— Poof—

Clones surged like a tidal wave, leaving no opening to attack the main body.

The A+ rank hunters instinctively knew.

No matter how many clones they defeated, there was no sign of them decreasing.

…No, precisely, the number of clones was rapidly increasing.

Like a hydra where two heads sprout anew when one is cut off, for every Moin clone killed, two new ones appeared.

Infinite proliferation.

An unfamiliar emotion began to sprout in the corners of the A+ rank hunters’ minds.

Despair.

Like a tissue corner dipped in water, the damp emotion heavily weighed on their bodies and minds.

Among them, the most shaken was Shin Sodam.

The human brain remembers negative experiences more deeply and longer than positive ones.

A survival instinct honed over millions of years.

The instinct screaming to flee from danger.

“Huff… huff… huff…!!”

Shin Sodam breathed raggedly.

Her limbs trembled, and cold sweat dripped down.

At that moment, Shin Sodam’s eyes caught a shadow standing at the far end of the corridor.

A+ rank 1st, Lee Geuk.

Beside him stood the A+ rank 12th named Jeanne d’Arc.

Soon, a familiar man also came into view.

“That… that bastard…!”

How could she forget.

The very man trapped with her in the lust section.

It was Cha Hasang.

***

At the edge of the corridor, slightly removed from the battlefield.

Lee Geuk, Jeanne, and I.

The three of us were discussing the ‘Maslow Subjugation Operation.’

Soon, Lee Geuk spoke.

“…Taking down the clones one by one is a waste of time. We need overwhelming destructive power to snipe the main body beyond the clones. Understood?”

Jeanne said.

“You mean wipe out the clones all at once and strike the main body directly.”

“Quick on the uptake, good. Then I’ll open the path. You two target the main body.”

Lee Geuk gripped the Chiljido and began emitting mana.

“Seven one seven twenty-four seven three twenty-one seven four twenty-eight seven five thirty-five…”

Golden mana surged, then settled back into Lee Geuk’s body.

Mana circulation.

As the process repeated, the mana flowing from Lee Geuk’s body began to emit a pure golden radiance.

At that moment, Jeanne looked at me and said.

“Will you watch how far I’ve mastered the ultimate technique you taught me, Master?”

Jeanne’s eyes overflowed with vitality.

She had steadily honed her skills while subjugating monsters.

I looked at Jeanne and said.

“Show me then. How strong you’ve become.”

“Yes, Master.”

Just then, Lee Geuk seemed to have finished preparations.

“Ready? Now, let’s end this together!”

[Jeonju Lee Family Seven Branches Seven Forms— Forty-Nine Consecutive Chain Slashes]

Mana swirled along the Chiljido.

Soon, seven sword auras bloomed like surging dragons.

The seven sword auras soon split into fourteen, then twenty-one, thirty-five, and finally forty-nine.

Great-great-great-great-great

Forty-nine aura blades spread out like a dense net.

Soon, the aura blade net surged toward the clones.

Clones touched by it were sliced into tens and hundreds of fragments.

The heavenly net sweeping the battlefield with overwhelming momentum.

Poof— Poof-bang— Poof-poof-poof-bang—! Poof-poof-poof-poof-bang!

Clones helplessly shredded like leaves in a storm.

As the clones blocking the obsidian throne disappeared one by one, a path began to open.

Soon, Maslow’s main body came into view.

Lee Geuk shouted.

“Now!”

Jeanne and I raised our swords simultaneously.

Rumble-rumble-rumble—

Two streams of darkness rose.

Perfectly synchronized mana amounts, indistinguishable in superiority.

The black mana rising like decalcomania gradually took the shape of swords.

『Seven Demon First Strike Ultimate: Gluttony Slash, Beelzebub』

Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!

Two streams of Gluttony Slash surged forward.

Black sword aura advancing like a tidal wave, swallowing everything.

The two undulating streams of Gluttony Slash soon merged into one.

At the same time.

Boom-boom-boom-boom-bang!

The Gluttony Slash ultimate struck Maslow’s main body.

Cracks began to spread across the barrier.

Soon.

Shatter—

The barrier broke with the sound of glass shattering.

Black mana greedily devoured Maslow.

Crunch— crunch— crunch— crunch—

Fur, flesh, muscle, bone, and blood.

Gluttony Slash voraciously tore into all that constituted life.

[Ku, kuuuh… Kuaaaargh—!]

Maslow writhed, letting out a grotesque scream.

At the same time, clouds rose throughout the corridor.

Poof! Poof-bang! Poof-poof-poof-bang!

Dozens and hundreds of hair tufts fluttered down.

The clones, having lost control, returned to their original forms.

Soon, the voices of the A+ rank hunters echoed.

“Master…!”

“Finish it, old man Lee Geuk!”

“Heh, hiding a trump card.”

“Awesomeeee—! Uncle Lee Geuk! Jeanne sweetie! Goooo—!”

And.

“Cha Hasang! You bad son of a bitch! Come here! Hey! Hey! Can’t hear? Don’t ignore…”

Curses directed at me seemed to echo, but it must be my imagination.

The heated cheers were drowned out by the whooshing sound.

Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!

Soon, Maslow’s body began to collapse.

Crumble-crumble-crumble

Hairs turning to dark red ash and crumbling.

Black aura gobbled up flesh and skin, and seven-branched slashes scattered hide, blood, and flesh in all directions.

Maslow’s body was being torn to shreds.

But at that moment.

Poof-bang—

A situation that silenced everyone occurred.

A massive cloud rose over Maslow’s body.

At the same time.

Thud!

A bundled clump of hair fell to the ground.

Seeing it, Yun Yeobaek said with a dazed expression.

“Wh-what is this…?”

At that moment.

Crack…! Crack…! Crack-crack-crack…!

The massive obsidian where Maslow had sat began to split.

Thousands and tens of thousands of cracks spread instantly.

Ding-dong!

<The Black Sealing Stone begins to collapse!>

<A powerful mana storm begins to rage!>

Intense gusts burst from the cracks in the obsidian.

Whooooosh—!

The fierce blade-like wind made it hard even to open eyes.

At that moment.

Flutter— flutter— flutter— flutter— flutter—

Featherback’s journal opened, pages flapping in the wind.

Soon, a page bordered in golden filigree floated before my eyes.

<Abraham J. Maslow>

– Danger Grade: S

– Discovery Location: Maslow’s Tower

<The Seeker of Desires, Abraham J. Maslow, has awakened from the seal!>

…You were hiding your power too?”