Chapter 130🎀 · BMMAW

Chapter 130

The Mother

The place where the subjugation party had set up camp was slightly away from the forest. There were several large rocks scattered around, and stones of various sizes littered the ground.

Campfires made from branches gathered from the forest were spread out here and there. Not far from the fires, nets lay on the ground, ready to be deployed at any moment.

“It will be here soon. Please get ready.”

At Juhwan’s voice, the men hurried into motion. Though momentarily startled by the impending appearance of the beast, they were all adventurers accustomed to unexpected situations. As soon as things became urgent, they quickly regained their composure.

The adventurers grabbed the prepared nets and spread out. Some held torches, watching their surroundings carefully. In the darkness, the torchlights flickered like will-o’-the-wisps.

Gwen and a few others took up bows and arrows. Resin had been applied to the arrowheads.

The crackling of the flames mixed with the sound of tense breathing and people swallowing nervously.

While tracking the mother beast, Juhwan had come up with a plan to deal with it.

Of course, he didn’t know how to kill an undead. No one in this world likely did. The people here didn’t even seem to know such beings existed, and Juhwan himself only knew the word “necromancer” from somewhere.

In movies, zombies died when their heads were destroyed or necks severed—but this beast wouldn’t be like that.

“….”

Juhwan glanced at the captured cub.

Its appearance had changed drastically. When he first saw it, it looked like a rotting beast. Now, more bone was visible than flesh.

The softer flesh had decayed first, followed by the muscles crumbling away. Only relatively tough skin remained intact.

Yet even with its muscles gone and nothing properly supporting its bones, the cub still moved normally. It even seemed to feel pain. Its body operated on a completely different principle from living creatures.

“Whew.”

Juhwan exhaled softly.

No matter how abnormal its body was, if it were completely burned to ash, it would die. Dust wouldn’t gather itself back into a form.

He addressed the adventurers in a low voice.

“After throwing the nets, fall back immediately. If you’re not careful, you’ll get caught in it too.”

“Understood.”
“Got it.”

Responses came from all directions.

The nets they held were coated with oil and resin—for Juhwan’s fire magic. Once the beast was trapped, he planned to burn it down quickly.

The shorter the time, the less pain it will feel.

It would take tremendous firepower to reduce it to ash, but with Juhwan’s mana, it was doable.

He turned his gaze toward the forest.

His body tensed slightly.

The mother, which had been running deep within the forest just moments ago, had already reached the edge.

Juhwan gathered mana into his hands and narrowed his detection range toward it.

“It’s here.”

The moment he finished speaking, the mother burst out from the forest entrance.

Arrows from Gwen and the others immediately changed direction and shot toward it.

But by the time they struck the ground, the beast was already somewhere else.

“It’s too fast!”

Someone shouted.

Juhwan swallowed hard. He had known it was fast from his mana detection—but seeing it with his own eyes made it undeniable. It moved too quickly for human eyes to follow.

Darkness also favored the beast.

The cub’s fur had been dull yellow, but the mother seemed closer to deep brown—almost black in the dim light.

That dark fur blended into the night, making it even harder to see. It was like a shadow dancing in the dark.

Occasionally, parts of its body flashed pale under torchlight—where decay had exposed bone.

But that brief glimpse wasn’t enough for humans to track it.

Arrows flew again, but all missed.

As if mocking them, the mother dodged and attacked one of the outermost adventurers.

A scream rang out.

The beast grabbed the man in its jaws, shook him violently, then flung him into the air.

Others threw nets—but too late. The beast was already gone.

Juhwan stood in front of the cart holding the cub, forcing himself not to rush forward.

It’s bait.

He clenched his teeth.

The creature was deliberately circling, picking off humans. It likely sensed that Juhwan was the strongest.

Don’t move.

Even if Juhwan was strong, he wasn’t faster than it. Chasing it would be a mistake. Waiting here was far better.

Yeonhwa, Oz. Be careful. This thing is fast, strong, and smart. It might even realize Lizzy and Dorothy are weaknesses. Don’t leave their side.

From near the carriage, Yeonhwa’s cry rang out in response.

Boom! Boom!

Explosive sounds echoed.

Juhwan glanced over.

Yeonhwa was smashing nearby rocks with her hooves—clearing obstacles in case they needed to escape.

Oz stood atop the carriage, puffed up, acting threatening.

Its ears and nose twitched constantly, always pointing toward the undead mother—like a living radar.

“….”

Lizzy and Dorothy would be fine.

Feeling slightly reassured, Juhwan focused again.

When he refused to move, the mother seemed to change tactics. It let out a long howl—then charged straight toward the cart.

Adventurers rushed forward, throwing nets—but it narrowly avoided them.

Juhwan planted his feet and raised a torch infused with mana.

As the beast lunged, he swung.

A massive flame struck it head-on.

The mother was blasted into the air.

The moment it hit the ground, arrows from Gwen and Jack struck it.

Juhwan followed with another burst of fire, engulfing the beast in flames.

At that moment—

Something burst out from the forest.

Another beast.

A larger cub.

It rushed toward the carriage.

The mother howled from within the flames, and the cub responded with a savage roar.

So that howl… it was calling this one.

Juhwan tensed—

But Oz’s horn suddenly glowed red.

The charging cub stumbled violently and rolled forward.

Juhwan’s eyes widened.

Its front leg bent at an unnatural angle—it had been broken.

Oz collapsed, exhausted.

But the cub got back up, still advancing.

Yeonhwa neighed and raised her forelegs—then slammed them down.

A pitiful scream burst from the cub.

She stomped it repeatedly, then kicked it away with her hind legs.

It flew like a ragdoll.

Seeing this, the burning mother tried to move toward it—

But Juhwan stepped forward.

Let’s end this.

Adventurers threw nets over the mother. The nets ignited instantly.

“Pull!”

They tightened the net.

“Everyone, fall back!”

They released it and retreated.

Juhwan unleashed all his mana.

A massive wave of fire engulfed the mother.

Its screams rose, then faded as its body crumbled to ash.

Juhwan then approached the injured cub—already restrained.

He burned it to ash in an instant.

The last cub, trapped in the cart, began slamming itself against the bars—not to escape, but as if trying to kill itself.

When Juhwan approached, its frenzy intensified. Its eyes burned with hatred.

In silence, he incinerated it as well.

Even after everything turned to ash, the flames continued to light the night.

Juhwan turned away.

These had been beasts—but a necromancer could do the same to humans.

If the dead were revived like this… if they retained awareness and pain…

Could he still ignore it, for the sake of his family?

The thought of his own parents becoming like this—

It was horrifying.

As he treated the wounded with healing magic and waited for the flames to die out, that thought never left his mind.