They Wanted a Hero. They Made a Monster: Born at the Bottom
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 24: Night of the Bloodghouls
Ninety gold coins.
That was what Dylan had earned by selling every Parasitic Tree seed he had brought out. Even then, he had bundled them together at a steep discount because he needed the money at once.
He could still remember the furtive gleam in the goateed merchant’s eyes as the man deliberately drove down the price.
Given more time, Dylan could easily have made twice as much.
Time, however, was the one thing he did not have.
It was the largest sum of money he had ever held, and he spent it without the slightest hesitation.
After paying the inflated price of fifty-five gold coins for a Reversion Elixir, Dylan rode without rest toward Fenrad, a border village whose residents had all been relocated so it could serve as a treatment station for the wounded.
After Bella contracted Bloodblight, she had been sent to Fenrad Church along with the other victims. A priest used Holy Light each day to suppress their transformation.
Even with that treatment, they could last no more than three months. By the time the news reached Dylan, an entire month had already passed.
Now the deadline was close, and Dylan did not dare waste a moment.
Perhaps it was because of the parasite, but lately he needed less and less sleep.
That was probably a good thing. It gave him more time to travel.
The extra gold also let him exchange horses along the way and ride through the night.
He had encountered a few dangers, but he still reached the border earlier than expected.
Dylan dismounted on a narrow trail some distance from the village. He had no intention of riding openly through the gate.
One look at the half of his face covered in hyphae would invite questions he could never answer. If he wanted to see his daughter, he would have to slip inside unnoticed.
He untied the reins and slapped the horse on the rump. As he watched it disappear down the road, Dylan marveled that he had ever lived extravagantly enough to abandon a perfectly good mount.
The sun had already set. Darkness would cover his approach.
He clutched the parcel containing the elixir close to his chest. The nearer he drew to the village, the tighter the knot in his stomach became.
They were almost at the three-month limit. Had Bella truly held on this long?
What if the Reversion Elixir did not work?
What if something else had already...
“Bella, please be all right...”
Dylan suddenly frowned and sniffed hard.
At some point, the smell of charred wood and blood had begun drifting through the air.
He froze for an instant, then sprinted to the crest of the hill. The whole of Fenrad was burning.
Figures flickered among the flames. From the village came faint screams and battle cries beneath the clash of metal.
What was happening? Had the Vampires attacked?
No. This had to be a raid. A small outpost like this could never withstand an entire army.
What about Bella?
Dylan spotted the church at once. Thank the gods, it was not burning, though danger could reach it at any moment.
He had to get to Bella, now!
The moment Dylan entered the village, it felt as though he had stepped into hell.
Smoke and sparks churned through the night sky. Sticky blood clung to the soles of his boots, and the thatched roofs on either side of him burned and collapsed.
Three routed soldiers suddenly burst from a house. Terror filled their soot-blackened faces as they raced past Dylan and fled toward the edge of the village.
Moments later, a horrified scream rang out behind him.
Dylan looked back. One of the men lay on the ground with his chest torn open, twitching through his final moments. The other two soldiers had vanished.
Beside the fallen man crouched a vaguely human shape, devouring still-living flesh like a wild beast.
“A Bloodghoul...”
For the moment, the Bloodghoul seemed absorbed in its meal and paid Dylan no attention.
Dylan had no wish to tangle with it. He turned to leave, only to find another one standing in his path.
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