EVIL SYSTEM

Cecil was leaning against the wall, paralyzed with fear. She had hidden in a room she didn't even know belonged to whom.

Her hands and legs trembled with fear. From there, she could clearly hear the sounds of the fight between Ben and Magdalena's husband.

She heard Magdalena's screams of pain and Ben's furious roars.

With tears in her eyes, she pulled her phone out of her pocket. Her fingers shook so much that even dialing 999 was incredibly difficult.

She made several mistakes in her panic and fear, but after a few attempts, she succeeded.

Cecil held the phone to her ear, growing impatient as it rang but no one answered.

At the same time, the sound of Ben's footsteps slowly climbing the stairs echoed through the house.

Her body was drenched in sweat, and she nearly dropped the phone in her panic.

"999, what's your emergency?" A calm male voice came through the phone.

Cecil felt a wave of relief and answered in a hurried, nervous tone.

"There's a killer in my house, and he's coming for me!!" Her voice was tearful and shaky. "He killed my husband and children!! He's killing my entire family, and now he's coming for me!!"

"I understand!" The man's voice on the emergency line became more serious. "Can you get out of there?"

"No!" Cecil replied, terrified, as she heard Ben reach the second floor. "I'm on the second floor, and he's here with me. If I jump out the window, he'll hear me and catch me. He's at least an intermediate mage."

"Okay, you need to stay calm and not panic," the man instructed methodically. "I have all your information here. I've already sent several patrols to your location, but it might take a while since you're far from the city."

"Noooo!!" Cecil shrieked in fear as she heard Ben trying to open the first door on the second floor.

When he found it locked, he took the axe from his back and, with just two strikes, destroyed the door and entered.

He searched the room slowly and thoroughly but found nothing.

He repeated this process with the other rooms while Cecil curled up in a corner, dying of fear.

"Don't panic!" The voice on the phone urged her to stay calm. "Can you tell me your name?"

Cecil was a trembling, tearful mess but managed to answer. "Cecil."

"Listen to me, Cecil!" The man spoke louder, his tone commanding. "Help is already on the way. What you need to do is hold on. Look around the room—is there anywhere you can hide?"

Cecil began to scan the room, but her panic and fear made it hard to think clearly.

"I can hide under the bed or in the closet," she whispered weakly, feeling Ben getting closer to her room with each passing second.

"No!" The man responded firmly. "Those will be the first places he checks. Is there anywhere else you can hide?"

"No," Cecil panicked.

"Cecil! Cecil! Take a deep breath in, then exhale!" the voice on the call ordered.

Cecil couldn't follow the man's instructions and even began to hyperventilate.

She slowly started to cry, not caring about Ben's approaching presence.

This made Ben, who was just a few rooms away, hear her faint sobbing.

He stopped searching the other rooms and headed straight for the one where he heard the crying.

Bamm!!

With a single strike of his axe, he made a large hole in the door. Ben peered through the hole, his bloodied face grinning widely. "So this is where you're hiding!"

Cecil turned pale with fear and crawled as far away from the door as she could.

"Cecil, listen to me!" the voice on the phone shouted, but Cecil simply stared at Ben in horror, ignoring the voice on the phone. "Cecil, if you have nowhere to hide and he's found you, you need to jump out the window. Cecil, can you hear me?"

With another strike of his axe, Ben completely destroyed the door and entered the room.

"No, please, no!!" Cecil cried in terror, but Ben just looked at her impassively and, without a word, grabbed her by the arm and dragged her along with him.

"Nooooooooo!!" Cecil screamed and shrieked in fear. With her manicured nails, she tried to resist, clawing at the floor or the carpet, but Ben was too strong. All she managed to do was ruin her nails, leaving them bloody and broken.

"No! No! Nooo!!" Ben dragged Cecil across the floor despite her constant screams and struggles.

Cecil's head repeatedly hit the steps as they descended the stairs, but Ben didn't care.

Cecil's screams grew louder and more desperate as she saw the body of Magdalena's husband hanging and Magdalena's own body split in two.

Cecil's body was covered in blood as she was dragged over Magdalena's mutilated corpse.

Walking over her body, Ben took Cecil to the mansion's large kitchen.

Everything was still on, and some pots even emitted a strong burnt smell.

Ben threw Cecil to the floor without a care for her condition. He sat in a chair and stared at her without saying a word.

Cecil lay devastated on the floor, unable to understand why Ben hadn't killed her yet and was just staring at her.

"I'm not a monster like you," he said after a few seconds of tense silence. "I don't kill for fun, nor do I find pleasure in it."

Cecil stared at him, unsure how to respond.

She feared that if she said the wrong thing and angered him, he would kill her instantly.

"That's why today I will be your judge and executioner," Ben leaned forward slightly, resting on his axe. "If I find you innocent and without crimes, I'll let you go, even if it causes me problems in the future."

Cecil's heart leapt with hope.

But it grew heavy and somber with Ben's next words.

"But if I find you guilty..." Ben took his axe and placed it on his shoulder. "You'll receive the appropriate punishment, and I'll be especially cruel."

Cecil began to tremble but clenched her teeth with determination and accepted.

She believed that if she could deceive her husband into thinking her daughter was truly his, she could deceive a young man who hadn't lived as long as she had.

"For the crimes of murder, kidnapping, and cruelty against your fellow humans, how do you plead?" Ben asked seriously.

"Innocent!" Cecil didn't hesitate to respond. "I've never committed those cruel acts. I only married my husband for his fortune, but I don't share his psychopathic thoughts."

"Perfect," Ben nodded. "Now all you have to do is use your magic."

"My magic?" Cecil asked, confused.

"Yes," Ben nodded. "If what you say is true, nothing will happen. But if you lied to me..."

Cecil swallowed hard and tried to use her magic.

Screams of resentment began to overwhelm her as black blood started pouring from her orifices.

One scream was especially heart-wrenching and furious.

It came from a beautiful little girl holding her intestines in her hands.

Ben shook his head as he saw her state.

Never judge by appearances.

Cecil seemed like a lovely, caring middle-aged mother, but inside, she was as rotten as the rest of this deranged family.

Ben stood up and grabbed her by the hair.

"Wait! I can do whatever you want!" Cecil began to undress as Ben dragged her, but Ben didn't even glance at her. "You can do whatever you want with my body. I even have a very beautiful sister—you can have us both if you want. Just don't kill me!!"

Hearing her words, Ben couldn't help but remember the girl he had killed in the forest—her words were eerily similar.

I guess that was her daughter.

"You and your daughter are the same. She also tried to convince me the same way," Ben brought her closer to one of the steaming pots in the kitchen. "But the truth is, you disgust me. Who knows how many dicks have been in those disgusting holes of yours. Even if it were the end of the world, I wouldn't sleep with such trash."

Cecil tried to speak, but Ben simply shoved her head into the pot of boiling water.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Cecil's screams and struggles were muffled by the water.

Opening her mouth to scream from the pain of having her head boiled in hot water, she inhaled the water.

While being boiled, she was also drowning and being scalded from the inside by the water entering her system.

Her struggles didn't last long—in just 50 seconds, her body went limp in his grip.

Ben pulled her head out of the pot and threw her body to the floor.

All of Cecil's beauty had vanished, and all that remained was a disfigured face with a few strands of hair.

"Cecil!! Cecil!! Are you there?!"

Ben stopped looking at the corpse and turned his attention to the phone lying on the floor.

He slowly picked it up and held it to his ear.

"Hello."