EVIL SYSTEM

A bald, skinny, shirtless white man was in a very dark room, illuminated only by a single lamp.

His entire body and face were covered in all kinds of tattoos.

The largest tattoo was on his back and read:

"I live for my mother, I die for my gang."

MK16

The man was deeply focused, skinning a man alive on a metal table. The man on the table stared at him, screaming but unable to make a sound.

The tattooed man ignored the tears of pain streaming from the man's eyes.

"Sir," a gang member entered the room and, without a word, showed him a video and then the news about it.

"Bring me his head and his family's," the man ordered without flinching or stopping his gruesome task.

"Sir, no one knows his identity or his family's."

"Give the order to all our guys in Venzia to kill him." The man cut off one of the table-bound man's arms with a dull knife. "Once they kill him, they'll see his face. Then they'll find his family and kill them too."

"Yes, sir," the gang member nodded and left.

"The Butcher of Azakur," the man laughed mockingly. This wasn't the first, nor would it be the last, to try to go against his gang while wearing a mask.

He needed to make it crystal clear what happens to those who oppose them.

"Don't forget to make them suffer before they die!" the man shouted at the gang member who had already left.

"Just like you," the man smiled, pointing the knife at the man on the table.

With his rusty, dull knife, he began slowly and painfully cutting off the man's genitals.

+++++

Ben stared at Dante, who was driving as if nothing had happened.

"You're too soft."

Dante raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Yeah."

Ben shook his head. He couldn't understand how a cold-blooded killer like him was sitting next to someone so innocent and soft.

His eyebrows furrowed when he saw two bright lights in the minivan's rearview mirror.

He knew it wasn't Hubert, as he had asked him not to get too close. Besides, the lights were too big to belong to a small car.

HONK!

The loud sound of a truck horn blared as the truck tried to overtake them.

Dante slowed down to let the truck pass, but it didn't. Instead, it matched Dante's speed and suddenly swerved to the right, slamming into the minivan.

"Ahhhhh!!"

The minivan shook violently, threatening to flip over, but it held on.

The right side of the minivan began to scrape and screech against the guardrail. Two of its wheels were now on the shoulder, and it seemed like it might tip over.

Dante tried to steer back onto the road, but the truck kept pushing them against the guardrail.

"What's happening?!" Shen Huiliang was thrown to the floor of the minivan, confused and scared.

Ryuji shielded the injured woman with his body, looking terrified.

Judy held onto Cancerbero tightly, trying to cling to a handrail.

Sparks flew as the minivan scraped against the guardrail, some landing on Ben.

"What's wrong with that guy?!" Dante was panicking too.

Ben wanted to do something but didn't know what.

The truck kept pushing them against the guardrail, but in the distance, Ben could see the guardrail was about to end.

Once it did, the truck would force them off the road and flip them over.

The guys in the bus ahead were shouting in panic, throwing things at the truck, but it ignored them.

Ben clenched his teeth. He couldn't jump out the window on his side because of the guardrail.

"Stay alert!" he shouted at Dante.

He climbed over the seats to the back of the minivan, ignoring the others' condition, and opened the rear doors, letting in the strong night wind.

With a quick effort, he jumped onto the roof of the minivan and closed the doors.

The wind hit him hard, threatening to throw him off.

Ben crawled across the roof to avoid being blown off and, once at the front, began charging his magic.

"Get back on the road when I tell you!" he shouted from the roof.

His right arm crackled with powerful electric sparks.

Without hesitation, he hurled the lightning at the truck, specifically aiming for the driver.

The lightning struck the truck's windshield, shattering it. The bolt entered the cabin, and the truck momentarily lost control.

"Now!!!"

Dante quickly turned the wheel, managing to get the minivan back on the road just as the guardrail ended.

The guys in the bus sighed in relief.

But the truck only lost control for a few seconds. It was back on the road and seemed intent on ramming them again.

"It's not going to work!" Dante shouted in panic. "He's going to keep ramming us!"

Ben clenched his teeth and, as the truck approached, he jumped.

"Ben!!" Dante screamed.

The guys in the bus couldn't believe what they were seeing.

Ben's figure crossed the gap between the vehicles and grabbed onto the truck.

He slowly crawled onto the hood. When he reached the windshield, he didn't hesitate—he punched it with all his might, shattering it.

The man inside the cabin was tall and muscular. Ben couldn't see his face because he wore a sack over his head, with only his eyes visible.

Ben grabbed the steering wheel and tried to yank it.

He tried.

No matter how much strength he used, Ben couldn't move the wheel. He looked up just as the man punched him in the face.

Ben's body flew off the truck and hit the asphalt, rolling and scraping against the road. He barely avoided being crushed by one of the truck's massive tires.

His nose was broken, and blood gushed out.

"Son of a bitch!" he cursed under his breath and used his new magic.

A large amount of magic drained from him as Ben disappeared from the road and reappeared next to the truck's driver-side door.

He grabbed the door with his right hand and, with his left hand crackling with lightning, punched through the window, delivering a brutal blow to the man's face.

The man wasn't expecting it, thinking Ben was already lying on the road.

Ben didn't stop. He landed two more powerful punches.

Blood stained the sack over the man's head, but it didn't seem to be a fatal injury.

With that same force, Ben could have crushed a normal man's skull, but as he realized, the truck driver wasn't normal.

Ben yanked the door open and kicked the man away from the wheel. The truck lost control and veered off the road.

It plowed through small trees but didn't slow down much.

Ben was about to keep hitting the driver, but a fiery fist struck him in the face, nearly knocking him out of the cabin.

*He's too strong!*

Ben saw the truck heading deeper into the forest.

He climbed out of the cabin onto the hood.

The guys in the bus screamed when they saw him. Ben ignored them, grabbed the steering wheel from the hood, and yanked it out with a powerful pull.

With the wheel in hand, Ben ran and leaped back onto the minivan.

The truck completely lost control and disappeared into the woods. Meanwhile, Ben held the steering wheel like a trophy.

The guys in the bus cheered and celebrated with him.

"Incredible!!"

"Did you see that?!"

"That was like something out of a movie!!"

"I've decided, from now on, Ben is my idol!!"

"Damn!! That was so cool!!"

"Ben! Ben! Ben!"

With his heart still racing, Ben climbed back into the minivan through the passenger window.

He stared at the ugly scratches left on the minivan.

"That was insane," Dante said, clearly shaken.

"Yeah, it was," Ben admitted. "That guy was really strong."

Ben shook his head, thinking about what he'd just gone through.

"Maybe intermediate peak or even an advanced mage, I don't know."

Dante clenched the steering wheel, his teeth gritted.

The others in the minivan sat in stunned silence.

Ben seemed fearless when facing such monsters.

"You know what I was thinking?" Ben asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"What?" Dante asked.

"Road trips are too dangerous. Next time, let's take a plane."

Dante laughed.

"Sure, but with our luck, that plane would probably get hijacked."

Ben burst out laughing.

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Author's thoughts

I know that few of you like to comment and I understand that, I almost never comment on a story. But I need your opinion. What do you think about the road trip arc? Is it boring? Because I heard a comment that says that the story got a little boring since Ben met Dante.

Dante, Judy, Shen Huiliang, Ryuji and even the frat boys are important to what will be the next big arc, the Magnolia City disaster. So if you really find this boring, bear with me, something good is coming.

Thank you all very much for continuing to read