EVIL SYSTEM

Ben took advantage of the fact that no one had eaten breakfast yet to go into his room and perform the summoning he had been putting off for a while.

He didn't want anyone around because he didn't think it was necessary.

The summoning progressed normally, but Ben frowned when he saw a small husky sitting on the floor, staring at him.

"Do I really have an affinity for dogs?"

The husky let out a cute little yelp and began rubbing against his leg.

Ben smiled, crouched down, and started petting its head gently.

"You're so cute," he said. Its fur was black and white, with blue eyes.

Knock knock.

Ben opened the door and found Dante greeting him.

"Idiot, we're leaving," Dante said, pointing behind him. "The guys are already getting into the vehicles."

Ben nodded and, with a snap of his fingers, called the little husky, who jumped up excitedly.

"This is Wolfy," Ben said, petting the dog and handing it to Dante, who also started petting it.

Dante looked at him skeptically.

"It's another one of my summons."

"You've already reached the intermediate level in the summoning element?" Dante was very surprised.

"Yeah," Ben nodded.

They were about to leave the room, but Ben turned back and picked up the cylindrical object he had almost forgotten.

"What's that?" Dante asked.

"I don't know," Ben said, handing it to him. "The girl we rescued on the road gave it to me."

"I've tried to open it, but no matter how much force I use, it seems to resist."

Dante started twisting it, and out of nowhere, the cylindrical object split into two, then four parts.

"It looks like a puzzle."

Ben raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. He didn't want to admit that he hadn't even tried to solve it and had only tried to force it open.

They quickly got to the minivan and started it.

"Guys," Ryuji got into the minivan but looked very worried. "I can't find Judy and Shen Huiliang."

"What?" Dante turned to look at him.

"Yeah," Ryuji nodded, his face filled with concern. "I didn't see them at breakfast, but I didn't think much of it. Then, when the guys started getting into the vehicles, I looked for them but couldn't find them."

Dante got out of the minivan and walked over to the bus, where he talked to Fan Mo for a while before they started searching.

Ben watched everything from his seat.

But when more than 10 minutes passed and they still hadn't found the girls, he started to worry.

The worry wasn't just his—the fraternity guys started getting out of the bus and asking around everywhere.

The girls in the minivan were all accounted for. The only ones missing were Judy and Shen Huiliang.

They searched the entire hotel and the surrounding area, but even after an hour of searching, they found nothing.

Ben was worried.

He walked away from the group and wandered for a few minutes before running through some streets and arriving at a small motel.

Ben went up the stairs to the third floor and knocked on door 304.

After a few seconds, the door opened, and Ben found himself face-to-face with Hubert.

"Sir!" Hubert looked surprised.

Hubert had started calling him that after that day.

Although it was uncomfortable for Ben to be addressed that way by someone older than him, he couldn't convince Hubert to call him anything else.

Ben entered the room and found Suzanne sitting on the bed, playing with a laptop.

"Boss!!" The girl seemed genuinely happy to see him.

Ben smiled as a greeting and turned his attention back to Hubert.

"I need your help," Ben began by telling Hubert everything he knew and asked him to find out as much as he could about the city and the possible culprits behind the disappearance.

He gave Hubert permission to spend as much money as needed and left the motel.

When he returned to the hotel, he found the guys arguing with the hotel manager, who wouldn't let them check the security cameras.

The police had already been alerted and were mediating between the two sides.

Ben blended into the crowd and, from what he heard, discovered that Cerberus was also missing.

+++

Tied up and gagged, Judy and Shen Huiliang writhed in a corner, trying to free themselves.

A large man entered what looked like an old warehouse and removed the gags from the girls' mouths.

"Let me go! You don't know who my brother is—he's going to beat you up!"*Judy screamed, frantic with fear.

The man just laughed and lit a cigarette.

"Yeah, sure," the man shrugged. "A lot of them have said that before."

The man was short but very stocky.

His clothes were loose, and his face was very ordinary.

Shen Huiliang was frozen in fear, tears streaming down her face.

"Who are you? What do you want from us?"

The man stopped smiling and approached the two. His face was just inches from Judy's, and he began to caress her face gently, slowly moving down to play with her blouse.

Judy's face twisted in disgust, something the man didn't take well.

Slap!

A loud slap left a mark on Judy's face, and her expression showed disbelief.

She had never been treated like that by any man.

"You damn bitch!! You think you're better than me?! You're just like all those other bitches!!" The man began slapping Judy and even kicked her.

"Please stop!!" Shen Huiliang begged for Judy, but the man didn't stop the beating.

"All you bitches think you're better than me just because you're pretty and secretly sleep with the teachers!! Bitches!! Whores!!" All his traumas and frustrations were unleashed on Judy, who couldn't do anything to defend herself.

Shen Huiliang couldn't bear to watch and pleaded with all her might, but the man didn't stop.

In the middle of the beating, the man began tearing off Judy's clothes, staring at her body with obvious excitement.

"Noooooo!!"

Shen Huiliang screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping someone would hear her.

That someone would come to rescue them—and someone did.

A small, fearless dog appeared out of nowhere and lunged at the man.

++++

Back at the hotel, Ben couldn't stand waiting any longer.

Even after checking the security footage, they found nothing.

They had only wasted precious time.

Together with Dante and Ryuji, Ben left the hotel in the minivan and began driving through the streets in search of the girls.

On the way, he received a call from Hubert.

"Tell me," Ben said, not in the mood for pleasantries. "What have you found?"

"Sir," Hubert greeted but, seeing Ben's impatience, quickly continued. "There have been multiple disappearances reported in this city over the past few years."

"Although disappearances are common in all cities, this one has a particular pattern," Hubert took the laptop from Suzanne and started reviewing. "The vast majority of the disappearances in this city involve very beautiful and young girls."

"Some of the missing girls are later found dumped in a trash heap or forest," Hubert paused for a moment. "In every case, the bodies show clear signs of rape and torture."

Ben clenched his teeth.

"Where?"

Hubert was silent for a moment.

"It seems to be a serial killer, but no evidence or suspects have ever been found."

Ben was frustrated and angry.

"You haven't found anything?!"

"I'm sorry, sir, we haven't found anything."

"Useless!!" Ben hung up the phone and started kicking the floor of the minivan in frustration.

Woof!

The husky in Ryuji's arms suddenly perked up and stood.

It walked over to the seat Judy and Shen Huiliang usually shared. With its little nose, it began sniffing the area very seriously, then excitedly jumped toward the passenger seat where Ben was sitting.

Woof!

The little husky barked excitedly at Ben and pointed its head toward the window.

"Hmm?" Ben looked at it curiously and could feel some of the dog's emotions through their supernatural bond.

"Are you saying you can track them by scent?" Ben asked, a bit unsure about the sudden emotions he was receiving from the husky.

Woof!

The little dog barked excitedly and pointed to the right.

Ben didn't know if the dog was telling the truth, but he had to try.

"Turn right!!" he told Dante, who didn't hesitate for a second and swerved without hitting the brakes.

They almost crashed into several cars, which honked in protest, but no one in the minivan cared.

The little husky continued sniffing the air before jumping excitedly and pointing to the left.

Dante didn't need any instructions—he immediately turned left.

As they did, they found themselves in an old, decaying neighborhood.

Ben's patience was running thin when the little husky started barking excitedly, pointing toward an old house in the middle of the block.

Ben didn't care that Dante hadn't fully stopped the minivan—he jumped out.

As he got closer to the house, he could feel it very clearly.

Another one of his connections, another one of his summons.

But the emotions from this summon were of desperation and pain.

Ben didn't hesitate for a second—he kicked the door down.