EVIL SYSTEM

Thomas returned home after an exhausting day at school.

He threw his backpack into a corner of the room and, without changing his clothes, sat down in front of the computer with a smile on his face.

In his dark and pathetic life, the only thing that brought him a little happiness was the video games he played with a group of friends he had met online.

They had met on a forum where they discovered they shared the same misfortunes.

Together, they bonded and formed what they called the "Misfit Squad."

Every day, they chatted in a private group and played video games together.

Today, the chat was a bit chaotic.

**Aaron:** I swear, dude, it was insane.

**Pablo:** I can't believe it's possible.

**Aaron:** You have to see the video! I'm trying to find it, but it seems like it's being deleted as soon as it's posted.

**Mich:** I've got it!!

**Thomas:** What are you guys talking about?

Mich didn't respond; he simply uploaded a video to the group chat.

**Aaron:** Seriously, you have it?!

Thomas was intrigued because the chat fell silent immediately, even though there were more than 14 people online.

They were probably watching the video Mich had shared.

Driven by curiosity, Thomas opened the video.

The video seemed to have been recorded in a dark alley, but the quality was surprisingly good.

Thomas saw the back of a man in a red jacket and what looked like a demon mask on his face.

**What is this?**

The video continued with the man walking through the dark alley until he reached a spot where two men appeared to be standing guard.

Thomas frowned. From their appearance, it was obvious that the two men were gang members.

The two men approached and tried to intimidate the masked man.

**Big mistake!**

Thomas watched with wide eyes as the masked man effortlessly took the lives of both men.

The footage suddenly changed as the masked man appeared behind two other men and, with two precise shots to the head, killed them.

From a corner, a shirtless man suddenly appeared, screaming and holding a machete in his hand.

**Nooo!**

Thomas almost closed his eyes when he saw the machete inches away from the masked man's head.

His eyes widened in surprise when the masked man easily stopped the machete with his bare hand.

The masked man slammed the attacker against the wall and slowly cut off his head.

Thomas couldn't watch the scene; he had to look away.

Even so, the man's desperate and pained screams reached his ears and made him shudder.

The masked man entered a warehouse and began killing everyone in his path.

Thomas's eyes were completely round as he witnessed such a display of power and violence.

**Is this what an intermediate mage can do?**

Thomas couldn't handle some scenes and had to vomit.

Especially the image of the masked man splitting a man's head into three pieces with his machete.

The three pieces of the head hung there, frozen in a horrified expression.

Thomas wondered why, even after everything he had seen, he hadn't closed the video.

He had never liked snuff videos, but for some reason, this one felt different. There was a rage in the masked man that couldn't be contained, and he expressed it through violence.

It was a feeling Thomas had dreamed of day and night since he started being bullied at school.

But all his questions stopped mattering when a man suddenly appeared on the screen.

He sent the masked man flying as if it were nothing.

**A powerful intermediate mage had been sent flying!**

That meant the person who sent him flying was also an intermediate mage—or maybe even an advanced one.

Thomas's blood boiled with excitement as he watched the two fight.

When the thrilling fight ended, the masked man approached the camera and spoke directly.

"Those who harm others—murderers, rapists, sadists, the deranged—will come to know me very well."

"N2 is dead," the masked man said, pointing at the camera. "And you're next."

Thomas felt his heart stop for a moment out of terror, imagining such a monster coming after him.

Then he sighed in relief, remembering that he had never harmed anyone.

**He wouldn't come after him.**

Calming his racing heart, he entered the chat, which was now buzzing with excitement.

Even the guys who usually didn't write and just read what others posted were joining the conversation.

**"That was insane!"**

**"Insane is an understatement!"**

**"I looked up who N2 is. Apparently, he's a highly wanted criminal, accused of countless crimes, but he was always released due to lack of evidence."**

**"Did you see the threat he made at the end? It gives me chills just thinking about it."**

**"But he's right."**

**"It's true! If he kills all the gangsters in the world, I'll be the first to support him."**

**"Finally, someone who dares to do something."**

**"I'm afraid he'll end up dead or there'll be a video of the gangs getting revenge."**

**"He's so brave to challenge the gangs like that."**

**"He's not just challenging the gangs!"**

**"Hey guys, there's already a website dedicated to this guy."**

**"Seriously?"**

**"What's the website for?"**

**"Apparently, this isn't the first time he's done something like this. He was once known as the Butcher of Azakur, but now many people are calling him: The Executioner."**

One of the guys uploaded another video, this time from a security camera.

Thomas's eyes lit up with fanaticism as he saw Ben sitting on a pile of criminals' corpses.

Without saying a word to his friends, he searched for the website and started following it.

**"I'm going to follow the page,"** one of them replied, and the rest followed suit.

On the website, many people began talking about how good it was that Ben was eliminating the scum of society that the police couldn't handle.

Some anonymously reported people they considered bad.

This became a trend, and the page filled with articles about corrupt individuals, murderers, rapists, and more.

Thomas was especially tempted and posted an article about his bullies and all the things they had done in the past.

In the following days, Thomas watched as the news about the Executioner became more and more viral.

The bullies who used to harass him started acting much more subdued and even seemed a little scared.

This only made his fanaticism for the Butcher of Azakur grow, to the point where he bought a mask identical to the Butcher's.

The mask had become very popular lately and was selling like hotcakes.

The mask represented an ancient knight who carried out massacres wherever he went.

He was so deadly that legend says he faced one of the Horrors head-on and wounded it in the process.

For a long time, the mask had been used in festivals and celebrations as a means of protection against Horrors and supernatural creatures.

Now, it was the symbol of a movement that was slowly taking over the country.