EVIL SYSTEM

Ben struck the man's head in surprise, but his body remained limp.

He couldn't believe the man had died before he could finish his torture. With a sigh, he shook his head and, with a single slash, severed the man's head.

He grabbed it by the hair and tossed it aside.

Ben hesitated for a few seconds before entering the room where both women lay.

He broke the girl's cage and lifted her into his arms.

With great care, he wrapped her in an old blanket and placed her beside the decomposing corpse of the woman.

To anyone else, it might seem strange to place the girl's body next to a rotting one.

But for Ben, it was fulfilling the girl's final wish.

*She wanted to be with her mommy!!*

Ben gave the two corpses one last look, growing more convinced with each passing moment that he was doing the right thing by wiping out society's trash.

He turned around and walked into the living room. He approached the desk and checked the second drawer.

Though it was true he didn't care about the information the man had spilled during the torture, that didn't mean it wasn't valuable.

It was information blurted out by a man in the throes of unbearable agony, desperate to stop the pain.

That information had to be significant.

Especially if it could lead him to more people—more scum like that man.

People who deserved harsh punishment.

Ben grabbed a small notebook and tucked it into one of his pockets.

He walked through the living room and kicked the head on the floor like it was a ball.

After playing with it for a few seconds, Ben picked it up by the hair and left the apartment.

His eyes widened in surprise when he saw the boy he'd found in the hallway still sitting there.

Ben raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Using the neck of the man's head, he drew a simple "X" on the door and impaled the head onto it with a knife.

Taking a photo, Ben turned and walked away, covered in blood.

Despite witnessing such a horrific scene, Peter dropped to his knees and bid Ben farewell with a deep bow.

Several curious heads peeked out from their doors. They'd heard the man's screams of pain loud and clear but hadn't dared leave their homes.

As he exited the old building, Ben found himself on a grim, dark street that seemed rife with crime and delinquency.

His tongue licked his lips at the thought of running into gang members or junkies in one of these alleys.

He still had a lot of rage inside him and nowhere to vent it.

"Freeze!!" The sudden flash of police sirens interrupted him.

"Hands up!" One of the police car doors opened as an officer stepped out, aiming at Ben.

Ben was exasperated. He raised his hands and turned around.

He looked at the patrol car with a raised eyebrow.

These guys were part of society's problem too. They'd received multiple calls from the community reporting the man he'd just killed, but they'd never done anything.

Now that *he'd* taken action and solved the problem, they showed up. It was more than obvious they were working together somehow.

"What's the matter, officer?" Ben acted as if everything were perfectly normal. "Did I commit a traffic violation?"

"Don't get smart with me!!" The officer stepped out of the car and approached Ben, gun pointed at his face.

"I don't know much about this, but I hear cops aren't supposed to aim to kill," Ben said, pointing at the gun in the officer's hands. "You shouldn't be aiming at my head—you should aim for a limb or something."

"Shut up!!" The officer slowly closed in on Ben and got a better look at him.

In the darkness of the night, it wasn't easy to make out Ben's full appearance.

Blood dripped from his body and hands. The mask, which from a distance looked like just another mask, now appeared terrifying and ominous.

His hair and mask were also soaked in blood, but Ben pretended everything was normal.

"Instead of arresting me, I heard there's a psycho in that building using kids as drug runners—" Ben pointed at the building he'd just left, his tone dripping with mockery, but before he could finish… he took a shot to the head.

*Bam!!*

Ben's body hit the ground from the momentum and shock.

He stared at the night sky in disbelief. This was the second time he'd been shot in the head—embarrassing.

"What the hell did you do?!" Another officer leapt out of the police car, panic in his voice. "The suspect didn't resist at all and was cooperating!"

"No," the officer who'd fired replied coldly. "He resisted arrest and got violent. I had no choice but to neutralize him."

"Look at him," the officer pointed at Ben's mask. "He's got one of those stupid masks on in the middle of the night in a dangerous neighborhood. It's obvious he's up to no good."

The officer who'd exited the car stared at his partner in disbelief.

"Listen up, rookie—this is a valuable lesson," the officer said, approaching Ben's body and aiming his gun again. "You always finish the job."

"Great advice," Ben's hand shot out, grabbing the officer's wrist. With minimal effort, he snapped the man's fingers, forcing him to drop the gun.

*Uhhhhsk!!*

The officer jumped back, staring at his hand with his mouth agape.

With a single kick, Ben sent him flying into a wall.

"Man, I hate scum like you," Ben said, brushing the dirt off his body. "Sometimes you're even worse than the criminals themselves."

"Your laziness and indifference to their crimes have created crooks who think they can do whatever they want without consequences." Ben grabbed the officer by the throat and slammed him against the wall. "And *you!*" Ben tightened his grip as the officer began to choke.

"You're worse than trash. You collaborate with criminals like one of them, all for a little cash. You destroy the lives of the people you swore to protect, and you do it without a shred of remorse." Ben squeezed harder as the officer struggled helplessly.

Ben had long stopped caring whether someone was a cop or a civilian, a man or a woman, a child or an old person… As long as he thought they deserved it,

*he wouldn't hesitate to kill them all!!*

"Freeze!" The rookie officer stood trembling, aiming his gun at Ben.

Magic pulsed through Ben's body as he prepared an attack.

He turned to look at the shaky officer, and his eyes widened in shock.

The officer pointing the gun at his back was… Holgram.

Ben's body trembled, and all his rage vanished in an instant.

"You're a lucky guy," he whispered to the officer as he released him.

The man collapsed to the ground, clutching his throat in desperation and coughing.

Ben turned to face the only living family member he still cared about and vanished into his own shadow.

Atop a tall building, Ben clutched his head and hair, a cold sweat running down his back.

*He'd almost killed his cousin!*

Ben sat in the darkness, head bowed, trying to calm his emotions.

---

*In an underground location.*

Dozens of people gathered at the foot of an altar, praying with fervent fanaticism to a mask.

"Pray, for the promised day draws near!" An older man in a red robe shouted, arms raised, madness in his voice. "He never died—he was simply waiting for this age of chaos!!"

"Hail the guardian of the gates of hell!!" he cried out with fanaticism and passion.

"Hail!" the worshippers responded with equal zeal.

"Hail the herald of pain!!" he roared, his voice hoarse.

"Hail!"

"Hail the knight of slaughter!!" His eyes gleamed with insanity as he sliced a horrific gash into his arm.

"Hail!!" The lunatics following him also cut their arms, letting the blood flow at their feet.

"He who faced horrors and mythical beasts," the man said, gazing at the mask with a smile. "He who is the terror of armies and kings."

"Honor us with your presence and bring chaos to this world once more."

"Show us your immense power again and bring horror to all who deserve it in this rotten world."

"Hail the slayer of kings!!"

"Hail!"

---

Well, I'll start dropping little hints in the next chapters about what's coming in the next two arcs.

Let's see if anyone can guess what's ahead!

I don't know what I could gift or give to the person who guesses it, though I seriously doubt anyone could figure out everything that's coming.

If any of you want me to include you or your names in the story, I can do that as a reward.

As you already know, this arc is called The Disaster of Magnolia City.

And to give you more hints, I'm thinking of naming the next arc The Never-Before-Told Story.