EVIL SYSTEM

Ben adjusted his tie, not feeling entirely comfortable in these clothes.

Judy had expressed her desire to have a date at a fancy restaurant in Magnolia.

To please her, he obviously agreed, but he was the kind of person who saw those places as a hassle.

He didn't like formal attire, and the food in these restaurants was too little and needlessly expensive.

He'd rather go on one of his nightly hunts, but if you want to win a woman's heart, sometimes you have to make sacrifices.

"Do I look alright?" he asked Dante, who was engrossed in that cylindrical object the girl from the highway had left behind.

"Dunno." Dante shrugged, shifting the pieces back and forth.

"Hey!" Ben scolded. "This is important!"

"Yeah, sure!" Dante's hands froze as the mechanism clicked open, revealing a small hourglass and an ancient black key inside the cube.

"I opened it!" Dante exclaimed, shocked.

Ben leaned in, eyeing the two objects with intrigue. He recalled what that girl had said, and after a moment's thought, he picked up the key. "I'll keep this."

Dante didn't care and fixated on the tiny hourglass.

Curious, he shook it, and Ben felt his entire body jolt with it.

He looked around, unable to grasp what kind of sensation this was.

Everything seemed completely normal, but a strange feeling washed over him, like a chill mixed with the sense that what he was living wasn't real.

A feeling that he was repeating the same action.

"Déjà vu!" was all he could think as he clutched his head, brow furrowed.

Dante raised an eyebrow, staring at him in disbelief, as if he couldn't fathom what he was seeing. "You're supposed to be nervous about your date with Judy," he whispered, confused.

Hearing this, Ben raised an eyebrow and remembered Judy. He adjusted his tie and rushed out of the room.

Dante watched it all with a distant look, sometimes wondering if he should stop him and tell him the whole truth.

In the end, he clenched his teeth and let him go.

"What was that?" he muttered, bewildered. "That's never happened before."

Dante stared at the hourglass in his hand and gripped it tightly.

His eyes looked cold and resolute, a side of him no one had ever seen.

"This has to be it. It has to."

---

Ben walked alongside Judy, sharing some anecdotes, though she seemed a bit bored.

The night was cold and clear—perfect for Ben. He loved the cold, and nights like this reminded him of a childhood hobby.

Staring at the starry sky and dreaming of incredible things. The night sky always made him feel at peace and calm.

Crossing a street, Ben raised an eyebrow at something that caught his attention.

A themed bar!

But not just any themed bar—it was a medieval-themed bar.

Ben's eyes practically sparkled at the thought of going inside. He'd always been a fan of the medieval era and thought it'd be fun to become a knight and live adventures.

He'd never had the chance to experience something like this, so he didn't hesitate to ask Judy.

"Looks fun. Why don't we go in?" he said, pointing at the place.

Judy followed his finger and immediately scrunched her face in disgust.

"No way! What is that? Some nerd convention?"

Ben raised an eyebrow at her tone, and his finger slowly dropped.

"We already have a reservation at a nice restaurant. We can't waste time on this childish stuff."

Ben stared at the bar for a few seconds, watching the bartender serve beers in wooden mugs to a couple, smiling jovially.

The place reminded him a bit of the Shire from *The Hobbit*, and that made him reluctant to leave without checking it out.

He glanced at the bar, then at Judy's beautiful, sweet face. It didn't take him long to make his decision to follow her, but he turned his head to memorize the bar's location so he could come back later with Dante and Ryuji.

They walked a bit further before entering a restaurant with a gorgeous garden decorated with small, warm fairy lights.

A waitress greeted them with a polite smile.

"Good evening, welcome." With a gesture, she invited them in.

The restaurant was undeniably beautiful and elegant—something Ben couldn't deny.

But he didn't really enjoy himself in a place like that. He looked at Judy, who seemed happy, and thought that sometimes a man has to make sacrifices.

They walked together in the night when it suddenly started to rain.

"Come on, we need to take cover!" Judy urged, but Ben just shrugged unhurriedly.

"Why not get a little wet? I love the rain," he said without thinking much.

"Are you crazy? Look at the time!" Judy shook her head and ducked into a bar on the same street.

Ben frowned a bit but followed her.

The place they entered was a nightclub with blaring music and garish lights.

He didn't like these kinds of places, but Judy seemed pleased, even ordering two beers at the bar.

"Here." She offered him one, but Ben declined with a slightly forced smile.

"I don't like drinking."

Judy gave him a sweet smile and, with a pleading look, handed him the bottle.

"Come on, do it for me."

Ben stared at her adorable expression and sighed, taking the bottle.

He took a sip and grimaced in disgust. The beer was bitter, and in his opinion, he couldn't understand why people loved drinking it so much.

Looking at the beer, he thought maybe people just drank to get drunk, not for the taste.

He set the beer on the counter and sipped it slowly every now and then. Judy laughed at his sour face with each gulp.

While Ben had barely finished one beer, Judy was already on her eighth.

After a while, Ben was genuinely bored. He couldn't stand staying in that place any longer, but the rain outside wouldn't let up.

Judy kept drinking, her behavior growing more and more reckless.

"You're so boring," she said, slinging an arm around his shoulders.

"Am I?" Ben asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Totally." Judy nodded. "You don't like going out, you don't like drinking, you don't like dancing."

"It's not that I don't like dancing—it's that I don't know how," Ben admitted, a bit embarrassed.

"You should stop being so serious." Judy ruffled his hair. "You're not exactly a looker, so you won't attract any girls like this. Especially if you're one of those nerds who's into anime and video games."

Ben frowned at her comment but didn't say anything.

The loud music, the stench of alcohol, and the flashing lights were getting on his nerves, so he decided to step out to the bathroom for a bit.

In the bathroom, away from the noise and chaos, Ben splashed water on his face, frustrated. He gripped the sink and stared at himself in the mirror.

He really liked Judy, but the more he got to know her, the more he felt she wasn't the right woman for him.

Not wanting to jump to conclusions, he pulled himself together and headed back toward Judy.

His steps slowed to a halt as his gaze froze, and he felt his world collapse in an instant.

In front of him, just a few meters away, was Judy… locked in a passionate kiss with a complete stranger.

Ben felt like he'd been punched in the gut, and his chest began to ache. Though it embarrassed him to admit it, his eyes reddened, and his vision blurred slightly.

When the stranger's hand slid down Judy's curves and grabbed her ass, Ben felt his heart clench.

A sharp pain consumed him—not anger, but betrayal.

He'd thought in a situation like this, he'd react with violence and burn everything to ashes. But standing there, all he could feel was pain.

His hands trembled, and he looked away. Without glancing back at them, he walked out of the bar and into the cold rain.

His mind couldn't help but conjure images of what those two might do after leaving the bar.

His steps faltered for a moment, and without realizing it, he found himself at that medieval-themed bar he'd passed earlier.

He didn't talk to anyone, didn't marvel at the decorations that had excited him before.

He just ordered a glass of beer, then another, and another, and another.

The beer still tasted just as bad in his opinion, but he felt that with each new gulp, he grew a little numb, thinking less about what was tearing him apart.

He knew he couldn't let himself get angry, couldn't give in to rage.

Because if he did… he might destroy the entire city in the process.

He couldn't blame Judy for not loving him the way he loved her.

He couldn't force his feelings on her.

Even if he knew that.

It was excruciating.

For the first time in his two lives, Ben drank until he was completely wasted.

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