Chapter 17: I Am Ghost Freak.

Next day...

Capital...

Charlotte took Ben, Mary, Selena, and Annie to the capital to meet the Wizard King.

"Sister Selena, why does the Wizard King want to meet us?"

Mary asked Selena, a little worried.

"It must be related to the bandits we caught at the orphanage,"

Selena offered her thoughts.

"Yes, it must be. They don't seem like normal bandits."

Ben, who overheard their conversation, nodded in agreement.

While chatting, Charlotte was silent, thinking about what happened yesterday, stealing occasional glances at Ben who was conversing with Selena and Mary.

They arrived before the grand, imposing palace located at the heart of the capital of the Clover Kingdom.

The exterior of the palace was characterized by tall, sturdy walls made of polished stone, giving it a formidable and secure appearance.

"Wow, this place looks majestic,"

Mary commented, mouth wide open, followed by Ben.

Annie looked at the two, who were in awe, and at the palace before her with a blank expression.

'These two again,'

Annie thought, taking a step aside to distance herself from them.

'This place looks amazing. I want to build one like this,'

Ben decided.

Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him.

Ben narrowed his eyes and swiftly turned around to see who had approached him.

"Oh, you were able to detect my presence. Interesting,"

Ben heard a man's surprised voice behind him.

"Wizard King?"

Ben was surprised to see that it was Julius who had approached him.

"Captain Charlotte reporting, sir,"

Charlotte saluted the Wizard King, followed by the others.

"Call me just Julius, Captain Charlotte,"

the Wizard King responded, though his eyes were fixed on Ben's grimoire, hanging at his belt.

He walked towards Ben with bright stars glowing in his eyes, clearly fascinated.

"You must be Ben. Nice to meet you. I heard your magic is very different from others,"

Julius began to question Ben about his magic—how it works and how many elemental affinities he has.

"Uh... sir, I currently have three affinities,"

Ben lied to the Wizard King with a straight face, knowing the devil inside the man before him.

"Currently, uh..."

The Wizard King's mouth slightly curled into a smirk.

Only Ben noticed, and he pretended not to have seen it.

"May I see your grimoire?"

Julius asked, his eyes gleaming with anticipation, fixed on the grimoire like a thief eyeing a wallet.

"Sure,"

Ben handed his grimoire to Julius, a smile on his face.

Julius took the grimoire and started to peruse it with interest, flipping through the pages.

To his disappointment, he couldn't understand the words on the pages, no matter how hard he tried.

'Interesting. I've never seen this script before,'

was the only thought in Julius's mind.

"Ben, your magic is unique. It piques my interest,"

Julius returned the grimoire to Ben, a kind smile on his face.

"Lord Julius, where have you been all this time? I was searching for you. You need to sign the papers for today,"

Marx interrupted their conversation, causing the Wizard King's face to pale when he heard there was still paperwork left.

"Marx, give me some time to catch my breath,"

the Wizard King pleaded, looking at his assistant with a desperate expression.

"No, you have already wasted enough time today. The papers are piling up on your desk,"

Marx replied mercilessly, denying Julius' plea.

Mary and Annie watched these events unfold with wide eyes, especially Annie, who was utterly shocked by the conversation between the Wizard King and his assistant.

She had never seen this side of the Wizard King before.

"Captain Charlotte, you've arrived at just the right time,"

Marx turned to Charlotte and nodded.

Wizard King Palace...

Interrogation Room...

Charlotte gazed at the dead bodies and the two remaining prisoners before her.

"They are not simple, Captain Charlotte. Their memories were sealed. If we try to read them, the prisoners' heads will explode,"

Marx explained, shaking his head in disappointment.

"The Wizard King has tasked Silver Eagle and Crimson Lion with a long-term mission to investigate this,"

Marx informed her about the long-term mission assigned to the other Magic Knight squads.

"What do you think, Ben? Do you have any way to extract information from him?"

Julius asked Ben, looking at him with starry eyes emitting rays of light.

"..."

Sighing,

Ben said, "I will try. But I'm not sure, though..."

Ben agreed to Julius's request because the system provided him with a task.

[ Ding... ]

[ New task is triggered... ]

[ Help Wizard King by extracting information from the prisoner. ]

[ Task Reward: 150 FP. ]

[ Accept. ] [ Decline. ]

Ben accepted the task without hesitation.

When Ben completed the orphanage mission, he triggered the FP bar.

According to the system, he needed to complete tasks or perform actions to increase his fame among others.

Upon completing the task, he was rewarded with 80 fame points.

So when he saw 150 FP for this task, he didn't think twice and accepted the request.

[ FP bar: 92 / 500. ] --> [ New Alien: ??? ]

[ Ding... ]

[ Task accepted. ]

Charlotte approached Ben, placing her hand on his shoulder to indicate that she believed in him.

"Don't worry too much, Ben. Just try. We'll explore other methods if needed,"

Marx also encouraged Ben, recognizing the new Magic Knight's hesitancy.

Ben nodded and pressed the button on the Omnitrix.

The screen moved upwards, revealing the avatars of an alien.

Others looked at the scene with raised eyebrows, curious about Ben's actions.

Ben rotated the screen, changing the avatar displayed, and then forcefully smashed the screen, emitting a bright green light.

"GHOST FREAK."

A chilling voice echoed in the room.

When the light subsided, everyone looked at Ben with wide eyes.

"How many times have I seen him transform? It's still amazing,"

Charlotte said, puffing her chest out proudly.

Before them stood no longer Ben, but a ghostly figure floating without legs.

The ghost had sharp claws on both hands, its entire body was covered by a white, cloth-like structure.

There was an opening resembling a crack running from its head to its tail, with its green eye peering out.

"What is this?"

Marx asked, peering at Ben with vigilance.

"I am Ben."

Ghost Freak pointed to the Dominatrix symbol on his chest.

"Now, shall I begin?"

Ben moved toward one of the prisoners.

"TELL ME WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF YOUR GROUP?"

Ben asked with a creepy voice, causing the prisoners to scream in fear.

"We are just bandits, please leave us."

The bandit pleaded, looking at the others with a desperate expression.

"THEN WHY ARE YOU GUYS KILLING THE INNOCENT KIDS THEN?"

Before the prisoner could finish his sentence, Ben vanished, leaving the prisoner alone.

Panicking, the prisoner looked left and right in search of the ghost he had seen.

"ANSWER ME."

Ben emerged from the ground and confronted the prisoner, coming face to face with him, taking one eye away from him.

Ben gripped the back of the prisoner's neck, staring at him intently.

The prisoner struggled with a horrified expression for a few seconds.

His eyes turned to those of Ghost Freak, a crack visible beneath both eyes.

After a few minutes, the prisoner's head exploded.

"Ben!!!"

Charlotte and the other girls exclaimed in horror.

Just as they were about to rush towards the lifeless body, Ghost Freak emerged from the body through the neck.

Ben transformed back to his human form.

"Are you hurt?"

Charlotte hugged Ben tightly, checking if he was injured.

Seeing Charlotte's concern, Ben felt touched, and a small smile curved his lips.

"Cough... Cough..."

Marx cleared his throat, trying to regain their attention.

"It's okay, Ben. Even if you didn't get the information, you're not hurt, and that's what's important,"

Charlotte consoled Ben, thinking he might be upset about not succeeding.

Marx nodded in agreement.

He hadn't held much hope for Ben successfully extracting information from the prisoner, as he hadn't been able to.

"I did," Ben said with a smirk on his face.

"What?!"

Marx was shocked and immediately became excited because they had been trying to get the information for the past few days with no success.

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(Author's POV)

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