Chapter 196

"Before you told me, I thought I might agree with you. After you finished speaking, I'm sure I won't stand on your side." Benny sighed, "What you said, if I hadn't seen what you did with my own eyes, would have really touched me a little."

“It’s alright, I never intended for anyone to approve of me.” Ren’ai frowned and looked at her. “But I’m concerned about your condition. You can sleep here now.”

“You two are sleeping like the most sound asleep. It seems like it’s not just my weakness; you two seem dangerous even when you’re asleep,” Benny retorted.

“It’s different. We’re safe here because of the protective measures. You can sleep only because you’re no longer afraid of death,” Renai said softly. “You need to adjust your mindset. The strength of us saints must be built on a firm will. Any moment of wavering will be fatal to us. You represent the highest fighting force of our church and have an irreplaceable position.”

“This is the first time I’ve heard such high praise from you.” Benny scratched her head, a little annoyed, and said, “You’ve never valued me like this before. Our relationship has never been good. Please don’t think that our being on the same side this time is a sign that our relationship has improved.”

"Hehe, of course not. It's just that you did so well before that I couldn't think of any suggestions for you other than mocking you." The benevolent one shook his head helplessly: "But now, you seem to be getting a little lazy."

"Me? I did a great job before? Haha, if it counts as having conflicts with you guys from beginning to end, then I did do a great job."

“That’s exactly what I meant. Our abilities all require unwavering belief in something. Even if you have doubts, you must still believe. The more you resisted before, the more certain your belief was.” The Benevolent One said, emphasizing each word: “You wavered.”

"What I firmly believe in is just an unstable foundation and is not a good thing in itself."

“It doesn’t matter, you have to have something to believe in.” The Benevolent One paused and said, “What you firmly believe in is right. As one of God’s representatives, you are the measure of justice. So you are free to believe in everything. You can even be our enemy, but you can’t waste your life like this.”

“I am ultimately not suited to be a champion of honor.” Benny closed her eyes slightly and said softly, “Being a paladin is enough for me. God did not need to entrust me with such a heavy responsibility.”

“It’s too late to regret it now. We don’t have anything like a magic seal. Your abilities cannot be transferred.” The Benevolent One wrapped his eyes with bandages, which now seemed to be just for covering his eyes. “By the way, another junior wants to see you about something.”

Benny opened her eyes and then frowned.

"That guy?" she muttered with a hint of disdain.

This refers to the newcomer, the Judge. As a member of the Saints, that fellow is ridiculously naive.

But as Ren'ai said, even if what that guy believes in is unreliable, there are still things he believes in. As long as he remains steadfast, God's protection will make him invincible.

It seems I used to believe in such unreliable things, just like him.

Honestly, it's our first time being human, so let's not laugh at each other.

She left the room, and Ren'ai waved goodbye. Their parting was brief, as their relationship remained strained.

Benny still hated Renai; the guy always had a repulsive aura about him. She didn't know why, but she really didn't want to see him if she could.

But there was nothing he could do; after all, she was a saint too. This person couldn't leave his sight unless one day her will crumbled, as she said, and she stopped believing in what she once firmly believed in.

Then she will die, and after she dies, no one will bother her anymore.

Benny walked through the church. The huge church was empty and quiet, which made her feel a little restless.

After Xiaobai left, the church seemed much emptier.

There's nothing we can do about it; that's just how things are now. At least when Xiaobai is here, there's someone to talk to about trivial things.

People always need to spout some pointless nonsense to feel truly alive. It's quite ridiculous. It's always so quiet here; of course, there wouldn't be any noisy people in a church.

So quiet is tragic; after she left, he was left all alone, with only his shadow for company.

Perhaps I should find someone else to chat with. Every saint here has had countless people to talk to. We've all lived too long; even if we live to the end of time, we still crave someone to listen to our nonsense.

It was just such a simple idea, without any unnecessary embellishments.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor, while outside, the sunlight shone on the reliefs on the walls, depicting God leading angels and demons in battle. The sky was painted a blinding red by holy fire and the sulfur of hell.

Long, long ago, this scene truly occurred on Earth. They stay here hoping that such a thing will never happen again.

If history repeats itself, the world probably won't be able to withstand it anymore. It's pitifully fragile here, like an old person clinging to life.

She took a detour and entered the courtyard; she needed to cross the courtyard to reach that guy's territory.

Unlike other saints, although he was a newcomer, the court here handed over the reins to that guy as soon as he arrived.

That was originally a hall prepared for the adjudicators, and was previously looked after by the guardians.

Speaking of which, it's been a while since I've seen that old man, the Guardian. He became a Guardian far too late; now he's pitifully old.

In addition, he has lived for far too long and has aged to this extent. I really want to know what kind of strategy God is employing to entrust such important authority to him.

Benny stopped in front of the enormous stone gate and pushed open the long-sealed hall.

This place was once used to judge the unjust, but frankly, it hasn't been a very, very long time since anyone needed to make such a fuss. So it's practically abandoned. The last time it was used was at least six hundred years ago. The specifics are unclear, because Benny wasn't a saint back then.

After seeing the interior of the building, which hadn't been used for a long time, she could only shake her head helplessly.

Indeed, the most hilarious thing is when the younger generation is so clueless.

Twelve spears pierced through his limbs, torso, neck, and head.

The man pierced through was bathed in the sunlight of the sun; his blood had drained, leaving a crimson carpet on the ground. His skin, white in the light, was breathtakingly white after the blood had drained away.

The one who got pierced was the Arbitrator; as expected, all the new recruits are a strange bunch. This guy has pulled another stunt.

"What are you doing now?" Benny looked around him and found that not only were there spears, but every joint in his body was pierced with long nails.

It did look slightly painful and a little disgusting. But it also possessed a strange beauty. It didn't seem like reality, but rather like a scene painted on paper.

But this is the undeniable reality, this is reality, and in reality, the man who should have been judging others is impaled on marble. (This last part appears to be a website address or domain name and doesn't translate directly.)

“I have harmed an innocent man.” His voice was soft, and the spear piercing his head made it difficult for him to speak.

“Punishing yourself? What’s the point?” Benny said sarcastically. “You might as well go find that sheep and give her enough compensation. This won’t bring the little spider back to life, and Lori is still suffering in the dungeon. You won’t change anything.”

He didn't answer, he just stayed there quietly.

Benny looked at him and sighed helplessly.

However, I shouldn't oppose his actions. This guy is also what the benevolent people call a representative of God. Since he's punishing me, God probably thinks this guy needs to be stabbed in the back.

“Speaking of which, you can’t actually die?” Benny said, somewhat surprised. “I don’t recall any mention of immortality in your abilities.”

"The first order I gave after becoming the Arbiter was to myself: I commanded myself not to die before I had completed my mission."

“Oh, I see. It can indeed be interpreted as immortality. Your ability seems really powerful when interpreted this way. As the Guardian was right, your ability is a privilege of God himself.” Benny sat on the rock, her back to the guy.

She picked up an apple from the table, not wanting to look at that guy while eating it. Looking at him now was definitely ruining her appetite.

Eating properly is a way of showing respect to God, Benny thought, and she didn't feel that it was disrespectful to the guy behind her.

"What I did was wrong, wasn't it?" the judge suddenly said, his voice very soft.

Benny paused for a moment, then shook her head.

“No, you did the right thing,” she said. “You can’t do anything wrong. You are a saint, representing God. God doesn’t make mistakes, so you can’t make mistakes either.”

After a long silence, the guy fell silent again.

Benny was getting annoyed. Did this guy come to her just to ask such pointless questions?

If you really intend to have a conversation, then tidy yourself up, dress up, and prepare a pot of tea and some delicious snacks for yourself.

That way, at least she won't be angry.

What's going on here? Does he want my sympathy? If he really feels sorry for those two guys, he shouldn't bother with all this nonsense. He has a lot of resources; he can use them to compensate the lamb.

Benny certainly had a lot of anger towards this guy.

He killed the little spider, Little White.

So, she liked both of them quite a bit; they were both good kids, and there was no need for them to die. (First published on 78zw.m.78zw.)

Did he really feel he had done something wrong? I don't know; if I think about it carefully, he didn't do anything wrong.

"Benny, why do you want to become a saint?" Suddenly, the guy there asked this question.

She didn't call herself Yashiki, but rather Beni. This name felt more intimate, as not many people would call themselves that.

Benny shuddered; a nameless rage almost made her turn around and chop the guy down.

She could only sit here and talk to this guy properly now that she was thinking of herself as Yasiro Riki. If she were in Benny's shoes, she should have turned around and chopped this guy into pieces by now.

That's good, that way I can help my two friends get revenge.

Fortunately, she managed to control herself. She turned around and looked into the guy's eyes.

This guy's eyes were like a stagnant pool, the eyes of a dead man. So lifeless, as if he had completely lost all hope of living.

It always gives me the creeps.

“I never wanted to become a saint; it was just that God gave me this ability when I was on the verge of death.” Benny paused and said, “I must win, not just for glory, but because if I lose, I will have nothing.”

“Is that so?” he answered softly. “I also suddenly became a judge. It was one morning when I got out of bed and became a judge.”

"Sounds even more bland than me." Benny was getting annoyed with this guy. The question of why he wanted to become a saint shouldn't be part of their conversation. It was so boring that she wanted to turn around and leave.

However, out of respect for this guy, I should stay a little longer. Although he's a junior, he's still someone on the same level as me.

At the same time, it's because if she doesn't chat with this guy now, she'll have absolutely nothing else to do. This is the only thing she can do to pass the time right now, and if she doesn't make the most of it, today will be so boring that she'll feel listless.

I took a nap and Ren'ai came to talk to me for so long. Since I don't want to see that face, I'd better find something other than sleeping to kill time.

"Why did you come to see me?" Benny couldn't help but ask. Since this guy had the Benevolent One summon her, he must indeed have something he wanted to ask him.

It was a long time before the guy finally spoke.

"Why did you change your stance back then?" The arbitrator's voice was soft, but exceptionally clear.

If Benny hadn't changed her stance at that moment, Lori would still be alive and well. She wouldn't have been treated so cruelly; she would be perfectly fine.

But because she suddenly changed her answer, the child was completely stripped of everything by the church.

After a few seconds of silence, Benny sighed.

“Because that thing is capable of destroying the world.” She looked at the painting on the wall and said, “If the world is destroyed, I suppose that guy Ark won’t survive either. I don’t want that guy to die, so I need to cut off all possibilities.”

"That child is also a possibility, so you need to eliminate that possibility?"

"That's right, I really don't want that guy to die, there's no other reason."