Chapter 219

During that year, the Arbitrator began to feel that perhaps he was not so lucky as to become a saint.

Unlike his predecessors, only he had a very selfish reason for persisting in it.

It just sounds nice.

For justice.

And what is justice? It is itself objective justice.

This feeling was truly awful. When he suddenly realized that the justice he believed he should uphold was nothing more than a means to protect his own power, the despair that arose from the depths of his heart made him live in constant fear.

He realized he was a mistake, but he didn't know what to do about it.

If you admit that you are wrong, then it is tantamount to saying that justice itself is wrong.

...Perhaps that's it? It would be abnormal if justice were always right.

The immortal spoke to him on this point. His exact words were that, viewed in the context of eternal time, there is no concept of right or wrong.

The Immortal is also an old salted fish, living in a state of loneliness every day.

He himself exists as a concept, and no matter how the world changes, he will always remain the same.

However, this guy has recently started thinking about a philosophical question: whether time has an end.

Because time is locked in place, time in this world exists as an unchangeable one-way street. Therefore, any line, whatever it may be, will eventually have an end.

Or rather, does it cycle?

It's been obsessed with this question lately, spending all its time wondering whether the end of time will be a cycle or the destruction of all things. It's been acting all mysterious and rambling.

Anyway, he has the time to see the result for himself.

The relationship between the Benevolent Ones and Ghost Duke has unexpectedly improved a lot recently. She spent half a year, but in the end, she still didn't understand anything.

She laughed in exasperation; the demon called Ghost Duke was far more interesting than she could comprehend.

Having lived for over a thousand years, they still discovered things beyond their comprehension. One can't help but marvel at how long one can see and experience anything if one lives long enough.

Then, with only six months left, she suddenly discovered that this guy's understanding of certain things was actually similar to her own.

Although that guy is still in the dungeon and hasn't come out yet, now the two of them often sit facing each other down there, drinking tea and discussing philosophy.

Two madmen and a pervert discussing philosophy about God—this bizarre spectacle makes even the Judge feel nauseous just watching it.

Benny, on the other hand, was just living in a daze all day long.

It's not that I was in a daze, but rather that I started to relax.

Eat when you want, drink when you want, sleep when you want, and don't worry about anyone coming to kill you. You just live each day according to your mood.

She appeared relaxed, as if freed from constraints, but the Immortal was deeply dissatisfied with her state. For a saint, losing their firmly held beliefs was tantamount to foreshadowing their own demise.

Even the old monster, the Guardian of the Way, would often invite her for tea because of this.

As for himself? The immortals have gone to contemplate life, but someone has to carry out some of the church's work.

The Arbiter did a great job; what he accomplished alone was equivalent to the efficiency of two Immortals. Although he might not be able to defeat the old master, his abilities made clearing out such things extremely easy for him.

Thanks to his hard work, the world is now at peace, stable and harmonious. The aftereffects of the Blood Sun have been cleared away, and everything is as if it never happened.

In reality, it's just an empty shell suffering from its own emptiness, struggling in this process, and using those ownerless things as objects to vent its dissatisfaction.

Carl then asked him a bunch of questions, and he came up with some answers that he could fob off.

I can't really tell him... that she's currently inside a jar.

His eyes lost their luster, leaving only darkness.

His eyes should resemble Karl's, but lacking the depth of time. He may not have lived longer than Karl; as a saint, his life was too short.

Having just experienced a collapse of his values, it was clearly something he couldn't bear.

After asking his questions, Carl stood up, ready to leave.

The adjudicator looked at Karl, and after exchanging farewells, watched him leave.

Just as I was about to push the door open and leave.

"What do you think justice is?" he suddenly asked, and Karl was taken aback.

He slowly turned his head and looked at the judge sitting there.

The Arbiter stared at him, his pupils dull and lifeless. Though his eyes were golden, they seemed to gaze upon hell.

“I don’t know, the moment I abandoned that child, I was no longer qualified to talk about justice,” Karl said softly.

"Is that so?" The adjudicator closed his eyes slightly, a look of pain on his face. "Then what do you consider unjust?"

After another long silence, Karl shook his head again.

“I don’t know either. If I had known, I wouldn’t have helped that child,” Carl said. “I was unjust when I took that child into my home… Sir, please understand, I’m a negligent man, unable to answer such a question.”

After saying that, he pushed open the door and left. During this time, the wooden house slowly collapsed and dissipated.

The adjudicator rose from his chair and walked in the opposite direction.

I shouldn't have asked this question to others, since I am the standard of justice.

But the problem now is very awkward, because justice itself doesn't even know what it looks like.

Perhaps looking in a mirror would be helpful, but there isn't a mirror for that purpose.

......

Karl walked into the treehouse, took off his robe, and hung it on the wall.

He lives alone. His negotiations with the Elf King have just been completed, and there are still some details to be discussed tomorrow.

Give yourself three days to prepare, and then you can leave.

It will take at least a week in total, but at least tonight he can rest easy.

He quickly washed himself, changed into a bathrobe, ate something to fill his stomach, and then lay in bed, staring at the ceiling in the dim light.

He should be sleeping now, but he can't close his eyes.

The question just asked left Karl feeling confused.

Others may not care about justice, as long as they can survive. But he was given power by God for some reason. With that power came responsibility.

We need to constantly reflect on whether our actions are correct and just.

He closed his eyes, trying not to think about the problem.

Thinking about it might lead to a breakdown?

After all, I have been doing wrong things all along. As the scriptures say, man is born of woman.

Therefore, he can never guarantee that everything he does is right.

So why did God choose Himself and not someone else?

I don't know, I'm not sure.

All he knew was that he was all alone. Kitty wasn't there, Lori wasn't there. He had no family, no friends.

That's terrible.

"Um, is anyone home?"

Suddenly someone knocked on the door. Karl opened his eyes and was stunned.

It's already late at night, and although I'm fine, it's clearly not the time to visit others.

Moreover, the location assigned here is very close to the Elf King's residence, and there aren't many elves in this area.

But Karl wasn't really in the mood to sleep anyway, so someone coming wouldn't be considered a disturbance.

He got up, opened the door, and looked at the girl standing in the doorway.

It was an elf wearing a gray cloak, who had taken off his hat, revealing emerald green hair flowing down his shoulders.

"Sorry to bother you," she said softly.

“If you have something to say, I suggest we talk somewhere else.” Carl hesitated for a moment, then said, “It’s the middle of the night, it’s not appropriate for you to come in.”

He left it at that, and Karl believed she understood. She simply nodded and didn't say anything more.

“Then please follow me,” she said softly, turning and walking into the woods.

Carl closed the door and followed. In the midnight light, the trees stood tall, their glimmers like stars.

She carried a lantern, and Karl followed behind her.

It took Carl a few minutes to confirm that he really didn't recognize the guy.

Perhaps there's something the Elf King wants to tell me?

Carl didn't know, he just followed along.

I needed a walk to clear my head; enough had happened today. It was obviously a good thing to have a girl who wouldn't kill me on sight accompanying me on a walk.

"Please, please help me." She didn't beat around the bush, but said softly, "Could you help treat the corruption?"

"It was nothing," Carl said softly.

As expected, it's still the same old story. He's a saint, and a priest at that, so his job is to cleanse others of corruption.

He was very familiar with this kind of duty.

The people in front stopped, and Karl stopped as well. The elf waved her hand to the side, and Karl looked in the direction she was pointing.

I was stunned.

She was a very beautiful girl, or rather, a girl who was so perfect that it seemed strange.

That's Lady; anyone who's seen her face will never forget it.

"It's you?" Karl said softly, then smiled helplessly.

In retrospect, the reason I got involved in all of this was because I helped Lady deal with the corruption issue.

Even after so long, the situation remains the same.

"I'm sorry to bother you so late," Lady said, bowing deeply. "But I desperately need your help."

“The elves have ways to suppress corruption, and monsters also have their own methods to heal from it,” Karl said softly. “Is the reason you need my help because the elves can’t openly help you right now?”

Lady didn't say much, she just nodded.

The reason is easy to guess: the elves can't directly help her. Presumably, the elves want to show goodwill towards humans. They've chosen sides.

Lady has become a sensitive issue, although Carl doesn't know why things have developed to this point.

Because of the lack of communication, Carl had no idea what was happening outside all year.

But it doesn't matter. I'm not really representing the church now; I'm just helping Lady as a friend. This explanation works from any angle.

The two arrived at a secluded house, a wooden cabin. Lady sat on a log, unbuttoned her clothes, exposing her back, and hugged a quilt while looking at the bark clinging to the wooden wall.

On her back, there was a wound the size of a bowl, which had already developed into black sores.

What's going on here?

"There was a mistake on the way, which caused a delay of several weeks, so..."

“That’s not what I’m asking.” Carl frowned. “You know what I’m asking.”

Lady didn't speak; she remained silent.

Her back wasn't covered by the kind of beautiful scenery that makes girls blush... but rather by a hard shell.

It resembled Deedris's previous exoskeleton, but it wasn't quite the same. It was a strange metal with blue veins on it. The color was odd; it seemed to look different under different colored lights.

"Don't worry about it," she said softly. "It's none of your business."

"Is the reason it has nothing to do with me because you don't want to involve me?" Karl answered softly, as a gentle white light covered the black sores.

This is an unbearable, excruciating pain. While the blackheads are present, there is no pain, but when they are treated, the indescribable agony can drive a normal person to the brink of collapse. It might even lead someone to contemplate suicide.

But Lady just silently endured it all, without uttering a single word.

Carl frowned; this feeling made him uneasy.

His changes were actually quite minor; for him, this past year hadn't even brought any growth, it was more like he'd reverted to his old self. Before meeting Lori, this was exactly how he felt.

Everyone else has changed, even the girl who was once a bit naive has become strong.

"You must have had a tough time lately?" Karl asked softly.

Lady shuddered, then her expression slowly darkened: "It's none of your business."

"How is Ark now?"

"It's none of your business."

"You look very tired. Do you plan to rest for a while before leaving, or leave after your treatment?"

"It's none of your business."

"What do you intend to do? What are the elves afraid of?"

Lady didn't answer; she said she was annoyed.

Karl wasn't bothered by the guy's indifferent attitude.

I was the same way back then, shutting others out.

It's not that I don't want to be helped, but I feel it's not kind to burden unrelated people.

He tried asking two more questions, but she still didn't answer.

So he stopped talking and just silently continued with his work, helping her to rid herself of corruption.

She will likely face many difficulties ahead, and this is all the help I can offer.

Lady slowly closed her eyes. She really needed to rest, and this was a precious time for rest.

The question I just asked wasn't as profound as Karl thought; it was just a very simple reason.

She couldn't answer those questions either, even though she wanted to know the answers to them.

Because she hadn't seen Yak for such a long time.

That guy seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth.

Perhaps they died in some unknown corner.

Or perhaps they simply hid it.

To her, that guy had become a complete mystery. As of today, she hadn't found a single trace of Ark...