Chapter 197
“It’s truly a selfish reason,” the Arbitrator said softly, his tone devoid of sarcasm: “You are a saint.”
“You shouldn’t criticize what I did.” Benny paused, stuffing the last bit of apple into her mouth. “You’re a saint too, so what are you doing this for?”
The judge did not answer Benny's question, but simply continued to kneel there.
Benny was really annoyed. If this guy hadn't been tortured like this, she would have beaten him to a pulp.
"If I said it was for justice, would you laugh at me?" His voice was very soft.
"puff."
After a moment of deathly silence, Benny couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Ha, ha, ha ha ha."
She laughed without restraint. A girl sat on the platform, clutching her stomach, laughing wildly. Light shone through the glass windows onto the boy behind her, who was dressed up. The laughter echoed. In the vast trial, there were only these two people.
She laughed so arrogantly and conceitedly, so heartily.
It seemed that all the resentment and bitterness that had accumulated within me had dissipated because of this laughter.
The adjudicator listened silently as she laughed, bursting into laughter, almost rolling on the ground in ecstasy.
He laughed for several minutes before finally calming down, lying on the rock, covering his face, and panting heavily from laughing.
"Have you laughed enough?"
"I can continue laughing after I rest for a while."
The adjudicator remained silent for a moment, then slowly closed his eyes.
"Why?" When he opened his eyes again, they had completely lost their light.
“Because you are justice.” Benny laughed and shook her head, then stood up, walked to his side, and pulled a spear from his waist.
Then it was inserted into another place, and before he could even groan, it was pulled out again.
They kept piercing his body, again and again, the spear in Benny's hand piercing through him, leaving gruesome wounds.
He was left there looking bewildered.
He understood what Benny meant; he himself was the measure of justice.
For justice?
What a nice-sounding excuse.
In reality, he was only acting for himself. Everything he did was just, and he was free to do whatever he wanted because everything was permitted.
After making more than twenty cuts in his body, Benny broke the spear against her knee and then pierced through his body.
This made her feel slightly better. She clapped her hands and smiled contentedly.
“That evens things out,” she said, then jumped off the platform and walked through the vast lobby.
Footsteps echoed through the vast hall. The church where the trial was held was too empty; the chairs had not been sat on for over a century.
After subjecting this guy to such torture, she immediately felt much better.
After all, he's my junior; there's no need for me to hold a grudge against him. Enough is enough.
Thinking this way, she felt much better and chuckled softly.
Then she left, leaving the bloodied and mangled Arbitrator behind.
No one will pity this guy. He doesn't understand his place and deserves to be disliked so much.
Benny was stunned when she came out.
"Why are you in a place like this?" She frowned, looking at the guy who was squatting in the corner with his head propped up on his hand.
That's an immortal being; this emaciated fellow seems to be asleep here. Just a short while ago, this guy wasn't even here.
Did it just appear? Oh well, whatever. It's perfectly reasonable for this guy to be here. There's no need to nitpick about why he's here now.
There was no point in arguing about such a question, Benny thought, and instead of listening to his answer, she decided to leave.
“It’s nothing, I just wanted to know what the two younger ones are thinking right now.” The Immortal said, looking into Benny’s eyes: “The Benevolent One has already reminded you that you must ensure your beliefs are not shaken. Everything else is secondary; you must remain steadfast.”
Benny remained silent for a moment, not wanting to pay any attention to this guy.
This request is so unreasonable.
Make them steadfast? Does he even know what he's saying? He's constantly doing things against his conscience, yet he's telling himself to be steadfast?
This is a joke, so illogical that even a child's joke is easier to understand.
The Immortal didn't expect Benny's answer; he simply sat there, watching the somewhat weary fellow disappear from his sight.
Her back looked so tired, as if her body, which was supporting her, might collapse to the ground and never recover at any moment.
He stood up and looked at the man being punished in the courtroom.
I never imagined that someone would actually do something as stupid as punishing themselves.
That's a bit too much.
Thinking this, the immortal sighed.
That younger person really needs to think carefully about what their beliefs are.
There is no longer any belief in the existence of justice, nor any support for its even more absurd convictions. Such thinking is not something a saint should hold.
If even he couldn't agree on this, he felt that this guy probably hadn't grown up yet. He was a real child.
Because only a child could say something like that.
But this guy is not a child at all; in human terms, he's already an old man.
He was so badly hurt that he has psychological trauma.
Only you can get out of this psychological shadow; you can't rely on anyone else.
Fortunately, the church is currently strong enough to give these two guys enough time to find their purpose and value.
And myself?
I wasn't so lucky back then. He was appointed during a time of crisis, and if I hadn't thought things through, many, many people would have died.
That was truly hellish. In comparison, people today are constantly complaining about the current environment.
That's because they've never seen real hell.
When war begins, it is an absolute and undeniable hell—not an adjective, but simply a noun. It is a real hell, and nothing can replace it.
He slowly walked over and sat down in one of the chairs, looking at the younger man on the judgment stand.
How wonderful! On such a day, they had just resolved a major problem. Now that the problem was solved, everyone should enjoy a proper vacation.
Perhaps I should take a good rest; there's no need to be on edge and constantly prepared for battle. There's no need for that now; they've already averted a war, and that's something to celebrate.
Peace achieved by depriving others of hope.
Or, to put it another way, is it about exchanging the freedom of one group for the freedom of another by depriving others of their freedom?
Well, it sounds strange no matter how I look at it. Anyway, they saved so many people from dying. That's good enough.
He leaned against the stone, looking at the top of the church. A huge statue of a god was carved into the stained glass.
Lifelike, as if God were truly looking down upon the world.
"Let me have some peace and quiet," he said softly, but the immortals could hear him.
The immortal hesitated for a moment, then turned and left.
Newcomers should be given space to think; they may have gone through a difficult decision and are beginning to doubt whether they were right.
This incident has had a far greater impact on the church than it appears. Although there has been no actual loss, doubts about whether this matter was right or wrong will shake the very foundation of the saints.
They cannot have doubts; they must always remain steadfast. This is the prerequisite for them to possess such abilities.
The world was supposed to be thrown into turmoil because of this child, but now it's starting to calm down.
It was completely quiet, everywhere.
The whole world will quiet down, just like before. Even if the Blood Sun appears and the Demon God appears. So many humans have died, and even the Church has suffered a huge blow.
But now it has fallen silent again, so quiet, just like it has been decades ago, or even centuries ago.
This world, which should have collapsed long ago, is once again able to linger on.
......
The mouse lay nestled in the messy hair, occasionally peeking out with its little head to look outside.
The man scratched his wrist, and the rat scurried up his wrist and into his sleeve.
"Hagi, can you call this rat back?" the man asked, looking at the girl sleeping soundly in the corner.
But she obviously wouldn't answer him; she was already asleep.
"She really likes this mouse. If you accidentally kill it, she'll definitely come after you," a man covered in bandages said casually. He then took a barleycorn from his pocket and placed it in his palm. The little mouse fell from his head and hopped onto his hand.
"I say, isn't it very impolite of you two to make such a racket while others are sleeping?" A pretty woman sitting next to her expressed her displeasure while drinking her soup.
"Everyone's gathered together to eat now, she should get up." The girl sitting across from us, dressed all in red, muttered under her breath, looking at the guy huddled in the corner with dissatisfaction.
Beside her, a man also entirely red rubbed her head, forcing her to shut her mouth.
These guys were sitting around a table, and through the window next to them, one could see a sky that was only red and purple.
On their table was a rather lavish meal, with meat, bread, and jam that looked delicious.
There's even coffee.
This setup, in the eyes of the entire world, is something only those in the central church have the means to afford.
Oh, I should introduce these guys a bit more.
From the moment we came out until now, they are Little Mouse, Nameless, Twelve, Evil Shadow, Flame, and her brother Yan.
They are now in the hangar of an airship.
This is an airship made entirely of constructed metal, a mode of transportation created by that steam-powered city.
Its characteristics are that it is very light, very tough, and even self-healing metal.
Such a omnipotent thing certainly doesn't exist in reality.
However, thanks to the demon's abilities, even the impossible can appear in reality.
Dilire's little nose twitched, she opened her sleepy eyes, stretched and sat up.
She was the little mouse that Ghost Duke brought out of the basement, but Yan gave her a name.
As for Nameless, this guy said that it's fine to call himself Nameless, there's no need to specially choose a name.
The reason Yan chose the name is because a year has passed, and the two have officially started dating.
They became the first pair in this small team.
This is also the main reason why Flame and that guy have a conflict.
She has a deep psychological trauma from the fact that her brother was taken away by another girl, and now that they are in the sky, the two of them are showing affection and seeing each other all the time.
It's really unpleasant to experience something like this that leaves you with psychological trauma in person.
"Good morning." She rubbed her eyes and made out the people eating in front of her.
"Next time you want to sleep, go to your room. You'll catch a cold if you sleep in the warehouse," Yan said after hesitating for a moment.
Although she was wearing very fluffy pajamas that didn't look thin, she didn't look like she would get cold at all.
Yan was still wearing the same simple cloak as he had on land.
We are now high in the sky, and the outside environment is a mix of hot air currents and cold storms.
An environment where it is quite easy to catch a cold.
Although various strange monsters appeared at the same time, countless ferocious and terrifying monsters appeared in the sky.
But these guys were enjoying a proper breakfast.
Just recently, they saved a safe zone affected by the Blood Sun from danger. This food is the way the inhabitants there thanked them.
Because the damage was so severe, much of the food could not be consumed by those people.
So they traded some metal with them, and then piled up a lot of supplies in the warehouse.
Besides food, there were also medicines, animal hides, and various other products.
There are also some weapons that are reasonably acceptable.
Of course, it wasn't for my own use, but for resale.
There were even logs.
These people are now also starting to compete with Yak for business, traveling all over the world as merchants.
Airships have limitations, as they are more dangerous than horse-drawn carriages.
However, it is faster and more flexible, and even equipped with a large number of mechanical weapons.
The city of Nedra certainly knew how to create many convenient things in this regard, and these things wouldn't even become targets of monster attacks. A strange magic circle was operating, causing them to disappear from the monsters' perception range amidst the horde.
Twelve drank his coffee, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and looked outside.
Their next destination is a human city, and then they will head to the Spirit Forest.
The reason they're going this way is because they plan to move from here to another human city. It's said that some time ago, that city with a sophisticated system for training magical arts suffered a great danger and is currently being rebuilt.
This is a great opportunity to make a fortune.
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