You said you were going to make games, how did you become the richest man without doing anything?

The night wind howled in the courtyard of the treatment center.

As the firelight flickered and light and shadow intertwined, Sherlock slowly approached the Silent Blade, his steps as firm as a mountain.

[Arbitrator System - First-Tier Access - Word of Power - Mediation]

A golden halo slowly rotated behind him, releasing a strange magical fluctuation that enveloped the entire perimeter of the treatment center.

In an instant, all the guards, residents, and even the spirits of the undead dogs who had fallen into a coma awoke.

"Fou!" Dova was the first to jump up, roaring as she rushed towards Sherlock's side. "You're just in time! What the hell has this guy done!"

“He is the ‘Second Arbiter’ sent by the temple.” Annabelle stood in front of Sherlock, her eyes like swords. “Code name—Silent Blade.”

"The Arbitrator?" Fufu gasped. "The temple actually used this level of power?"

“His target is me,” Sherlock said calmly.

"Then let's all chop him down together!"

“No.” Sherlock raised his hand to stop the person next to him. “Let me do it.”

An "arbitrator" is not a warrior.

He is a arbitrator.

The Silent Blade stood still, expressionless.

He looked at Sherlock, his eyes showing neither anger nor surprise, only indifference.

"You have awakened." His voice was as calm as still water. "The system is functioning normally. Word of Power permissions have been granted."

"A system?" Sherlock frowned. "You have one too?"

"We are both system carriers," Silent Blade said slowly. "You are called Z-01, and I am Z-02."

hiss--!
Everyone was shocked.

Annabelle's eyes widened even more: "You are... the second test subject?"

“I thought you were dead,” Sherlock whispered.

“We should all die.” The Silent Blade raised his hand, and a transparent blade of spiritual energy condensed in his palm. “But we didn’t die, so we became the ‘variable’.”

"The capital city does not allow variables to exist."

So you want to kill me?

"This is an order."

Sherlock paused for a moment, then spoke softly:
"Words of Power: Harmony".

A golden halo flashed, and a warm and tranquil magical shockwave spread out, heading straight for the Silent Blade's brain nerves.

At this moment, for the first time, his eyes showed a flicker of emotion.

"You...are stopping me?"

“I’m making you ‘think’,” Sherlock’s voice was like a bell, deep and clear. “Do you still remember why you became the Arbitrator?”

Silent Blade's body trembled.

Fragments of memory surged forth like a tide:
The pain of being selected and forcibly implanted with a system when he was a teenager;
They were repeatedly tested for "emotional inhibition response" in a locked room;
He tried to escape, but was instilled with a "silence spell," which deprived him of speech and emotion;

In the final experiment, his name was erased, and the number Z-02 was branded onto his soul.

"……I remember."

His voice lowered, as if it were from a distant horizon.

"I used to have a name."

"My name is... Leon."

Sherlock's expression changed.

“Lion Grant,” he said in a low voice, “you were among the top five cadets at the military academy, skilled in tactical simulation and mental magic, and you once saved three of your comrades.”

Do you remember them?

The Silent Blade—Leon—trembled slightly.

"I remember."

"Then you shouldn't continue to be their tool."

Sherlock stretched out his hand, and the golden halo in his palm slowly rotated, releasing strands of pale golden light that gradually wrapped around the other person's heart area.

"The power of arbitrators is not coercion."

"It's about awakening."

Leon suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with intense struggle.

"System backlash, warning: abnormal emotional fluctuations, reduced execution privileges."

He knelt down, clutching his head, as if struggling against some kind of "command" within his body.

"Sherlock...kill me."

“I cannot.” Sherlock stepped forward, his voice as swift as the wind. “I will not arbitrate your life, but—your fate.”

"System Permission Extension".

[Arbitrator System - Derivative Module Activation - Permission Pardon]

[Target Access: Z-02·Leon Grant]

[Arbitration ruling: Revoke temple command authority and restore self-awareness]

[In progress...]

Leon roared in agony, and the Spirit Blade shattered instantly!

He collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, his forehead drenched in cold sweat.

However, the surveillance system at the far end of the temple suddenly went black.

[Signal interruption]

[The ruling has changed the status to offline.]

Remote access privileges revoked

Serena Crown Light suddenly stood up.

"The arbitrator... can actually change the permissions of other test subjects?"

"That guy is no longer a failure."

"He is the core architecture."

The courtyard in front of the treatment center was completely silent.

Leon knelt on the ground, his eyes gradually regaining their clarity.

He looked at Sherlock, speechless for a long time.

"You... saved me."

“No.” Sherlock held out his hand. “You walked back by yourself.”

Leon hesitated for a moment, then finally grasped the other's hand.

The crowd was in an uproar.

"The doctor actually... redeemed the temple's assassin?" Fufu exclaimed in surprise.

"Is he a doctor or a saint?" Dova frowned.

“Is this the power of the arbitrator…” Ophelia murmured.

Annabelle, however, knew that this was only the beginning.

She walked to Sherlock's side and whispered:

"The temple will not let this go."

"I know."

"What are you going to do?"

Sherlock looked at Leon with a determined gaze:
"We must take the initiative."

Royal Capital - Temple Council Hall

"The second ruling resulted in the loss of contact, and the arbitrators stripped the arbitrators of their authority."

"what does that mean?"

"This means that arbitrators now have control over the 'integrated system'."

"He can restart commands for other test subjects."

"Then we can't let him live."

"Should we use a Saint-level weapon?"

"Wait a little longer."

Judge Serena closed her eyes and said coldly:
“Let the ‘Sacred Word’ take the lead.”

“Let him deal with… that arbitrator who said he ‘doesn’t believe in God.’”

The storm has not yet subsided, and the flames of war are about to ignite.

Sherlock, finally, raised the sword of arbitrator.

Not for gods, not for kings, but only for—

people.

Night fell, and dark clouds covered the sky.

The treatment center was brightly lit, and everyone was gathered in the lobby, surrounding Leon, who had just gone from being an "enemy" to a "friend".

The atmosphere was complicated.

"Do you really trust him?" Dova frowned, sniffing Leon intently. "He still carries the scent of the temple."

“That’s not a smell, it’s a wound,” Sherlock said calmly as he wrapped bandages around his wounds.

“He was once an adjudicator, but now he is one of ours.”

"How do you know he won't lose control again?" Fufu asked worriedly.

"Because his system privileges have been transferred to me." Sherlock raised his hand, and a pale golden halo slowly rotated in his palm. "The control of the Arbitrator system is mine."

Leon sat silently in the corner, offering no defense, but simply gazing calmly at the crowd.

"If you can't accept me... I can leave."

"Where are you going?" Annabelle glanced at him.

“I don’t know,” Leon said in a low voice. “All I know is that I don’t want to kill for the temple anymore.”

Sherlock stood up, walked over to him, and extended his hand. "Then stay."

"we need you."

Leon hesitated for a moment, then finally grasped the hand.

Several days later, in the central square of Ruins Street.

This time, the number of people gathered was three times that of the last time.

Not only the ruined street, but also the surrounding slums, demi-human settlements, homeless camps, and some anti-monarchy organizations on the outskirts of the capital sent people to the scene.

At this moment, Sherlock stands on the high platform, no longer just a "healer" or an "arbitrator".

He is—a symbol of hope.

"I know you're all waiting for an answer."

“We are no longer vassals of the capital, no longer playthings of the nobles, and no longer sinners of the temple.”

"From this day forward, the Land of Freedom is officially established."

"This is a public domain that is maintained by everyone, a community without theocracy, nobility, or classes."

“We do not believe in God, nor do we submit to the King.”

"We obey only humanity and reason."

"We do not seek to conquer the world, but only to possess a piece of land that is not controlled."

"I, Sherlock Erwin, in the name of the Arbitrator, declare—"

"The Land of Freedom will usher in a new era for humans and demi-humans."

Thunderous applause erupted, and cheers shook the entire ruined street.

At that moment, many people were moved to tears.

They never imagined they would become a part of history.

Meanwhile, atop a tower in the capital, a cold gaze was watching all of this through a water mirror.

Serena Crownlight, the chief judge of the temple, slowly closed the code.

"He is no longer a variable."

"He is a threat."

“Sage, set out.”

The Royal Cathedral, deep within the altar.

A man in a white robe knelt before the statue of a god and prayed softly.

He was handsome, with his eyes closed, a devout expression, and a holy radiance emanating from him.

"God of Fate, grant me the sword of judgment."

His name is—the Holy Word, Erland.

It is also the Z-05 test subject of the Arbitrators Project.

--loser.

But the temple brainwashed and reshaped him, using divine magic to reconstruct his consciousness and turn him into "God's spokesperson".

“You’re facing your former ‘compatriots’,” Serena said calmly.

“I have no compatriots.” Elland opened his eyes, which shone with golden light. “I have only God.”

Meanwhile, within the Free Lands, Leon is involved in "defense system planning."

“We can no longer rely solely on brute force for defense,” he said as he drew a diagram. “I propose a three-tiered defense line. The outer perimeter should be patrolled with magic-sensing probes, the middle layer should be used to deploy combat squads, and the core area should be equipped with emergency evacuation routes.”

"You're a genius!" Fina exclaimed in admiration. "You must have been a commander in the military before, right?"

“I… used to be a tactical analyst,” Leon said casually.

“Then you’ll be our deputy commander from now on.” Sherlock nodded with a smile. “You’ll be in charge of the tactical deployment against the temple.”

Leon paused for a moment, then nodded: "Understood."

Meanwhile, Ophelia was adjusting her "Necromantic Defenses".

"I have already set up thirty-seven soul nodes on the outer perimeter. If any divine power approaches, they will automatically detonate."

"You truly are a necromancer." Fufu gave a thumbs up. "I don't even dare to go near your family's cemetery anymore."

"Clatter, clatter, clatter... That is my garden."

As Sherlock watched all this, a feeling he had never experienced before arose within him:

belong.

But he also knew that this calm was just the calm before the storm.

That night, Sherlock activated the Arbitrator system again.

[System Permissions: Master]

Current fitness rate: 89%

[Next level of access unlocked: 95%]

[Skill Preview: Word of Power - Domination, Domain - Judgment, System Call - Counter-Level Authority]

“There’s still 6% left,” he murmured.

"Are you adjusting yourself?" Annabelle walked in and leaned against the door. "You're much stronger than before."

"But it's not enough."

"Are you preparing for the next war?"

“It’s not war.” Sherlock stood up and looked into the distance. “It’s—a trial.”

"This time, the temple didn't send assassins."

"is God."

Several days later, the Royal Capital Temple officially issued an order to the public:

"The illegal organization 'Free Land' was established in Ruins Street. It violated divine law, blasphemed sacred authority, and spread heretical ideas. It has been listed as a Level 5 prohibited entity."

"Divine judgment is carried out by the Word himself."

The entire capital was shaken.

Panic ensued among the people, prayer fires were lit in churches, and clergy began large-scale sermons.

The "war for divine right" has officially begun.

On the border of the Land of Freedom, in the night breeze, a sacred light slowly descended.

Her white robes fluttered, and her golden hair cascaded down her back.

Elland, stepping into the ruins.

He closed his eyes slightly and recited in a low voice:

"Humanity's sins stem from freedom."

"God's will is order."

"Arbitrator—I will grant you judgment in the name of God."

Meanwhile, Sherlock, who was far away in the treatment center, suddenly sensed something and turned around sharply.

A golden crack is appearing in the sky.

"he came."

"this world……"

"It's going to change."

The night sky was torn apart, and a golden crack stretched across the horizon, like the gaze of a god looking down upon the human world.

At the edge of the ruined street, a pillar of holy light slowly rises from the earth, soaring into the sky like a church bell tower.

The Holy Word Master, Elland, has finally arrived.

He stood atop the pillar of light, his white robes fluttering in the wind, holding a holy staff condensed from faith, his eyes indifferent yet solemn.

"In the name of God, I grant you final forgiveness."

"Submit to God, relinquish freedom, and return to order."

"otherwise--"

He raised his holy staff, and a golden rain of light suddenly poured down, like a divine revelation.

"destroy."

Inside the treatment center, alarms blared continuously.

"The border sensing array has been struck by divine power!"

"The Soul Nodes are 30% ineffective! The interference from Holy Power is too strong!"

"The temple really sent a Holy Word bearer!" Fouf rushed into the hall, her face filled with terror. "And it descended directly upon us!"

Leon's expression was grave: "He's not here to negotiate; he's here to carry out the 'holy judgment.'"

“That’s the temple’s style,” Annabelle sneered. “They don’t talk about conditions, they only talk about will.”

“Then let them see what arbitration is all about.” Sherlock stood up and put on his battle robe.

He walked out of the lobby and stood in front of the treatment center.

Behind him lay the ruined street, and the thousands of people who trusted and followed him.

Ahead, the Holy Word Master slowly walked out from within the golden pillar of light.

The two were no more than fifty paces apart.

“Sherlock Elwin,” Elland’s voice boomed, “you were the most promising arbitrator since Z-05.”

"You possess system control and should rightfully be under the control of God."

"You rejected God."

Sherlock calmly replied, "God did not save us; we saved ourselves."

"You believe freedom is salvation?"

"I believe that freedom is the right to live."

“You are wrong.” Elland raised his holy staff, holy power gathering in the sky. “Freedom breeds chaos, chaos breeds evil. Order is eternal.”

"Then I will arbitrate your 'eternity'."

Sherlock stretched out his hand, and a golden halo appeared. (End of Chapter)