Riveria took in the eleven girls before her, and her heart sank.
Alise Lovell—once all sunshine and an easy smile—now wore a fracture across that brightness. The smile that used to warm a room looked like glass after meeting a hammer.
Not just Alise; the others were much the same.
Worse than I imagined.
Five crippled—hope of ever holding the front line, gone.
In this labyrinth city, being maimed can be crueler than dying.
Death ends the pain; the future becomes someone else's problem. But maiming leaves the pain with the living—especially adventurers once brilliant on the field who now must face a body that won't answer their will. Accepting that truth can be harsher than death.
"It's all right, Lady Astraea."
Alise still wore a steady smile, doing her best to calm her goddess.
"Kaguya and I only lost our right arms. The city's craft is amazing; I've seen people with specially forged prosthetics. They're expensive, though. Our familia will probably be in debt for a long time."
Her eyes drifted, despite herself, to the empty space where flesh should be; she bit her lip.
You can tell lies to others. You can't lie to yourself.
Lost is lost. Even with a prosthetic, a life as an adventurer has reached its end.
Only whole adventurers have the right to keep walking. For the maimed—no matter the talent—the path ahead has already been cut.
Eighteen. For anyone, life is just beginning.
At eighteen and already Level 4, Alise's talent was beyond question. But at this age, her future had been severed. Who could accept that?
"Right. Only one arm," Kaguya said.
She glanced at the right sleeve she could no longer fill. Regret lived in her heart, but her face stayed calm.
"Losing an arm may halt our careers as adventurers. But we lost our right hands to save the others. It was worth it."
Hearing that only made Astraea's chest heavier.
She could hear the regret between their words, the sadness they pressed down by force. Worth it? Maybe—in saving six who were not maimed. But regrettable? Absolutely—five children had seen their paths freeze over.
"Alise… Kaguya… your lives as adventurers will not end here."
Inside, Astraea felt something give way. She could no longer cling blindly to the existence of "justice." If justice truly existed, why had her girls almost died in the dungeon?
Is this the reward for following justice?
Why? Why must those who live by justice meet this end?
"Lady Astraea, you…"
Knock, knock, knock.
Before Alise could finish, a knock sounded.
Riveria opened the door; Sawada Tsunayoshi entered with Finn and Gareth.
Finn and Gareth needed one look at the Astraea girls to realize the situation was even worse than Tsuna's bare report.
Sawada Tsunayoshi glanced to Loki, waiting on the other side of the screen.
"Miss Loki—done?"
"All set. Astraea-chan has agreed to become my subordinate deity, and her familia will join as an affiliate of ours."
Subordinate deity… same treatment as Freya in the tales.
He didn't pretend to know the fine print of divine hierarchy, but this was no casual choice. If Astraea had decided, then her children meant everything to her—enough to pay any price.
That was all Tsunayoshi needed to begin.
If Astraea had chosen, then the matching treatment would be delivered—every item in the package.
"Subordinate… Lady Astraea, how could you…"
Kaguya nearly sprang to her feet. It meant Astraea would forfeit much of her autonomy, trading freedom to stand beneath Loki's shadow. From now on, her goddess would be bound to another's temper.
"Healing starts now. Please keep as quiet as you can."
At Tsunayoshi's word, the Healing Rabbit padded before the Astraea girls.
Two soft claps—then a translucent barrier settled over the group.
Let hope be granted in the most direct way.
"—pff!"
From the sealed ends of severed limbs, white bone pushed out, wet and red.
"What is… this?"
The sight made everyone tense—but then, impossibly, the bone grew with urgent speed, completing the missing frames of hands and legs. When the skeletons were whole, flesh and blood knit toward them from the torn edges.
In mere moments—amid stabbing pain and an uncanny spectacle—the maimed girls watched wholeness return to ruined flesh.
Silence fell, deep and stunned.
Limb regeneration…
Riveria's pupils pinched to points. She'd never seen anything like it. A shattered body, made whole, right before her eyes.
The Astraea girls—who felt the miracle from inside—stared, dazed. Instinctively, they tried to move what they had lost.
It hurt. Intensely.
Fresh-grown limbs throbbed with searing afterpain; real strength wouldn't come yet. But sensation came roaring back, bright and overwhelming—the feel of an arm returned, of hope coming home.
"It's back…"
Alise stared at her right hand, trying to clench her fist. Weakness and pain answered in vivid chorus.
"This is… real…"
Even Kaguya, usually composed, sounded the same as Alise.
Their lost futures had been spliced back in. And in the brief blaze of elation, Kaguya understood why Astraea had chosen as she did.
Lady Astraea… you did this for us.
Watching the scene, Astraea finally let her breath go.
For her, there was nothing she would not give to protect her children's futures—and their dreams.
(End of Chapter)
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