The ground trembled.
The commotion of the Viola drew people's attention.
"Is that... Astraea-sama's residence?!"
"Monsters are attacking!"
"May the gods protect us..."
Those living in the city's corners often received aid from Astraea Familia. Powerless to fight, they could only spread the news and offer prayers.
"Mama, will the Goddess be okay?"
"Yes, she will be... because she is [Justice] itself..."
When the Sword Smithing City Solingen angered the Spirits and faced ruin, it was Astraea who stepped in to save the city. Justice shone like countless stars, its light illuminating every heart.
"Hey, those monsters are as big as buildings!"
"No way..."
"Can anyone help them? Where are the city guards?!"
"Let me go! My child is still over there!"
"Stop messing around! Blacksmiths will only slow us down!"
"Astraea-sama..."
"Goddess-sama..."
Just as the monsters' screams pierced their eardrums, planting endless terror deep within their hearts, the bell tolled.
Its piercing chime drowned out the beasts' roars, echoing through the forest, soaring over the city walls, and filling the vast sky. The stirring sound reached every ear, transcending time itself, leaving all speechless. Every resident felt their hearts surge.
"[Justice] has not forsaken that noble one!" the devout priest chanted aloud.
"That is..." The low-ranking guard atop the city wall stared fixedly at a burst of white light.
"It's the [Hero]!" A child yearning for heroic tales raised his hand excitedly.
Ding.
Ding.
The stirring toll of bells echoed through the air.
Beyond the people's prayers, Lefiya carried the youth forward. Bell's hands had lost all strength, his legs twisted from the impact. His body screamed in agony as blood drained away and his marrow wailed. Yet the divine Insignia burned fiercely.
Limit Off.
His yearning for heroism transcended the Falna bestowed by the gods, elevating the power of [Argonaut] to a higher plane. Unlike the brief accumulate power within the pit, three minutes—this was Bell's true limit, the absolute threshold he could now reach.
White light enveloped them, and the tinkling bells transformed into the resounding chimes of a colossal bell tower.
...
Lefiya did not pause.
The boy yearned to reach the goddess's side. This burning passion was not directed at Lefiya. Yet she felt no envy or regret.
The chime accompanied Lefiya forward. It felt as if the boy were holding her hand, stirring an unbearable excitement within her.
They were bound for higher, farther places.
Lefiya resolved in her heart: one day, she would shed her burdened role and fight alongside the boy. Falling for the goddess at first sight? I'll forgive you this time.
So, you absolutely must catch up!
...
Ryuu and Laurier raced forward.
There was no time left. Though they'd swiftly dealt with Evilus, the suicide attack had inevitably slowed their progress.
Ryuu knew full well the monsters' ferocity. The Astraea Familia could likely only hold them off for moments now.
Just as Ryuu's heart burned with urgency, a distant bell tolled, its sound piercing the heavens.
It was him!
A tone without warning, never heard before. Yet before this bell, like a heroic anthem, both thought of the boy.
...
Within the courtyard, their once-prized magic sword crumbled into ash.
"Astraea-sama!!"
Cecil felt despair crash over her.
As a member of the Familia, she had actually forced her own Goddess to shield her.
She didn't want things to end like this.
Astraea had taken her in when she ran away from home, had guided her with gentle patience, never once complaining about her naivety or stubbornness.
Cecil hadn't even had the chance to repay that kindness, and now everything was about to end in such a tragic way.
Tears burst from her eyes.
Yet she couldn't say a single word to stop it.
The others were just as powerless.
"No… no… Astraea-sama!"
Ulanda screamed, her voice raw and breaking.
Just then, the sound of bells rang through their ears.
Following that stirring resonance, they saw a blinding white light gathering.
Bell Cranel.
The infuriating boy who had won their Goddess's heart now stood there like a true hero, his presence pulling the gaze of every single member.
…
Astraea stared at the youth in shock.
Everywhere she looked was smeared with dark, red-black blood. His twisted legs shook with each step as Lefiya carried him.
The light armor on his hands was utterly crushed inward, as if squeezing the flesh beneath it.
Only those crimson eyes remained unchanged—locked on the monster ahead.
Hot and intense, yet perfectly calm.
Like a sun hanging in the night sky—impossible, unreal, yet exhilarating beyond words.
That radiance scattered the malice around them, and stars once swallowed by darkness seemed to shine again.
Three minutes.
Bell coolly assessed the battlefield.
The monster was within range, and Argonaut had reached its limit.
Longing ignited. Resolve gathered.
The hero's strike was ready.
Perhaps drawn by the surge of magic, or simply sensing danger by instinct, every Viola let out a wild roar and charged toward the source of the bell.
"AAAAAAAH!!"
"I don't care anymore—AAAH!!"
On one side, a charging swarm of monstrous flowers with gaping, bloodstained maws.
On the other, an Elf girl, shouting with every ounce of courage that bell had given her.
But everyone's attention was fixed on Bell Cranel.
As the distance closed, the boy loosed his heroic strike.
Light contracted. Fire and lightning erupted forward.
A blast of flame like nothing ever seen.
As if every ringing note of the bell had fused into one strike.
It devoured the air, tore trees from the ground, and, carried by a raging gale, roared straight into the monstrous horde.
The two forces met.
In a single instant, every Viola was swallowed by the flames and reduced to ash.
"...We won."
Lefiya stared, stunned, at what lay before her.
Trees, rocks, monsters—everything was gone, leaving behind a massive crater.
The Astraea Familia could feel the weight of that heroic blow.
Level Lv.2 or not, he had obliterated everything in his path.
Whether born from malice or despair, the boy had overturned it all with one strike.
Without question, this was the [Justice] they had longed for—what they had chased all this time.
Swallowing her shock and the exhaustion threatening to drop her to the ground, Lefiya turned and sprinted toward the mansion.
"Quick… hurry, give him treatment!"
Astraea sheathed her rapier, her eyes softening with a complicated emotion as she looked at the unconscious boy.
Even covered in wounds, he had still forced himself to reach her side.
Just as he had promised.
Old memories surfaced in her mind.
A God who once called Himself [Absolute Evil] had said something to her.
[Justice] is an ideal.
The answer to the [trolley] problem was simple.
It wasn't choosing between hitting the brakes or sacrificing one side.
You just needed to turn two answers into three.
True [Justice] was to uphold the ideal and save every person before you.
If gods existed in this world and yet couldn't even achieve simple happiness, wasn't that the stranger thing?
Before the promised day arrived, she would save everyone and bring about a perfect ending.
That was the heroic deed only a hero could reach, the one possibility the entire world longed for.
Long ago, Astraea had personally judged that so-called [Absolute Evil].
He had plunged the world into madness, caused countless deaths, all for the sake of creating a hero for the next era.
Years passed, yet tragedies continued, and malice never ceased.
Astraea had never imagined things would become like this.
And now, in this very moment, Bell Cranel's figure overlapped with the words from that distant conversation.
The true goodness and [Justice] everyone yearned for.
A hero capable of surpassing divine intent… had he really appeared?
Astraea remembered the boy's confession.
After her sorrowful rejection, there had been something more.
Even after being turned down by a Goddess, Bell's passion hadn't faded in the slightest.
"I want a harem, I want to be a hero, I want to save everything!"
"So, Astraea-sama, no matter how many times it takes, I'll keep confessing to you."
"No matter what happens, I'll always rush to your side!"
Bell Cranel was a greedy young man.
And yet… he had kept his promise.
Even if that passion was completely one-sided, he still forced himself to arrive before tragedy could strike, saving Goddess Astraea.
A breeze drifted through.
Flames and monsters had long vanished.
But the warmth the boy left behind gently stirred the Goddess's heart.
Astraea looked at the youth resting on the bed, fingers lightly brushing through his white hair as she silently waited for him to wake.
What should she say to him?
And what was this strange feeling inside her?
Lost in those thoughts, a faint smile quietly appeared on Astraea's face.