Ryuu sat on the cross at the top of the church, her sky-blue hair scanning the horizons. "...Hm. Perhaps Bell provided a stark enough example."
She had been concerned about follow-up attempts to intimidate the familia. To that end, Ryuu had even acquired a Crozzo sword of her own.
Not Welf's, of course. But a disposable one. Just in case.
But it seemed that whatever Bell had done that day had caused the Apollo Familia to refrain and also kept any other nosy Familia away.
"...I suppose that's for the best."
Ryuu let out a sigh and then subconsciously ran her hand through her hair. When she finished, she pulled her hand back and noticed a few loose golden strands.
For a moment, she felt a surge of panic. And then she remembered.
"...Right. No more hiding."
Ryuu wasn't working at the Hostess of Fertility anymore. Neither was she hiding from her Goddess- former Goddess, out of shame.
"Lady Astraea..." Ryuu murmured and then looked up at the night sky. "...You're right. In the end, 'justice' depends on who wields it."
Before she met Bell, Ryuu had thought justice was retribution. That evil had to be met with evil. That blood was repaid with blood.
...Honestly, Ryuu still thought that.
But since meeting Bell, her thoughts on it had changed a little.
"Bell..." Ryuu murmured while staring at the glassy moon above. "Neither good nor evil. Light nor dark..."
She had overheard Freya talking about Bell before. How she mentioned that his soul had a balance of both light and dark in equal measure.
And since spending more time with Bell, Ryuu had seen how he moved as well. Performing both great heroic feats while also sullying his hands with blood by severing evil at the root.
Even when he learned the truth about Ryuu, Bell didn't balk. He simply treated it like part of her past.
It wasn't normal.
Ryuu knew that for sure.
Most people did not treat someone who had slaughtered hundreds of men and women, some who might have even been innocent... Most people did not treat someone like that kindly. Or if they did, it was with fear.
But Bell wasn't afraid of her. And he didn't think any less of her.
Instead, he simply shrugged and said it was reasonable. Like he understood.
'...Because he did.'
Ryuu could see it.
Bell DID understand her reasoning. And he didn't deny it or argue against it.
While he didn't necessarily APPROVE of it either...
Ryuu could tell.
Bell was similar to her. But he was different in a fundamental way as well.
Ryuu lost herself to it. Because of the pain, the grief, the anguish, she killed and killed and killed until the streets ran crimson with Evilus's blood.
And Ryuu knew it for certain. If ANY trace of Evilus still persisted, she would have to restrain herself. She would need to stop herself from following the urge to hunt down all those traces.
But Bell knew where to draw the line.
Clearly seeing culpability, weighing the probability of further retaliation, laying the blame and stopping it upon a certain point...
The proof of that was seen in how he reacted after the Apollo Familia's attack.
He could have let the Apollo Familia's captain die. It would have been justified by any measure.
But Bell not only let that man live, he ensured it.
Because 'justice' alone was insufficient in the grander scheme of life.
It would have been 'just' to let that man live.
But Bell did it because it opened the avenue for resolving other issues. It created a stage to settle problems in the future.
All of that to say...
"...Justice isn't enough. No, 'true' justice isn't something that can be measured in absolutes." Ryuu sighed and closed her eyes. "...I think I get it now, Lady Astraea."
The reason why she was so kind to even criminals. The reason why, even after she was banished, she continued to be kind and maintain the Astraea familia.
"...Justice is only a part of life. What matters more is what you hold dear."
And what Ryuu held dear now was simple.
The easy and peaceful days spent with Bell and his... No.
HER family.
Ryuu's sweet nieces, Bella, Pyrrha, and Fina who had adopted her as their aunt.
The multitude of younger sisters that she had to care for now.
Selene, the calm former goddess who she could relax with and spend the day in just a comfortable silence.
Bell, a young man who felt like a ridiculous younger brother who always got into trouble.
Welf, a young man who felt like an unreliable older brother who tried his best but kept stumbling.
Lady Hestia, a kind mother-figure just as wonderful as Lady Astraea had been, radiating a warmth that was similar, but different as Ryuu's former goddess.
And even Lady Freya, who had softened into a warm-hearted and caring mother.
...It wouldn't replace them.
Ryuu would always remember Alise and the others. Her dear friends who gave their everything for Ryuu's life to continue... it would be impossible to forget them.
But...
Ryuu let out a soft smile, feeling the bittersweet emotion well up in her heart. "...You would want me to be happy. And... I AM happy now. So... rest easy." She held up her hand towards the glassy moon and smiled. "I'm fine. I'm not alone. And I'll live well. With or without justice."
===
Bell Cranel, still trapped in a plushy, sat underneath the rebuilt statue of the goddess at the Hestia Familia church.
Not 'Kranel,' but 'Cranel.' The 'original.' The one whose mother had been Meteria, not Alfia. And the one who pulled off the ridiculous ploy of attempting to spin time back in order to change his certain loss into a victory instead.
'Looks like they forgot about me.'
It didn't surprise him.
After all, he had always been an 'extra' from the moment he entered this timeline.
He laid back on the ground and stared at the starry sky above.
'...It's better this way.'
Things were already too different, so it was better that Cranel wasn't involved.
Setting aside the fact that the timeline had diverged from the start since this world's Bell was Alfia's son instead of Meteria's...
And setting aside the fact that they were genetically the same person since Alfia was Meteria's identical twin...
'He's lying to everyone.'
Cranel could tell.
It was true that this world's Bell was different. It was going to be true that this world's Bell would be talented.
After all, Alfia was known as the Monster of Talent for a reason. Even HE had heard of that from Ryuu in his world.
But...
'Liar's Phrase... Reality is nothing more than the lies we tell. And you're telling a lot of them, other me.'
Cranel had seen the status on this world's Bell.
While most people assumed that just meant his skill was something that distorted reality... it wasn't the case.
Instead, it was a skill similar to the one Cranel had.
Rather than distort reality, it redefined the owner.
That Bell hadn't realized it yet. And he probably never would. But...
'You really are a cheater.'
It was a butterfly effect that Cranel never anticipated.
The 'soul' in that Bell's body wasn't his. It wasn't the Argonaut's either. And it also didn't belong here.
Cranel had seen it before. Souls drifting in from other realms and cracks due to the Dungeon's distortions. Similar to how the Corrupted Spirit had managed to emerge on the 60th floor in that terrible incident leading to so many deaths.
'At least he's human.'
Cranel wasn't sure 'who' that Bell was. And at this point, it seemed like that Bell didn't know either.
Whether for better or worse, Bell had defined himself as 'Bell Kranel' and made that who he was. The role that Cranel was supposed to have had been subsumed and overwritten into his own path.
'Like variations on a tune, but played out ten times over.'
Cranel let out an internal sigh.
...This didn't change anything. But it also changed everything.
Cranel held up his right hand.
It was a bit ridiculous seeing the plushy hand react to his will.
...But it wouldn't for much longer.
'This was a gift. No, maybe it was the karma from that vow.'
Cranel was never supposed to be here.
Although he had said that his spell went awry to Bell, Cranel had checked it.
'It didn't fail. It just got delayed. And the reason for that...'
Cranel sat back up and gazed into a glowing window, where Artemis- No. The mortal woman Selene.
There, in that glowing window, Selene read a story to Fina, the impossible child between Bell and Hestia.
'...It seems that you're doing well here, Artemis. I'm glad.'
It wasn't a complete wish granted.
Cranel didn't meet her. She didn't recognize him.
But they were also different people now.
The naive hero who swore to save everyone and the goddess who called him Orion were both gone.
But at the same time, an echo of both remained in this world.
Selene, who carried Artemis's legacy.
And Bell, who was like a distorted reflection of Cranel himself.
'...Well. Time's up.'
Cranel could feel it. The pull, tugging him backwards through time. No, not just backwards, but sideways and away from this parallel world he had happened upon by chance.
The nostalgic church, familiar faces from a distant past, a life he never had and WOULD never have...
'I hope you can protect them all, other me. After all, you're not stuck being a 'hero' like I was.'
With that final though and silent wish, space rippled for a single moment. And then a plushy quietly fell to the ground, unheard by anyone around.