The campus returned to normal. Taiyo used her powers to reverse time to fix all the buildings. After seeing this, Alice begged her to bring Belle back, but she refused.
"W-Why?" asked Alice sadly.
"Because she was weak. Why would I waste my powers on someone so insignificant? She was only an aether class."
"... S-She was my friend... She was your student!"
"Ok, and? I've lost dozens of students in this line of work. You don't see me making accepting for them, do you? Maybe if she was at least on Willow's level, I'd consider it."
"Y-You..."
"I told you, might makes right. If you're not strong, you're not worth my time."
"So... if I beat you to near death, I could force you to revive Belle... Is that what I'm hearing?"
Taiyo couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, hell yes, girl! Now you get it. And yes, you would. I wouldn't complain then. But there's one problem with that."
Light wrapped around Taiyo's body and she transformed into her keeper form. She was a furry fox woman. She had white fur and white hair that blended with her fur. She had yellow eyes and red markings all over her body and face. She had small fox ears and a bushy fox tail. She wore a tight black dress that exposed her sideboobs and the sides of her thighs, golden wristbands, and wore bandages that wrapped all around her body.
With the snap of her finger, Alice realized she couldn't move her body. She was frozen in time itself. Though her five senses still worked, her body was in a form of stasis.
"You're too weak to beat me. Don't get cocky just because you fought Star. He's known for playing with his food. If he wanted to, he would have made it to where I wouldn't even be talking to you right now. You'd be dead at a Michael Jackson concert right now."
Taiyo, with a flick of her hand, throws Alice into the wall.
"If you beat Star, I would have made you a zenith class on the spot, but as of now, you're probably the strongest paradox class in the world. Not quite zenith class. Plus, I watch that fight of yours. You didn't even have control over your own transformation. Like a parent trying to reel in a gen alpha kid with a tablet."
Alice's eyes widened in shock. "Y-You watched our fight... and did nothing to help us."
"Of course. As Star said, it was I who cleared the campus. You know why? Because he's the strongest in all of Japan. Simple as."
A few more days have passed since then. Alice had been watching over both Yoshi and Pinoy in the hospital as the two recovered. None of them said anything. They just were there in silence as Alice cared for them both. 2 weeks went by like this.
Alice couldn't even mourn Belle properly. All she. Could do was cry in her room. Yoshi and Pinoy were all she had left. But the bad news didn't end there.
The nurse told her that Pinoy suffered too much damage for too long. He'd probably never be able to be a proper keeper ever again. But when Pimoy got this news, he didn't seem upset. He seemed to just accept it. Alice went over to talk to Pinoy in the hospital later that day.
"P-Pinoy."
"Hey, Alice. Looks like it's just you and Yoshi now."
Alice had tears roll down her face onto Pinoy's hospital bed. "I-I'm s-sorry. I should have been stronger. I should have protected you."
"Hehe, it was inevitable. My whole reason for becoming a keeper was so I could kill the Cyber Demon, Daemon. Once he died, I had no more desire. A keeper is fueled by desires and goals, so my power grew stagnant. I was just going to hold you back, as depressing as that might sound."
"P-Please, d-don't leave me. I don't want you to leave me as well."
"Don't worry. I'm not done yet. Before I head off, I want to make sure you and Yoshi are safe. As you know, I'm actually pretty good at managing keeper gear. Ooh, I can be like your guy in the chair."
"..."
"Sorry, I was just trying to lighten the mood."
"Pinoy... I... I just want you to be happy. If leaving is what will make you happy... then do it."
Alice ran out of the room with tears streaming down her face. She ran through the campus, eventually bumping into Yoshi. He had a massive bandage on his stomach and was using his sword to help him walk. Alice tried to cover her face to hide her tears, but Yoshi saw right through it.
"Alice. I'm sorry about Belle."
"I-It should have been me! Not her! It's not fair! Why did she have to go? She should be the one here!"
"..."
Alice fell to her knees and Yoshi hugged her into his chest while stroking the back of her head.
"Why I'm I strong? What's the point of this power if I can't protect the people I love? First my father, now all of you. W-Why am I even still alive?"
"Alice, stop talking."
"Huh?"
"Answer me this. How much do you treasure your own life?"
"..."
"Me and Belle treasure your life so much that we risked ours. Belle isn't sad. When she looked at you before she died, she smiled. She did it because she fought alongside you. She loved you so much, she gave up her life just to help you. I'd gladly do the same."
"Y-Yoshi."
"You are loved. Don't you EVER say any crap about 'it should have been be, not her.' I won't let you disregard Belle's death. We should be proud of Belle. It's true. Maybe if we were stronger, we could have kept Belle alive. But she doesn't regret her actions. Nor do I. Nor does Pinoy. We all risked our lives to save you. I'm not asking you to be grateful, and I'm not asking you not to mourn her, but I will ask you this at the very least." Yoshi stood in front of her. "Get up. Belle valued your life, so the least you can do is value it as well."
Alice looked up at him as more tears trickled down her face. She stood up with him, wiping her tears away. Yoshi rubbed his finger against her eyes, rubbing her tears away. He then gently embraced her and she hugged him back.