Chapter 578: Journey of the Three

On the morning of the 23rd day of the Month of New Sun, two girls stood before Avalon’s great gate.

One was the black-clad witch, Fiona Soleil of the Element Master.

She wore her usual witch robes, now topped with an additional black mantle. It seemed too warm for early summer, yet Fiona remained perfectly composed. To her, this mantle symbolized the grim resolve needed for the impending harsh battle.

The other was Sariel, wearing the familiar nun’s attire she’d grown accustomed to in her adventures. Naturally, beneath those holy garments, her pure white body was shamelessly clad in provocative demonic armor.

Each stood quietly beside their mounts, waiting.

Soon, their third companion arrived.

Clad in vivid white-and-crimson priestess robes, with graceful wings of pure white—a shrine maiden. Her long black hair was tied neatly, swaying gently as she walked, accompanied only by the rhythmic tapping of her horse’s hooves.

Nelle Julius Elroad, the third member, gracefully inclined her head, displaying the poise befitting a princess.

“I apologize for keeping you waiting.”

“Not at all. Are your preparations complete?”

“Fully.”

“Good.”

Without further conversation, they mounted their horses as one.

“Then, let us depart.”

In silence, the three girls left Avalon, setting out to slay a fairy driven mad by love.

The Sanctum of Demonfall was famous as a dungeon of highest difficulty, yet easy enough to reach. It lay at Avalon’s northwestern edge, accessible via a well-maintained road; skilled riders and mages could traverse it in three days at most.

Their journey went smoothly, and by the night of the 25th day of the Month of New Sun, they arrived at the massive black gate marking the dungeon’s entrance.

Only the interior of those immense, ageless black walls, untouched by millennia, constituted the dungeon. Outside stretched an endless wasteland of ancient rubble, cursed to remain barren and lifeless.

Aside from the occasional wandering low-rank undead, no significant threats awaited—making it the final safe zone before challenging the ultimate dungeon.

“We’ll rest here tonight and begin our assault tomorrow morning,” Fiona declared, issuing the logical adventurer’s decision.

No objections arose.

Monsters wouldn’t emerge from that massive black gate. They agreed upon a night watch, drawing lots to determine the order, before retiring for sleep.

“Sariel, may I ask you something?”

“Of course, Princess Nelle.”

The impartial lot had chosen Fiona for the first watch. Inside the tent, Nelle and Sariel lay side by side. A princess and a slave fallen from a high commander—perhaps adventurers’ tents truly were the world’s most egalitarian spaces.

“I heard you were Chrono’s friend from his homeland… but how much of that is true?”

Nelle needed to confirm this clearly now. Her earlier encounter in Spada had ended badly due to Fiona’s cunning deception. Though Nelle bore blame for her naiveté, Fiona’s words had carried undeniable credibility.

She had to know precisely what was true and what was not from Fiona’s story back then.

“I do not possess the authority to answer. Especially regarding Master’s private information.”

“—It’s alright, Sariel,” Fiona’s voice drifted from outside the tent.

She’d evidently overheard everything. Nelle, however, hadn’t intended secrecy. Being alone with Sariel simply provided a good opportunity to speak.

“‘Alright’—I cannot judge how far I may reveal.”

“You may tell her everything I know. Chrono’s true identity, and who you really are.”

Fiona knew Chrono had deliberately kept hidden from Nelle his true origin and painful past from the Alsace defense. For Chrono, Nelle was merely a friend. Fiona herself was his party member, and Simon a lifelong companion. Prince Wilhart seemed to have guessed Chrono’s true nature on his own—a unique exception.

“This might go against Master’s intentions.”

“She has accompanied us thus far. She deserves to know.”

“Are you pitying me?” Nelle’s voice carried a sharp edge.

But Fiona responded calmly, “You have the right to ask, but no obligation to receive answers. Ask what you wish. Sariel cannot lie; she’ll answer truthfully—if she knows.”

With that, Fiona fell silent, as if signaling Nelle to proceed freely.

“Sariel, please, will you answer my questions?” Nelle asked after a pause, setting aside pride in favor of gaining clarity.

“Yes. I also judge that you deserve to know about Master.”

Sariel had sensed Chrono trusted Nelle deeply. She’d heard plenty of stories about Nelle from Chrono during quieter moments in their journeys and at the temple.

“First… what is Chrono’s true identity?”

Nelle had never dared ask before. What was the “faraway homeland” Chrono mentioned? Where had he truly come from, and how had he ended up in Spada?

Chrono deliberately avoided the subject; Nelle respected that choice. Yet curiosity had never ceased. This was essential knowledge.

“Master is from another world—an Outsider.”

Nelle had mentally prepared herself for revelations like Chrono being a demon lord’s minion or a traitorous Crusader. Thus, this unexpected truth left her momentarily confused. Yet it soon made sense.

“His true name is Kurono Mao. Kurono is the surname, Mao his given name. In this world, the name ‘Mao’ is pronounced identically to ‘Demon Lord.’ Also, surnames imply nobility, causing unwanted misunderstandings. Thus, he goes by ‘Chrono.'”

“An Outsider… Oh, that’s why he has black hair and eyes,” Nelle murmured.

The appearance of Outsiders was widely known. Tales and records about black-haired, black-eyed Outsiders existed even in Avalon—from public knowledge accessible in libraries to secret records known only to royalty.

“Then, Sariel, are you also an Outsider? Though your colors differ greatly.”

“I was once Shirazaki Yuriko, an Outsider. However, this body is not her own.”

“What do you mean?”

“My arrival differs fundamentally from Master’s. My soul was placed into a homunculus body created in this world—a reincarnation. Master himself was summoned here.”

Stories of Outsiders appearing as summoned or reincarnated souls were old tales. But for summoned and reincarnated Outsiders to meet in the same era was unprecedented.

“Back in your world… what was your relationship?”

“Shirazaki Yuriko loved Kurono Mao—”

Thus began their tale. Kurono Mao and Shirazaki Yuriko.

Chrono kept his mind, walking a path defying the gods. Sariel lost herself, forced into divine obedience. Opposites becoming a conqueror of Sinclair and protector of Pandora, destined to kill each other—and how they’d eventually come to walk side by side.

By the time Sariel finished, dawn tinged the sky pale.

Nelle, tears streaming from learning Chrono’s tragic fate, finally spoke:

“—Sariel, after all, you should’ve died.”

Morning came on the 26th day of the Month of New Sun. The blue sky illuminated the ancient black city.

“Let’s move out. Our objective is strictly to kill Lily. No infighting, please,” Fiona reminded.

“Understood, Fiona-sama.”

“Naturally. Such foolishness won’t happen,” Nelle replied—but glared daggers at Sariel, as if facing her parents’ murderer. Sariel met her gaze impassively.

Fiona empathized; Sariel’s unreadable calm indeed inflamed resentment.

Anyone learning the truth would think Sariel should have died as an Apostle. Any woman who loved Chrono would inevitably resent her.

“Lily’s ugly jealousy is quite enough.”

Jealousy—that was it.

Fiona ultimately envied Sariel. Nelle, too, consciously or unconsciously, surely felt the same.

Sariel had been forgiven. Though an Apostle, an enemy commander of the Crusaders, Chrono forgave her after immense suffering—solely because Sariel was also from his world.

A bond Fiona and Nelle could never achieve: understanding Chrono’s true world.

They’d never shared his ordinary past or common sense. That fact bred jealousy and fear—that perhaps they’d never fully understand him.

“Let’s go. We must save Chrono from the mad Queen of Jealousy.”

The three girls, united by love, marched forth to slay a maiden equally driven by love.

Just who was truly mad—Lily, Fiona, or all of them?

Thus began the sacred war of love, transcending good and evil.