Malice ｢
Summary
Right after First-Class Mage Lernen fires a shot at Macht, Lernen and Macht begin to fight as Second-Class Mage Edel attempts to restore the Stone Bracelet of Servitude. Macht notices that Lernen is only attempting to stall, and not to kill, and questions Lernen as to what his true objective is. Edel informs Lernen that there is no issue with the bracelet, and that everything is working as intended. When Lernen asks how Macht could have turned the city to gold without any malice, Macht tells Lernen that demons do not have any concept of malice, and cannot harbor any in the first place. Lernen decides to retreat to return in the future and summons a golem, but Macht attempts to stop them from retreating, slashing through the golem and wounding Lernen. Edel rushes up outside of Macht's view, briefly touching him and reading his memories. Macht is surprised that she managed to do so, and Lernen congratulates Edel on her work and summons a massive golem. Macht transmutes the golem to gold as it swings its sword, but loses Lernen and Edel in the resulting smoke.
Plot Details
Right after Lernen fires a shot at Macht, the smoke begins to clear, and Edel begins to restore and analyze the Stone Bracelet of Servitude. Lernen states that he can buy time, and asks how much time Edel needs. Edel responds that it depends on how much needs to be restored, and Lernen suggests that it could be a long battle, and that he's been itching to fight.
Macht immediately rushes in and grabs hold of Lernen's cloak and swings his sword, but Lernen evades by flying upwards. Lernen fires a barrage of spells, which Macht dodges, and Lernen blocks a slash by Macht. Lernen notes that Macht is not attempting to turn him into gold, and that his likely objective is to make an example out of Lernen.
Lernen then fires a massive barrage of spells at Macht and Macht dispels the magic on his sword, reverting it back to a cloak, and turns it into a golden shield to block Lernen's spells. Lernen thinks that even though he's not a master of magic, he can take advantage of Macht's low evaluation of him, and buy time that way.
Macht notes that Lernen is annoying to fight, but he takes notice that Lernen is not attempting to kill him. After getting up close, Macht asks Lernen what he's really after, and breaks Lernen's defense magic, slamming him to the ground. Macht notices Edel's magic, and realizes that they are attempting to restore the Stone Bracelet of Servitude. Macht informs them that their efforts are in vain, and Edel tells Lernen that the Stone Bracelet of Servitude is functioning properly. Lernen states that there is no way that Macht turned the city to gold without a hint of malice, and asks Edel what she thinks. Macht interrupts, and says that although demons know of the word "malice", they do not have any concept of it and cannot feel it. Edel remarks that as demons were originally monsters that tricked humans with words, deceiving and killing humans is instinctive to them and they do not need an emotional reason to harm humans.
Lernen asks if Edel can add another command to the bracelet, but Edel responds that only the original user is able to do so. Macht asks if they are done speaking, and Lernen claims that they will now retreat, as his actual goal was to gather information. Lernen admits that there was some consideration that they would be lucky enough to take Macht down, but Lernen believes that he should not aim too high, as he has always been the type of person to work behind the scenes. Lernen states that he will let his brave friend have the glory of victory, and summons a golem from a glass bottle. He suggests that both Macht and himself have not revealed all that they are capable of, and proposes that they make a fresh start—in order to do so, he will continue to return until Macht has shown his hand, leading Macht to remark that he is speechless. Immediately, Macht charges in and swings, slicing through the golem and wounding Lernen, and asks if Lernen really thought he would allow him to do that.
Lernen tells Macht that he is not the only one fighting him, and Edel rushes in from the side, casting her magic on Macht. Lernen notes that while Edel is not a strong mage, she is far braver than him. Edel's nose begins to drip blood and she collapses, but the reformed golem stops her from falling and picks her up. Macht expresses his surprise that they managed to read his memories, and Lernen declares that there is no need to return anymore. He congratulates Edel, and drops a new glass bottle with a golem. As the glass breaks, the golem expands rapidly until it towers over Macht, and swings its sword. A loud sound is heard, and the golem is revealed to have been instantly transmuted to gold, but when Macht walks around the transmuted golem, Lernen and Edel have already disappeared, and the memories Edel granted Denken of the reinspection end.
Frieren states that Edel must have been an incredible mental magic[note 1] user to have read Macht's memories. Stark asks if that is really such an impressive feat, and Frieren answers that a demon's mental structure is vastly different from that of a human, making it extremely difficult and painful to pick through their memoires. Denken tells Frieren that as the sun is setting and thus it is time for him to conduct his own business, and that he plans on telling her about Macht's memories after he finishes. Frieren asks what business he has, and Denken reveals that he has been constantly visiting Macht and having conversations with him.
Characters in Order of Appearance
Locations
- The Golden Land
Battles and Events
Battles
Events
- Denken and Frieren finish reviewing the preliminary memory that Edel managed to obtain.
- Denken goes to speak with Macht of Golden Land.
Objects of Interest
Spells
- Defensive magic
- Restoration magic
- Zoltraak
- Diagoldze
- Golem magic
- Mental magic
- Memory transference magic
Objects
- Stone Bracelet of Servitude
- Golem bottles
Chapter Notes
Notes
- ↑ While in the official Viz localization Frieren describes Edel as a 'hypnosis magic' (精神操作魔法) user, in the Japanese raws, she calls Edel the more general term 'mental magic' (精神魔法) user.