Chapter 9

Phantom Corpse is the 9th chapter of the Sousou no Frieren manga series.

Summary
The chapter begins with a flashback of Heiter telling Fern to be a good girl and abide by everything Frieren says, jokingly saying that otherwise he will materialize after his death. Fern then asks if he would materialize if she became a bad girl. Heiter notes her having grown cunning, wondering who she takes after. He states that if Fern remained good, he could materialize to see her for a bit. Fern then wakes up from her dream.

Frieren and Fern reach a village in the Central Provinces, specifically the Wille Region. A villager warns them not to attempt the path on the mountain pass, saying people have gone missing, supposedly taken by ghosts. The duo ask around, and find out that the villagers saw ghosts of their deceased relatives, just as if they were alive. Frieren states that this couldn't have been done by the undead, as they would look like corpses, and says this was done by a completely different monster, showing that she has some knowledge about the truth of the matter. Frieren and Fern decide to leave town first thing in the morning, going over the mountain pass.

When they reach the location where the disappearances were occuring, Fern notices traces of phantom magic, stating that she read about a monster that lures prey in through the use of phantoms. As the duo continue through, Frieren affirms that it is Einsam, the Phantom Demon, which lures people in by showing them phantom corpses of people beloved to them. She states that the phantoms are no threat to mages, as they readily disperse when hit with a high concentration of mana. Frieren asks Fern if she will be able to fire at them, to which Fern replies in the affirmative since she knows they are imposters. Frieren then states that she had to fire upon the phantom of her master who was begging for her life, which astonishes Fern.

The duo enters a fog as they get closer. Frieren tells Fern to fire without hesitation if a phantom appears. Suddenly, Fern hears Heiter call her name from behind her. As she prepares to shoot him, Heiter tells her he has chosen to materialze for her as she has been a good girl. Fern is stunned, thinking of how these are her own beloved memories, and she is unable to hear Frieren. Suddenly, Himmel appears behind Frieren. She says how she thought her master would appear again, noticing how she might have also changed a little. As Frieren prepares to blast Himmel away, Himmel tells her to shoot him, causing Frieren state that this is certainly something Himmel would say. The blast wakes up Fern from her daze, and she also fires at Heiter and Einsam (who had appeared behind Heiter). Einsam dissolves into black dust.

As Frieren and Fern continue onwards, Frieren opts to meet Heiter for real next time, as they are heading for Aureole, the land where souls rest.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Frieren
 * Fern
 * Heiter
 * Himmel
 * Einsam