Chapter 89

Guilt is the eighty-ninth chapter of Yamada Kanehito & Abe Tsukasa's Frieren: Beyond Journey's End.

Summary
Macht initially refused to participate in the battle at Schlacht's behest. However, Schlacht told him that was an order from the Demon King and threatened to kill the other if he disobeyed. After testing the waters, Macht concurred, noting that Schlacht had brought with him Grausam, an opponent he had the worst affinity against. He asked Schlacht for more instructions and the other told him simply to fight. He informed Macht that his memories of the battle would be deleted because he would let his memory be read by another in the future. Through Macht, Schlacht addressed Frieren, predicting that she would eventually come upon Macht's memories.

The scene shifted to years later, where Macht had killed countless people without any particular reason but to attempt to feel malice or guilt. He watched a couple of childhood friends kill each other, having promised them he would let the survivor live. Upon seeing the scene, Macht came to a new realization in: he could not feel anything because he knew nothing about the people he killed. He wondered if he would be able to understand such emotions if he killed someone close to him, and set out with a new goal in mind to find people who could be called "close" to him.

Plot Details
After hearing Schlacht's solicitation, Macht initially declined, saying he would not risk his life for the Demon King, and asked Schlacht to stop dragging him into his pointless war games. Schlacht remarked about his dislike for battles but brushed off his declination, sighting an order from the Demon King. He threatened to kill Macht should he disobey. Macht asked him if he thought he could, to which Schlacht retort by asking if Macht thought he could not.

After a silent staring contest, Schlacht de-escalated the situation and told Macht he did not want to kill him. Macht agreed, noting that if someone who could see the future went all the way to ask for him, it must mean something important, as well as the fact that Schlacht was confident he could secure his assistance. He pointed out the existence of another Sage of Destruction, the Miraculous Grausam, whom he called the worst opponent for him. Macht complained that Schlacht had always made him dance to his will and inquired what he needed to do for the battle. Schlacht informed him that he only needed to fight without thinking. He assured Macht that he had seen multiple future visions of the battle and the conclusion he came to was correct. In response, Macht remarked that the best conclusion was a stalement and that Schlacht looked like someone going to their death. Schlacht then sat down next to him and claimed his death was something he would not know until he actually tried.

Schlacht then said he ordered Grausam to erase Macht's memory of the upcoming battle and chided him for making a mistake and allowing his memories to be read by another. He addressed Frieren through Macht's memories, revealing that he deleted Macht's memories to prevent her from knowing the details of the battle against the Hero of the South - a battle he called for the survival of demons even 1000 years after the fact. At Macht's confusion, Schlacht told him it was a story for the future and took his leave. Macht offered him a word of concern for his survival, which Schlacht said he had already heard them countless times already.

His memories cut away to several years later, in the Northern Plateau, Macht had murdered numerous humans, not for sustenance or following his instinct, but meaningless slaughter meant to invoke feelings of guilt and malice in him. He surveyed the sight of two childhood friends attempting to kill each other following Macht's promise to spare the survivor. When he noticed the surviving boy crying after he killed the other, Macht asked him why he was not glad he survived. The boy explained that the girl he just killed did not resist at all, and that she had been his friend since childhood. Macht was exceedingly satisfied with this answer, pressing the boy to tell him what emotion he was feeling and to teach him about it in words. The boy, enraged at his callousness, pointed his weapon towards the demon, which prompted Macht to kill him. He thanked the boy for giving him an important hint: humans felt guilt when they kill people they are close to. He wondered if he would also be able to feel such emotion if he killed someone close to him, and decided to seek out human acquaintances which could be called "close" after spending time with them. He is later shown to have reached the Fortified City of Weise, the most populous human settlement in the Northern Plateau.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Schlacht
 * Macht
 * Grausam

Locations
Northern Plateau, the Weise Region, Fortified City of Weise

Events
The Hero of the South vs. The Omniscient Schlacht and the Seven Sages of Destruction

Spells
Di Agolze

Schlacht's magic: magic which allows him to see future possibilities. It is said to be able to see up to 1000 years into the future.