Chapter 18

The Undead Army (の) is the eighteenth chapter of Yamada Kanehito & Abe Tsukasa's Frieren: Beyond Journey's End.

Summary
Right after the events of the previous chapter, Stark and Fern tell Graf Granat that Frieren is innocent. The Graf agrees, telling them she and the Hero's Party had protected the town from Aura before. Meanwhile, Frieren confronts Aura who surrounds her with her undead army. Granat reveals that Aura fights with a magic tool known as the "Scales of Obedience" which weighs Aura's mana against her opponent's. The one with greater mana is then given control over the other and cannot be fully resisted. In her five hundred years serving as one of the Seven Sages of Destruction, not once has Aura lost in a battle of mana. Frieren starts battling Aura's army using an anti-magic, as Himmel scolded her any in the past for blasting the army away. Aura asks why she would do so since Himmel is gone, which angers Frieren and results in her deciding to kill Aura without mercy.

Plot Details
Right after the events of the previous chapter, a priest heals Graf Granat after Fern and Stark save him from Lügner. Graf Granat thanks Fern and Stark for saving his life, and tells them he will pardon them for the incident where their mage companion attacked Lügner since her judgement was correct. Stark decides they should get Frieren to defeat Lügner and Linie while Fern further attempts to clear up the incident with the murdered guard, which causes Graf Granat to realize that their elven companion is Frieren from the Hero's Party. The Graf reflects that he must apologize to her for his rudeness, as the Granat family owes a great debt to the Hero's Party for repelling an army of demons in his grandfather's time. Said army was led by the same demon: Aura, one of the Seven Sages of Destruction.

Meanwhile, Frieren faces off against Aura and her undead army in a barren field outside of the town. She approaches Aura from the sky and the two greet each other, as it's been eighty years since they last fought. Frieren asks Aura to refrain from entering the town. In response, Aura directs one of the suits of armor that comprises her army to attack Frieren, who dodges to the side, and tells Frieren she would never concede for she has the ultimate upper hand. Frieren takes stock of Aura's full army and comments that it has grown in number since eighty years ago. She tells Aura that her magic is truly beyond comprehension of humanity's magical techniques, but her taste in magic is revolting. In response, Aura mimics sadness, telling Frieren that her words are mean when she worked hard to grow her army's numbers. Frieren takes note of the detailing on the various different suits of armor, including unique necklaces, plate mail, and pauldrons. She realizes that she recognizes several of the suits of armor, giving her all the more reason to kill Aura here and now, though rather than replying to Frieren's taunts, Aura simply channels mana into her Scales of Obedience.

Graf Granat tells Fern and Stark that Aura's Scales of Obedience are the main reason why his forces have been unable to defeat her. He explains to them that Aura's magic, much like the other Seven Sages of Destruction, is beyond human comprehension and violates the laws of nature. Aura places her own soul and the soul of her target onto the scale and weighs their mana. Whoever possesses greater mana can force the other to obey their will for eternity, dead or alive. By their nature, the scales are risky to use, but Aura's tremendous mana means the scales virtually guarantee her victory. Fern questions whether there is any recourse in fighting Aura. The Graf tells her that though Aura's scales have always tipped in her direction due to her mana, if someone with more mana fought her, the scales would judge fairly and Aura could be defeated. Given the improbability of that Fern questions if there are no other ways to counter Aura's magic. The Graf hesitates, then admits that there is one other way. In the past, those with strong wills, such as great heroes who trained to the peak of their ability, were able to temporarily resist Aura's magic. Stark notes that their resistance was at best temporary. The Graf agrees and adds that in the end, their resistance was fatal, as those with strong willpower were bothersome for Aura. He stops, somber, then admits that Aura the Guillotine dealt with the soldiers under her control in a logical but cruel way: beheading.

Elsewhere, Frieren fights against multiple members of Aura's undead army. She narrowly dodges several attacks, prompting Aura to boast about the strength of her undead army. Frieren casts negation magic and disables several of the suits of armor. This surprises Aura, as to lift the spell on the suits of armor requires Frieren to exhaust a significant amount of mana, despite the fact that last time they fought, Frieren blew away Aura's undead army like they were nothing. Frieren explains that she is showing restraint because last time, Himmel got mad at her after the fight. This puzzles Aura even more since Himmel is dead now, so there is no reason for Frieren to act in accordance with the lessons she learned from him, and she tells Frieren as much. Upon hearing this, Frieren grows angry. She tells Aura she is glad to hear her say that, as now that she has been reminded of how monstrous demons are, she can slay Aura without any mercy.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Graf Granat
 * Stark
 * Fern
 * Frieren
 * Aura
 * Himmel
 * Eisen
 * Heiter

Locations

 * Graf Granat's Domain

Battles

 * Frieren vs. Aura

Events

 * Graf Granat pardons Frieren and her companions

Spells

 * Flight magic
 * Unnamed negation spell used to dispel magic casted on something
 * Unnamed spell used to blow opponents away (possibly Zoltraak) (used by Frieren in a flashback)

New Tools

 * The Scales of Obedience

Chapter Notes

 * Though not outright stated, Aura's nickname and the appearance of her undead army shows her method of crushing resistance was beheading
 * Of the suits of armor Frieren recognizes, one of them wears a necklace with the Granat family crest