Chapter 64

The Demon with a Sword is the sixty-fourth chapter of Yamada Kanehito & Abe Tsukasa's Frieren: Beyond Journey's End.

Summary
Twenty-nine years after the Hero Himmel's passing, Frieren's Party are in Graf Dach's Domain. To Stark and Fern's surprise, Frieren is in a rush to leave the town. Graf Dach invites them to a banquet before they can leave, and request they retrieve an heirloom sword stolen by a demon. Frieren's Party head in the direction the demon fled, and after journeying, find a village in ruins with a lone priestess in the area. The priestess asks them to pray for the villagers with her, but Frieren blasts a grave and reveals no one is buried, because the villagers were eaten by the fake priestess, who is actually the sword demon. They defeat the Sword Demon and Frieren remembers Himmel declaring that he would never leave people in need, no matter how challenging the request. They return the sword to Graf Dach and continue on their travels.

Plot Details
Twenty-nine years after the Hero Himmel's passing, Frieren's Party is in Graf Dach's Domain. Stark notes that it's been a while since the party visited a large town. Uncharacteristically, Frieren mentions that the party will be leaving soon after resupplying. Stark observes a magic shop, though Frieren shows no interest, reminding Stark that time is finite. Fern remarks that something seems off, while Stark reasons that Frieren usually tries to settle for a couple of months after reaching a large town.

A butler approaches the party upon recognizing Frieren and extends an invitation from Graf Dach to his evening banquet. Despite Frieren's attempt to leave by stating that the party, the butler insists, expressing the Graf's desire to offer hospitality in gratitude for Frieren's role in the Hero Party that saved the domain. Later at night, Frieren's party shares a meal with Graf Dach. Fern observes that Frieren wears a reluctant expression as she expresses gratitude to Graf Dach for his invitation, while Stark is enjoying his meal.

Graf Dach expresses gratitude to Frieren for her assistance during his great grandfather’s generation, to which Frieren promptly asks what the Graf wants. Graf Dach, happy to head straight into business, divulges that the family’s heirloom sword had been stolen by a demon. Frieren explains to Stark that a similar incident occurred during the generation of Graf Dach's great-grandfather, prompting Stark to remark that the sword seems to get stolen too often. Frieren accepts the request and, in return, demands a grimoire, a proposal that Graf Dach finds agreeable.

As Frieren's party heads in the direction the demon fled, an annoyed Frieren reveals that among the forceful nobles in the Northern Region, the Graf in this domain has always been unreasonable. She discloses that the Hero Party was once threatened with imprisonment if they failed to recover the heirloom. Frieren further explains that there had been no leads as to the whereabouts of the sword, and the Hero Party eventually discovered it at the summit of the Schwer Mountains. When Fern asks why the sword is frequently targeted by a demon, Frieren explains that the sword holds a special appeal to demons, as it was originally in the possession of a distinguished demon. Fern notes that despite all these challenges, Frieren still chose to undertake the request. In response, Frieren explains that it is inevitable, as refusing would render Himmel's efforts futile, and Himmel himself would not forsake them. A montage of scenes follow of Frieren’s party travelling and camping.

Eventually, the party reaches a ruined village and encounters a cloaked woman. Frieren asks if the woman is a villager, to which she responds that she is a wandering priest. She continues to explain that she was mourning the village, which had been destroyed by the Sword Demon, who Frieren identifies as the likely suspect they are looking for. The cloaked woman leads the party into a burial site, explaining that the Sword Demon had committed slaughter in countless villages. As the woman invites the party to pray with her, Frieren fires a spell at one of the graves, revealing it to be empty, much to Fern's confusion. Frieren reveals that the absence of corpses indicates that the woman is the Sword Demon. The demon uncloaks, revealing a sword. The Sword Demon reasons that the villagers' deaths were inevitable for the demon's sustenance, but Frieren responds that there is no need for the demon to consume humans. A battle ensues between the party and the Sword Demon, where Frieren swiftly destroys the demon with Zoltraak.

A flashback begins to when the Hero Party first found the sword on top of the Schwer Mountains. Frieren remarked that it was cold, and the request had truly been horrible, but Himmel responded that a troublesome request like this allowed them to defeat a demon and provide salvation for many humans. Himmel stated that this was why he would never forsake anyone in need. However, Heiter responded that Himmel simply liked to take on challenging requests, a claim the Hero did not deny.

Frieren's party is then seen praying at the burial sites. Back in Graf Dach's Domain, the Graf expresses gratitude to Frieren for recovering their heirloom sword. As the party begins to depart the town, Frieren remarks that they have obtained a nice grimoire. Fern states that Frieren must be glad, while Stark asks what the grimoire contains. Frieren responds that the grimoire contains magic that transmutes red apples to green apples which Stark finds pointless.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Stark
 * Frieren
 * Fern
 * Graf Dach's butler
 * Graf Dach
 * Hero Party (in a flashback)
 * Sword Demon

Locations

 * Graf Dach's Domain
 * Schwer Mountains (mentioned)

Battles

 * Frieren's Party vs. Sword Demon
 * Hero Party vs. unnamed demon

Events

 * Frieren's Party retrieves Graf Dach's heirloom sword

Spells

 * Zoltraak
 * Flight magic
 * Spell to turn a red apple into a green apple

New Tools

 * Graf Dach's heirloom sword