Chapter 21

Coward is the twenty-first chapter of Yamada Kanehito & Abe Tsukasa's Sousou no Frieren.

Summary
Right after the events of the previous chapter, Lügner lays on the verge of death. He realizes that Frieren and Fern have been limiting their mana levels, a despicable and cowardly act. Fern concurs, then finishes Lügner off. The story then flashes back to Frieren's past, where she encounters Flamme after her village was destroyed by demons. Flamme finds Frieren on the verge of death and decides to make Frieren her apprentice. The pair are accosted by demons in pursuit of Frieren, who judge Flamme to be weak based on her mana and call for her to leave Frieren behind if she wishes to keep her life. Flamme calls the demons arrogant and careless, before releasing her limited mana and destroying the demons. After Frieren heals, Flamme teaches Frieren how to limit her mana, and tells her to keep up her mana limiting for her entire life to deceive demons. The flashback ends with Frieren facing off against Aura. Aura's mana output is visibly greater than Frieren's, and Aura questions if it was the right call for Frieren to expend so much mana.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Lügner
 * Fern
 * Aura
 * Frieren
 * Flamme (in a flashback)
 * Basalt the Throne (in a flashback)

Locations

 * Graf Granat's Domain

Battles and Events

 * Lügner vs. Fern
 * Aura vs. Frieren
 * Frieren vs. Basalt the Throne (mentioned)
 * Flamme vs. demons

Events

 * Fern defeats Lügner
 * Flamme teaches Frieren to limit her mana (in a flashback)

Spells

 * Unnamed offensive magic (may be Zoltraak)
 * Unnamed burst of magic

Chapter Notes

 * Flamme, Frieren, Fern, and Lügner all agree that limiting mana makes a mockery of noble magic