Macht

Macht (マハト), also known as Macht of El Dorado （黄金郷のマハト）is a demon and the last survivor among the Seven Sages of Destruction. He is renowned as the most powerful Sage of Destruction because the magic he wields, Di Agölze (Universal Golden Transmutation), is an imperceptible, unstoppable and irreversible curse. Although he held the title of Sage of Destruction, Macht was largely uninterested in the conflict between demons and other species and disliked being specifically involved in the war. After the defeat of the Demon King, Macht made an agreement with Lord Glück, the feudal lord of the Fortified City of Weise, and became his servant. About 20 years before the death of the Hero Himmel, Macht transmuted the entire city of Weise into gold and was subsequently sealed inside a barrier, along with the transmuted city.

Personality
Macht is commonly languid, cold and uncaring. As is common with demons, he is highly individualistic and asocial yet he does not appear enthusiastic in seeking to kill humans or engaging in battle. This is due to how powerful his magic is, rendering most of the fights he engaged in mundane as he can end them at any time. In addition, he does not comprehend certain concepts, such as evil, justice, as well as certain emotions, like guilt and malice. He also does not seem to understand the concept of morality, signified by the fact he did not understand why killing other humans would get in the way of coexisting with them. He does not possess any kind of loyalty or solidarity with other demons as well as the Demon King; he even declined to assist Schlacht in the important battle against the Hero of the South, and killed a former demon acquaintance without any sign of reluctance or remorse.

Macht specifically dislikes conflicts. It was partly explained that due to his powerful magic, he does not find battles engaging, but according to Schlacht, he has detested battles and conflicts for a long time. Macht does appear to act consistent with his aversion to conflict, for example, in El Dorado, he impaled the corpses of intruders before transmuting them into gold as a threat to future trespassers, claiming that most humans would flee at the sight. Consequently, Macht is dismayed by "reckless daredevils", which is how he describes those who dare to challenge him, such as Lernen and Wahrheit - people who are not deterred by the threat he poses. However, it is worth noting that while he is a moderate among demons, Macht does not dislike conflicts because of a moral aversion to violence and killing. He only seems to detest battle and fighting as an activity.

While he is mostly apathetic, Macht can be surprisingly whimsical, often describing his actions as being done "on a whim". He did not transmute every human settlement he attacked in to gold, and while some villages were burned, others were left intact. He also attacked the carriage of Lord Glück on a whim, and came to an agreement with Glück simply because he found him interesting. However, Macht can also be extremely persistent once he is occupied with an idea, most evidently in his desire to learn more about humans. Although it started from something very trivial, he continued to commit to his desire for understanding humanity and coexistence, even when his efforts were deemed pointless and had yielded little fruit.

As a demon, he is naturally adept at mimicking human speech and mannerisms and does this subconsciously the more he interacts with people. During his time in the Fortified City of Weise he has integrated himself society that reportedly "many people were helped by his words and deeds". However, it is but the consequence of his nature as a demon in order to garner people's trust and deceive them, not out of any true desire to benefit humankind.

Appearance
Macht has long red hair without bangs and two long, curved horns coming out of his temples. His eyes have heavy eyebags underneath, lending them a tired, sleepless look.

He wears a dark green, high-collared shirt with golden linings, similarly colored pants and three golden braces on his right arm. His shirt has a golden tassel and stretches from his left shoulder across his chest. Macht also wears red gloves. He carries a large blue fur coat on his left shoulder, which he transforms into a large sword with his magic to use in battles.

History
Macht of El Dorado is one of the Seven Sages of Destruction - powerful demon subordinates of the human kings who occupied important territories in the demon war against other races. His unbeatable magic and overwhelming battle prowess earned him the reputation of being the most powerful Sage of Destruction. As a servant of the Demon King, he occasionally carried out attacks on human settlements under the latter's orders, though he detested conflict and seemed dismayed when the Omniscient Schlacht forced him to fight against his will. During his tenure as a Sage of Destruction, he had made acquaintances with other figures in the Demon King Army despite claiming little interest in the Army's survival, such as Shogun Shräg and Qual.

He is one of the eleven mages who have defeated Frieren in battle, one of the four demons to have done so. According to Frieren, they had fought about 600 years ago.

Coincidentally, during one of his routine destruction of human settlements, Macht realized that he lacked certain human emotions which humans naturally possess and began on his journey to try understanding them. To do this, he massacred countless humans meaninglessly in an attempt to feel malice and guilt, to little success. At one point, he encountered Solitär, a demon who researched people, to ask about the emotions he was trying to find, and learned human magic from her in the process.

Before the battle between the Hero and the South and the Seven Sages of Destruction, Macht was approached by Schlacht and solicitated to fight against the Hero of the South. Macht was reluctant to cooperate but was compelled to lend his aid due to a threat to his life. Under Schlacht's directions, his memories of the battle was later erased, leaving him with no recollection of the event.

As he approached the Fortified City of Weise, he attacked a nobleman's carriage out of a whim, killing all of the noble's subordinates. This noble was Glück, the feudal lord of the Fortified City of Weise. Glück offered to teach Macht about the emotions he lacked in exchange for the demon's service to help him deal with his political opponents and take control of the Fortified City of Weise. Intrigued by the noble's machinations, Macht agreed to the deal. He began working for Glück, first by assassinating all of his corrupt political opponents. When the Demon King was defeated by Himmel, Glück introduced him publicly to the people of Weise as a mage of the feudal lord's family. In his new position, he befriended the nobles of Weise according to Glück's commands and eventually gained most of the townspeople's trust.

He was put in charge as the magic instructor to Denken, the child of Gluck's deceased relative, after appealing his capacity in magic to Glück.

About twenty years after the beginning of his contract with Glück, Macht was equipped with the Stone Bracelet of Sovereignty, the only magical item in the world capable of controlling a demon's mind. Glück thus bound him with three commands, which were:


 * 1) To serve the people of the Fortified City of Weise and all their descendants.
 * 2) To never commit any malicious act against [the people of Weise].
 * 3) To sever his own life the instant he bears even the slightest malice.

For yet unknown reason, Macht has transmuted the entirety of the Fortified City of Weise into gold. He was subsequently sealed by a powerful barrier by the newly formed Continental Magic Association, but every year his magic continued to spread outside the range of the barrier. The Magic Association continued to manage the barrier and adjust its range every year to cover the expansion. During his imprisonment, he continued to kill trespassers of the barrier, although interestingly he did leave some survivors. In an attempt to deter humans from venturing further, he would impale the corpses of intruders he killed and put them on display before transmuting them into gold.

Abilities
Macht is an incredibly powerful demon, denoting himself the strongest among the Sages of Destruction.

Physical abilities: Macht is an extremely powerful physical fighter. Despite being a mage, he usually prefers to fight with a great sword made using his magic. His battle strength and agility are overwhelming enough to instantly wipe out a party of experienced demon fighters, including a first-class mage. He broke through Lernen's defensive magic with seemingly nothing but his physical strength, and managed to effortlessly defeat a horde of the Demon King Army forces led by the Demon Shogun Shräg, the Lightning Flash, without resorting to using Di Algöze on them.

Mana Detection; Macht possesses incredibly precise mana detection, which Frieren claims even she could not easily bypass. His mana detection reaches throughout the transmuted El Dorado, making it impossible for any intruder to escape his notice. He easily detected both Lernen and Edel, who were experts at hiding and mana concealment.

Mana characteristics: while it is never stated that Macht himself does not emit any mana (and it has been stated that no living creature with mana can ever completely extinguished its mana), due to the nature of his magic, Di Algöze, Macht's mana can not be detected even though he is constantly using his magic (to expand the reach of El Dorado). The jarring contrast between seeing such a massive area magically transmuted into gold and yet feeling none of the mana resulting from that magic is the reason why most mages find El Dorado and Macht by extension extremely discomforting.

Di Algöze (Universal Golden Transmutation Magic): Macht's signature spell, a curse which transforms anything in the material world into gold. It is regarded as the strongest curse, one that could not be dispelled. As a curse, it is imperceptible as magic and thus impossible to defend against or evade. The gold he creates is also indestructible and unmalleable; upon identification by magic it is registered as gold, but completely different from naturally occurring gold.

Di Algöze requires no special activation condition or mechanism. It does not require Macht to make physical contact with the desired target, and it seems capable of being used remotely, bypassing even the magic barrier used to seal him in. This power is so overwhelmingly powerful that Macht himself deliberately avoids using it directly on his opponents because it makes battles too mundane for his liking.

Human magic: Unlike most demons, Macht is capable of using many kinds of human magic, though he was never seen utilizing them in battles. He learned them during his visit to Solitär, who conducts studies on human magic. His mastery is sufficient to train a highly successful imperial mage.

Soul track (Human-killing spell/Basic Offense Magic): Macht is capable of using Soul track; claiming it was a great magic created by an old friend of his.

Trivia
Macht in German means power, might, strength. As is appropriate to his namesake, Macht is considered the most powerful Sage of Destruction. In addition, his preferred method of battle is physical strength instead of magic.

Macht had a characteristic sitting position he seemed to favor, with his back slouched and his hands in between his legs.