Aura the Guillotine ｢
Synopsis[]
While Fern and Stark make a temporary retreat with Graf Granat, Frieren's true foe awaits her outside the city.[1]
Plot[]
Graf Granat talks with Fern and Stark after receiving treatment for his wounds.
Fern and Stark bring Graf Granat to a church, where a church father finishes healing and patching up his injury before taking his leave. Granat expresses his gratitude to Fern and Stark for saving his life, conceding that their companion mage will be forgiven as she had the right judgment about the demons. Stark suggests inviting Frieren back to the town to have her kill the demons, while Fern informs the Graf that Frieren was not the one who killed the prison guard. Graf Granat reveals that he already knew the demons were responsible and asks for confirmation that Frieren is the same mage from the Hero Party. Realizing this, he acknowledges that he had acted disrespectfully, given that the Granat family is indebted to the Hero Party for driving demons away from the town during his grandfather's days. Graf Granat reveals that their opponent at the time was the very same Sage of Destruction, Aura the Guillotine.
Aura the Guillotine walks through the lines of her headless knight army.
Meanwhile, Frieren and Aura confront each other, with Aura remarking that it has been about 80 years since their last encounter. Frieren calmly asks Aura and her army to turn back from the town, but Aura refuses. As Aura's knights attack, Frieren effortlessly dodges their strikes, asking Aura why she won't retreat. Aura claims it is because she holds an overwhelming advantage. Frieren comments that Aura seems to have more knights than before, attributing it to the powerful nature of demon magic. She goes on to say that while humankind cannot hope to match the level of demon magic, such spells are utterly repulsive. Scanning around her, Frieren recognizes some of the headless suits of armor as she declares her resolve to kill Aura.
Aura places a knight under her control with the Scales of Obedience
Graf Granat explains to Fern and Stark that the Scales of Obedience wielded by Aura was the sole reason that his forces were unable to win against Aura for years. He explains that the magic of the Seven Sages of Destruction is far beyond human comprehension, and Aura's particular spell allowed her to enslave her opponents. The Scales of Obedience allows Aura to compare the mana of two individuals, and the one with greater mana gains control over the other, turning them into a puppet forever. The obvious risks and fairness of the spell are rendered meaningless through Aura's overwhelming amount of mana, making her invincible to most but those with even greater mana. Graf Granat admits that it has been five hundred years since Aura became a Sage of Destruction and there has never been a single individual that has surpassed Aura's mana. Fern asks if there are any countermeasures against the demon's power, to which Graf Granat responds that those with strong wills—often found in courageous warriors—can resist Aura's control momentarily. A flashback shows a knight wielding the Granat emblem breaking free of Aura's control. With a tormented expression, Granat reveals that Aura systematically did something very cruel in response to this, alluding to her moniker and the headless army she controls.
Frieren dispels Aura's magic, rendering some of the headless knights free from her control.
Meanwhile, Frieren continues to dodge through the attacks of Aura's army as the latter boasts of her immortal army. In response, Frieren uses her staff and casts a spell that dispels Aura's control over the knights surrounding the elf. The undead knights collapse to the ground, leaving Aura visibly surprised. Aura claims that such a thing has never happened before, but points out that this must have drained a significant amount of mana. She then questions why Frieren would bother freeing the knights, noting that during their last encounter, Frieren simply blasted the knights away. Frieren reveals that Himmel got mad at her for doing so. Aura retorts that with Himmel no longer around, there's even more reason to continue as before. In response, Frieren remarks that demons truly are beasts she can kill without remorse.
At the Church, the priest explains to Stark that the area is safe as it is guarded by a magic barrier, albeit not as strong as the town's barrier. Stark, telling Graf Granat to rest up, prepares to go out, and Fern asks if he is sure as their initial attack only worked as a surprise and was not enough to kill Lügner. Fern believes that the two of them would be killed if they continued fighting, but Stark responds that someone has to take responsibility. Fern agrees to head out with Stark, but Stark tells her to head to the guardhouse instead to have the townspeople evacuated. Stark comically resolves to beg for Frieren's return on his knees, subverting Fern's expectations. Stark reasons that it was the only way to beat the demons, to which Fern ultimately agrees. Outside, Stark hands Fern the emblem depicting the Graf Granat's family's crest, which will ensure the guards listen to her, while he prepares to leave the town immediately.
Linie conjures up an axe and pushes Stark over the ledge.
Fern asks about Stark's condition, as his arms are covered in blood. Stark reassures her that such injuries are normal for warriors, which Fern doubts. Stark then points out that Fern also has blood on her, though he is unsure where it came from. Shocked, Fern quickly discards her robe, realizing that the blood has traces of mana in it. In an ambush, Fern is immediately pierced by Lügner's blood and pushed against the wall, while Linie engages Stark with a conjured axe and pushes him over the ledge of the castle. They land in a clearing below, and Stark recognizes the demon's axe movements as his master's techniques.
Meanwhile, Lügner tells Fern that he had no intention of missing her vitals and making her suffer. He asks the silent Fern why she was surprised, chalking it down to his recovery from a fatal wound and the demons ability to hide their mana just like Fern did. Fern remarks that Lügner speaks a lot and asks if he is not going to kill her. Lügner reveals that he wants to ask her a few questions first, assuming she does not wish to die immediately.
Lügner inquires Fern while she is pinned to the wall with his blood magic.
Lügner inquires about Stark's strength as Fern reveals that he is the apprentice of Eisen the Warrior, to which Lügner predicts that he will experience an unpleasant death against Linie. Lügner then asks Fern where Frieren is, and Fern reveals that the elf had fled town due to her being the key suspect of the killing of the prison guard. Lügner, unconvinced, doubts that Frieren would leave simply due to the threat of execution and wonders if she has gone to confront Aura instead. Fern breaks free and tells Lügner to not move. Fern reveals that she figured that Lügner had missed intentionally as retaliation for her surprise attack due to his pride and inability to see anyone but Frieren as a threat. Having given Fern an opening, Lügner taunts her into attacking as he will kill her in an instant if she does.
Fern recalls a past conversation with Frieren, which took place after they had eliminated a herd of cow-like monsters. Fern asked Frieren if she was of any use to the elf, and when Frieren questioned why she would want to know, Fern explained that she could not handle magic like her. Frieren responded that it is simply due to the difference in the time they have spent practicing, meaning that Fern would never catch up with regards to mana and technique. However, Frieren also noted that she always assigned Fern to eliminate monsters because battles ended faster when Fern was involved, attributing this to Fern's speed in casting spells.
Lügner casts his blood spell, Balterie, to attack Fern.
As the flashback ends, Lügner tells Fern that he has dedicated his entire life to magic, to which Fern claims that she has done the same. Under the moonlight, the fight between Lügner and Fern begins. Lügner makes the first move but is immediately forced to block a spell aimed directly at his heart. The demon is surprised by Fern's reaction speed, and Fern attains the knowledge that Lügner's weak point is his heart. Acknowledging her skill, Lügner admits Fern wasn't lying about her dedication to magic and resolves to crush her with all his might. Lügner casts his signature spell: Balterie, as Linie observes from below the walls, revealing that she has already seemingly defeated Stark and that she will simply observe as Lügner does not like her meddling. Stark stands up, exclaiming that the battle has not yet ended, prompting Linie to prepare to attack again.
Fern dodges Lügner's magical attacks.
Fern calmly approaches Lügner as she counters all of Lügner's spells. Although Lügner considers himself incomparably superior in mana, technique, and control, Lügner is slowly being pushed back by Fern's barrage of attacks due to her speed and overwhelming number of spells. Lügner wonders what sort of training Fern had gone through under Frieren as she looks down upon him and prepares to attack again. Lügner decides to force Fern into a war of attrition to exhaust her mana. However, Fern's continuous spellcasting rapidly breaks through his defenses, injuring his shoulder. Struggling to find an opening, Lügner orders Linie to dispose of Stark and come to his aid.
Linie explains how she memorized the mana flow of past opponents and imitated their combat techniques in her battle against Stark.
Meanwhile, Linie grows frustrated with Stark's persistence as he dodges her attacks. She eventually lands an axe blow on his head near his eye. Stark notices the similarities between Linie's axe-wielding and his master's techniques. Linie reveals that she specializes in reading people's mana and has memorized the way mana flows through them as they move, allowing her to replicate their techniques. Linie consecutively summons a variety of weapons, overpowering Stark at every turn. As she summons an axe, she remarks that Stark's movements resemble those of the greatest warrior in history, a technique she has memorized, and finds the encounter fateful. Stark, struggling, blocks Linie's attack with his axe as he internally resigns to never being able to beat his own master. Linie lands another hit on his shoulder before preparing to aid Lügner.
After Stark stands up during training, Eisen tells him how a warrior wins.
As Stark, beaten down, lays on the ground, he recalls being knocked down similarly while training with Eisen. Eisen ordered Stark to stand up and that he was not allowed to get knocked out no matter how battered he got. Stark responded that it was easier said than done, and he admitted that with his mindset, he could never beat Eisen. Eisen acknowledged this but emphasized that as long as Stark chose to stand up, he hadn't truly lost. Eisen revealed his trick to beating a strong opponent, which was to simply get back up and keep fighting until the last warrior is standing, making them the winner.
Remembering this lesson, Stark stands, exasperated by Eisen's logic. Linie sighs, saying Stark should have stayed down, as he has already lost. Stark asserts that he has not yet lost and that Linie's movements are a cheap imitation of his master's as they lack the true weight behind each attack. Linie summons her axe again and readies herself into a stance with Erfassen, determined to beat Stark with such imitation.
Linie gets struck by Stark's Lightning Strike.
Lügner continues to engage Fern in battle as Stark decides to launch a seemingly reckless attack against Linie with no regard for defense. In response, Linie swings her axe in a counterattack but fails to slice through Stark's body. Stark is reassured to find out that Linie's attack truly had no power at all and his resolve to sacrifice himself was unneeded. In an instant, Stark lands a blow using his Lightning Strike which vertically cuts through Linie and makes her disintegrate after the kill. Distracted by Linie's death, Lügner is struck down by Fern's Zoltraak, ending the battle.
Lügner is fatally struck by Fern.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
Locations in Order of Appearance[]
- Graf Granat's Domain
- Bredt Region (flashback)
Episode Notes[]
- In the manga, the town is built with ramparts on one side at the same level and the outer wall falling off, while in the anime, the town is surrounded by a high wall where the fight between Fern and Lügner erupts.
- In the anime, The cow-like monster in Fern's flashback appear to disintegrate into mana particles upon death, classifying them as monsters. However, they do not disintegrate in the manga.
- The anime extends both apprentice's fights against the demons compared to the manga fight scenes. Most notably, Linie not only conjures a broadsword and a battleaxe as shown in the manga, but she also brings out a spear and dagger in the anime.
- Stark's flashback where he remembers Eisen's lesson shows him training beside the dwarf's dwelling, however, in the manga, he trains in a forest near the base of a natural cliff.
- The short jump to the fight between Fern and Lügner, which creates a firework-like scene before Stark kills Linie, is unique to the anime.
- In the anime, upon being struck fatally by Fern's Zoltraak, Lügner vocally identifies it as a demon-killing spell.
References[]
- ↑ Crunchyroll: Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Episode 9.
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