| Introduction |
“ It's been a long time, Frieren. How many years have passed?
—Qual to Frieren, in Chapter 5
Qual ｢クヴァール Kuvāru?｣, also known as the the Elder Sage of Corruption ｢
Personality[]
As a Demon, Qual is unable to experience human emotions including empathy. However, he is shown to be level-headed and calm, as upon being unsealed by Frieren, he is not angry and instead greets her like an old acquaintance. In addition, he demonstrates loyalty towards the Demon King: once hearing that Frieren had defeated him, he immediately decides that he will avenge his king.[1]
Qual has a strong faith in his magic, appearing surprised when Frieren and Fern are able to block a blast of Zoltraak. In addition, he is highly adaptable and analytical, as shown when he immediately discerns the mechanisms and weaknesses of defensive magic and launches an appropriate counterattack.
Appearance[]
Qual's appearance as sealed away by Frieren.
Qual, despite being a Demon, exhibits a monstrous appearance. His face features a square jaw, slanted eyes that appear stapled shut, and jagged teeth that are always visible. Light brown, mask-like markings surround his eyes and dark brown markings recede into his hair line. He has an ashy-brown skin tone covered with dark tattoo bandings and staples that run around his arms and across his body. Two ragged, yellow horns protrude from his head. Qual has long, light-blonde hair that begins in a tuft between the base of his horns and extends to the middle of his back, as well as a long beard which reaches past his waist. Qual's figure is larger than most Demons, and in his sealed form, where he is crouched down, Frieren is only able to reach up to his knee.
Qual wears a fur shoulder cape, fur wrist cuffs, and a long, dark-gray loincloth held in place by a chain and a string of tusks. His fingertips taper off in long, pointed nails and are colored a dark red.
Synopsis[]
History[]
Qual in combat with the Hero Party.
Qual was known as the Elder Sage of Corruption. During the reign of the Demon King, he caused great destruction in the Größe Forest, causing the death of about 40% of the adventurers and 70% of the sorcerers in the region.[2] The source of his power was the magic he developed: killing magic, or Zoltraak, which was the first piercing spell in history. This spell pierced through all of mankind's defensive magic and equipment and could directly destroy a person's body. During the Hero Party's adventure to slay the Demon King, Qual engaged in combat with them. He proved too strong for the party to defeat, causing Frieren to seal him as a last resort.
In the years after Qual was sealed, sorcerers across the continent analyzed Zoltraak and developed countermeasures against it, with Frieren greatly contributing to the research.[3] As a result, Zoltraak and its counterdefense became the basis of the modern human magic system, turning into ordinary offense and defense magic, respectively. Frieren's seal on Qual remained intact for eighty years, though once a year, Himmel would visit to check on the status of the seal.
Beyond Journey's End Arc[]
Frieren and Fern confront Qual.
Twenty-seven years after Himmel's death, Qual is unsealed by Frieren during her visit to a village in the Größe Forest. After being released and realizing that the Demon King had been defeated, he engages in combat with Frieren and her apprentice Fern. However, he is unable to break the basic defensive magic barrier conjured by Fern with his signature killing magic due to his spell being studied and incorporated into human magic systems. After trying to overwhelm the magic barrier casted by Fern with a multi-directional assault, he is defeated in one attack by Frieren using the same magic that he had created.
Abilities[]
Qual was an outstanding sorcerer even among the Demon King's army, managing to kill 40% of the adventures and 70% of the sorcerers in the region of Größe Forest. Due to his immense strength, the Hero's party was unable to defeat him, forcing Frieren to seal him away so she could finish him off later once she was powerful enough to do so. It would take many decades for mankind to reverse engineer Qual's magic and create a counter-measure against it.
- Keen Intellect: Qual is highly adept at analyzing magic, being able to immediately figure out the mechanism behind the defensive spell created specifically to counter his own magic, managing to correctly conclude that it must have a very high consumption of mana and being able to create a counter-strategy against it.[4]
Spells[]
- Killing Magic: Zoltraak ｢
人を殺す魔法 Zorutorāku?｣: Qual's signature spell, It is the first piercing magic developed in all of history that could pierce all of humanity's defensive spells and magical resistance equipment at the time. After Qual was sealed, research by sorcerers across the continent led to Zoltraak becoming the basis for the modern magic system.[5]
Manga Appearance[]
| Chapter 1: The Journey's End | Absent |
| Chapter 2: The Priest's Lie | Absent |
| Chapter 3: Blue-Moon Weed | Absent |
| Chapter 4: The Mage's Secret | Absent |
| Chapter 5: Killing Magic | Debut |
| Chapter 6: New Year's Festival | Absent |
| Chapter 7: The Land Where Souls Rest | Absent |
| Chapter 8: One One-Hundredth | Absent |
| Chapter 9: Phantoms of the Dead | Absent |
| Chapter 10: Solar Dragon | Absent |
| Chapter 11: The Hero of the Village | Absent |
| Chapter 12: The Northern Checkpoint | Absent |
| Chapter 13: Liberation Festival | Absent |
| Chapter 14: Monsters That Speak | Absent |
| Chapter 15: Draht | Absent |
| Chapter 16: The Murder of a Guard | Absent |
| Chapter 17: Frieren the Slayer | Flashback |
| Chapter 18: The Undead Army | Absent |
| Chapter 19: Raid | Absent |
| Chapter 20: Master's Technique | Absent |
| Chapter 21: Coward | Absent |
| Chapter 22: The Scales of Obedience | Flashback |
| Chapter 23: A Victory and a Funeral | Absent |
| Chapter 77: A Thunder of Dragons | Absent |
| Chapter 78: Lake Korridor | Absent |
| Chapter 79: The Great Tor Canyon | Absent |
| Chapter 80: Holy Snow Crystals | Absent |
| Chapter 81: The Golden Land | Flashback |
| Chapter 82: Diagoldze—The Spell to Transmute All Creation into Gold | Absent |
| Chapter 83: The Stone Bracelet of Servitude | Absent |
| Chapter 84: Daredevil | Absent |
| Chapter 85: Malice | Absent |
| Chapter 86: Discussions | Absent |
| Chapter 87: Affection | Absent |
| Chapter 88: Solitär | Absent |
| Chapter 89: Guilt | Absent |
| Chapter 90: Glück | Absent |
| Chapter 91: Onstage | Flashback |
| Chapter 92: The End of Weise | Absent |
| Chapter 93: The Great Barrier | Absent |
| Chapter 94: Analysis | Absent |
| Chapter 95: Nameless Great Demon | Absent |
| Chapter 96: Master and Apprentice | Absent |
| Chapter 97: Observation | Absent |
| Chapter 98: Retribution | Absent |
| Chapter 99: Offense and Defense | Absent |
| Chapter 100: The Fundamentals of Mages | Absent |
| Chapter 101: Breakthrough | Flashback |
| Chapter 102: A Tie | Absent |
| Chapter 103: Time for Retribution | Absent |
| Chapter 104: A Visit to Her Grave | Absent |
Anime Appearance[]
Trivia[]
- Qual is German for "agony" or "torment."
- Qual ranked the following in the official popularity polls:
- 27th in the first popularity contest.
- 40th in the second popularity contest, where multiple votes per character were counted.
- In this same contest, Qual ranked 37th when counting only unique votes (one vote per character per person).