Chapter 73

Resuming at once, the group prepares to separate, with Frieren steering them toward an abandoned fortress where demons tend to nest. Genau plans to follow once the Chivalric Order collects the bodies, and Stark insists on staying with him. The two trade objections over leaving the others without a warrior, until Stark points out that Genau cannot simply abandon his own village. Genau replies that only corpses remain, yet relents when Stark notes that he is guarding those corpses all the same.

As the women depart, Genau warns Stark that his good nature will get him killed. Stark turns it around, calling Genau decent for protecting the village when Stark himself once could not. Genau rejects the praise, admitting he has slain and forsaken untold numbers for the sake of peace in the north, grown so numb to death that even his ruined hometown stirs nothing in him, and stays only because it matches what he believes is right, though his purpose now eludes him.

Frieren, Fern, and Methode move through the forest, where Frieren cautions against heavy long-range detection magic that a skilled foe could turn against them. She encourages light conversation to keep teamwork sharp, balancing tension with ease. Methode asks to pat Frieren's head, a fondness for small companions that Serie discourages, and Frieren refuses on grounds of her own maturity, only to relent the instant Methode produces a grimoire holding a spell that keeps eggshells out of cracked eggs. The patting escalates into a hug and then a tug-of-war as an annoyed Fern hauls Frieren back.

The comedy snaps shut when two demons appear hovering overhead, having pinpointed the mages through mana detection. One bears a katana, the other a ritual staff, and the latter casts Fog Control Magic: Nebeladora, drowning the area in a thick haze that smothers both sight and mana sense. Amid a rain of offensive spells, Frieren seizes Fern and pulls her away from Methode.

Noting that both demons fly, Fern is surprised, but Frieren reminds her that demons ruled the skies until forty years ago, treating flight as something so natural it scarcely counts as magic, and warns that more such tricks await in the battles ahead. When a crash signals Methode entering combat, Frieren hands the fight to Fern, insisting the mission suits a first-class mage of her rank. Fern barely blocks an incoming strike with defensive magic, crediting luck and feeling outmatched, while Frieren voices full confidence in her victory. The two attacking demons are unnamed in the manga and identified only on the anime's website as Hemmung, the fog controller, and Solide, the katana wielder.