Chapter 86: Discussions

Denken explains why the Golden Land has let him come and go unharmed and even hold conversations with Macht. As a native of Weise, he falls under one of the two orders bound to the demon by the Stone Bracelet of Servitude, the command to serve the city's people and their descendants. That decree keeps Macht from harming him, though the demon still refuses to obey any order forced upon him.

Pressed on why he bothers with talk, Denken says he wants his homeland restored. Because Macht's gilding magic lingers even after the caster dies, only Macht himself can undo it, which forces Denken to keep his enemy alive in an uneasy deadlock. Frieren asks to come along, wanting to confirm something by meeting the demon in person, and Fern and Stark insist on joining too.

Macht receives the group courteously at the heart of Weise and, on Denken's instruction, treats the newcomers kindly. He presents himself as the Glück family's magic instructor. Frieren reminds him they clashed six centuries earlier, but he shows no memory of it, and her attempt to bait him into combat is cut short by Denken's command. Over tea, Macht claims he was a moderate who sought coexistence long before the bracelet ever bound him, a statement Denken confirms from the memories he read. When Frieren demands to know why he keeps slaughtering people despite that wish, Macht only looks puzzled, and she concludes that the two species can never truly understand one another. On the way out, Denken reveals that Macht was once his own teacher of magic.

The party recalls the two commands fixed to Macht by the Stone Bracelet of Servitude, one to serve Weise's citizens and one barring malicious acts against them, and they realize the serving clause is what spares Denken inside the Golden Land. Frieren provokes the demon twice, first claiming a shared past and then declaring him beatable, but Denken defuses each moment. The meeting ends without violence, and Denken finally names Macht as the former mage of House Glück, the lords of Weise, and the man who taught him magic.

Published March 16, 2022, the chapter is titled Discussions and sits in volume nine of The Golden Land arc. The entire encounter plays out within the gilded Fortress City of Weise. It establishes that Macht's claim of wanting coexistence predates his enslavement by the bracelet, and that he genuinely holds no allegiance to the fallen Demon King or his army.