Chapter 98

Sealed in gold, Denken meets his late wife Lekture inside a dream. Though he believes himself beaten, she reminds him that the man she loved never once quit during his many sparring losses to Macht, which jogs loose the memory of the single time he wounded his master. Frieren then frees him by nullifying Diagoldze, and the two move together to face Macht and Solitar. Frieren warns Macht that his dream of living alongside humans is bound to collapse and tells him the hour of retribution has arrived. Denken interrupts to claim Macht for himself, leaving Frieren to square off with a delighted Solitar.

In the dream, a younger Denken wakes to Lekture, who spots his new badge and congratulates his promotion. He speaks of earning enough coin to keep them both comfortable and stave off her death, until his present self recognizes the vision for what it is. He confesses that news of her death caught up to him on the very evening his badge was awarded, the eve of his intended trip home, stealing any chance to witness her final moments. Thanking her for one more meeting, he admits his defeat to Macht, and her faith in his stubbornness stirs the recollection of the time he drew blood from his teacher.

Back in the present, Frieren lifts Diagoldze and tells Denken only an hour has slipped by, then shields him against the curse. Macht and Solitar find them despite her concealed mana, and Macht reels at the sight of his curse being unraveled. Frieren ties her swift counter to a battle with Macht six hundred years earlier, a clash he has forgotten, in which her right arm was turned to gold and took a century to restore. She reveals she had hoped to bait him into casting Diagoldze again at Weise to refine her negation spell, a gamble that startles him, and explains that his very wariness proved the curse imperfect and vulnerable to magic like Mistilziela.

When Frieren's flames drive the demons back, Solitar suggests the humans flee. Frieren refuses, recalling that the only other demon who ever wished to coexist was the Demon King, whose golden era cost nearly two thirds of humanity their lives. She asks how many more must die for Macht's dream and demands retribution, which he accepts, stirred by the dying words of Gluck. Denken then asks to take Macht alone, and Frieren turns instead toward Solitar.

Carrying the title Retribution, the chapter was written by Kanehito Yamada and illustrated by Abe Tsukasa as part of The Golden Land arc. It unfolds at the Fortress City of Weise, by now reshaped into the Golden Land, and pairs Frieren and Denken against Macht and Solitar. Among the magic referenced are Diagoldze, the protective spell that blocks it, Mistilziela, flight magic, Vollzanbel, Zoltraak, Catastravia, and a spell that forges blades of mana.