Frieren: What Is the Hero’s Sword & What Happened to It?

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is a wonderful fantasy series combining Japanese craft with Western tropes. We on Fiction Horizon are covering the series, of course. While we have talked about the characters and the plot of the series most often, this article will be a bit different as we will talk about an object that seems to play a very important role in the legends of the world of Frieren. The object in question is the Hero’s Sword, which was featured in the most recent episode of the anime, and in this article, we will tell you all you need to know about it.

The Hero’s Sword is a legendary artifact in the world of Frieren

The Hero’s Sword is a truly majestic artifact, according to Frieren and the stories surrounding it. It is a powerful sword that is said to possess some special qualities. As Frieren, Stark, and Fern traveled through the Schwer Mountains, they came to the Village of the Sword, whose inhabitants had been guarding the Sword for a long time. This is when we found out the story surrounding it.

Many years ago, while the original Hero Party was still starting their journey, they received a very small amount of travel money from the King, who did not believe that they could actually defeat the Demon King. Himmel then said that it wasn’t a problem and that they would earn more money as they helped people along the way, which would ultimately get them to the Demon King’s Castle. And that is how it was, but we also found out some details about Himmel’s sword.

Namely, Himmel was carrying with him a large sword, which looked like the Hero’s Sword, but it was a replica given to him by a merchant whom he had helped earlier. He said he did not care much and would get the Hero’s Sword, the real one, and defeat the Demon King with it. The Hero’s Sword was a legendary sword located in a stone in a cave near the Village of the Sword. According to legend, only a true hero could take it from the stone.

Since they had to pass the village on their way to the Demon King’s Castle up north, Himmel would – of course – try to take it out, and according to legend, he succeeded, thus proving that he was a true hero. The sword was said to help the one who took it out rid the world of its greatest dangers, so when Himmel and his party actually managed to defeat the Demon King, the whole story made a lot of sense, as it contributed to Himmel’s reputation worldwide. Himmel has proven himself to be a true hero, but as it soon turned out – the story did not go exactly like that.

Despite the legends surrounding Himmel’s “success,” the sword is still in its place in the stone

Namely, the lie behind Himmel’s story was soon discovered. As Frieren, Fern, and Stark arrived in the Village of the Sword, the current head – a small girl – informed them that monsters had plagued their village and that Frieren had to take them down. Similar to wolves, the monsters were led by the gigantic Lord of the Mountain, whom Frieren had to kill.

As they made their way to the area around the village, they reached a cave where the monsters had been gathered. Stark defeated many of them, but then the Lord of the Mountain arrived. At that point, Stark realized something, but there was no time, as the heroes engaged the monster in battle and defeated it.

After the monster had been defeated, Stark looked inside the cave again and observed that the Hero’s Sword was still there, which confused him. Frieren and the village chief then confirmed that the legend of Himmel taking the sword was a lie; in fact, when Himmel tried to pull it out, he failed. But he was not disappointed – he said that, regardless of whether he was a true or a fake hero, he would still defeat the Demon King.

And when that happened, they simply changed the story as people like to romanticize heroes, so a story where Himmel would be portrayed as a “fake Hero” would not make much sense. That is why the legend was changed, and a lie was maintained.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!