Heat. That was all that could be felt. Intoxicating, delicious heat that melted the senses. Every second lasted a millennium of pure bliss. Waves of ecstasy crashed through her as that glorious heat built up once more.

"Yes..." she moaned out, wrapping her arms around her personal messiah. The grass and leaves crunched beneath them as the powerful figure looking down at her sent chills down her spine. Another sharp push into her entrance set loose more moans, which flooded the vast forest. Trees went on for miles as they laid in the only clearing around for miles, set next to a small campfire that did nothing to shake off the bitter cold. "That's goood~!"

The woman's moan grew deeper, almost guttural. Every few seconds she tapped against the cold, iron monstrosity the stranger had for a left hand. In the deep darkness of the night, she could only see one bright white space for a left eye. She didn't mind. It made no matter. Especially then.

Bones cracked like twigs. The beautiful woman's flesh tore off in sheets, exposing blackened, slimy scales. Her jaw snapped open, exposing horrifying, razor fangs that filled her mouth. Eyes turned as dark as the emptiness around them. Tentacles slithered across the ground as they exploded from her back, tearing what was left of the disguise into shreds. Arms stretched into gnarled, corrupted mandibles, with horrid, monstrous claws for hands. What was once a gorgeous woman's face stretched and expanded into a nightmarish deformation of a human being. The moans turned deep and inhuman, piercing the ears. The claws closed around the figure, the transformation complete.

"I've got you now!" the beast shrieked as its disgusting legs wrapped around the figure. A tongue slithered from its hungry maw like a serpent, sliding across its victim slowly, taunting them. "How fitting to taste heaven before falling to Hell-!"

That hunk of iron flew into the open mouth, silencing the creature. It wasn't sure, but the monster thought that it could detect a sneer from the would be victim.

"I've got you, bitch," the figure said simply, its voice rich and powerful.

An explosion ripped through the forest, louder than a clap of thunder. It was followed by more of the inhuman moans, sounding more agonized than pleasure filled. A small fire stayed lit in the dead creature's cranium as blood flowed from the new opening in the back of its head. Brain matter and fragments of skull littered the burnt ground, all stunk of cooked meat and gunpowder. The figure got to its feet, retrieving the armor and cloak they had on beforehand. All a deep black, almost invisible in the dark night.

The cloak flowed like water in the wind as the figure put on their armor. Wafting, waving, and never staying in one place. The figure had to wrap the tattered and abused cloth around itself, pulling the hood up to hide its face.

"I need to keep moving."

With that, the strange cripple walked off into the forest, not looking back even once.

The grand, yet utterly generic, castle held a terrifying aura. Merchants took their wares through the large gatehouse, coming in and out at all times. Most tried to slip in without being noticed, others were clearly disturbed by something. Even the guards held faces of pure terror as they scanned the population around them. Mud clung to everything from the boots of travelers to the walls of the titanic gate.

The stranger saw the beaten, broken beggars trying to get enough money to buy a meal, and the knights riding past them without so much as a glance. Tattered, dirty clothes clung to the backs of the townsfolk. The stench alone was enough to make one vomit. Add that to the reeking smell of unwashed horse, and the manure that mixed into the mud, and it was enough to push it far past the point of no return.

A carriage sped through the gate. Sturdy iron bars made the cage, desperately covered with cloth to hide its cargo, along with the rotten wood for the flooring. The stranger caught a glimpse of who was inside. It was a large group of women and some children, all either sobbing madly or completely expressionless. None even gave the figure so much as a wave.

"Ahh!" a tiny voice shrieked as a knife flew towards it, embedding itself in the wall of the dingy tavern.

The place was a frequent stop for the local soldiers. Ale was cheap and the waitresses were pretty. While the food turned the guts into eels, and the drinks felt like they had rocks inside of them, it was all they had. Smoke from the candles gave the small building a slight haze, blurring the vision slightly. All of the tables and chairs were either broken or rotting. Peasants drank themselves as best they could, trying to forget the state of their lives.

"Shit," a booming voice said, coming from a large, muscle-bound man. His much smaller friend chuckling at him.

"Too bad," the friend said, patting the bear of a man on his back. "Ya missed."

The large man, his muttonchops and mustache the only hair on his head, grunted as he pointed at his target. One large finger attached to a hand equally as large only pushed the bear comparison further. As did the large, dark hide he wore on his back. Covering the area with heavy fur.

"Quit strugglin'!" he said, his accent bleeding into every word. "How am I supposed to hit ya if you keep movin'!?"

Onlookers watched as the target, a tiny elf tied to a post in the wall by a small string wrapped around his neck, pulled with all of its might as it tried to get free. Though it was to no avail. Most peasants tried to ignore it, just enjoying their drinks and what could pass for conversation that didn't end with their skulls caved in by their more violent guests.

"Feel sorry for the elf," one of the bystanders said as he took a swig of ale.

"Nothin' you can do," his friend said, forced to watch the show as his seat faced the direction of the brutes. "Not even the mayor can stand up to the men of Koka Castle. Best not to get involved."

The door opened to reveal a hooded figure, face and body completely covered. Not a single piece of flesh was visibly as it entered the tavern, none noticing due to the escapades of the Koka Castle men and the elf. The figure turned its cloaked head to the men, not saying a word. Merely watching the show take place.

"Hey," one of the men shouted to his companions, "I'm next!" The man laughed as he picked up one of the small knives they were using.

The figure went to bar, approaching the counter where the tender stood. His face was chiseled into a cold grimace. His balding head shined from the lanterns illuminating the bar while his mustache was greasy and unclean. The stranger raised an arm, dropping a few coins onto the bar.

"I'm gonna mess this place up a a little," was all it said. The bartender stared at the outsider for a moment before it opened its cloak, revealing a crossbow with a loading box of arrows sitting upon it.

"You bastards! Untie me!" the elf said, pulling at the string it was tied to. Its rough voice sounded similar to a small boy, as was its body shape. He wore no clothes, being too small to fit into any of them no doubt, and its wings buzzed in the air like an insect's. His blue hair grew out in all directions, like the stem of a tomato. It pointed upwards and backwards, keeping his hair from going to his shoulders. His eyes matched the color of his hair, a light powder blue that verged on bright gray.

"What'll you do if I chew through these ropes myself, huh!?" the defiant pixie continued its rant/tantrum, his teeth biting at the string that imprisoned him to the post.

"I'm gonna shut that mouth of yours!" the bald brute said, holding a knife by the blade between his fingers. "Don't struggle now!"

"Waaah!" the elf cried out as he flew around in a panic, shouting "No way!" repeatedly as he tried to escape the aim of his assassin.

A loud boom rocked the tavern as the bear's head was pinned to the wall, an arrow deep into the side of his brain. Blood poured from the wound and covered the ground, his body convulsing as best it could from its limited freedom. The three other guards stared at their friend's corpse before unsheathing their swords. The metal sang as it was freed from its prison.

"Fucker!" one of the guards said as he scanned the crowd. "Who did this!?"

He was answered by more arrows. Three flew into the head of the man to his right, one directly in his eye, mouth, and throat. Followed by two in the chest. He didn't make a sound as he fell to the ground dead. The other was hit by one in the eye and two in the throat. Another two to the stomach brought him to the ground as well.

Only one guard was left, the bodies of his comrades littering the floor and staining it red. He saw the cloaked figure, a modified crossbow on its left arm, which was metallic.

All in the tavern stared at the stranger, astonished by the ambush. Even the elf stopped its attempted escape and watched in pure wonder. The last guard shook with fear before another arrow drove through his nose, going from one side to another. He shrieked in pain and clutched at the impaled orifice before the stranger grabbed a hold of the arrow, pulling the poor soul along with it.

"That must hurt..." the elf said, covering his mouth with both hands as the smell of blood got to him.

"You're a robber for Koka Castle, right?" the stranger asked, its voice cold and violent.

The guard could only whimper as the pain became too much to bear. The stranger then slammed the arrow into a nearby table, driving it deep into the thick wood. Thick, heavy blood pooled around him, making him gag as it slid into his throat.

"Answer me," the stranger said as they leaned in closer to their victim.

"Tha-That'd righ..." the man slobbered out, his words mushed in his mouth.

"Good," the stranger said, flicking the arrow with a finger. "Now would you be so kind as to relay a message to your master for me?"

The voice was strange to say the least. It was powerful, yet not deep. Intimidating, yet not masculine. Another tug at the arrow made him forget whatever he was thinking about.

"Wh...Whah mighd thah be...?" the guard asked, tears in his eyes. The pain set his nose aflame. He was beyond the point of caring about cowardice. He just wanted the torture to end.

"Tell him that the Black Swordsman has come. That's all," the stranger said, sliding their covered face away from the broken man.

"The Black... Swordsman...?" the guard repeated, the words clear and precise.

The sound of a boot hit the floor behind the stranger. Wood creaked as it announced another player of their little game.

"Behind you!" the elf shouted, its little voice appearing to not reach the stranger.

That is, until they reached into the back of the cloak, and pulled out their weapon...

It was rough, long, and much too heavy to be called a sword. In fact, it was much more of a heap of iron. But what surprised everyone in the bar was the wielder.

The arms were much too slender; hands much too small; bosom much too developed; and hair much too long. In fact, the wielder was much more of a princess than a warrior. Her dark, black eyes pierced the soul of any man stupid enough to stare into them. She towered above all in the bar, well above six feet tall. Her muscles were developed, but not freakishly large. They were toned and lean. Her face had nary a blemish beyond a small horizontal scar on her nose. Her deep black hair was short, but just starting to reach her shoulders. Her skin was light, only appearing dark due to the lighting of the bar. Her right eye was permanently closed, not opening even once.

Where her left arm was supposed to be, an iron monstrosity stood in its place instead. The heavy gauntlet was closed into a fist, its fingers looking blunt and brutal. True to her name, the armor and cloak she wore was as black as coal. Her chest-piece covered all but her arms, which were left unprotected beyond heavy shoulder plates. She wore no helmet, her head free in the wind. The boots she wore were large, especially for a woman. Her trousers completely covered her legs, the flesh hidden by more black. Across her chest-piece was a bandoleer holding small throwing knives, each not even longer than a man's thumb.

The screams of the attacker snapped the crowd's attention back to the action. They all watched in horror as the massive sword crashed into the would-be killer, tearing him completely in half. The top half of his body spun in the air as the mere force of the blow sent the sword into the floor, crashing through the wood like a battering ram. The man's body splashed onto the floor as the peasants were sent into a panic.

"I'm counting on you," the woman said, turning to the still pinned survivor. She forced her way through the scared townsfolk, all checking on the corpses and praying to their god.

"Hey wait!" the elf said as he watched the woman leave, pulling on his bondage. "Wait you jerk!" The door slammed, making it obvious that she was not coming back for him. His head dropped as the realization hit him.

"Ah geez...!"

The woman walked through the cold, dingy alley as she planned her attack. She knew that the castle would be hard to fight through, especially with how exhausted she was. Other peasants stared at her as she walked past. Her armor and cloak were already stained with blood again. She would need to clean it off before she got any more-

"Hey, wait I said!"

Attention...

"If you start saving someone," the elf from the bar began, huffing as he tried to catch his breath, "You should follow through until the end! Wait up!" The buzzing from his wings irritated the woman, who merely grit her teeth and stayed silent, hoping it would leave.

"By the way, that's an amazing sword," the elf commented as it buzzed near her ear, showing no signs of leaving. "How much does it weigh?"

He got no response from his savior, who only stare ahead as she waited for the elf to go.

"By the way, I'm Puck," he said as he waved a small hand. "Nice to meet you!"

Once again he got only silence.

"Anyway, I was traveling with some performers when we were attacked by robbers," he said, telling his life story. "Since then, they kept me in a birdcage and then marinated me in a wine bottle. It's a miracle I'm still alive!"

The woman really regretted not hitting the elf with an arrow too.

"I've heard that this town has been attacked a bunch of times too, but now the mayor made a deal," Puck said, not even caring that the conversation was one-sided. "In return for losing their freedom, the people were promised that they wouldn't be attacked."

He put a finger to his chin as he flew.

"But now it looks like they might be attacked again anyway," he said. Puck turned to see the woman trekking along, ignoring his words. "It would be a good idea for you to get out of here. If more of those jerks find you, they'll tear you to pieces. And in more ways than one."

He buzzed his way to her shoulder, going in for a landing, hoping to hitch a ride.

"They're not just robbers," he said, inching closer as his wings stopped moving. "They're also the soldiers around here—AAA!"

Puck screamed as the woman swatted him off her shoulder, sending him back to the sky.

"Ouch! Wha'd you do that for!?" Puck shouted, nursing the spot on his backside that stung the most.

"Don't touch me," the woman said, her voice cold and unfeeling. "I'll crush you."

"What's your problem!?" Puck shouted as offense took hold of his system. "What kinda attitude is that when I was being concerned about you!?"

Clanking metal filled the air like a thick rain, deafening the rest of the elf's words. Soldiers brandishing war-hammers, axes, swords, crossbows, bows and arrows, and heavy shields surrounded them. Their armor gleamed in the night sky, a bright reflection due to the battalion's number. No less than thirty men surrounded them, all ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"Would you look at that..." Puck said, nearly frozen to the spot. He saw the woman merely grimace at the troops. "We-Well then, I'll be going!"

The elf flew off, leaving the woman to deal with the soldiers herself.

"Shit..." she said simply.

A/N

Yes. After several months, I finally have my Berserk thing done. Now you all know the truth...

But yeah, the plan is to adapt the entire series into this with the change that Guts is a woman. It's not out of any kind of "equal representation" bullshit. It's just that the idea interested me.

Anyway, the idea of changing Guts came to me about a year and a half ago. Now I finally have the ability to make it happen! Yay...

But yeah. I tried to keep it a twist because I thought it'd be cool. Sorry to all of you who thought it'd be just a novelization of the manga. That ain't what I do. I write horrible stories that other people think are good, which cause me to have a crisis regarding my abilities!

Also yes, Guts is a large woman. Tried to keep it "close", but not too close. Basically She-Hulk, only not green and has a very big metal thingie she'll hit you with until you're a pile of meat.

Until Next Time!