Chapter 1: Branded
Prologue
This story is not for the feint of heart. Murderers, thieves, rapist, overzealous nobles and worst of all demons plague the land. War is everywhere, Kings and Emperors constantly fighting for land and for their gods. Midland was once a place to be reckoned with when it hired the mercenary group known as the Band of the Hawk. But for reasons that only they know the King sent the leader of the group, Griffith, to a dungeon where he died. But other rumors say that his group broke him out. That rumor is true, Griffith was broken out but only as a husk of what he once was. The man was broken both mentally and physically. The perfect time for God Hand to influence the weak leader into using the Crimson Behelit to start the eclipse. And thus the fifth and final so to speak god was born. Now the God Hand will bring true darkness to the world and usher in a new age of Darkness. Two men stand in their way. Both being branded, both being betrayed, and both vowing for revenge. These men's names are Guts 'The Black Swordsman' and Freddy Ruiz 'Dragon's Bane'. Guts is a swordsman with spiky black hair and wields the DragonSlayer, a large slab of iron in the shape of a sword. He has a metal prosthetic left arm and wears black armour fit with a cape. He also has a cannon inside his metal arm and a crossbow which he attaches to his left arm. His right eye is closed since it no longer functions. Freddy is a man who looked to be in his late teens with long green hair that reaches down to his waist. He is wearing a huge Long nautical outerwear overcoat unbuttoned with a tucked in white dress shirt and black vest. With a pair of black leather gloves that wrapped around most of his arm and hands with a distinct scale like pattern, black pants and black steel tipped dress shoes. On his back he had a bow, a huge bow that was as tall as him. This was no ordinary bow, it is said to be crafted from the bones of a dragon. Inside his coat he had on both of his thighs were holsters for a bunch of throwing knifes wrapping around his thighs. His gloves were also a weapon, also made from dragon bones and dragon hide, they form into a hard pair of boxing gloves and can also bring out claws through the knuckles.
Two years have passed since the last eclipse. Guts was currently fighting Zod to try and kill the man who has caused him so much pain, Griffith. Unfortunately he wasn't fast enough and Griffith took his leave. This is when the two warriors meet. Fate or coincidence? No one knows, but one thing is sure. They will bring God Hand down begging for their lives.
POV: Freddy
Man the trek here was long. I decided to come back to my old friend Godo and see if he has any new inventions for me. Wonder if he still has dragonslayer, might come in handy in the future.
Wait what the hell is going on! As I looked towards Godo's home I saw none other than Zodd The Immortal himself in his apostle form.
Damn so Skull Knight hasn't killed him yet. But what surprised me more was the fact that a human was fighting him. I thought I was the only human that could stand up to him. Said man wielded one of the largest swords I've ever seen. Not just any sword but the very sword I helped Godo make, Dragon Slayer. To think another man is swinging that five-hundred pound weapon. Godo must have trusted him enough to give him the blade.
So as the kind-hearted man I am, I decided to help him out. I pulled out my bow and concentrated od into my hand and made a wind arrow and shot at Zodd. The shot was lightning fast and Zodd barely managed to dodge it. "Dragon's Bane, this is a surprise, haven't seen you for a decade or two." Zodd said.
"Damn has it really been that long! I often forget time. I'm actually surprised you can keep track with how old you are." I said.
"I don't, now if you wanted a fight you're in luck!" In an instant he appeared before me claws coming down and clashed with mine which were amplified by od extending the claws in fire.
As his claws clashed with my claws I was pushed back. Damn he must've got stronger since the last time we fought. Not saying I beat him but still. The mystery swordsman then came in almost slashing Zodd's head clean off. Zodd charged at me slashing so I jumped back then he charged the swordsman but he dodged and crashed into a mine. He was buried in rocks. It seemed it would hold him back for a good half a minute. The swordsman was currently distracted by a dark skin girl. "Casca what are you doing here!" the swordsman said.
Zodd then raised from the hole and debris followed in pursuit threatening to crush the girl and the man. I threw four throwing knifes striking Zodd's arm before I had to dodge his claw. The next thing I know my brand started burning like hell. As I looked around I saw where it was coming from. A man in white armour with long curly hair that was white. He shielded the girl from the ruble.
I don't know why but I felt a deep hatred for that man. But he seemed very familiar to me. He made my brand react so he had to be an apostle. And that meant I had to kill him. Especially since he made that girl writhe in pain. What surprised me is that I saw a brand on the girl's breast. Being that close, it was obvious she was no warrior so she couldn't handle the pain. Unfortunately Zodd stood between us and them. "Enough, let's go." The man in white said. "Until next time Dragon's Bane." Zodd said.
The man in white jumped on Zodd's back and he flew away. The man seemed to know him because they exchanged some words before he flew off. He even tried to shoot him down before some kid stopped him."Gut's tell me the truth, what happened to Griffith and everyone? It is my right to know. I have to know! Guts!" The kid said.
I guess the swordsman's name was Guts. He then told his story of the eclipse. If what he said was true, then that means they finally have the five members they need. Apparently he and that girl are the only survivors. Heh, reminds me of myself, except i'm the only survivor. "I see. Guts please take me with you. I'm a Hawk as well." The boy said.
"You can't Rickert, you can't hate Griffith."
"But I want to avenge.."
"There's no point, my goal is too keep Casca safe. You have your own people to protect." He said pointing towards Godo's little shack of a house. "Who's gonna take care of her if you come with me and Casca?"
"I guess your right, I'll go check up on her." the boy said leaving for the house.
"So you're branded huh?" I asked the black swordsman.
"Yeah got a problem with that?" He said getting into a fighting stance. "Who are you anyways?"
I took off a strap on the glove on my left hand and showed him my brand underneath on my skin. "Me, I'm Freddy Ruiz, also known as Dragon's Bane" I said
"So you've been through the same kind of thing, how did you get out?" he said relaxing his stance.
"The very same Knight who rescued you, rescued me. The Skull Knight. He's an old friend of mine. Speaking of old friends do you happen to know where Godo is?"
"Yeah follow me" He led me to a grave.
"Guess the kid kicked the bucket." I gave my respects and we started walking back to the house. "Damn, and it seemed like yesterday me and him were working on that sword you carry."
"What the hell are you talking about the old man made this sword when he was young. You don't even look older than me."
"Well it's because i'm over 200 years old." He looked at me as if I was insane. "You see, I'm just like you, betrayed by someone you trusted and survived. Normally when apostles give up sacrifices they usually don't escape. But the handful that do will age normally. Most likely they would die before that anyways. But the person who condemned me is a member of God Hand." He seemed to take all this information well. "My guess is that since they are immortal beings, so are their sacrifices, I think. Don't quote me on it, it's just a theory I came up with long ago. You've seen them all correct?"
"Yes, there's a man with sewn eyes and an exposed brain."
"His name is void, the first member."
"There was also a fat short man flying with a shitty grin and another fat man except his eyes were shut"
"That must be Conrad and Ubik the second and third members."
"Also a woman who appeared to have bat wings."
I had to grit my teeth at that one. "That is Slan, the fourth one and also the one who branded me. If you don't mind me asking, since you we're in the eclipse you must have seen the final member. What did he look like. Was it like a black hawk or was it a white hawk."
"That man who was with Zodd earlier is that man. He killed all our friends and almost took me and Casca out. And to answer your question, despite him being in all white now, he looked more like a black hawk in that moment."
"Well shit I guess the prophecies were right. I knew he looked familiar. Well shit is about to go down soon." I have to warn Flora they'll no doubt be coming after her. I looked to my left and the dark skinned girl was spacing out trying to catch a butterfly. "This may be pushing the boundaries but why is your girlfriend spacing out a lot"
"Pushing it is right." He then led me a bit away from her so she couldn't hear. "That bastard Griffith raped her right in front of me. The trauma seemed to have done too much damage. She became like this when we came out. Her old self is no longer here. But I will never leave her again."
"You're a good man Guts. Do you mind if I tag along with you guys for a bit. It gets lonely out there and it would also strengthen each other if we had two strong warriors. No doubt it will be hard protecting her and yourself at the same time"
"Do whatever you want but just stay out of my way."
Heh, not much of a people person is he. "Well now that introductions are out of the way I think I have a suggestion for your next destination if you're interested?." Guts then looked at me.
"And this place would be?"
"A place deep into the forest, a friend of mine lives there. I need to relay a message to her, after we can head to Elfheim, the land of the elves and magical creatures" I said. After I said that an elf came up from behind Guts and I instantly recognized who it was. "Damn I thought I'd never see the day when puck decided to show up."
"Yeah, heh you know me, trouble always seems to find me." Puck said.
"You two know each other?" Guts asked.
"Yeah back on elfheim we were quite the pranksters." I said fist bumping his very small hand. "But I suggest we go to elfheim because the king most likely will be able to cure your girlfriend."
Guts looked at me with shock. Someone could finally bring back Casca, his Casca. "Then let's not waste anytime." he started walking back towards the house. I took one more look at Godo's grave and walked away. Shame I didn't get to say goodbye while he was alive. That is one of the problems being immortal. You see everyone die before you. Well I'm sure he wouldn't have wanted me to see him in his final moments.
"Say Freddy, you think me and Casca will be immortal as well?"
"Oh yeah I'm living proof of it why?"
He then grinned hard, rivaling even my evil smile. "Because that means I can spend my whole life trying to kill him and not worry about how many years pass by"
"Trust me, it's harder than you think. I've been alive almost as much as Zodd has. And that's a long time. I spent most of my life hiding from the world in elfheim, it was only a few decades ago when I decided to start hunting and killing apostates hoping to find that one God Hand member but to no avail. Only once have I seen her and I was too weak! My weapons didn't work and to top it all off I found out that no normal weapons can hurt them. You need a weapon that can hurt both worlds if you know what I mean. And that is why I am here. For the past few decades I have been hunting apostles, legends and acquiring weapons that will help me fight God Hand. I got the last one a year ago from the Kushan. They had a supply of a certain material I needed to craft these. I said indicating to the weapon on my back and my gloves.
He still had that stoic face, obviously not impressed by my weapons. "And what material would that be?"
"dragon bones and dragon hide." I said smirking at his surprised face. "You've obviously seen the dangers of this world you can't be that surprised." He regained his composer.
As we got to the house we saw both the kid and a girl standing at the door. "You won't even stay the night?" Rickert said.
"Sorry Rickert but this brand will attract some unwanted attention. And since there are three of us it will put you guys in danger. I know you want to come but you have to take care of Erica. Next time we meet it'll be under better circumstances." Guts said walking off and me and Casca followed.
The three of us headed west and we encountered a strong blizzard on the way. It wasn't until snowmen came out the snow that I started to worry. It must come from my two new companions since I had the glyph on my chest that wards off evil spirits that Flora gave me years ago. One of them grabbed my foot as it was coming out of the ground and I raised my foot out of it's grasp and slammed my foot down on it's head. I put my hand up and extended the claws ready to fight, Guts watching my back, me watching his and between us was Casca.
I swung left and right cleaving through them before ducking under a swing from Guts's blade. "Hey watch it" I said
"Sorry, i'm just used to fighting alone." He said before a few snowmen were about to pounce on him.
"Watch out!" I slid in front of Guts and held out my hand and a beam of fire shot through my hand taking out the rest of the snowmen.
"What the hell was that!"
"That is the power of od." I said twirling the four elements in my hand, Casca looking with awe. "Learned a few tricks in Elfheim, I was pretty good over there but I left with my friend Flora."
"So it's literally magic, this world just gets crazier and crazier by the minute."
"It gets worse, trust me."
We continued on our journey and stopped by a river to rest. I was resting under a tree while I was supposed to be on lookout but my hyper activate senses woke me up and on reflex I threw two of my throwing knifes and it hit a nightmare demon that was latched onto guts and Casca. He awoke startled but Casca kept on sleeping. It was almost time for the sun to shine and some spirits came down and started attacking us. We fought off the spirits but Casca wandered off and almost got attacked but Guts saved her. But he started choking her out of nowhere, I was too busy fending off the spirits but thankfully the sun had come up warding away the spirits.
Guts went to comfort Casca but she backed away from him and ran away. "What the hell was that? I know that's some people's kink and all but I don't think it's hers." I said
"I don't know, i just… I don't know." He said.
"You really screwed up this time Guts, just when she was starting to get comfortable with you. But don't worry that wasn't your fault. You were possessed by an evil spirit" Puck said. I looked at Guts and closed my eyes. What I saw was a flash of a demonic wolf, it must be his rage, it's overwhelming him and starting to take control. If it comes to it I'll have to enter his mind and try to control the rage, but I was never good at entering another's mind.
Nevertheless we caught up to Casca, Guts tied her hands and pulled her along. When Puck had confronted him about it Guts said that protecting her is the only important thing. I thought it was cruel but I kept my mouth shut, for two days we kept walking and fighting. On the third night we were taking shelter near a broken tree and I was totally knocked out after finding a stash of alcohol nearby. It wasn't until I felt a huge amount of hatred nearby when I woke up. I drunkenly followed the energy until it faded away and I came onto the scene of a bunch of dead bodies and a naked Casca and Guts standing over her. "Jesus, Guts what the hell happened here?" I slurred.
"It doesn't matter." He said before putting a cloak on Casca and we rested up against a nearby tree. Guts was on one side and Caska was on the other. I tried sobering up but I was still a little buzzed. Eventually Puck found us and he brought guest. There was a kid, a man and a woman. "You guys again."
"I've been searching for you all over! You thought you could run away from me? No way!" The kid said. I extended my claws and appeared behind the kid in a flash and stuck the claw to his throat.
"Are they enemies Guts? I'll dispose of them if you want." I said making the kid panic and start begging for his life.
"Na, they're not a threat." He said so I retracted the claws.
"Phew, thanks Guts. If it wasn't for you I would have had to use my special moves and kill your drunk friend." The kid said.
"Oh is that so? And who are you calling a drunk!" I said my eyebrow twitching and rolling up my sleeve.
"You, you stupid drunk!" And we started throwing punches at each other, obviously he missed and he was beaten to a pulp."I surrender" he said with a swollen face.
I looked back to Guts and the others and the woman and the man were kneeling. "Please allow us to join you. I need to know what power i can rely on. I want to find the truth. And I want to learn to survive in this dark world without a trace of hope. Please be my guide." The girl said then cut off her braids leaving her with short hair. "This is all I can do now… but I swear I will make it up to you."
"Why is it that you monks and nobles always exaggerate everything. Do whatever you want." Guts said.
"Well how bout some introductions, my name is Freddy Ruiz, Dragon's Bane." I said introducing myself with a bow falling face first into the ground. The newcomers Farnese, Serpico and Isidro laughed.
"Told you he was a drunk." Isidro said.
"What did you say brat!" I said rolling up my sleeves once again chasing the boy.
We were off but now we have a whole party, it's just like back in the day. This time I'll protect my new friends at any cost. I smiled at the thought and continued pumbing the little brat.
Author's Note:
I'm super excited about this story, I read through the whole manga and the only thing left to do while waiting for half a decade for a chapter is to make some fanfic. This is a weird manga to do a fanfic on but there isn't enough berserk fanfic so here I am. I know not many people will read this but it's more of a hobby than a job tbh. So follow/favorite and leave a review, tell me how it is so far. Until next time, See ya!