A Berserk Story Like No Other

Here's the second chapter. Enjoy.

The moment those words left her lips, the Black Swordsman felt his eyebrow rise but his eye seemed to look straight into those amethyst crystals of hers, trying to find something in her gaze with his own cold one. He could see the heat in those eyes, but then he could see something else too… Hurt. Closing his eye, Guts turned his head back up and faced the awaiting door that would lead him back out the medical bay and then out into world that wanted nothing more than to get its hands on him. He could still feel her hand against his armour as well as her expectant gaze which he knew was asking, if not, begging to take her with him.

'Such a drag… I guess I could call it payment for the debt for my wound. We could just extract the information from this contract station, kill whatever she wants to kill then go our separate ways…'

With a silent sigh passing through his nose, he spoke.

"Fine."

He heard her stiffen at that response before it seemed her hand went back to her side. The large man decided to open his eye and look down at the smaller half demon, seeing her look at the floor with what seemed to be relief.

"However,"

This time it was her turn to look at him in surprise, which immediately made him see the clouded judgement return in her gaze alone. Still, Guts couldn't care less, especially when he was still giving her that menacing gaze even if his features never contorted into such a look.

"Once I've got my information, we go our separate ways. Understood?"

It seemed even she was expecting such a response from him, knowing it sounded too easy to get an answer out of him. He wasn't to be taken lightly and she knew that, but neither was she… Nalia nodded and proceeded to quickly gather things that she believed could help her for the small trip to the contract office in the nearby city. She felt a little giddy that she could finally get these creatures off her back once and for all, now that she had back-up with her this time.

'I could've easily destroyed them all before and I still can now… Why is it that after meeting him do I want to go through with it?'

She knew exactly why but there wasn't a point to it right now… She just wanted to wipe them from existence. Before she knew what was happening, the half demon had packed her bag with everything she needed and was already by the main door of the warehouse, but it wasn't until the door opened did she come out of her little stupor. All that was heard was a grunt from the large man beside her before they left and entered the darkness that was their world.

However, what they really didn't count for when they left for the city, was the dangers they would encounter. Before it was spirits… Now it was Trolls. Such disgusting beasts that liked to go around in packs and raid small villages and settlements to get whatever woman and girl they could, just to have them become breeders for their kind. It was honestly sickening, and it made the Black Swordsman's blood boil but really, he wasn't anyone's saviour. He wasn't anyone's guardian angel that came to protect them…

'But after what I found last time, it seems these guys look starved of their needs… Guess I'll put them out of commission.'

Before he could even utter what, they were, what they could do and how many numbers are on their side, Guts watched as the half demon that was once beside drop her bag of supplies at his feet and dash towards the incoming group. He had to inwardly suppress the urge to groan in annoyance as he watched her take down a handful of them in an instant with her spear but was quickly becoming surrounded. With a cold breath escaping his lips, the large man placed his own small bag of supplies down before drawing the huge slab of iron that resided on his back. It seems tonight, Dragonslayer would be fed yet again with the blood of beings that are not of this world…

Nalia darted around the troll she just stabbed through the mouth with, using their body as a shield while a wave of arrows pierced the dead body before her spear met the throat of the crossbow archer. Moving to the side and dodging a swipe of a wooden club, the woman slashed her spear at the troll but didn't count for the one behind her which was ready to smash the back of her head in with a spiked club. However, instead the attack meeting, it never even happened as a throwing knife pierced the beast's neck and fall to the ground in a heap which made her turn around just in time to see another troll heading straight for her. With her spear still in the troll from before, she had no time to take it out and kill this thing…

'Am I really going to have to use this already? It's not even perfected!'

Fortunately, her musings were answered as she saw the tip of an enormous blade poking through the troll's stomach, making her go wide eyed slightly. She looked behind the being and saw Guts with that same cold look he first ever gave her before she watched as the troll's body was flung off to the side and into its comrades. Five more took its place and she watched as the man before swinging his sword in an arc and decimate the trolls in one swing…

"Now's not the time to be on your ass. Fight or die, demon."

A small hitched breath left her lips before she scowled slightly and picked her weapon up quickly and went back to taking down the trolls around them. With a grunt, Guts did the same. Once the small battle was finished, all that was left in front of the two warriors was blood, body parts and a rotting smell that made Nalia cringe due to her traits as a demon… Well, half demon. Out of complete instinct though, the half demon found herself taking a step forward but soon dissipated into nothing but mist before reappearing next to Guts with no blood on her form whatsoever. But as soon as she was next to him, she felt something go around her neck… Tightly.

She looked down and saw said man's hand grabbing her neck with his hand with wide eyes and proceeding to choke the life out of her, but she was quickly released with a light shove, making her cough a few times and stare at him bewildered, her hand going straight to her throat. All she got back was his obsidian coloured eye staring back at her coldly and a mutter she didn't quite understand. As soon as she was about to ask what that was all about, she was quickly answered by him anyway…

"Do that again… And next time, I won't let go."

And with that, his sword was placed back onto his back and began walking away. After a moment, she reluctantly followed.

When they finally reached their destination, it was coming close to midnight and the moment they stepped foot passed the front gates, Guts could already feel the back of his neck throb and ignite a burning sensation of pain.

'Seems like they're here… But we'll sort that out tomorrow. Right now, I could do with a break.'

The Black Swordsman looked to his side and saw Nalia with her hood up, which helped cover her usually visible horns and if he had to guess on the reason why, it would be that the humans in this place don't like to have something that isn't from their world in their place. Discrimination was a very common occurrence everywhere, same as rape, executions of thieves and heretics… This was what humanity was really like. Cruel, selfish and unjust. Guts had come to terms with this but never sought to change something that he knew would never change… So, he decided to just leave everything as it was. It wasn't his problem after all. The strong survive and the weak die.

No words had been given from either of them since the little scene he caused back with trolls and honestly, he enjoyed the quiet and didn't care what she thought of him. It wasn't like they would be travelling together; those days were long gone for him.

It wasn't long until they found themselves in front of a tavern and Nalia quickly went in without a word, with Guts following silently too. She meandered swiftly through all the people and reached the counter where the owner of the establishment was and already, he could see her conversing with him. The large man could see, hear and even smell the things that were happening in this place… Men were laughing, insulting one another and even some had a few whores in their laps giving them a good time, so they didn't have to go home to their own wives. He even saw a few eyes look towards him in what seemed to be confusion, curiosity and even fear… It amused him really.

He was brought out of his silent thoughts when he felt a tap on his arm, making him look down at a pair of amethyst eyes that were looking back up at him in what seemed to be annoyance.

"Got a room. One bed though. Let's go."

However, before she could turn, Nalia felt her arm being grabbed and yanked towards the one who caused the force, which seemed to be a very drunk man with the need to have something warm beside him tonight. The drunkard grinned wickedly with yellow teeth at the half demon, who tried to pull herself away from him but found his grip to be a little too tight…

"Ohh! You look so pretty, miss! How 'bout you come with me huh, we'll have so much fun…!"

"H-Hey, hands off the merchandise!"

She felt him get real close to her face, making her grimace and turn away at the acid breath and smell of this guy… He was the literal definition of revolting. Receding hair, yellow teeth, tattered clothes and a beer belly that seemed a little too big for comfort. The man though, seeing that the woman in front of him didn't want to come with him, began to pull her closer but even yanked at her hood, which finally revealed who she really was…

"Y-You're… D-Demon!"

As soon as those words left the man's mouth, it seemed that the entire tavern stopped what they were doing and looked towards the newcomers. Eyes were wide, filled with fear and whispers quickly began to fill the room.

"What is she doing here…!"

"Has she come to kill one of us?"

"S-Since when did she have that man at her side?"

Guts raised an eyebrow slightly but was quickly replaced with coldness as he looked at those around them before looking down at Nalia.

'It seems she has a reputation…'

He heard her sigh and stand to her full height and stared down the man who took a hold of her with a piercing gaze. Not even a moment later, a fist came flying and socked the drunkard in that face, making him literally be taken off his feet and smash into a table nearby… A shriek came from a woman nearby when the moment occurred, and everyone stared at the fist that did the work, which in fact turned out to be the man cladded in black.

"Touch her again… I'll crush you."

Instantly, the room went deathly cold and the air itself became so thick that even the people residing in there felt it becoming harder to breathe. For the half demon however, she felt a swell of something grow within her for a moment before it was gone as she stared at her temporary companion.

'Why did he do that?'

But in that moment, she could see a darkness in his eye that she never noticed before. There was a reason behind what he did, and she would find out. Still, despite her thoughts, Nalia quickly grabbed Guts' arm and proceeded to take him to the stairway that led to the rooms upstairs. After a few moments passed, the residents of the village began to converse once more, albeit quietly amongst each other.

Once the two companions reached their specified room for the night, Nalia closed the door behind them and made her way towards the one bed that was in the room. Her bag met the floor and her spear was placed up against the wall before she soon just stood there looking at him with what seemed to be an annoyed yet curious expression, her right hand resting on her hip before she nodded towards the bed.

"Sit. I wish to see how your wound is doing after the battle."

Deciding it was best to not argue this time, Guts moved to the bed, also placing his small bag of supplies down by hers and moved to place the bloodied iron slab next to her spear too and soon began to remove his upper body attire. The room they were staying was compact, but it was somewhat cosy despite the place they were in. The bed was in the far right corner of the room with a simple wooden nightstand next to it, holding a flickering candle. A small window was placed just above it, but it was closed to keep in the warmth that the room provided. He was a little surprised to see a rocking chair beside the night stand but didn't comment on it. Once his armoured leather tunic was off as well as the rest of the little accessories he had, Guts sat down on the edge of bed and watched as the half demon kneel before him, so she could look at his recently stitched up wound. He saw that she seemed to still hold that look of hers and decided to just not say anything until she was done. Her hands were delicate and gentle as she lightly cleaned his wound, seeing little bits of blood protrude from the stitches before rummaging through her bag to get what looked like a small pot. As soon as the substance found his stitched wound, the large man stiffened slightly and winced at the sudden sting but pushed the pain away for the time being.

"You didn't have to do that, you know. I could've handled it."

Guts knew this would eventually come up but again, he decided to hold his tongue as he felt her begin to wrap clean bandages around his mid-section. He didn't exactly know why he did it either but part of him knew why… And it was one thing he couldn't stand. He'd seen it many times but made no effort to stop it but seeing her being handled like a toy just brought back something he didn't want to remember.

"I'm not mad. Just curious. Next time, if something like that happens again and I don't feel like dealing with it, then I'll ask you."

The half demon proceeded to put her things back in her bag while the Black Swordsman just thought about what she said. He knew she was capable of handling herself but again, his body just spurred to do something about what that guy did…

'Next time… Huh?'

He almost scoffed at that. There wasn't going to be a next time. Tomorrow, when he gets his information and she gets her revenge, they will go their separate ways and never see each other again. Guts stood up and walked over to the rocking chair, grabbing Dragonslayer as he did and sat down, allowing his sword to rest against his shoulder while his eye was now strained on the door to their room. The large man could tell that his new companion wanted to ask on what he was doing and even he could tell that she wanted him to rest his wound, even if she didn't voice it. He could just tell by the way he could feel her eyes were looking at him.

"You can have the bed. I'll keep watch."

He already knew she wanted to protest to the idea, possibly go on to say something about his wound needing time to heal or the fact that demons don't need sleep… He didn't care about that.

"If you've got something to say, say it."

And there it was again, that coldness that he could never feel but everyone else could. He heard her sigh silently through her nose before she seemed to sit down on the bed and remove her hooded robe. Nothing was said after a few moments until finally, Nalia's voice rang out softly…

"Why did you do that for me?"

"Do what?"

"You know what. Why did you decide to hit that guy for me?"

The woman watched him for a moment, looking for something, anything that could be deemed an answer sufficient enough to satisfy as answer. When she found nothing, she swallowed thickly and was about to turn away but instead, his voice was heard.

"Because he touched you without you wanting him to."

The half demon looked at this man with curiosity once again, trying to search his expression for something that could give away his true intention, but she found nothing but coldness and hatred and… Was that sadness? She opened then closed her mouth when she found nothing to say but soon, she wanted to know something else.

"The Brand… I don't know much about it, but I know what must happen for you to obtain it. How… Did you even survive such a fate?"

She watched his body stiffen as she asked the question and instantly, it seemed his mind was thinking of what happened back then. After a couple of minutes of silence, she watched his eye close and his body slump slightly as it seemed her request was being accepted… But for some reason, she was finally seeing just how tired and scarred the man was before her.

'Why am I thinking of this?'

"I survived… Physically. But emotionally, I'm already dead and rotten."

Nalia didn't expect such an answer to start it off but she decided to wait till after to voice her concerns.

'Concerns… No, I don't care for this human. He's just like the rest of the world…'

"I've fought demons bigger than houses. Seen things no human should ever witness. And it was all because of him…"

She watched him carefully, seeing his once cold expression turn into one of what seemed to be disbelief, even though he was beginning to grin like a madman…

"It was my hatred for him that kept me alive in that hell. But… I wasn't the only one to survive. They're alive but they sided with him… Then I was saved by some guy who looked like a knight."

'Why am I even telling her this?'

That was a good question. Why was he telling her this? He was under no obligation to tell her such things just because she knew of the Brand. She didn't need to know the hell he lived through.

'But why do I feel the need to confide? Why do I feel like she knows what it feels like?'

"What about your arm? And your eye?"

The large man had to sigh at that, his mind immediately remembering exactly how it all played out. He remembered what he did to get into that position, what happened, the pain he felt, the hatred. He didn't even realise the slow, maniacal grin that made it onto his face but fortunately, Nalia could only see half of it. Instantly it sent a slight shiver up her spine at such a sight…

"Demons. My arm was clamped in the teeth of one as I saw the one who sacrificed the ones I had come to hold dear. I even saw him hold the one who… Well, never mind. I cut off my arm in rage to kill him, but it was futile. Then, it took three demons to hold me down while I was made to watch…"

Guts' voice seemed to fade after that but the unfinished sentence had made the half demon grow restless at what he had witnessed in that place. She shifted slightly and watched the seated man for a moment to see if he was going to finish the sentence but sighed silently when it seemed he wasn't going to. She opened her mouth to ask about it but was quickly cut off by his sudden movement. He stood up and placed his iron sword against the wall once more before turning to her with a cold gaze.

"Enough. If you're not gonna' sleep, I will."

Nalia silently obliged but sighed as she stood up and walked over to sit in the chair Guts once occupied. She watched him lay down and face away from her, leaving her to look at his scarred back but for some reason, she couldn't stop her mind wandering now… Just who was this man? Who was he before the Eclipse? Who was he talking about? Why did he need information from demons?

'A human hunting demons… It's laughable. But then again… It wasn't too long ago that I heard that one of the Hand's Apostles had been slain. The Keeper of the Hounds had met his end…'

Her eyes went up to the locks of short black hair as her mind once asked the question, just who is this man? She had only heard of the Black Swordsman for being wanted due to kidnapping the former commander of the Holy Iron Chain Knights and disrupting the plans of the Holy See. She shook her head of such thoughts and decided to just think of how things could go tomorrow… Her mind was going over strategic plans for it, so they could get what was needed without resistance. At least, not much resistance. And so, for the first time in a while, she fell asleep in the chair thinking of tomorrow's outcome.

When Nalia awoke from her slumber, she did not expect herself to feel so comfortable and warm… What was this? Where was she? Her eyes slowly opened, and they met the wall but she looked down slightly and saw that she was indeed in a bed and covered in a blanket. Confusion now in her system, the woman slowly sat up sleepily, a hand coming up to lightly rub the sleep from her eyes while her voice had decided to make itself known…

"I… Did I sleep that long?"

From what she could tell, it was still dark outside, so it couldn't have been that long. But what confused her the most was the fact that was in the bed and Guts wasn't, which meant only one thing… It was either a dream or she was picked up from the chair and placed in the bed.

'Why didn't I wake up then? Did I just… Crawl next to him and woke him up? Or did he move me? If so, I should've attacked him… There's no way I feel this comfortable with such a-'

"Few hours."

The half demon swivelled her head around to the voice so fast that her neck suddenly cracked, the presence in front of her making her alert once more.

'It wasn't a dream.'

Nalia took in the man that was before her, seeing him look so intensely at the door but it seemed that he even had his sight on the window behind him too. Guts sat in the rocking chair with his sword once again resting against his shoulder, but for some reason, the woman felt at ease with him… Why was that? She didn't know, but she could tell just from looking at him that he was waiting and watching… Even protecting.

'Like a guard dog. A hound.'

The woman found her cheeks go a little darker at that thought but quickly willed it away; she wasn't going to think of such a hideous thing. Love was weak… Unneeded. Unreliable. It only brought pain and despair. She was once again brought out of her thoughts by the deep, muttered tone of her new companion.

"I woke up, saw you sleeping. Decided to trade places. Sorry."

Guts heard her shift somewhat in the bed before she seemed to move enough to swing her feet over the edge, but he didn't catch the sight of a small smile on her features which was quickly demolished as she composed herself.

"I could take watch now, if you want to get some more sleep? It isn't good for your wound, you know?"

All she got from the man was a deep grunt of acknowledgment but still stayed seated in the chair while his eye stayed on the door. The half demon sighed gently under her breath at the stubbornness of this guy but then again, she couldn't say much because she was the same…

"Why are you out here?"

Nalia didn't expect such a question to arise, especially from the swordsman before her. Her amethyst eyes stared at him in curiosity for a moment before she smiled and decided to answer his question, since he answered hers not too long ago.

"I'm a mercenary-"

"That's not the right answer and you know it."

So, he could see through her ploy after all… She smirked slightly but found herself shaking her head as she remembered exactly why she was out here in the first place.

"Since being half demon isn't uncommon, there are special ways to strip us of the human side in my world. The males would display dominance… While the females would be used as toys for the males, so they can grow in power until our humanity is completely drained from our existence. Father was more than willing to allow it to happen but Mother… She decided to fight back… She died that day, but I managed to escape, thanks to her bravery. Before this though, we had escaped for a time… But she resented the demon side of me and tried to cleanse me by pouring acid on me… Didn't work, obviously."

The atmosphere between them grew silent and eerie after that, but she looked up at the man before her who seemed to be processing what she had said. She didn't really like talking about her past, but it was only fair, for now. After a moment, she saw him nod to himself before their eyes met and for a moment, she saw what seemed to be sadness in them… But it was quickly replaced by his usual cold and dismissive demeanour. After a moment again, he looked back towards the door.

'Used for breeding and power… Nothing new. But still disgusting.'

"Get some more rest. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

Nalia sighed as soon as she heard those words come from his lips but honestly, she couldn't find it in herself to argue, no matter how much her demon side wanted to. Turning away from the man and tucking herself under the covers once more, the half demon soon fell into a dreamless sleep. Guts however, watched the woman in the bed for a few minutes before his mind came up with something that made a grin slowly return to his scarred features.

'Her Father… I'm going to kill him.'