The following is a fan-based Crossover! Berserk and Garo are owned by Dark Horse and Studio Gaga, and Tohokushinsha Film Corporation (TFC) respectively. Please support the official release!
("Where there is light, shadows lurk and fear reigns. Yet by the blade of knights, mankind was given hope.")
The voice states as a large symbol of unknown design turned into two Horrors that resembled actual demons before coming together to form a feline's claw and then finally, turning into a knight with a gold hue.
Track playing: Tell me why from Berserk OVA by Penpals (OP Ver.)
In a black background, Gaia was standing with half of his upper body revealed and with a fire burning inside him as the background turned to a cliff-side grassland.
(Feel no shame about shape. Weather changes their phase. Even mother will show you another way.)
In front of a dead tree full of hung corpses, dozens of Horrors were acting as vultures as some of them flew off before it caught fire.
(So put your glasses on. Nothing will be wrong. There's no blame, there's no fame. It's up to you.)
Meanwhile on a cliff, Guts was facing the edge while Casca was looking behind him, both looking depressed. Just then, they flinched as something big flew past them!
(The first words should be found. Whatever holds you back, I… Can't… I can't get it off.)
Flying past Guts and Casca, Edal was riding on Nova's back with two ninjas holding on for dear life! Back with Guts, he had turned into Gaia and polefaulted off the cliff!
(Tell me what! Tell me what! Tell me what you want! I don't know why! Don't know why! Don't know why you're afraid!)
On the ground, Gaia was dispatching Horrors while shots of Gaia without his helmet popped up every other second, looking happy underneath in a different angle! He was then seen back to back with an older blonde man with grey eyes in a red cloak with gold accents over a white shirt and a pair of gauntlets.
(Tell me what! Tell me what! Tell me what you say! I don't know why! Don't know why! Too late! It's too late.)
With Casca, she was fighting off three normal knights while shots of herself looking from sad to content popped up every other second. She was then walking side-by-side with Guts as the blonde man walked on his right side while the White Knight from Casca's past walked on her left into the unknown.
Now in a town full of traders and drunks, Guts and Edal were in the middle of the road. "Guts, you know the drill. Get a lay of the land and wait till dark to hunt. I'll check the docks, you go ahead and talk to the people." Edal told Guts before heading off. "Not much for human interaction, is he?" "You have no idea." Guts stated to Croba before he headed over to the nearest stand, unaware that someone was watching them from a building on the edge of the town. "So, the Makai Order has sent a rookie to hunt me down, do they think I'm that weak when I reemerged?" The man asked himself as his eyes briefly turned to a glowing pale green before returning to a hazel color before walking into a dark alleyway. "Oh well, I'll have to be careful regardless. I still remember my last defeat at the hands of a Makai Knight. Hm?" He reminded himself when he noticed someone sleeping in the alley with a bottle of wine in his hand. The 'man' then had a thought that would disturb anyone. "I suppose though it wouldn't hurt to have a mid-afternoon snack before I move to the main course." He told himself before molting his own skin away like a cicada, revealing a horrifying lizard-like Horror underneath, with red skin, gold lines running down its body, and a pair of sickle-like blades on its forearms!
"Judging by where the dragon was going, our guy should be here in this town. Right, Casca?" "Yeah, this has to be the place, Judeau. There's no other town in the west to resupply in that's still neutr-" Casca stopped when she and Judeau saw a raggedy-looking man suddenly come out of a nearby alleyway, clawing at the dirt in desperation! "No! NOOOOOO!" The man screamed as a claw came out and grabbed the man's head, digging into his flesh before quickly dragging him in, leaving the two with only the sounds of pain-induced screams followed by wet bone crunching! "WHAT THE HELL?!" Judeau yelled as Casca sprinted to help the man! Unfortunately, when she arrived with her sword drawn, all she saw was a stomach-churning scene with what was left of the man in the, now bloodied alleyway, now with a permenantly terrified expression, a missing a leg, a huge chunk of his head bitten off, and a hole where his heart should be. Shortly after, Judeau showed up to see the murder site, and was in shock as well. "We were only seconds away but… oh god." Casca said in shock as she tries to process what she's seeing while also looking for the killer, but only succeeding in the former.
Meanwhile on top of one of the buildings overlooking the alleyway, the Horror was looking down at them with blooded claws and mask. As it observed them, it could hear them bickering. "We need to find that mercenary. He may know what to do." "What?! You saw what he did to Dan and Earl! On the way here, you even said that he may even be able to defeat Griffith." "Exactly. He disintegrated Earl, who turned out to be some sort of demon, but rendered Dan unconscious. He seems to know something we don't, and we can use that." Casca explained as they turned to each other, trying to divert their attention back to their task. "Right, the whole reason you wanted Griffith to let you go after him. Though I must know, is there another reason you want to find him?" Judeau asked, making Casca simply roll her eyes and walk away with Judeau following shortly after. "Ordinary knights looking to interfere with the Order? This could be helpful." The Horror humorously muttered before slinking away.
(Sunset)
As the sun began to move to the west, the town seems to comprise more drunks having fun than anything else right now. In the far corner of a busy tavern, Guts and Edal were inspecting their letters before the latter snapped his fingers, making them act as a lighter to burn his letter. As the letter turned to ash, the ashes began to form a sentence in a language unlike any before. "Underneath the bumbling prey, the ambush predator waits patiently beneath the soil." So in addition to the devil's butcher, another Horror is hiding underground in the nearby forest. This could take a while." Edal claimed loud enough to hear himself as music was being played. He then swatted the ashes away. He then got up from the booth they were sitting in. "I'm going scouting while there's still light out." He told Guts before heading out of the tavern, passing by Casca and Judeau on the way. "There he is." She said as she spotted Guts sitting in a booth with a mug of water in his hand. She then handed Judeau her sword before walking over to Guts while Judeau walked to a nearby chair. "Hey. Are you the slayer of Bazuso?" Casca asked as she was now standing over the table while Guts took a sip. "I thought I told you to leave me be." "I'm only here to talk. Nothing else. Look, I'm even unarmed." She stated as she showed him that she had no sword or crossbow on her. Seeing this, Guts sighed and motioned for her to sit across. "What do you want?" "Information. I'm looking for a knight with armor similar to yours, white in color with a smaller sword, maybe has a hawk-themed helm." Casca said as she then saw Guts now visibly squinting at her. "And why should I tell you that?" "Because... he saved my life two years ago, and I never got a chance to thank him properly. When I saw your armor, I saw you as another chance to find him." Casca explained as truthfully as she could. "Then you're on a fool's errand, the Emperor Knight: Ouga is a reclusive Knight. Being literally the strongest, he's only called to action when a great evil is unleashed. It must've been a rare event." Guts informed her, causing her eyes to widen at the new information. "Goodbye." Guts tells Casca as he got up from his seat and was about to walk out when Casca tried to stop him. "Wait, stop!" She demanded as she grabbed his arm, and before she knew it, Guts had punched her in the gut! This causes Judeau to nearly step in while Casca drops to her knees while holding her stomach and coughed fiercely! "Don't touch me!" "HEY!" A man called out to Guts with a deep, booming voice as the whole room went quiet! Everyone inside the tavern then turned to a giant man dressed in armor in the center of the room!
"We got a rule around here, to prevent bar fights!" The man told Guts as he then pulled out a long-shafted morningstar and tapped the butt of it hard onto the floor twice, as if signaling someone. "Everyone who enters the Scylla tavern are prohibited from acts of violence, rape, and over-drinking. Anyone violating one of these will be beaten senseless by everyone in the bar." Everyone but Guts, Casca, and Judeau said in near perfect unison. "That's right! So are we going to have a problem?!" "Oh, there's no problem. Nothing that can't be handled with a crossbow." Someone stated as everyone turned to the sound of footsteps, and saw Corkus standing at the base of the stairs holding a loaded crossbow. "You best put down that crossbow." "Sure, after I reclaim the glory that was supposed to be mine from this mercenary." Corkus told the man as he pointed the crossbow at Guts. "Hey, put down the weapon!" One of the patrons demanded as he and another grabbed Corkus and tried to wrestle the crossbow out of his hands, only to cause it to misfire! The bolt was shot upward as it ricocheted off a chandelier and at an unsuspecting patron's mug, shattering it. Unfortunately, the patron was drunk enough to think it was someone else who broke it and chose to punch the nearest person, who was then knocked into another patron, who then pushed him into, yet, another guy who accidentally splashed a woman with his drink. And then everything just started devolving into what the bartender didn't want to happen!
Track playing: Two Hornpipes (Tortuga) from Pirates of the Caribbean: Deadman's Chest
Afterwards, the music that was playing became far more lively as it turned into a good ol' bar fight! "NOOOO!!!" The man in charge yelled right before he was then punched in the face! "We should go." "At once." Casca agreed with Guts after recovering from the punch as she got back up and they made their way to the stairs while trying not to get caught in the crossfire! Judeau saw this and tried to follow, but was stopped by a drunk who nearly lopped off his head, so as he ducked, he took out a shortsword and jabbed the guy's left knee! As Guts and Casca were making their way upstairs, they passed many people fighting each other as a bottle nearly hit them, shattering on impact with the wall! Back on the ground floor, Corkus and Judeau were fending off some drunks in a massive sword fight! "You're a dead man, Corkus!" Judeau declared as he then kicked someone in the crotch. "Thanks, sir." Guts said to a guy who was slumped over after he picked up his hat from the floor and began walking to the exit, when two guys were about to throw a third man over the ledge until they stopped and looked at Guts. He then decided to place the hat on the guy's head and take a step back. "Carry on." He simply said as they resumed throwing the poor guy over as he hit the ground with a thunk. "What the fuck?" Casca mutters as she just sees Guts remaining calm during all of the chaos.
"Come on! Who wants to tango with a member of the Band of the Hawk!?" Corkus called out with his sword drawn as he and Judeau were surrounded by angry patrons having their swords pointed at them with a support beam in-between the two. "W-what's wrong, getting cold feet?" Corkus taunted, starting to get nervous, as Judeau groans in irritation before raising his sword at Corkus and he knocks him out with the pommel, surprising everyone and stopping the fight! "Well somebody had to knock this idiot out!" Judeau shouted as everyone began to cheer and put away their weapons.
Now outside, Guts and Casca are walking a good distance away from the tavern before stopping. "Damnit, Corkus. What is wrong with you?!" Casca cursed as she then saw Guts walking away. "Wait a second! If you're not going to help me, then at least let me help you." "Look, girl, The only way you can help is if you leave me alone! Because there is literally nothing you can do to give me an advantage!" "I know where a local demon was recently." Casca told him as soon as he was done ranting, getting him to stop and turn around to see her now with a smirk on her face. "Where did you see it?" "I'll only talk if you take me to someone who can find Ouga." Casca told him. After a few moments of hesitation, Guts gave her an answer. "Fine, lead the way." "Thank you. And my name's Casca." She told him smugly and walked in the direction of the murder site. 'Guts, surely, you cannot proceed with this deal!' 'And I won't, now shut up. As soon as the Horror's vanquished, I'll knock her unconscious before disappearing into the night.' Guts mentally tells Croba before following her.
Moments later, the patrons from the Scylla tavern exited the bar as they were carrying Corkus and taking him to an open pin with two pigs. Four of them then proceeded to throw him in, startling the pigs as they ran off. They then cheered as the crowd dispersed, leaving only Corkus and Judeau behind. "Way to go, Corkus. Now we've lost all hope of recruiting him." He told Corkus as he was getting back up, now covered in mud and filth. "It looks like I was mistaken in letting you go off, Corkus." Griffith stated as he approached the two, causing them to turn towards him. "Griffith, you followed us?" "As a precaution. Now, where is Casca?" He then asked them. "She and the mercenary went out of the tavern while everything turned to chaos. Thanks to him, I lost them." Judeau explained to Griffth. "Head to the outskirts of town with the rest of the Band. Then form a search party. And clean yourself up, Corkus." He ordered the two before they headed off.
"… and only moments behind, when we arrived at the site, all we saw was an already disfigured corpse." Casca explained as they arrived at the alleyway where the man was murdered. Or where the man was as they discover that the alleyway no longer had a corpse in it, just a large splatter of dry blood. "What? Where is it?!" Casca asked herself as she ran into the alley, looking around for the body! "I don't understand, the body was here!" "Well, if it were here then the Horror must've came back to finish it when you left." Guts theorized as he inspected the oxidized blood. Suddenly, one of the walls began to crack, grabbing their attention before it exploded as the Horror that attacked earlier busted through! It then swatted Casca away with its tail and pounced onto Guts, pinning him down! "You will not believe how long I was waiting for you, Makai Knight!" The Horror tells Guts as he tries to grab something from the inside of his coat with decent success as pulled out a dagger and jams it into the Horror's side just as it was baring its teeth, causing the screech in pain while rearing up! Guts then hastily got back up, drew his Greatsword, and impaled the Horror! However, he could only get the spade-shaped tip as it held the blade itself inplace before attempting to strike him with its tail, only to discover that Casca was struggling to keep the tail away. With an animalistic growl, the Horror then sprouted wings from its back and then flew straight up, taking Guts and Casca with it before being thrown off with a front flip while dislodging the blades stuck within the Horror!
Track Playing: Yaiba~ The Divine Blade from GARO By Jam Project
As they were falling, Guts was able to orient himself into landing on his feet. "Croba, information!" Guts demanded as his dagger stabbed the ground while Casca crashed a few feet away from him. "That would be Crimson Gale, his wrist blades can slice through anything." Croba informs Guts as Crimson Gale dashes at him and attempts to slice him!
(A blade hunting the darkness, accompanied by thunder! (Born to fight just right now, can nothing hold me back? Out of control!) The engraved tribal… I feel my lineage! (Here I am, here I am, all ways. No fear. Try to wipe out-) Horror!)
Fortunately he ducked underneath the strike from one arm, but gets punched in the stomach from the other arm, throwing him out of the alley and near an empty stand! Crimson Gale again attempted to attack Guts by slamming its tail onto him, ignoring Casca as she got back up to one knee. "What did I get myself into?" She asked herself as she got onto her feet before spotting Guts's dagger and went over to grab it, but as she tried to pull it out, however it proved to be heavier than she realized! "Come on, damnit!" Casca cursed as she slowly but surely raised the dagger up before charging at Crimson Gale, who was in a struggle with Guts as they pushed on each other's blades!
(The world is at the time of its end (Wild! Wild! I wanna get wild!) Encircled by a trap! (Wild! Wild! I wanna get wild!) Dead center in the dark! (Wild! Wild! I wanna get wild!) Drive in a shout!)
As Crimson Gale lunges its head forward twice, trying to bite at Guts, Casca manages to jump onto its back with a running start and place an arm around the neck! "What the?!" Crimson Gale said in shock as Guts took this moment to back off while Casca plunged the dagger into the bottom of its right juggler, causing a black blood-like mist to spew from the wound as some of it landed on her arm! This gets Crimson Gale to screech in pain as the same blood sprayed from its mouth before proceeding to bite her attacking arm!
(Sacred power! The power of power! Oh dangerous power! (Smash those guys…) Get more power! The power of power! Oh final power (With the divine blade!)!)
Not wanting to give up, Crimson Gale bit down on Casca's attacking arm while struggling to throw her off, causing her to try and hold back a groan! As it thrashed, Gaia sucker punched Crimson Gale in the face before Casca jumped off while Gaia used his Greatsword to impale its stomach! "No! Not agai-AHHH!" Crimson Gale shouted in agony and disbelief as it was being lifted into the air before Gaia used Crimson Gale like a sledgehammer, slamming it into the ground with everything he had as dust and dirt kicked up like a bomb!
Meanwhile, moments earlier, Casca had removed her right glove to try and stop her arm from bleeding with her cape when she stopped and saw Gaia's feat of strength as, shortly after, he walked out of the dust cloud with his Greatsword on his right shoulder and the dagger in his left hand and approached her. "Damn. That thing bite hard. Ugh!" She grunted as she finished wrapping her forearm with torn pieces of her cape. As she was putting the final touches, Gaia and Croba noticed some of the remaining blood was seeping into her skin. "Now, since I held my end of the bargain, you should too." Casca told Gaia while pulling on the improvised bandage before seeing him standing still before taking his sword off his shoulder, causing her to realize what he's doing. "You're going to kill me?! We had a deal! Sure I forced you into it, but a deal's a deal!" Casca angrily reminded Gaia before she heard a feline-like growl coming from him. "Those who are bathed in the blood of a Horror must be slain, no matter how small of an amount. I am sorry, but it is the law of the Makai." Gaia explains to her with a slightly distorted voice. Hearing this news, her eyes widened in shock as she stepped backwards. However, while she was walking back, Casca noticed Crimson Gale getting back up, albeit with two missing blades, a massive hole in where it was ran through, and a missing tail.
Fortunately for Gaia, Croba noticed this as he spun around! "GUTS, BEHIND YOU!" He yelled in Gaia's ear, causing him to wince from the shock as Crimson Gale sprouted out wings bolted to him like an arrow! In that moment, Gaia turned on a dime and swung his Greatsword while ducking underneath, letting Crimson Gale be split unevenly as the right side of it with its head, a wing, and a fist connected flew past him and punched a shocked Casca in the right side of her head! As the Horror vaporized, Gaia reverted back into Guts as he turned around and saw Casca unconscious with a small bit of blood coming from her head. "Looks like that last blow did her in." "Don't be so certain." Guts tells Croba as he places the dagger back into his coat before crouching down to the body to place two fingers onto her neck, feeling a pulse from a vein inside. "She's just out cold. Makes sense, given the beating we endured." Guts informed Croba.
"Well in any case, the mission is done and she's incopasitated. I believe now's the time to return to the camp and leave.' 'If we leave her now, her entire group will become a hunting ground.' Guts mentally tells Croba while sheathing his sword. He then scooped Casca into his arms before walking off. "Guts, are you serious?! She has become a beacon for Horrors for the next hundred days!" Croba shouted into Gutses ear, forcing him free up a hand to take him off his ear and pocket the jewel. "I've had enough of that chatterbox." He muttered to himself as he was about to leave, when an arrow coming from the busted up alley flew past his head, narrowly missing. This gets Guts to turn his head in the direction from where it came from and saw Judeau and Griffith, with the former reloading a crossbow. "The next one won't miss." He warned Guts as he now had the crossbow trained on him. "You're making a mistake." Guts retorted as Croba tried to call out to him, only for his voice to be muffled and fall on deaf ears. "We are not here to harm you. Rather, I want you to join the Band of the Hawk." Griffth plainly explains to Guts as he raises his right hand before surveying the surrounding area, causing Judeau to lower his crossbow. "You know, judging by that impact, whomever you work for would be guaranteed victory." "Don't bother with the flattering. I'm not joining you under any normal circumstances." Guts tells him while he adjusted his arms so he could hold Casca with one arm while using the other to seemingly scratch the back of his neck. "Then perhaps you can hand over my second-in-command then." "I would…" Guts began to say before he stopped 'scratching' his neck. "… if I could!" He finished just as he threw down a smoke bomb, causing a cloud of blast powder to conceal Guts as he uses this moment of Griffth's and Judeau's shock to change into Gaia once more and flee the scene via the buildings!
"CASCA!" Judeau yelled out as he saw Gaia escape before firing an arrow at him, only for it to barely miss as Gaia disappeared entirely! "We need to go after him!" "Judeau, wait." Griffith ordered just before Judeau ran off, getting him to stop and turn to him! "If we go after him now, the two of us will wind up like that crater." He told Judeau before pointing to the crater Gaia left behind, leaving him shocked. "We'll regroup, and you can take some troops to search for Casca." Griffth told before walking from the scene, leaving Judeau alone to memorize where Gaia left.
To be Continued!
Note: For a little context, this series takes place some years after the Divine Flame movie. Though I'm not sure about when that took place since Berserk itself may have taken place before the Age of Exploration.