Reviews:
manu111: Well, he created what would be the Demon Child/Moonlight Boy in canon. What'll happen to it is undecided as of yet. There's a few possibilities that could potentially happen.
RonaldM40196867: Yup I've seen the death battles with Guts. Guts vs Dimitri was pretty good! No, I wouldn't want to be an apostle. It wouldn't be worth losing my soul and sacrificing everyone I love.
Kabuto S. Inferno: To be fair, the Moonlight Boy was never a key component of Griffith's rebirth. There is a massive ritual required with a special apostle as a sacrifice. The Incarnation Ceremony and the Egg of the Perfect world, which is effectively a giant living behelit. Rituals are generally what's required to summon Daemon Princes or Greater Daemons anyway. That said, a being with such a powerful soul would make an exceedingly good component for a ritual like that.
Spartastic 4: I was under the impression it did both. Killed their sex drives and made them infertile. But looking it up now, there seems to be no solid confirmation on that at least as far as I can find with a short search. Huh. Well, that's certainly convenient. Thank you for the suggestions! I was considering writing a couple chapters from the perspective of his legion to tide things over until Big E shows up. If I do end up doing timeskips, that would probably be a pretty good way to go about it.
SomePervyGuy: True. I guess causality bringing it back to him would have been a way that could have been handled. I didn't think of that. Well, I'd have to go back and rewrite a bunch to make that work now. Unless the Emperor showed up like right now. As for Kor Phaeron, well, he didn't have any serious chaos artifacts on him as serious as the Behelit let alone the Crimson Behelit so it's possible that's why he slipped through the cracks.
Sorry the Kushan thing was so short. I should have gone into a bit more detail but I was trying to rush through it. That's what I get for being impatient...
Micro to him. Those were normal daemonettes. I head-canon Primarch souls as being absolutely massive because they're lesser gods. Greater Daemons can be 30 to 40 feet tall so a Primarch? Fuckin' huge.
Note: This one is a very similar to canon in most regards. Some plot points are just too important. Sorry in advance.
Upon consummating their relationship, Guts felt oddly tired. Like a piece of himself was missing. But it didn't feel bad. In fact, quite the opposite. Somehow, he could tell that his intercourse with Casca had indeed made her pregnant. It was odd that he knew that immediately after the fact but he just had a feeling it was true. And he couldn't be happier.
The process had been troubling to him. He couldn't help but remember the cult leader, the violation he had suffered at that bastard's hands. He had to restrain himself from breaking her neck because of it. He ended up having to explain to her how and why he had been poisoned. Fortunately, in her embrace thoughts of the past were quickly forgotten.
The act was pleasant but he didn't exactly feel lust per say. He had control over all parts of himself so he was able to perform the act without issue, but not out of any sense of carnal desire. His love for her as an individual and his dream of being a man, a husband, a father is what drove him rather than lust.
In the end, he chose to be with Casca and their child rather than to stay with the Band of the Hawk. If Griffith needed him, he would answer the call of his brother but only temporarily before returning to the little dream he had found for himself.
The day after Casca confronted Guts, the Band of the Hawk was preparing to head out for Wyndham to get Griffith.
"It's that time." Judeau stated.
"Ahhh man… If only it weren't for this injury I could've gone with everyone… We've been together for so long now too…" Rickert complained looking at his broken arm in disappointment.
"Don't be so down about it! We'll let you be the first to hug Griffith when he's back. Just leave this to us." Judeau told him, patting him on the shoulder.
"Guts, do my part too. Be sure you get Griffith out." Rickert requested.
"Of course." Guts nodded.
"And then, I'm sure, just like old times…"
Guts smiled at him.
"Everyone mount and form up! From here we split into two groups that will operate independently! The Griffith rescue squad is to depart immediately!" Casca shouted. She then jumped up onto her horse and flinched in pain as she landed on the saddle.
"Let's go, boss." Guts told her. He wasn't on a horse. He'd tested it that morning and he had enough strength he could run faster than a horse. And his endurance was effectively without limit, as far as he could tell.
"Lucky…" Casca muttered, giving him a look.
"What?" He asked, oblivious. Then he looked at the way she was sitting and realized the issue.
"Nothing…" She said, turning her head away from him before he could say anything else.
She led her horse forward to the rows of cavalry ready and waiting. "Griffith rescue squad! We depart for Wyndham!"
She turned and led the charge forward towards Wyndham with Guts running by her side, easily keeping pace with her.
The journey took three days in total since neither the men or horses had nearly as much endurance as Guts.
The Primarch spent his nights sharpening his sword to a razor edge for the battle. Then on the final night before they reached their destination he took the time to meditate again. In his vision he fought harder than ever to tear back as much of his true strength as he possibly could from the poisonous curse. He'd succeeded in that regard. He hadn't beaten the poison, not even close, but he'd beaten it back further than he had in any of his prior meditations. Yet he still had a very long way to go.
Regardless, he was completely ready for what was to come.
Once they reached their destination, a small group had to continue on foot through a foggy graveyard. Guts, Casca, Judeau, Pippin, and the Princess.
"Tell me why we're in a graveyard." Guts asked. "Talk about gloomy…" He added under his breath. "Wyndham's before our eyes. We visitin' someone's grandpa?"
"Secret passage." Judeau stated.
"Huh?"
"A castle that huge has to have one or two secret escape passages. Common sense in war." Judeau explained.
Guts nodded. He could see the logic behind that. He glanced at the Princess. That must have been the whole reason she was here. He'd objected to bringing her along, but Casca had insisted. He supposed this must have been why. It made sense. Who would know the castle better than her?
Honestly, he wanted to just charge in there and kill everyone, but if he did that they might decide to just cut their losses and kill Griffith to spite him. That wasn't a risk he was willing to take.
"It's here." Princess Charlotte stated, pointing out a particular gravestone.
Casca looked back, "Pippin."
Pippin stepped forward and pushed the tombstone over revealing a hole.
Guts could have done it, but his size would mean he would have had to kneel down to do it. Or he'd have had to kick it over.
Guts looked at the hole. It would be an incredibly tight squeeze but he estimated he could just barely fit inside.
"Alright, let's go." Casca said, about to go in.
"Wait a minute. Pippin and Judeau I can see, but after all, ain't it a bad idea for you, our leader, to go in there?" Guts asked.
"What other choice is there? It's obvious that we're the Band of the Hawk's strongest members. Sending in too many people would just make us stand out. You already make us stand out enough, you damn giant. At any rate, if we can't get Griffith out it's meaningless. This team has the highest potential for success."
"Yeah but…"
Casca grabbed his wrist and pulled, making him lean down so she could stare him in the face. "Hey. You're worried, aren't you?"
Behind them Pippin, Judeau, and the Princess just watched.
"Give me a break! When it comes to sword fighting, I'm even better than those two! You're a pro merc right now! Leave your personal feelings out of the plan." She let go of him and turned back to the secret entrance. "Obey your superior's orders"
She paused and looked back at him over her shoulder. "I can at least watch your back. Don't forget it."
"Right…" Guts nodded, though he still wasn't happy about this.
He heard snickering behind him. Looking back he saw Pippin and Judeau trying to stifle their laughter. Charlotte just smiled.
"Let's go." Casca repeated herself.
All four of them went inside. As expected, Guts barely fit the stairwell. Fortunately, that changed as soon as they reached the tunnels at the bottom. There was plenty of room for him to maneuver in here. Though he'd have to rely on thrusts with his sword rather than big swings.
'Griffith… You were always looking up towards the top. Paying heed to nothing but ascension. Flying alone above all… the Hawk. Yes… You would never come down to land where we crawl. The boundless hawk. Frustration. Resignation. There's no one who those words fit less. Composed, ruthless, shrewd. Always winning. Always taking… You'll pull through. No matter what you suffered in here. I know you will.' Guts thought to himself.
"We're here." Princess Charlotte said as they reached another set of stairs
They walked up the stairs and Guts pushed a lid at the top open, being careful not to make too much noise.
"A mausoleum." Guts observed as he climbed out.
"From the grave, to the grave." Casca stated.
"That was weak." Judeau retorted.
"Where to next, your highness?" Guts asked.
Casca nodded in agreement. "We mustn't loose a moment in rescuing Griffith… Sir Griffith… There isn't much time until dawn."
"You're right… This way." Charlotte said, turning and leading them through the castle.
As they were walking, they ran into two guards. Guts decapitated them both before they could scream and raise any sort of alarm.
The Princess looked nauseous but her hand rested on the pommel of her own sword. She was clearly nervous and still unused to death and bloodshed.
They kept going until they reached a giant building. "That's one old lookin' tower." Guts commented.
"The Tower of Rebirth." Judeau stated.
Guts raised an eyebrow and glanced at him. "You know about it?"
"Among the many towers in Wyndham, it's the most ancient. They say it's been here since the time Midland was established… Possibly even before then. I don't know why it was built… but it seems in times of war, prisoners and, during the inquisition, heretics were imprisoned underground beneath this tower." Judeau explained.
Princess Charlotte shook her head. "No. Even now the underground part of this tower is used as a prison. If your men are correct, Lord Griffith must be confined in the room on the lowest level."
"Then let's go. I'm barely holding myself back from killing everyone in this damn castle. Only reason I haven't is because that'd raise the alarms and they might kill Griffith. The sooner we get him and get out of here, the better." Guts growled.
The continued forwards and Guts had to crouch down to not give them away to the guards outside the entrance. Judeau threw two knives and each one found its mark in the guard's throats. They died fast as they bled out, unable to make a noise beyond choked gurgles.
They entered the prison and descended to the very lowest level. The princess was terrified and could hardly stand so Guts ended up having to carry her.
As they descended deeper and deeper, she told them the story of the Tower of Rebirth. Apparently, according to some legend, thousands upon thousands of years before humans settled the continent another species lived here. A species of immortals. They were called the "Elders" or something to that effect, and they had powerful weapons and magics far beyond human reckoning.
Little was known of their king beyond the fact he was an incredible warrior hailed as the avatar of some war god, and that he wore a suit of skeletal armor.
Then God sent angels to punish the Elders for their grotesque hedonism and hubris and thus their civilization was completely devastated. It sank beneath the ground and their people died out eons before humanity arrived to colonize the land. The tower was built upon a hole into which one of their primary cities had sunk.
Hearing of the skeletal armor of the Elder King, Guts was immediately reminded of the skeletal wraith he saw the night he left the Hawks. He wondered if he'd seen the ghost of this long dead king. He knew demons and elves existed, so why not ghosts too?
He looked into the hole and saw a huge pile of desiccated corpses, each with a strange symbol seemingly branded upon them. How such corpses had lasted tens of thousands of years or longer, he had no idea. But there they were.
He saw their pointed ears and their odd skeletal structures that vaguely resembled what he recognized but not quite. Whatever they were, they were definitely not human.
They reached the bottom of the stairs. The final cell.
"Set me down please." The Princess requested.
Guts complied.
The princess rushed for the cell door and started banging on it. "Lord Griffith! Lord Griffith!"
There was no response. That was a bad sign.
Guts could see Casca was shaken. So he knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder.
She looked at him and steadied herself. Stepping forward, she used the key and unlocked the cell before opening the door.
The smell was awful. Blood and rot and burnt flesh. "Talk about stale…" Judeau commented.
The cell was too dark to see much, so Casca walked in with her lantern raised, walking ahead of everyone.
"Griffith…? Griffith!" Casca called out to the dark damp cell. There was no response.
"Maybe he's in another cell?" Judeau suggested.
"Th-that cannot be! I'm sure it must be the lowest level!"
Guts heard something. "Sh! Someone's here!" He told them. Looking he saw a frail figure lying on the ground in the darkness.
"Griffith…?" He asked, shocked as he saw the horrible state his brother was in.
His flesh was covered in horrific scars. The muscles in his back were exposed from where the skin had been flayed off of him. His head was encased in a mockery of the helmet he used to wear, locked in place.
"G… Grif… Griffith…?" Guts stuttered. His rage building more and more.
What had they done to him? What had they done to his brother?!
Guts' grit his teeth. His breath became shaky. His fists tightened to the point he could have crushed solid steel.
He rushed over to Griffith and gently lifted his frail body up off the ground.
Now that Guts was holding him, he could see even more of Griffith's injuries and he was appalled. Chunks of flesh were missing from his chest, revealing parts of his ribcage. He was emaciated, starved to the point where his stomach had sunken in and his ribs would have been visible even without the chunks of flesh missing. The tendons in his wrists and ankles had been severed. He would never walk or hold a sword ever again. Inside his mouth, Guts saw his tongue was missing.
"Casca, the key!" Guts demanded. He looked over his shoulder and saw her standing there in complete shock.
"CASCA!" He shouted.
That made her flinch, yet she didn't move.
Judeau took the key ring from her and unlocked the "helmet". Guts then gently removed it from Griffith's head. What he saw horrified him.
He heard Casca take a step. "STAY BACK!" He shouted furiously. "GET THE HELL AWAY!"
Casca stopped.
"This can't be… This can't… be… It can't be Griffith." Guts cried, tears welling in his eyes. He put the cruel "helmet" back on to spare his brother's dignity.
Griffith opened his eyes and looked at Guts. He made a dry raspy sound and raised a weak trembling hand towards Guts' face. His hand brushed against Guts' cheek.
Guts wrapped Griffith in a hug, being extremely careful not to hurt him any further.
He felt Griffith rest his hand on his own.
"Lord Griffith…" Princess Charlotte muttered. She tried to take a step forward but Pippin stopped her, resting a hand on her shoulder
"Let go… What? Release me! What happened to Lord Griffith?! Tell me!" The Princess demanded.
Casca clutched at her chest. With his enhanced senses Guts could hear how hard her heart was beating. It made him worried for her.
The cell door slammed shut. "Eeheehee! That'sh far enough!" A slurring voice declared.
"Kyaa!" The Princess screamed, startled.
"I-I'm this plache's jailer. D-don't be afraid your highnessh. I-I'm kind of a messh to look at." A deformed man said from the other side of the door.
"Y-you people can't get away now. 'Caushe I locked the door. Eeheehee! I called the shoulders, too. They'll come running shoon, sho give up nishe and quiet. Y-your highnessh be patient here a bit longer. Th-thish meansh I've got shome new toysh again. A-and hish majeshty will be happy with me too… Eeheeheeheehee!"
Blood boiling, Guts passed Griffith to Judeau. "Hey." He stood up and looked towards the creature on the other side of the door. "You the one? The one who did all this to Griffith?"
"N-no ushe gettin' mad, even if you are big. Thish door ish four times normal thicknessh. Even if you hit it with a hammer it don't budge. B-beshides, hish majeshty shaid I could do whatever I wanted, sho I did. Sh-sho it'sh not my fault." The creature said almost smugly.
"Hehhh, I've never had a pupil ash pretty ash him in my care. I put a lot of effort into torturing him. Firsht to keep him from running away, I cut the tendonsh in hish arms and legs. Then whenever he washn't eating or shleeping, I'd take off his shkin and nailsh. I'd use hot ironsh, boiling water, you name it. Thish pasht few monthsh, I've sheen to him conshtantly, like we were hushband and wife. I'm alsho the one who'd nurse him sho he wouldn't die. You couldn't sphlit ush apart, we wash sho closhe."
Every word made Guts more and more angry. Every muscle in his body was taught with pure unadulterated rage.
"And you know. When you're ash professional a torturer ash I am, beauty ishn't jusht shkin deep. When I peel the shkin away… I recognize the beauty of mushcles and blood vesshles too. Oh, I wash sho moved when I opened up that beautiful face, the pink mushcle that peeked out at me from the wound… Hish shkin and flesh are one in a hundred… no, one in a thoushand. Oh, yeah, yeah. Thish ish the besht part of my collection. Look! Eeheehee. Thish, thish. My good-luck charm. A tongue. Hish tongue…"
The creature licked the severed tongue it wore as a necklace.
Guts couldn't take it anymore. His aura flared to the point everyone fell to their knees. He turned and rushed the door, bashing through it as if it were little more than wet paper and impaling the torturer before he could even hit the ground.
Guts' sword missed the torturer's heart and impaled him through the side near his arm. So he was still alive, even if he would die from the wound eventually.
Guts took out a dagger. "Seein' as how you're gonna die, you ain't gettin' into heaven double tongued."
"Sh-shtop, shtop, shtop, shtop!" The torturer begged as Guts carved his tongue out.
When the tongue was gone, Guts tilted his sword and brought the torturer closer so he could stare the little mutant in the eyes. "Forget it. Your breath reeks too much. You're goin' to hell. Hope the same demons I gotta deal with get your damn soul you little freak!" He growled
He then tilted his sword down and the abomination started slowly sliding off the blade. "Ahhb… Hep… Hep me…"
"I can't hear you. Speak clearly." Guts ordered.
The torturer slid the final few inches off his blade and fell into the deep dark chasm where it would join the other corpses.
An arrow streaked towards him and embedded itself in the ground between his feet.
Looking, Guts saw soldiers with crossbows aimed at him.
"That's far enough! Throw down your weapons and surrender quietly!"
"Try to keep up with me." He ordered before he charged up the stairs and began slaughtering the soldiers. If they said anything in response he didn't hear it.
He tore through the soldiers with terrifying ease.
Not fully sure what was happening, only knowing their comrades were being torn to shreds and they were absolutely terrified, the soldiers tried to turn and run. It was futile. Guts was too fast for them. Nothing they could do could really hurt him either. They couldn't run, they couldn't fight, all they could do was die.
He tried to have enough courtesy to knock the corpses into the pit so their blood wouldn't make the stairs too slippery for everyone behind him
When Guts reached the top of the stairs he burst through the door and leapt at the soldiers waiting on the other side roaring with animalistic fury.
He didn't give them so much as an instant to figure out what was happening as he started cleaving through their ranks. Blood and viscera covered him as he tore through men with his sword, crushed them to death under foot, or quite literally grabbed them and ripped them completely in half before throwing the pieces with enough force to kill five or six men in a row.
He was in a near blind fury as he massacred them.
If anyone was trying to give orders, those orders couldn't be heard over the screams of terror and the tearing of flesh and metal. No one could fight him. No one could even try. All they could do was run, and he even cut down the ones who dared to try and flee rather than facing him.
Rocks, heads, fallen or abandoned weapons, he slung them at the fleeing men carving through them just as easily as if they had decided to fight. He even sent his own sword spinning through the air in a lethal horizontal spiral that shredded through the soldiers with each arc. It killed about five before it came to a stop, embedded deep in the body of the fifth man. Guts rushed forwards, tore his sword out of the half bisected man's corpse and kept killing.
By the time the others had caught up with him, the area outside the tower was nothing but a mess of blood, viscera, and broken corpses. He was drenched from head to toe in blood that wasn't his. His sword had chips in the blade from how hard he'd been swinging it and the fact he was using it to chop through solid steel. Intestines hung from his arms and shoulders, the remnants of the unrestrained brutality he had committed. His crimson face was locked in a furious scowl that would send chills down the spins of even the bravest warriors. He barely even looked human.
Even Judeau, Pippin, and Casca were horrified by the sight of what Guts had done. Princess Charlotte vomited and nearly fainted on the spot from the gruesome sight.
This hadn't been a battle. It was a one sided massacre. A complete butchery committed out of pure rage and hatred.
This was Guts' true nature unleashed. His purpose. A weapon of terrifying power and destruction.
And it wasn't over. There was still more killing to be done as they fled the capital with Griffith.
Guts looked back at the others for a moment before motioning them to follow. He then pressed forwards. The sole reason he wasn't rushing ahead to continue his rampage to kill every last knight and noble in Wyndham was because Griffith was still in danger. They needed to get him out of there. Then Guts could come back and finish what he started. He would show all of Midland what he was made to do.
Guts personally slaughtered everything in their path as they made their way through the castle. All the rest of them had to do was follow him and not get in his way.
"Somehow we made it this far…" Judeau panted, exhausted from jogging to keep up with Guts.
Fortunately, Guts had paused his relentless rampage to let everyone rest, trying to be considerate of his normal human companions.
"He… scares me…" Princess Charlotte said, clinging to the blanket covering Griffith.
Casca approached him. She took his hand.
He flinched, but stopped himself when he realized it was just Casca.
She tugged at his hand.
He knelt down.
She pulled the intestines and bone fragments off of him. Then she took out a handkerchief and started wiping his face. "At least get all this off and wipe the blood off your face. The Princess is frightened."
Guts relaxed a bit and let Casca wipe the blood off of him. Her presence, her voice, her touch all calmed him. She was, perhaps, the only thing that could calm him down in that moment. The only thing that could make his frenzy subside.
He gently touched her stomach. It had only been a few days. It would take months for it to develop. So he obviously didn't feel a kick or anything of the sort, otherwise he wouldn't have let her be here to begin with. But he sensed it. A presence. A soul. Far stronger than Casca somehow, but still so incredibly small compared to Guts' own presence. All of his hopes and dreams, realized. Intrinsically connected to both him and Casca. That soul calmed him even more.
It was a little weird though. He'd never been able to sense anything like this before. At least not that he'd been consciously aware of. But now he could sense this soul, and what he assumed was Casca's.
Casca seemed confused at first, but he grabbed his hand and gave it a soft squeeze. She thought it was just an odd act of intimacy on his end, he could tell.
She hadn't believed him when he tried to tell her he could tell she was pregnant. She'd thought he was just joking or was bragging about his own virility or some other such crude nonsense. He hadn't been. He had been one hundred percent serious. She still didn't realize it yet. He decided to let her realize the truth naturally in due time.
Unbeknownst to either of them, Griffith was staring at the scene. At the display of affection between them.
Casca pulled away and Guts stood back up, now looking much less terrifying than he had mere moments prior. "Now, let's hurry. Once we get underground we're good to go."
They headed back through the secret passage they entered from.
In the tunnels they were confronted by a pair of mutant freaks.
Guts impaled the long lanky one that tried to descend on them from the roof. He crushed the frog-like one with the trident who hid underneath the water under his boot when it leapt out to stab Casca.
"Looks like some monsters are livin' beneath Wyndham." Guts observed.
"Bakiraka." Judeau commented. "A mercenary band. But specializing in assassination. I'd heard that each and every one is a superhuman, but these guys surpass even the rumor. To think that he'd sic them on us… The King must have really snapped."
Suddenly Charlotte jumped in the way of something.
Guts looked and saw a little thing with a blow gun. It had just shot her with a dart, which it had been aiming for Griffith.
Guts cleaved it in half, destroying the drain it had been sticking out of.
"Your highness!" Casca exclaimed, helping her up.
"Unh… Aghh…" Charlotte groaned in Casca's arms.
"Don't move." Said a feminine voice from behind them.
Guts looked and saw a normal looking kushan woman wearing black cloth. He prepared to throw his sword at her like a spear to kill her.
"WAIT!" She shouted.
Guts paused.
"I propose an exchange." The woman stated.
"An exchange?" Guts growled.
"The blowdart the Princess so foolishly jumped in front of was poisoned. We have the antidote. If she goes with you, she'll surely die very shortly. Hand her over, and I guarantee her life. It would be quite bad for us if she died." The woman stated. "So, what shall you do?"
Casca looked down at the Princess before looking back at the Bakiraka woman. "Alright. We'll grant your exchange."
"You sure?" Guts asked.
"There's no room for choice! It's unavoidable…" Casca stated.
Well, Guts planned to come back as soon as Griffith was safe anyway. So why not? He'd just retrieve her then. She knew the basics of how to use a sword and dagger, so she could defend herself if the king tried anything again.
"Good, then I shall approach and collect her. Remember, only we have the antidote so kill me and she dies with me." The Bakiraka woman stated, walking forwards. She took the Princess from Casca and started walking back.
The Princess clung to the blanket Griffith was wrapped in for a moment. "No… Together… Together… Always…"
Griffith mouthed something back at her.
She released the blanket and the Bakiraka woman carried her away, back the way they had come. "Now… You die!" The woman called back as soon as she was far enough away.
Looking further down the tunnel Guts saw a larger man with an atlatl. The man threw a harpoon-like spear at him at high speeds. Guts snatched it out of the air, flipped it around, and threw it back just as hard impaling the man through the chest.
Guts waited for another attack, thinking there might be more of them hiding somewhere. Then he smelled something and noticed the air getting hazy. Looking back he saw the woman had set Charlotte down leaning against the wall and had thrown off her rags revealing sacks filled with some kind of dust.
Pippin noticed too and all but smacked the lantern out of Judeau's hand, knocking it into the water. "Put it out!"
"What the hell, Pippin?!"
"Run to the exit!" Pippin exclaimed.
Guts looked back at the woman and saw her smack her bracelets together, making a spark that ignited the haze.
A wall of fire began to rush towards them.
None of them hesitated to turn and run.
"Fire?! Why?!" Casca shouted as they ran.
"The dust caught fire! If it catches up to us, even our lungs'll be burnt black!" Pippin shouted.
"You gotta be kidding!" Judeau exclaimed.
Guts would have been able to outpace the fire on his own but the others? It was gaining on them fast.
'Not good!' He thought to himself.
Suddenly Pippin swung his pick and smashed open a hole in the roof of the tunnel. "Get down!" He shouted.
Everyone dropped and the fire rushed up and out the hole.
"What happened?" Guts asked.
"The same accident happened in a mine I used to work in. Fire will gush upwards to a wider space." Pippin stated.
"Wow, that was quick thinking!" Judeau complimented him.
"Griffith showed me the little bit of moonlight coming through the ceiling." Pippin stated, looking up at the hole.
"Griffith did?!" Guts looked at Griffith in surprise.
Griffith looked at him.
Guts smiled at him. Glad to see Griffith was still himself despite everything.
"Let's hurry. The exit's not far." Casca stated.
As they fled Wyndham some nice commoners let them take a cart to transport Griffith. They had heard what the King had done and were on their side.
Unfortunately, while they were on the road, they saw the Black Hound Knights chasing them. They had the eviscerated naked bodies of the women who helped them on pikes as they chased them down.
Guts personally slew the majority of them while the others escaped. The only problem was, it turned out, the leader of the Black Hound Knights was a demon just like Nosferatu Zodd. But he wasn't as powerful as Zodd either.
Still weakened, Guts got hurt fighting off Wyald but he did manage to slay the demon, at the cost of his sword breaking. He had impaled the demon through the head with the broken remnants of his blade. He had been sure nothing could survive that.
Unfortunately it seemed he had been wrong.
"There we go." Guts said as he finished strapping Griffith's armor back on him. "The white hawk flies again."
Griffith looked down and tried to reach for his sword. He couldn't grasp it.
Guts frowned and put his hand on Griffith's. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I didn't come back sooner. I hadn't heard about the civil war until it was already too late. If I'd known this was going to happen, I never would have left. At least, not until after this was all over and you were sittin' on the throne… I… I want to lie to you, Griffith. To say you'll get better. I think you'd realize I was full of shit, and I don't think you'd appreciate it if I did that… But, you will become king. I'll put you on the throne if I have to kill every last fucking noble in Midland. You will achieve your dream even if I have to carry you on my back to the finish line…"
Griffith looked at him. Guts couldn't read his expression. He couldn't tell if Griffith was happy to hear that or not. Something told him, he wasn't happy. Not at all.
Guts sighed. "I've found mine, you know… Funny, I only found it after I came back… It hurts… If I'd known what it was, again, I never would have left… Do you want to hear it or should I just shut up? Blink once if you want to hear it. Twice if you don't."
Griffith made a noise and shut his eyes for a second. When he opened them again, he didn't close them a second time.
"So, I guess that's a yes… You'll probably think it's kind of ridiculous… petty even, considering the grand scale of your dreams, but… Casca. She's my dream… And it just took her yelling at me, stabbing me, and me having to save her from throwing herself off a cliff for me to realize it…" Guts chuckled and shook his head.
"To be more specific, I guess… I want to be more than what I am. I don't want to be a weapon, or a conqueror. I just want… I don't know how to put it, really… To be a man? Griffith… You saw me back in Wyndham. And way back when I fought Zodd. Whatever I am? I'm not human. There's no way I am. I'm an almost eleven foot tall giant who can take a cannonball to the chest without armor and walk it off. I… I'm pretty sure I'm made to be a killer. A conqueror… A monster… All I want is to be a man… I guess that means, to start a family maybe?"
Guts sighed. "Uh… I… don't feel lust or nothin' like that. So… I'm not really attracted to anything, really. At least not like a normal man. I don't think I was built for it. But I love her. Casca. And, well… She didn't believe me when I told her this but, after… you know… I knew she was pregnant. I can sense it, sort of. The, uh… presence inside her that wasn't there before… Guess it'll take time before signs start showing up… Well, when you're on the throne, Casca and I are gonna settle down somewhere. Raise our kid. That's my dream… Though, we won't be members of the Hawks anymore."
Griffith's eyes widened. He made a noise.
Guts grasped his shoulder. "Easy, easy… It won't be like last time. We won't be members of the Hawks, or we'll be retired at least, but if you need me I'll help. You're my brother, right? Just call and I'll come fight. The important thing, at least for my dream, is that I come back to them when the fighting's all done. That I'll get to be more than just a sword. That I can be human."
Guts paused for a moment. Griffith seemed to calm down.
Guts scratched the back of his head. "Sorry… I shouldn't have dropped that on you like that… I didn't mean to upset you…"
"ENEMY RAID!" A shout came from outside.
"What?!" Guts growled standing up. He grabbed a normal sword he'd been given after he lost his, and rushed out of the flap of the cart only to be smacked by an oversized hand before he could even react.
The force of the blow sent him and the cart tumbling.
Looking at what hit him, Guts was shocked to see Wyald. Somehow still alive despite the sword impaled through his head.
"Nooo. Nooo. I don't wanna die!" The monster moaned.
"Not like you die easy, you stubborn bastard!" Guts shouted at the monster getting up to his feet and dropping into a fighting stance.
"Guts! Griffith! You okay?!" Someone shouted.
Guts looked over at them and while he was distracted, Wyald grabbed Griffith.
"GRIFFITH!" Guts shouted, slashing at Wyald's wrist. He left a nasty cut, but the blade length wasn't what he was used to. So he failed to cut the tendons, let alone sever the hand as he'd intended.
Wyald raised Griffith above his head.
"You sonofabitch!"
"Don't move! If you do…" Wyald held out Griffith and started tightening his grip.
Griffith writhed and struggled in pain.
"Stop it!" Guts shouted.
"Stand down!" Casca ordered the crossbow men aiming at Wyald. "Griffith!"
"Dammit Dammit! What the Hell's… I get the bastard's big, but I…" Wyald coughed up some blood.
'He's hurting. If I could just find an opening, I can end this!' Guts thought to himself.
"I'm screwed… No time left… If I wind up dead here, I… The Idea of Evil's gonna put me inside that vortex, forever… Damn it… Why couldn't I've been a Prince of Slaanesh instead of a damn Apostle…?"
Guts grit his teeth. He just needed an opening… A single opening and he'd cut this bastard's head off! Why did his damn sword have to break?
Wyald looked at Griffith. "Hey! Hurry and summon themmm… The great ones… If you're really gonna become one of the greats like Zodd says… You should have it. The Crimson Behelit! The Egg of the King! Use it…! Call them… Our guardian angels! The four members of the God Hand!"
"Godhand?" Guts muttered to himself, confused.
"That's enough!" Casca shouted.
Guts looked around and saw Wyald was completely surrounded by men with crossbows aimed at him.
"Release Griffith! There's no way you can win now!" Casca ordered him.
"You people… Huh huh… Hahaha!"
"What's so funny, freak?!" Casca demanded.
"Every last one of you's got a twinkle in his eyes… I can't stand it… They ain't the eyes of those who fight for a livin'. They're like the eyes of a kid who's had his toy taken away. I get it. He's what does it. He's the precious kids' toy. You guys must be so happy. You don't know a damn thing. Your precious toy was broken a long time ago."
Guts scowled, wanting to lunge at the monster right then and there. He would have too, if Wyald couldn't crush Griffith like a bug before Guts could cleave him open.
Wyald began stripping Griffith of his armor.
"STOP IIIIT!" Casca shouted desperately.
"UHAHAHA! LOOK! LOOK AT THIS MANGLED BODY! He gave nine months worth of playtime to that perverted jailer in the Tower of Rebirth. And it ain't just some skin he's missin'! His arm muscles, leg muscles, and his tongue! They've all been cut up or cut out! I bet you planned to carry him up and make something of yourselves again. Too bad it'll never happen. He can't do battle anymore. Or ride a horse. Or wield a sword. Hell, he can't even stand up on his own. You're lucky if he can crawl around like a bug. He can't live on his own the rest of his life. None of you got any hope. Not even a sliver."
"Shut the fuck up! You think any of that matters?! He's going to be King! I'll kill you, and every other bastard who betrayed us or supported the King! He'll be married to the Princess, then he won't have to worry about any of that shit! If he needs to do battle I'll damn well do it in his place, if his army isn't enough! He'll have a host of servants waiting on him to help him with whatever the hell else he needs! Just because you're some hopeless fucking punk doesn't mean the rest of us are!"
"Ugh… You're one of those types… Disgusting… You refuse to face the facts. He's useless like this. You say you'll put him on the throne and you'll fight for him? So what? What will that mean when he can't even wipe his own ass without help? That won't be his accomplishment, it'll be yours. He won't ever be a king. Not really. He'll just be some useless puppet sitting on a throne he never earned. How utterly pathetic! You think you're so great, hm? Well he's already lost everything. And you plan to take even more from him with that optimistic bullshit. How cruel can you be… HAHAHA! Really, you're more of a monster than I am! The most merciful thing you could do for him is to kill him and put him out of his misery. But you won't. You're too damn selfish for that."
Guts grit his teeth and took a step forward, about to attack.
"Whoa! Don't move. I still have enough strength to pluck his head off. Nowww… While the atmosphere's all nice and hopeless. Better hurry before I can't see anymore." Wyald said, looking at Griffith. "Hnn? Where's the behelit…? That can't be. You're supposed to have it… It can't… Y-you're kidding. If that's not here… I… IIIII!"
Something big landed behind Wyald and whatever hope Guts may have had dwindled to nothing. Nosferatu Zodd… He struggled with Zodd at his strongest… Right now…
Guts steeled himself. He couldn't give in to despair like this. Griffith was still alive. That meant there was still a chance to save him no matter how slim. He would fight and die, if he had to. He didn't care how daunting his opponent may have been.
"Wh-Why're you…?!"
Zodd gored Wyald on his horns and lifted the weaker demon above his head.
"H-He's here! It's the real thing!
"Nosferatu Zodd…" Guts growled.
"Z-Zodd…! Whadda you think you're doin'?! Is… Is this on their orders?! No… That can't be…! 'Do what thou wilt'... That's the only commandment for apostles like me! Even if I wring him to death right here, no one should have any reason to complain…! Even if he is the fifth one…!"
'Fifth one…? What's he talking about…?'
"That's right. And if I rip you open here and now… that's my will and the will of Khorne!" Zodd grabbed Wyald and started pulling on him.
"Owwww! Wait! Stop! Stop! Khorne gave you to The Idea of Evil and the God Hand! Y-you and me are on the same side! It-It's wrong! It's not him! H-He don't got it on him! He don't got the behelit! He ain't the man we think he is! T-Tzeentch must be playin' a trick!"
"Then either way there's no chance of you surviving!" Zodd ripped Wyald completely in half, letting the blood spill over him.
Wyald's hand went limp and he dropped Griffith.
Guts rushed forward and grabbed Griffith before he could hit the ground. Holding Griffith in his arms he looked as Wyald's halves fell to the ground.
"Are you alright?!" Casca demanded, rushing over to check on Griffith. She stopped as both she and Guts looked at Zodd.
"If we're doin' this, let me put Griffith down and I'll take you on!" Guts snarled.
"I am not here for you, Child of the Anathema. If we duel again, it will not be this day." Zodd snarled back at him. He then sniffed. "The poison is weakening… Good. Then perhaps, if we meet again, we shall have another proper battle! But I expect, death shall come for you before that…" He then looked at Casca. "And your offspring…? How…? Hm… No matter. A shame I will not get to test its mettle."
Guts grit his teeth, thoroughly pissed off by the insinuation his kid was going to die too.
"Hawk… Falcon… It will return to your hand. Such is Causality's will."
Zodd flapped his wings and started flying away.
Guts wanted to call after him and question him, but he'd already gotten his answer. This monkey monster thing wasn't the inevitable death that was waiting for him. That was still to come.
"Look!" Shouted one of the Hawks, pointing at the monster's corpse.
A mass of tortured flesh and bodies seemed to emerge from a portal near Wyald's corpse.
"Wha… What is that?!"
The mass grabbed Wyald's intestines and started pulling.
Guts thought they were tearing the corpse apart for a moment, but he quickly realized, no, they were dragging it into the portal with them. A portal leading to a swirling vortex that seemed to radiate pure anguish and misery.
When it was over, the corpse was gone. Nothing had been left behind save for some blood stains in the dirt and the broken hilt of what used to be Guts' sword.
Last chapter before the Eclipse. Next chapter is where it all goes to hell. Literally! Yay! Sorry this one was so similar to Canon . I was considering having Princess Charlotte escape with them but that would have put her smack in the middle of the Eclipse and I doubt causality would allow that considering her role. Anyway I have plans already and I can promise you it's going to diverge pretty seriously from canon from this point forward. After the next chapter I'll have a bunch more freedom to do things a bit differently.
Sorry for skipping a huge section about Wyald. The dude's just so fucking gross... I actually kind of prefer the anime in that it doesn't have Wyald in it. It's better off for it from a certain perspective. But from a narrative perspective the scene where he was talking about how useless Griffith is after his torture, was sort of important to sink him further into despair.