Reviews:
RonaldM40196867: Yes Berserk deserves a new movie. Happy march!
GhastlyOrnox: Saying I stick too close to canon is fair criticism. Insulting me by calling me stupid and uncreative is being a dick just to be a dick. You won't see this, but you won't be missed.
Kabuto S. Inferno: To be perfectly fair, it's been a damn long time since I posted any new chapters. At least until recently. And I have other projects on other websites I was paying attention to. And I have plans for the Berserker armor. I'm very much looking forward to getting to that point in the story.
Guts sat in front of a fire, staring deep into the flames. It was his first night away from the Hawks.
He felt uneasy. This was his first night he'd been truly alone in three years. He'd nearly forgotten what it was like.
Sensing a powerful presence, he quickly drew his sword and stood up. Turning, he held out his sword defensively. Only, nothing had been behind him. He didn't hear anything around him either.
'What was that… That bloodthirstiness? A beast? No… I remember this! This is savagery that feels like it clings to your very soul… Could it be…? Zodd… No… No. Zodd wouldn't be hiding. He would have revealed himself and challenged me directly… So then, who? Or more accurately, what?"
Then Guts sensed something looming behind him. It felt close enough that he was sure he should have heard its footsteps, but he hadn't… He could hear who or what ever it was right now though. He could smell the very faint scent of old death and decay in the air. Like an ancient tomb that had been cracked open for the first time in centuries.
He spun and swung his blade, hitting nothing.
He thought for a moment he might be going insane.
Then from the mist emerged a figure. A being in skeletal armor. A long black cape hung from its back. It was tall, standing at a solid seven feet, but was still dwarfed by Guts.
'Impossible! I'm sure he was right behind me! I could hear him! I could smell him! I've never misread an enemy's presence once! I could have sworn he was about to cut me with his sword… What is this? This weird unreal feeling… It's like I'm staring at a damn ghost…'
"So the gears have indeed begun turning, to use a human expression."
"Gears?! What does that mean?!" Guts demanded, pointing his sword at the being threateningly.
"You, godling prince of mankind, black hound, struggler… Take heed. One year shall be the time of the eclipse! You and your friends! Those yet unseen of the fleshless flesh! And the chosen of Malevolence Undivided shall all be gathered then, in the intersection between the Materium and the Sea of Souls! A torrent of madness, a tempest of death for which no mortal body could ever atone, shall sweep over you!"
The being declared with immense finality. A prophetic declaration of impending doom. Yet Guts sensed no malice in his tone. At least, none directed at Guts.
"But take heed… Fate held no sway over you in your divine form and holds very little even now, bound to mortal flesh. You are closer to death than anyone, it is in the very essence of your being, and thus excel at inflicting or escaping it! Struggle, contend, wriggle! That alone is the sword of the one who confronts death! Never forget this!"
"Who the hell are you?! How do you know about me?!" Guts shouted back at the apparition.
"In the Abyss of Despair, only he who stands up with broken sword in hand… Perhaps…"
The skeletal figure turned and walked away, vanishing into the fog.
"Wait!" Guts shouted, chasing after the figure. But he was already gone.
Guts may have thought it was an illusion if there wasn't a footprint in the mud where the being had stood.
The Idea of Evil was frustrated. An incredibly rare occurrence for the God of Chaos Undivided until these past three years occurred. This child of the Anathema had an annoying tendency to resist fate and causality much like its father. Even with the majority of its strength dedicated to fighting the poison eating away at its soul. By extension, it had an incredibly inconvenient tendency to warp the fates of those around it as well through its actions not ordained by fate or causality.
The Idea of Evil and Tzeentch had to work together to set up a situation in which the Primarch would be convinced to leave the Band of the Hawk, and even then it had been a close thing. Then, when he finally did, he twisted the fate of Femto and nearly threw him off his path to joining the God Hand by telling Griffith his reason for leaving in the first place.
Thus more events had to be manipulated to ensure it would happen. Even if it would not happen as intended.
It had been three weeks since Guts had left the Band of the Hawk and Griffith. Griffith had been near inconsolable for the first few days, but he had started to recover. Though he still felt immense despair over Guts' departure, Griffith clung to Guts' words like a raft in the middle of a storming ocean. Guts had left to find a dream so that he might view himself as Griffith's equal. So it was possible that he might yet return one day. That hope was the only thing that had kept Griffith from going mad.
His brother was still out there and may yet come back to him.
Dreams… Guts left for a dream he did not yet have so he could be Griffith's equal in his own mind, though Griffith already viewed him as an equal. The only man who was his equal. The only person who was his equal. The only one he could truly relate to on any level.
He knew Guts would still see him as an equal even were he to give up on his dream here and now. But that would be an insult to Guts' departure and the sacrifices of all of the members of the Band of the Hawk who had given their lives for him. So Griffith had decided to devote himself even more fully to pursuing his dream.
Only… There was a problem…
The only way for Griffith to become a King would be to marry Princess Charlotte. And through his investigation over the past couple of weeks he had come to a startling conclusion.
The King lusted after his own daughter.
There had been plenty of opportunities for him to marry her off. Plenty of proposals from bright young nobles or for securing diplomatic alliances. All of them had been rejected.
Griffith had pondered why for a long while and continued his investigation. Listening to gossip and rumors. Talking to the nobles who had been rejected.
Only now had he reached this hellish conclusion.
It ruined everything. The King's perversion was by far the greatest obstacle to Griffith's ambition. And it was one he saw no reasonable recourse to overcome. The only conclusion he could come to was that the King needed to die. Just as Charlotte's uncle, cousin, and the Queen had all needed to die.
A coup then.
For that, however, he would first need to start poisoning Charlotte and the Nobility against the king. Making them hate him enough to want him deposed.
It would be a long and tedious battle of politics, maneuvering from the shadows, spreading rumors, and causing as much unrest as possible.
To start his campaign against the king, Griffith decided to begin with Charlotte.
He went to the castle to visit Princess Charlotte for a meeting over dinner which they had scheduled in advance. It was dark, the sun had just about finished setting and soon the moon would rise.
As he approached the front he was stopped by the guards. "Halt. What is your business in the castle?"
Griffith was caught off guard by this. "I have a dinner meeting with the Princess scheduled for today. We're to discuss matters of politics. Specifically, how best to ensure this newfound peace between Midland and Tudor lasts. You should have already been informed I was coming?"
The guards looked at each other for a moment before looking back at him. They relaxed their weapons but didn't seem like they were going to let him pass. "We were informed, yes… However, just a few minutes ago the King declared that there shall be no visitors today. He needs to have a word in privacy with Princess Charlotte himself. I'm sorry, Lord Griffith, but we cannot allow you to enter."
A pit formed in Griffith's stomach as an eerie feeling settled over him. He didn't know why but he felt that there was something very wrong here. This situation should have been perfectly normal. He considered that, perhaps, he was being paranoid but…
He smiled and gave a polite bow. "Very well. I understand. It is not my place to question his majesty's orders. We shall simply have to reschedule our meeting for another time, perhaps. I won't bother you gentlemen any further. Good day."
With that Griffith turned and left.
As soon as he was out of sight of the guards, he turned and began sprinting. He snuck his way into the castle grounds and located Princess Charlotte's room.
As he began scaling a tree to reach her window, he heard a terrified scream.
"NOOOO!"
He climbed faster. Looking in he saw the King forcing Charlotte onto her bed and attempting to strip her clothes off as she tried futily to resist.
Rage and indignation boiled up within the leader of the Band of the Hawk. Along with something else… A spark of hope. He saw an opportunity. He drew the new saber he had purchased and lept forwards, smashing through the window into Princess Charlotte's room.
Landing on his feet, Griffith pointed his sword at the King. "Release the Princess this instant."
The King climbed off her and looked at him in a mixture of surprise and rage. "Griffith… How dare you… How dare you interrupt me… How dare you steal the love of my daughter from me… I've seen it… I've seen the way she looks at you… How she behaves around you… I won't have it! She is mine!"
"L-Lord Griffith… H-help… Save me!" Charlotte sobbed miserably.
"I will reiterate in terms that are more clear. If you wish to keep your head upon your shoulders, you will release the princess this instant." Griffith declared.
The king quickly grabbed a sword from a display above Charlotte's bed and pointed it at Griffith as he stood up. "You dare threaten your king?! I'll have you hanged for this!"
Griffith said nothing, continuing to point his sword at the king.
"L-Lord Griffith…" The Princess whimpered.
The King looked at her, his rage and jealousy visibly growing. With a roar, he charged at Griffith with the sword raised.
Griffith parried the clumsy wrathful strike and slashed the king across the chest. It wasn't a lethal wound but it made the king stumble back and fall on his ass, clutching at the cut.
He stared up at Griffith with complete hatred.
Griffith stepped forwards, about to deliver the killing blow but paused. Charlotte was right there. Killing him now, right in front of her, wouldn't do. So he frowned and looked down at the King. "I should slay you now, but no… I will not take your life. Not here. Not in front of the Princess… Go. Leave before I change my mind."
The king stood up, seething with rage. "Damn you… Damn you, Griffith! You will regret this!" He then turned and ran out of the room. "Guards! GUARDS!" He shouted furiously.
Griffith sheathed his sword and looked at the princess who was already in the process of fixing her clothes. "Are you quite alright, your highness?" He asked.
"I… I don't… I can't believe…" Charlotte whimpered, still shaken by what had just happened.
"Come, the guards are on their way. We don't have much time." Griffth told her, holding out his hand towards her.
"But… Where…?"
"Where will we go? To the Band of the Hawk. We shall protect you from your father. I swear that to you upon my life."
The Princess hesitated for a moment before taking Griffith's hand.
He helped her up and the two of them fled through the broken window.
Griffith and Charlotte managed to steal a horse from the stables and ride away from the Castle. They headed straight for his estate where the Band of the Hawk was currently having dinner.
As Griffith slammed the door open, all eyes were immediately drawn to him. "Everyone, prepare for battle and ready what you can to leave! If anyone isn't here, go get them and give them the same orders! I rescued Princess Charlotte from an attempted rape by the King! We're officially no longer welcome in Midland!"
The Hawks didn't hesitate to obey his orders. Abandoning their food and drink they rushed to get their weapons and armor.
Casca rushed over to them. "Griffith, what's going on?!"
"It's exactly as I said, Casca. The King attempted to violate his own daughter. I saved her from such a fate. Now the King will be hunting us. Go. Follow my orders and ready yourself for battle. We're now at war again and we're deep in the heart of enemy territory. I don't know how much time we have before the King's men arrive." Griffith told her.
Casca looked at the Princess who was distraught, disheveled, and was still in a state of shock with tears running down her face. Casca then looked back at Griffith and nodded before turning and running to get her equipment and whatever possessions she could grab in the mad rush for what was to come.
Griffith led the princess deeper into his estate to where he kept his armor. "I'm deeply sorry to ask this of you, your highness. Especially after the events that just transpired, but could you help me put on my armor? I'm afraid I'll be needing it."
The princess just nodded wordlessly.
As she helped him with the straps of his armor, Griffith thought about what was to come. How he could use this to his advantage. It was not how he had wanted to do things, it was far too soon. However, with Princess Charlotte on his side, he could divide Midland into a civil war. Then, at the end, for his heroic deeds in saving her from this horrid event and installing her as the Queen of Midland once her father had been killed or deposed, he could marry her and become King. He just needed to make it out of this alive, with the Princess in his grasp, and spread the truth of what happened tonight
By the time his armor was all the way on, Rickert barged in and shouted, "Griffith! The King's men are here! Pippin, Casca, and Judeau are leading the fight against them! Corkus is drunk and can't fight, so he's being loaded onto a horse!"
Griffith put on his helmet and drew his sword. "Then we stand and make a fighting retreat! Under no circumstances can they be allowed to capture her highness!"
A bit of a shorter chapter this time. Sorry. Hopefully the next chapter will be much longer. It just seemed like a good point to leave off for a short time skip.