Berserk Chapter: 269

[Libaax]

Also even if Serpico becomes the greatest swordsman still he would need the streangt of Guts or any magical power that can hurt an apostle.

[Quest]

Serpico vs Gutts is no contest. we all know the result.

i think all future battles will be broken down to this:
1. gutts take the lead and fights the strongest enemy
2. the rest will be the support fighting the lesser minions
3. schierke will play a part in controlling the berserker armour

=)

[Eldo]

I'm not sure if comparing Guts with Serpico is entirely fair. Guts is beyond human and has surpassed the physical limitations of a human due to the brand, as suggested in the manga by Skull Knight (I think it was him). Serpico is but a regular human, but he possess magical weapons, his cunning and his calm mind for strategy makes him a dangerous foe. Serpico has earned Guts' recognition serveral times in their encounter, and he's constantly growing by accumulating experience in fighting monsters and other creatures.

We haven't seen the final stage that Serpico is at, as Istvan mentioned before, he doesn't understand and is inexperienced to know how to fight these magical creatures yet. Don't forget that Serpico has managed to slay a kelpie, while those aren't exactly apostle level, they seem to be nearing it. Currently, Serpico probably has the means to protect himself from an apostle, but not slaying it. He may be capable of inflicting significant damage to one, however.

[Libaax]

I dont think Guts streangt has anything to do with the brand.

He was a monster even before he was branded. His streangt is due to the having a sword that is bigger than his body from the age of 9.


If they said he is stronger phsycilly due the brand then that would be lame and would mean that all the thing he went trough his life to become strong was for nothing. The manga would also lose the point that Guts proves when he fights apostles he might be human but he can still take them down with his skill,power.

Not even the armour makes him stronger it just makes him forget the pain of his injuries and fight like he was berserk.

[Eldo]

Actually, he surpassed human limitations because of his brand that enabled him to spend time in the spiritual and physical plane and made him quite unique. Can't recall perfectly, but it was something along those lines. If someone could check for me, that would be awesome.

[Fuji Nagase]

true that.

i've actually been thinking that someone is gonna get killed off soon in some surprise impalement or something. who knows, right?

[Istvan]

I dont think Guts streangt has anything to do with the brand.

He was a monster even before he was branded. His streangt is due to the having a sword that is bigger than his body from the age of 9.


If they said he is stronger phsycilly due the brand then that would be lame and would mean that all the thing he went trough his life to become strong was for nothing. The manga would also lose the point that Guts proves when he fights apostles he might be human but he can still take them down with his skill,power.

Not even the armour makes him stronger it just makes him forget the pain of his injuries and fight like he was berserk.

Certainly all of those things played a part. No one is ignoring everything that Guts went through to become as awesome as he is, just saying that the brand enhanced that. All the brand does (that we know for sure) is slightly enhance his strength and toughness by having him be continually in the astral world. Caska has the same brand, but even if she gets her mind back, I doubt she'd be able to wield the Dragon Slayer. The brand enhances what's there, but it basically just expands on human potential, not suddenly grant superhuman powers (that would be the Apostles). It's like his sword, in a way. By continually cutting astral foes, the sword has become sort of magical. This doesn't let him do any fancy techniques with it (like Serpico's sword) or increase his skill one bit, all it does is enable him to cut high-astral foes that normal weapons wouldn't touch.

Actually, I suspect that the effects of the brand on Guts are at least partially deliberate on the part of the God Hand. Since the goal is to cause the bearer to suffer, I think they deliberately made the brand increase strength and endurence of the bearer so that they could suffer longer. I suspect that the brand also eliminates aging and disease (never stated in the manga, but would help explain SK) for the same purpose, to ensure that the bearer will not die peacefully. This second paragraph is totally speculative on my part, but it makes sense to me.

[malice]

I thought skullknight's condition was probably due to him using a behelit? I don't think it says that anywhere in the manga, so its more of an opinion. I thought that maybe Skullknight was once like guts but succumbed to the need to use a behelit at some point in his mortal life.

[Chaos_Wanderer]

Thats a good Point. The Skull Knight, after all once was a powerful King. Could he have used the behelit to achieve that goal? And perhaps once he had power he realised that what he truly wanted was what he sacrificed. he might feel tricked by the god hand and thus, put himself on a mission to fight them. maybe this belongs in stupid theories, but i thought I would still try to back up Malice.

[Eldo]

Our mainstream theory is that Skull Knight was Gaiseric (the powerful King), and Void was a wise man and possibly a subordinate of Gaiseric who used the Behelit and branded Gaiseric as a result.

Since Puck could detect evil spirits, he couldn't detect any from SK. This therefore lead us to deduce his current state is not due to the behelit's power but by some other source which made SK as he is, since behelit's are 'evil' in nature. Skull Knight has mentioned various times that he had walked the same path as Guts, so it seems he himself was branded at some point. Skull knight had also worn the Berserk Armour, which would prove redundant if he had apostle-like powers to begin with. Just answering and quelling the rumours about SK using a behelit, while it's not impossible, it seems highly improbable with the hints given in the current storyline.

Note that none of us could prove that SK was ever branded. He may have just set out on the same journey that Guts is currently following in his footsteps without ever being branded, or even be within the place where the eclipse occured. It may just be his determination and will power that had lead SK to this point.

[Nonni]

Hmm, is it just me or do they have awfully lot in common. SK and Gatts that is.

Branded, the Berserker Armor, meeting Schierkes old women (Since SK seemed to know her and Gatts recieved the armor there) and if the theory of SK being Gaiseric the King is true, suffuring a horrible fate.

It's almost as if fate/destiny goes in circles.

[newbified]

They do certainly have a lot in common. They both hunt Apostles. They both seek revenge on God Hand. And they both have worn the Berserk Armor. I recall while Skull Knight was fighting Zodd in front of the witches house, when Gutts came out with the armor on Zodd paused their fight to ask Skull Knight if he wished Gutts to walk down the same path to hell as he.

But yeah, the most likely scenario that I've envisioned up to this point is that Skull Knight was Gaiseric, and Void was some sort of friend, or well known politician who greatly cared for Gaiseric and the empire that he had built, and called upon God Hand (although this part gets a little strange because they seem to almost regard Void as their leader, but then he couldn't have been the first, could he have?) and sacrificed not only Gaiseric, but the empire that he built as well.

While the Hawks and Charlotte are descending into the tower to rescue Griffith, Charlotte talks of how the empire of Gaiseric suddenly vanished from the face of the earth, and then it pans down to a mountain of branded corpses. So that seems to be the most likely. How Skull Knight survived the festival, I have no idea, but hopefully Miura will shed some light on this subject at a later date.

[malice]

How Skull Knight survived the festival, I have no idea, but hopefully Miura will shed some light on this subject at a later date.

I think that may have had to do with another person like skullknight and guts who rescued Skullknight from the previous festival And then subsequently died in the struggle. Which is what I think will happen to skullknight.

This therefore lead us to deduce his current state is not due to the behelit's power but by some other source which made SK as he is, since behelit's are 'evil' in nature.

I used to think that Behelit's must turn the user evil, but then the various apostles in the new band of the hawk were introduced. Some of those seem distinctly non-evil (I wouldn't say "good," but just but just lacking...malice ). It could be possible that they are evil, but just well behaved so far.

[Libaax]

Actually, he surpassed human limitations because of his brand that enabled him to spend time in the spiritual and physical plane and made him quite unique. Can't recall perfectly, but it was something along those lines. If someone could check for me, that would be awesome.

I meant his human streangt that he have gathered to through his years. That he is above human limitation is a diffrent thing. Even if he is above his human limitation now,his fights are still as gritty as ever. It looks like he is even fighting worse than before but thats only cause of the opponents are much stronger than early apostles.

[Istvan]

But yeah, the most likely scenario that I've envisioned up to this point is that Skull Knight was Gaiseric, and Void was some sort of friend, or well known politician who greatly cared for Gaiseric and the empire that he had built, and called upon God Hand (although this part gets a little strange because they seem to almost regard Void as their leader, but then he couldn't have been the first, could he have?) and sacrificed not only Gaiseric, but the empire that he built as well.

All the current indications point to Void being the first of the Gods Hand. If you consider, one of them had to be first, yet still be able to somehow perform the ceremony to transform. My thoughts on the matter is that Idea played a much more central role in the transformation of the first Gods Hand (probably Void) then it needed to in any of the later ones, because after that it had Void (and then later others as well) to act for it.

Since Puck could detect evil spirits, he couldn't detect any from SK. This therefore lead us to deduce his current state is not due to the behelit's power but by some other source which made SK as he is, since behelit's are 'evil' in nature.

This is a very good point, but even leaving that aside, Gut's brand always bleeds in the presence of an Apostle. Given the nature of the brand and the Apostles, I don't think that there's any way SK could keep it from doing so if he was an Apostle.

[Foggy]

Void's ascension to being a God Hand might have been performed by his own doing. Perhaps he found out how to initiate the ceremony showhow himself as a human, being that the popular idea is that he was a wise man of some sort. That would give a good reason for him to be seen as the leader as well.

I wish we would get more ensight into what happened back then but at 1 chapter per 2 weeks I think I would go insane X_x

[Eldo]

Void's ascension to being a God Hand might have been performed by his own doing. Perhaps he found out how to initiate the ceremony showhow himself as a human, being that the popular idea is that he was a wise man of some sort. That would give a good reason for him to be seen as the leader as well.

Hm, I'm not quite sure what you're saying here. The God Hand are chosen by Idea of Evil, so Void was destined to become a God Hand. Also, he sacrificed a whole lot of people as Griffith did. Are you trying to say that Void somehow bypassed the usual way of activating the behelit or something? I'm not quite clear on what you're trying to say.

I wish we would get more ensight into what happened back then but at 1 chapter per 2 weeks I think I would go insane X_x

It's actually (or usually) a chapter a month, not a fortnight. We were quite blessed to have 2 chapters in a month recently.

[Istvan]

Getting more information on the background of SK and Void would be nice, and may even happen in the future, but I don't see it happening anytime soon. Probably not till near the end (I would anticipate it occuring just before the ark of the story in which SK kills or is killed by Void).

[Eldo]

I'm counting on flash backs for each God Hand member right before their demise, or something like that. Void and SK would probably have a side story, just in my opinion.

[malice]

I am surprised you guys expect each god hand to go down. I was thinking Femto for sure, but not the others. Or do you expect the other god hands to die before Femto?

[DarkenRahlX]

I'm counting on flash backs for each God Hand member right before their demise, or something like that. Void and SK would probably have a side story, just in my opinion.

That's what I'm hoping for. Which will happen about 10 years from today.

[Eldo]

I am surprised you guys expect each god hand to go down. I was thinking Femto for sure, but not the others. Or do you expect the other god hands to die before Femto?

I'm presuming that for the end of Berserk would also spell the demise of God Hand and the end of all apostles. Skullknight has mentioned how Guts opposed fate and how he lived outside of it. Guts would still be hunted by the apostles and God Hand even if he somehow manages to slay only Femto, Casca and Guts will never be truly safe without God Hand and the apostles out of the picture.

[Chaos_Wanderer]

Has anyone considered the idea of the God Hand turning against it self? Slann for example has shown interest in Guts where none of the others have telling us that the members can have there own personal agenda. I wouldn't put it past Femto to let his ambition get the better of him again and try to overpower the other members... but then we'll have to endure another 10 years of plot to reach the climax.

[Libaax]

Slann might help Guts for fun or cause she likes him against the other God hands but in the end she and the others have chosen to become evil like Griffith did. Not even her fascination of Guts can change her core.

[Quest]

ten years from now,
everyone will be dead and gutts will be skullknight.
=)