"Black Swordsman"

"Black Swordsman"
Installment	Berserk, volume 1, pre-episode 1, 90 pages
Publication	Animal House #10 1 October 1989
Story	Black Swordsman Arc
Previous	Berserk: The Prototype (out-of-universe) "One Who Hunts Dragons" (in-universe)
Next	"The Brand"

"Black Swordsman" is pre-episode 1 of the Berserk manga series.

Short Summary

The Black Swordsman arrives in the town of Koka in search of the Snake Lord apostle. He quickly makes his presence known by attacking a group of thugs in a tavern. Upon hearing of the swordsman's arrival, the bloodthirsty Snake Lord dons his battle armor and decides to burn Koka to the ground, killing all in his path. The Black Swordsman intercepts the fiend, and after a brutal battle with the apostle, incapacitates the Snake Lord and leaves him to burn to ashes.

Long Summary

The one-armed man is unfazed by a monster.

Late at night, a man with a perpetually closed right eye and a prosthetic left arm is having sex with a blonde woman next to a campfire. She transforms into a monster and proclaims that he has fallen into her trap. Unfazed, he rams his prosthetic arm into her mouth and fires a cannon shot that echoes through the night. He clothes himself and departs, leaving the charred body of the monster behind. In the morning, he makes his way to the nearby town of Koka.

Koka thugs toy with a captured elf.

Entering a tavern in town, the man attacks a group of thugs who are tormenting a caged elf. After taking out several men with his repeater crossbow, he instructs one of them to deliver a message to their boss in Koka Castle: "The Black Swordsman has come." When another thug tries to ambush him, the man draws his massive sword and bisects the attacker before leaving the tavern. Outside, he meets the freed elf, Puck, who introduces himself and explains the dire situation in Koka, including the mayor's pact with the thugs. When they are surrounded by town guards, Puck flees, and the Black Swordsman is captured and taken to Koka Castle, where he is tortured.

As the torturer prepares to resume his work, the mayor of Koka arrives, dismisses the torturer, and accuses the swordsman of dooming the town by killing the town ruler's men. The Black Swordsman reveals he knows of the ruler's true nature as a human-eating monster and exposes the mayor's complicity in feeding his own citizens to the beast. The mayor protests, claiming he does it to protect the town, but the swordsman cynically questions if the mayor is more concerned about saving himself. Enraged, the mayor orders the torture to continue but instructs his men to keep the swordsman alive to deliver him to the Snake Lord.

The Snake Lord turns his rancor toward the town of Koka.

In his castle chambers, the Snake Lord learns of the Black Swordsman's attack in the tavern. When the mayor begs for forgiveness for his men's deaths, the Snake Lord mocks him for fearing for his own life more than those of the townsfolk. He declares his desire to see Koka burn in a fiery apocalypse. As the mayor is dragged away, the Snake Lord sets his sights on the town.

Waking face-down, the Black Swordsman sees a deformed fetus-like creature approaching him, which vanishes as he stirs. In his agitation, he accidentally headbutts Puck, who has returned to free him. Despite the Black Swordsman's warnings not to touch him, the elf sprinkles healing dust from his wings, easing the swordsman's pain. The Black Swordsman reveals his name — Guts — and tells Puck that his only interest is killing the town's demon, indifferent to anyone else caught in the conflict. Offended, Puck leaves as Guts' brand starts bleeding, signaling the Snake Lord's approach.

Guts defeats the Snake Lord.

The Snake Lord rides through Koka with his men, burning everything in his path and leaving a trail of corpses. Guts emerges from a pile of bodies and kills the Snake Lord's men and their horses. He engages the Snake Lord, initially shooting him with his repeating crossbow. The Snake Lord then assumes his released form — a giant humanoid cobra — and begins overpowering Guts, lifting him by his head and preparing to devour him. Guts manages to fire his cannon arm into the Snake Lord's face and then cleaves him in half with the Dragon Slayer.

Guts tortures the Snake Lord with his crossbow, intending to make the demon experience the same horror he and other apostles inflict on humans. During the torment, the Snake Lord notices the brand on Guts and acknowledges it. Seizing the moment, Guts demands to know the whereabouts of the "God Hand". However, the Snake Lord responds that such knowledge is not for apostles like him to possess. With no further use for the demon, Guts leaves the Snake Lord to burn to ashes in the flames consuming the town. Watching the chaos from a distance, Puck can only utter a single word: "Berserk..."

Characters

1. Guts
2. Unidentified female apostle
3. Puck
4. Koka thugs
5. Mayor of Koka
6. Snake Lord
7. Demon Child

Notes

• This manga episode was the basis of the first episode of the 1997 anime, which played out similarly to that of the manga, except that neither Puck or the female apostle were included in the anime. The bar scene instead had the Snake Lord's men tormenting a girl named Collette and her father prior to Guts' entrance, there was a scene that introduced the God Hand and the evil spirits tormenting Guts because of his Brand of Sacrifice, and the Snake Lord's beherit was carried by the apostle and was claimed by Guts after he died.
• The 2016 anime introduced a scene similar to the bar scene of this episode, except that Guts deals with the bandits non-lethally by beating them down with his prosthetic arm before rescuing Puck.