The Golden Age arc continues as Guts’ infamy and value in the Band of the Hawk continues to grow. He and Casca both make their way into the upper echelons of leadership as Griffith’s lieutenants, however this is all threatened when Guts faces off against the first inhuman opponent of his life: Nosferatu Zodd. An infamous warrior in-universe, Zodd the Immortal is known for seeking out the most brutal battles possible, with little regard for anything but distraction from the drudgery of his immortality.
This is one of the scenes that really changed Berserk from something I grudge-read when I first picked up a volume from the Seattle library and into something I genuinely like. The reason? Guts is genuinely frightened of Zodd and shows his limitations, needing the intervention of Griffith and dozens of Hawk soldiers to survive. That’s in contrast to the Black Swordsman arc, where Guts is a caricature of some weird combo of Ayn Rand strength-based philosophy and edgelord cruelty.
And then we get to the second story in this volume: Casca’s chapters. This isn’t just edgelord bullshit, it’s pulled straight out of r/NotHowWomenWork. In this storyline, Casca gets her period and goes from being one of the best soldiers in the Band of the Hawk to unable to fight even a little. This is the sort of shit that trickles down to 4Chan and fucks up entire swaths of teenage boys, turning them into fine young incels. Zero out of ten, remain unfuckable, boys.