Chapter 17.01 - Berserk

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https://ww1.gogoanime2.org/watch/berserk-2016-dub/1

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I jumped up with a scream and looked around to calm my racing heart. A feeling of inexorable threat loomed over me, but judging by that same feeling, I still had time. At least six months, if not more. After a quick look at the peaceful slumbering parasite, I got out of the tent and looked at the night sky, dotted with stars. Midnight. It was time for some diabolical magic.

Concentrating, I activated the spell that creates the Vritras crystal. The necessary chemical elements were taken from the earth, which had enough clay in it. After that, I applied a Bahion-based cloaking spell to the crystal, which was supposed to hide me from the attention of all sorts of Players. It was a temporary solution, because the spell required constant consumption of Bahion to maintain, but my reserves were enough to not worry about it for ten years.

After that, I transferred my soul into the crystal and began to create a normal body for myself. I was in the middle of a chain of mountains, so there were plenty of rocks with the minerals I needed under the ground. Ten minutes later I assumed human form, looked thoughtfully at my right palm, and then shifted my gaze to the sleeping boy. Who would have thought that the first person I would meet would be him? Apparently, Azathoth wants to meet me personally. However, I think I'll be able to find the right person anyway.

After casting another glance at Isidro, who was asleep, I headed away. To find a man named Guts, I could use mind-reading on witnesses, astral searches, and a 'cursed brand' search. The latter was supposed to be similar to the Azathoth’s brand I'd already seen, so finding its bearer shouldn't be too difficult.

Two weeks later, I was sitting around a campfire not far from an overgrown road, waiting for an approach of my target. I'd found Guts much earlier, but I'd only decided to approach him today to be his traveling companion. It was evening now, and the sun was already setting, creating a dense twilight in the shadows of the forest. I roasted rabbit 'kebabs' on the fire and occasionally dabbed at the gourd of wine. My outward appearance was like an old man dressed in traveling clothes. That might be what a retired mercenary would look like.

As the fire burned through and the meat on the skewers browned, Guts appeared from behind the road corner. Guts was a muscular man, six feet tall, in a long black cloak, with leather armor peeping out from underneath. His right eye was missing and his left arm below the elbow had been replaced by an iron prosthesis. He paced slowly and steadily, peering around with one eye. His short black hair on his head formed an accomplished impression of an angry hedgehog. And of course, the main thing in this image was the sword. Right now, it was hidden behind its owner, and only the massive hilt peeked out from behind his shoulder.

“Hey, kid.” - I said hello as Guts walked around the fire. – “Sit down, have a drink.” - I nodded at the meat, and sipped on my gourd. – “The rabbit was surprisingly fat today.”

“Thanks, no.” - Guts muttered, not slowing down.

“Further on...” - He gave me a leer with his one and only eye. – “...would be a swamp. It's not a good idea to walk up there at night. Either you' d have to sleep in the mud, or you' d have to walk until morning.”

Guts stopped, glared at me, and then turned sharply, looking for someone in the dark woods. I could see the creatures he was looking at just fine, too. But I didn't show it.

“Good.” - He nodded.

He sat down on a fallen tree trunk, put his monstrous sword beside it, and took one of the rods, juicy meat crackling. Immediately he gritted his teeth into it, and he mumbled happily. I took one shish kebab, too, and joined in late dinner. Together we pretty quickly finished the rabbit, and then I took the kettle out of my backpack, poured water into it and put it to boil on the coals with a couple of twigs. We didn't say a word the entire meal, and it didn't seem to bother Guts.

In the meantime, the sun had finally set, and the demons began to gather at our fireside. Guts glanced frowning at one of the bushes, and then he got up, slung his sword on his shoulder, and headed into the woods. The demons immediately hissed and backed away, but within seconds they gathered courage, hissed and clattered, and then all of them charged toward the Sacrifice. Yes, Sacrifice with a capital "sacrifice," because on the astral level, Gut's body was glowing with the energy of the Sacrifice Brand around his neck.

A single swing of the unimaginably huge and broad sword turned two dozen demons into slime. Those were small things, though, the real monsters were still coming out of the woods around us. Guts began swinging his sword, crumbling the demons into a salad, and the demons lunged at him furiously, seeking to kill, wound, or at least bite. But all these attempts were fruitless, because the two meters of blackened steel collected their bloody harvest without interruption for a second.

While Guts fought the demons, I brewed some tea, poured a cup of tea, and sipped it with obvious pleasure as I watched the battle. The demons paid no attention to me, carefully avoiding me. Guts glanced at me suspiciously a couple of times, but he didn't have time to stop to stare.

Five minutes passed, ten, thirty, an hour, two, but the demons kept coming, and there didn't seem to be any less of them. The swordsman, on the other hand, was already at his limit, barely moving his weapon.

“You look weak.” - I remarked, sipping my tea. I had drunk as much as a bucket of tea in two hours, without filling the kettle, but only pouring it into the cup. – “On these days, young people are not strong enough.”

“Old... hee-hee-hee... hoo-ha-ha-ha... hag go and ... hoo-hoo... show me how proper to do this.” - Guts were indignant. For two hours, while he fought for his life, I was sitting there drinking tea 'under his protection' in a relaxed manner.

“All right, look.” - I answered, rising to my feet.

I rushed forward and immediately reached the swordsman, and before he even realized what was happening, I snatched the sword from his hand. For an ordinary man, this iron would have been too heavy to lift. It was more than a hundred kilograms in weight. But I could swing it like a stick without straining a bit. For my Vritras body, only such weapon could be considered appropriate.

I poured magical energy into the blade, formed a spell, and struck a broad horizontal blow. The blade hit only a few demons, but the main effect was magic. In the blink of an eye, all of the demons in front of me turned into mincemeat. A ghostly shroud swept through the forest, destroying the otherworldly creatures and leaving the trees and grass unscathed. I turned around and walked around Guts, who was frozen in a stupor, swung again, and all remaining demons were immediately reduced to smoldering protoplasm.

“A couple of strikes, and it's done!” - I declared, handing the sword back to its owner. – “I don't know why you spent so much time with them.”

“You... who are you?” - Guts' single eye stared at me.

“What, you want to be an apprentice?” - I asked mockingly, sitting down around the fire and taking another cup of tea.

“Where'd you get that kind of power?” - He ignored my taunt. The swordsman glanced around to make sure there weren't any living demons around. But there were dead bodies scattered as far as the horizon.

“A philosopher's stone.” - I said importantly, as I pulled a blood-red ruby from my pocket, glowing with an inner light. The crystal was two by three centimeters in size, and the surface was covered with 'mysterious' signs and writings. – “Whoever swallows it will become immortal and gain great power.” - I began to bullshit. – “For instance, you can recover your hand and eye, plus you'll be able to wield your sword a lot better. Your abilities are useless right now.” - I shook my head in frustration.

Guts looked suspiciously at the stone, and then to me. He was trying hard to find anything strange about me, but I looked like a regular old man to him. Only the corpses of the demons proved that he hadn't imagined my two blows.

“That stone...” - Guts said, and then stopped trying to find the words.

“Take it.” - I offered my hand.

But the swordsman made no attempt to take my gift.

“And what would be its price?” - He grinned bitterly, looking me straight into my eyes.

“Hmmm... price...?” - I muttered, pretending to think about it. – “You keep an eye on my pet.”

I flipped over the little bucket that had been upside down next to the fire, and out came... an elf. He looked like the elf that always accompanied Guts in the anime, except his wings weren't insect-like, they were more like those of dragons and demons. However, the elf looked pretty cute for his size, and his black wings only made him look like a mischievous little devil.

“Hey, old man, where's my meat?” - The 'elf' was indignant. Actually, it was just another body of Vritras that I controlled remotely. – “After all, I'm the one who caught that rabbit.”

“That big guy over there ate your part.” - I nodded at Guts.

“What? How'd he put all that stuff in him? We could feed an army with that rabbit!”