"Guardian Angels of Desire (5)"

"Guardian Angels of Desire (5)"
Installment	Berserk, volume 3, pre-episode 7 (REVENGE 7), 54 pages
Publication	Animal House #4 1 April 1991
Story	Black Swordsman Arc
Previous	"Guardian Angels of Desire (4)"
Next	"Guardian Angels of Desire (6)"

"Guardian Angels of Desire (5)" is pre-episode 7 (REVENGE 7) of the Berserk manga series.

Summary

The villagers surrounding the Count's castle watch in awe as an unearthly tornado engulfs the castle. 

The five members of the God Hand.

Within the staircase-dimension, Guts focuses his gaze upon a particular member of the God Hand who bears an appearance not unlike the combination of a man, a bat and a falcon. Guts screams his name, "GRIFFITH!", as the member looks down at him. The latter implies a prior relationship with Guts as he acknowledges him with an air of detachment. The Count begs another of the beings to kill Guts, but the demon in question, Void, refuses. The God Hand explain that the apostles Guts has killed in the past are inconsequential to them and are not worth killing him over. When the member Guts addressed as "Griffith" says that Guts' existence is beneath their own, Guts finds the strength to stand up and drag his sword up the staircase to attack him. The other members marvel at Guts' indomitable will, and the small, round one of them quips that Guts has been branded by this falcon-like being, known by the other members as Femto. 

Guts is thrown back by an unmoving Femto.

Guts continues his unsteady climb of the staircase, shouting that he is the one responsible for Femto's position among the God Hand, and mocks the godly air emanating from him. As Puck guesses at the relationship between Guts and Femto, Guts suddenly doubles over in pain as blood gushes out of his brand. Femto explains that the amount Guts' brand bleeds and the pain he feels grow in proportion to the power of the demons he faces: the presence of a lowly apostle makes the brand leak drops of blood while these greater demons cause debilitating pain and gushes of blood, and could even result in death. Guts' eyes roll back into his head as he falls backward, but he musters the strength to swing his sword over his head and at Femto, greatly impressing the four other God Hand members. Before the blow can land, however, Femto sends Guts flying with a telekinetic attack, and offhandedly tells the Count the latter's wish to kill Guts may have just been unintentionally fulfilled.

Void decides he's had enough of the fight between Guts and Femto and decides to proceed with the Count's wish. The demons tell the Count that they cannot grant him more power in exchange for Guts' life, because the Count feels no affection for him. Femto then points to Theresia as a viable candidate for sacrifice, and the small round demon urges the Count to do what he did "last time". A confused Theresia questions the statement, and the beings opens a hole in space-time, where images of the Count seven years ago are shown. Despite pleas from the Count not to show Theresia, the God Hand ignores him. 

The images show that seven years ago, the Count frequently went on pagan-hunting sessions to free his land of heretics. One day, upon his return to the castle, he found his wife willingly participating in a pagan orgy. The Count flew into a rage and killed all the pagan worshippers except his wife, whom he could not bring himself to kill. His despair activated his Beherit, and the God Hand, minus Femto, appeared before him and granted him his apostle body in exchange for the life of his wife, who was eaten alive after he gained his new power. 

Void summons a fiery Brand of Sacrifice before Theresia and waits for the Count's approval before branding her a sacrifice. Meanwhile, Guts, whose fingers were damaged in the fight against the Count, asks Puck to heal them using his healing powder.

Characters

1. Slan
2. Void
3. Conrad
4. Ubik
5. Femto
6. Puck
7. Theresia
8. Guts
9. Count