“The One Who Clings, the One Who Struggles”

"The One Who Clings, the One Who Struggles" is episode 169 of the Berserk manga.

Synopsis Edit

The terrified refugees watch as the great mass of spirits nearby resumes its slow advance on them. The fire that once held them back has completely vanished. They cry up at Mozgus, begging him to save them.

Mozgus is too preoccupied with the battle against Guts to pay the refugees any mind. The Black Swordsman charges forward and brings the Dragon Slayer down on Mozgus' head, but the inquisitor's thick armor prevents the sword from doing any damage. He throws two punches with his club-wings, which Guts narrowly dodges, before unfurling them and unleashing his flurry punches once more. These are much more effective, and the flurry of attacks brings Guts to his knees. Guts cannot figure out where Mozgus' greatest weak point is and cannot reload his cannon arm while being attacked.

Mozgus uses his club-wing to deliver a deadly uppercut, punching Guts square in the abdomen and sending him high into the air before crashing down at Mozgus' feet.

Mozgus indicates the vast sea of supplicant refugees at the foot of the wall he and Guts stand on, bidding the Black Swordsman to listen to their pleas. He explains that the refugees eagerly await the day when God's will will triumph, and asks Guts whether he is willing to deny the refugees their dream by saving the witch Casca.

Guts slowly and shakily gets to his feet. He rejects Mozgus' proclamation, saying that all the refugees ever do is pray and that they cannot move forward because of their obsession with a single woman. This enrages Mozgus, who yells for Guts to repent. Just as he begins another barrage of attacks on Guts, the latter notices a shallow wound on Mozgus' chest beneath an imprinted hawk of the Holy See. It turns out that, when Guts stabbed Mozgus after running down the Tower of Conviction, Mozgus' book did not absorb the entire blow, and he received a shallow wound from the Dragon Slayer.

Amidst the flurry of feather-club strikes he unleashes upon Guts, Mozgus uses his fist to deliver a particularly heavy blow to the Black Swordsman's face, stunning him. As Guts loses his balance, he places his hand on Mozgus' chest, apparently looking for something to lean on. His hand runs over the wound in Mozgus' chest.

Mozgus interlocks the feathers of his wings once more, combining them into one gigantic club with which he smashes down on Guts' back. The impact is such that Guts is forced onto his stomach and the bricks that form the floor underneath him crack and break under his body, and a wave of fear and anxiety washes over Isidro, Puck, Casca, Jerome, Farnese and Serpico.

Mozgus begins to charge his flames to finish off the Black Swordsman, but the latter slowly rises to his feet, wearing a small smile. He says that Mozgus' faith may be his source of strength, but is also his greatest weakness. Understanding the subtext of Guts' words, Mozgus glances down at his own chest where the hawk of the Holy See is imprinted. Just beneath it is his gaping wound. Within the wound are several small studded explosive balls, the fuses of which are lit; as he leaned on Mozgus' body, Guts managed to place several explosives in the wound in Mozgus' chest. Since his chest is where Mozgus' flames originate before they are forced out of his mouth, the inquisitor unintentionally lit the fuses as he charged his attack.

Guts holds the Dragon Slayer protectively over his own body as the balls in Mozgus' wound explode. They aren't enough to kill the clergyman, but they force the wound wide open and remove some the scales on his chest. Guts charges forward. He slashes downward with the Dragon Slayer multiple times, further worsening the Mozgus' wound until it is nearly a gaping hole.

The hole begins to glow as Mozgus charges his flames once more. Guts tells Mozgus to relay a message to his God: "Leave me the Hell alone!" as he rams the Dragon Slayer into the wound, impaling Mozgus through the chest.

Characters in Order of Appearance Edit