"Solitary Island" is episode 311 of the Berserk manga series.
Summary[]
The Seahorse fires a broadside into the Captain Sharkrider, blasting many big holes into it. This makes Bonebeard announce they have made "him" angry, but one of his crewmen warns of the impending sunrise. Bonebeard declares the fight will be settled later, and his ship submerges once more.
Roderick's crew cheers in celebration of their victory, swarming around Guts and marveling at how easily he defeated the tentacle monsters. The celebrations end when they notice that Roderick is deep in thought - he wonders how Bonebeard and his crew have been turned into monsters, when only a few days before they'd been completely human. The navigator interrupts Roderick's contemplation, reporting that the Seahorse's hull has sprung a severe leak and that wood is needed to repair it. Roderick orders the Seahorse to make berth at a nearby island so that an inspection and full repairs can be made.
The island itself is composed of menacing, jagged rocks, and watching the Seahorse approach from the island is a young, naked, blue-haired girl, who holds a fishing rod and net full of fish.
Upon docking, Magnifico and Isidro express their great fondness for dry land. Schierke, however, is suspicious of the island. She tells Guts that she senses something odd, and Guts admits that his Brand of Sacrifice has been bleeding ever since he felt "that wind". Schierke also voices her suspicions to Roderick, but he tells her that the Seahorse cannot go back out to sea without being repaired, and so they will have to remain on the island for the night.
Isidro excitedly begins to explore the island with Puck. Schierke telepathically chides him for running off, but he assures her that he will contact her via thought transference if anything should happen to him.
Isidro climbs up to the island's highest point, but is disheartened to see that it is much smaller than he'd originally thought. Puck points out a large cavern on the island's side, and Isidro approaches it to investigate. He excitedly begins searching for dry wood to make a torch so that he can enter the cave, but the blue-haired girl appears, now wearing a long shirt, and warns him not to enter it. She bounds toward him and stares above Isidro's head at Puck, curious about the elf.
The blue-haired girl realizes that Isidro has just arrived on the island by way of the large ship that has just docked, and thus he could not have known about the cave's dangers. She clarifies: it is the home of the Sea God.
Roderick, Guts, Serpico, Farnese, Schierke, Casca, Magnifico, and several of Roderick's crew have wandered into the island's only settlement, a small fishing village. To Roderick's disappointment, the village does not seem like it could provide food, supplies to repair the Seahorse, or even lodging for the night. He waves into an open window, through which someone watches him, but the window closes immediately. Roderick brushes off the villagers as shy.
Guts turns to Schierke, but she says that she still cannot pinpoint the source of a strange feeling she has - she compares it to a faint od covering the entire village. Casca suddenly splits from the group, and Farnese follows; Casca has found a disconcerting statue in a small shrine, shaped like an octopus with a single, large, closed eye.
Characters[]
- Magnifico
- Isidro
- Farnese
- Casca
- Puck
- Schierke
- Serpico
- Ivalera
- Azan
- Bonebeard
- Guts
- Roderick
- Isma (first appearance)
- Sea God