This apostle was the first apostle slain by Guts after he escapes the Eclipse.[1] He serves a larger role in the 2016 anime. There, he is known as the Keeper of the Hounds who was formerly in a count's services and was left to guard his former master's mansion.
Appearance[]
In his human form, this apostle appeared as a short, stocky, bald man with small black eyes, misshapen teeth and a pug-like nose. He wore ragged clothes that were caked in dirt.[2]
In his apostle form, a giant upright canine beast was grown around the body with only his human form's torso sticking out under the chin of a short-snouted canine's head with a mouth full of tusks and uneven teeth.[1]
Personality[]
In the manga, he has little to no character besides being a dedicated chaser.[2] When Rickert reminisces about his tenacity when facing Rakshas, the latter explains that "many apostles have their fixations".[3] Being the first enemy to Guts after the Eclipse, he is only concerned with eating him as sacrifice.[1] He speaks in short, choppy sentences, and crawls on all fours when going long distances.[2]
In the anime, though a servant of Count Lansdown, he was more loyal to the hounds he was entrusted with and expressed murderous rage to anyone who would do the dogs harm. Thus, he was often ignored and abused. The only other thing he cherished besides his dogs was the mount of his "love", the only person who showed him kindness.
Abilities[]
In the manga, he displays a very acute sense of smell, being able to track down those marked with a Brand of Sacrifice.[2] Displaying a great endurance, when slashed open, he reveals the ability to control his own intestines like tentacles.[1]
In the anime, he could telepathically command his hounds, even in their possessed state, and could sense that Guts had been a survivor of the Eclipse. In his apostle form, he grew to tremendous size and could use his canine body to smash through solid concrete along with his powerful jaws. When slashed open, he revealed the ability to control his own intestines like tentacles.
Background (anime-only)[]
Originally serving Count Lansdown, the Keeper was a misfit in his master's court who deemed him as "ugly and inferior", in stark contrast to the count's hounds, who never judged their kennel master and were always loyal. He found a beherit fetched by one of the dogs. One day, the Keeper met the count's daughter, who treated him with kindness and believed in him. However, she didn't return his advances. His despair summoned the God Hand and he sacrificed her. Compelled by his transition, the new apostle thus ripped the woman apart in his jaws as payment. He then salvaged "his lady's" remains and mounted her bust in the mansion's foyer, remaining in the mansion long after it had been burnt down five years before the events of the series.
Story[]
Golden Age Arc[]
In the manga, a month after the events of the Eclipse, this apostle wanders around the countryside and is seen in a puddle. Two farmers carrying their hay in a horse-drawn carriage accidentally run into him and express their disgust toward him while berating him for being in the middle of the road. It is at that time that the apostle smells "sacrifice" (Guts and Casca, now sporting a Brand of Sacrifice each) from several miles away, and begins making his way to Godot's home to find it.[2]
As Guts prepares to embark on his quest of revenge, he feels his Brand react to the apostle, who stands in front of Godot's home doorway. He laments that Guts is "leftovers" and explains he was "following the scent of evil".[2] The man promptly assumes his apostle form to feast upon the "sacrifice". While Guts manages to cut off the apostle's arm with one sword before its blade shattered while slashing the monster's stomach, the cannon arm's blast having as much of a fatal impact, the apostle is finally killed by Guts using the Dragon Slayer to promptly cleave him in half.[1]
Conviction Arc[]
In the 2016 anime, his background story revealed, the Keeper makes his presence known to Guts when he entered the mansion to fend off the Count's hounds when the dogs are possessed by the spirits. The Keeper, livid that Guts killed the hounds, vows to make him pay as he assumed his true form to fight him. It was when the Keeper noticed Puck interacting with the woman's remains that he lost his focus and was defeated by Guts. Guts than proceeds to torture the Keeper for the whereabouts of the God Hand before killing him when the apostle reveals to have no idea where the God Hand are.
Gallery[]
Notes[]
- He is the first minor character from the manga to be introduced in a larger role in the 2016 Berserk anime.
References[]
Appendices[]
| God Hand |
| Apostles
Zodd · Wyald · Unidentified Roaming Apostle · The Count · Borkoff · Rosine · Unidentified Female Apostle · Snake Lord · Egg of the Perfect World · Rakshas · Locus · Grunbeld · Irvine · Ganishka |
| Pseudo-Apostles
Zondark · Elves of Misty Valley · Great Goat · Mozgus · Mozgus' Disciples · Ganishka's Spawn |
| Phenomena
Abyss · Brand of Sacrifice · Sacrificial Ceremony (Eclipse · Incarnation Ceremony) |
| Others
Beherit · Man-Made Beherit · Sea God · Daka · Dead Spirit · Demon Child (in essence) |