Vargas is a doctor-turned-rebel who devotes the final seven years of his life to killing the Slug Baron.
Personality
Vargas shielding Puck from falling debris.
Despite his disconcerting appearance, Vargas is a kindly man who wishes well to all he meets, with the exception of the Slug Baron. Meeting Guts during the latter's days as the Black Swordsman (wherein Guts is less mindful of other people's opinions or feelings), Vargas is subjected to humiliating abuse at Guts' hands, such as having his cane kicked out from under him. Despite this, Vargas never lashes out against Guts and instead seeks to ally with him, knowing that the Black Swordsman possesses the skills needed to defeat the Slug Baron.[1]
Vargas also takes an active stance in the defense of innocents: when Zondark raids Vargas' laboratory in search of Guts, Vargas shields Puck with his own body from the falling debris caused by Zondark's whip-like attacks. Through his interactions with Puck, Vargas begins to entertain the idea of abandoning his revenge in favor of moving on with his life, but is captured and killed before he can ponder the thought further.[2]
Story
Background
Vargas in captivity.
As the Slug Baron's court physician, Vargas becomes disgusted by his employer's barbarous inquisition – the Slug Baron violating and eating supposed heretics – and promptly attempts to flee the Slug Baron's castle with his wife and children in tow. However, Vargas and his family are apprehended and returned to the Slug Baron, who keeps them locked in a dungeon. He is forced to watch as his family is dismembered and eaten, and is then mutilated himself. Before he too can be killed, Vargas manages to fake his own death and escapes the dungeon with the Slug Baron's beherit. For the next seven years, Vargas despises the Slug Baron and wishes to see his demise, but lacks the physical ability to kill the apostle himself.[2]
Black Swordsman Arc
Vargas showing Guts a stolen beherit.
Vargas first encounters Guts during the latter's escape from the Slug Baron's soldiers and aids in his getaway with the use of smoke bombs, having witnessed his duel with Zondark and realized that the swordsman's fighting prowess is more than capable of defeating the Slug Baron. He escorts Guts and Puck to his underground laboratory, revealing the beherit in his possession.[1] When Guts demands to know the beherit's origin, strangling the deformed man in the process, Vargas insists that the fetish is not his; he stole it from the Slug Baron. He then tells the travelers of his past leading up to their meeting in order to clear his name. After finishing his story, Vargas exclaims that he still does not understand the nature of the stolen fetish. In response, Guts explains that the object has manipulated the dark side of human history since ancient times, and that it acts as a key to summon the God Hand.[2]
Vargas grabs hold of Guts' shoulder and pleads with him to kill the Slug Baron in his stead, and Guts, displaying an aversion to being touched, kicks the man back. While he takes Guts' bad attitude and abuse without complaint, Vargas forms a more mutually well-meaning bond with Puck, who feels pity for him, and eventually shields the elf from the destruction caused by Zondark's second duel with Guts. Following Zondark's defeat, Vargas shows Guts a way out of the sewers and into the castle. Before departing with the swordsman, Puck advises Vargas to give up his pursuit of revenge and to instead live for the future, which the latter begins to consider. However, he is quickly captured by the Slug Baron and put up to be publicly executed in a ploy to draw out Guts. Puck frantically urges Guts to save him, and when Guts refuses, remarking that Vargas is weak, Puck points out the truth: Guts is afraid because he sees similarities between himself and Vargas. In the face of Guts' inaction, Puck attempts to save Vargas himself, failing miserably and being captured in the process. Vargas' final words curse the Slug Baron and promise retribution for his crimes, before an axe takes his head off.[2]
Vargas dragging the Slug Baron into the Abyss.
Though dead, Vargas has an aftereffect on the swordsman and his elf companion, with Puck lamenting his inability to save an innocent life.[3] Guts muses by himself on the similarities between Vargas and himself, though he denies them when Puck brings up the subject. When the Slug Baron refuses to sacrifice his daughter, Theresia, and is dragged into the Abyss, Vargas is one of the first lost souls to bind him, fulfilling his oath of vengeance.[4]
Abilities
As the Slug Baron's former physician, Vargas possesses a wealth of knowledge in the field of medicine. This knowledge ultimately allows him to convincingly fake his own death and escape from captivity.[2] He also apparently has knowledge in crafting smoke bombs, having used them to aid Guts in escaping a regiment of the Slug Baron's guards.[1]
References
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