Episode 8 (2016 Anime)

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"Reunion in the Den of Evil" is the eighth episode in the Berserk 2016 anime adaptation. It covers manga episodes 148 through the beginning of 151.

Overview

Having arrived just in time, Guts saves Casca as the two are reunited. However the reunion is cut short once the Great Goat attacks Guts. Guts battles the fearsome Apostle as the Holy Iron Chain Knights retreat, while Isidro, Puck and Nina escape with Casca. Guts succeeds in killing the Great Goat with the help of Rickert's miniature bombs, while Casca and Nina are once again confronted by the Holy Iron Chain Knights, who capture them. Guts makes his way out of the cult's cavern only to be ambushed by Serpico on a cliff side. Serpico reveals he has been seeking to kill the Black Swordsman and has prepared the duel in his favor due to the terrain and Guts' current state. Guts is surprised by Serpico's remarkable speed and agility but manages to win the encounter once he crushes Serpico's sword with his iron prosthetic arm. Serpico escapes by using Guts' miniature bombs against him. Afterwards, Guts confronts Isidro about Casca's disappearance. Having no choice in the matter if they want to save Casca, Guts and Isidro return to the Tower of Conviction while Puck searches the tower's cells for the two captured girls. Nina is taken first by Mozgus' disciples, to be tortured for information on the "Black Witch", leaving Casca behind. All the while, a mysterious egg-shaped Apostle dwells at the top of the Tower, waiting for its plan to come to fruition.

Summary

Guts facing the Great Goat.

Guts stands by Casca after saving her from the Great Goat, while Farnese is in shock of his sudden appearance. She reminds her men that he is their enemy before ordering them to resume their attack on the pagans. Knowing he cannot protect Casca while fighting off the numerous enemies around them, Guts is told by Isidro of the secret tunnel that they can escape through. Guts fends off the possessed pagans pursuing them before he is forced to stay behind to face the Great Goat, who refuses to allow Casca to escape. Guts manages to divert the Goat's attention to him after landing a few hits with his repeater crossbow, recognizing him to be similar to an actual Apostle. As he prepares to destroy this new obstacle, Guts tells the monster that he is going to get Casca out of Albion alive.

The Great Goat disfigured by Rickert's explosives.

The Great Goat charges Guts, dodging the swordsman's crossbow bolts while forcing him into a corner. Guts sees only one solution: using the small explosives that Rickert gave him before leaving Godo's house. Guts uses one of the spheres, which horribly mangles the Great Goat's face despite its small size, and forces the monster on his knees so Guts can behead him. The mysterious observer notes Guts's abilities before taking his leave. Once outside the cave, Guts discovers that the escape route that Isidro told him about is a narrow jutting ledge on the sheer face of a cliff. Furthermore, the swordsman notices someone standing ahead of him: Serpico. Guts raises his crossbow and fires a few bolts at the youth, who uses a curve in the path to hide behind the cliff face and to lure Guts into an ambush after evading one of his explosives.

Isidro with Nina, Casca, and Puck.

Further along the path, Isidro is livid that he ended up leading Nina and Casca to a dead end. However, Nina notices something on the cliff face nearby: a small metal hoop has been attached to the rock face, and a length of rope descends to the bottom of the chasm. After lowering Nina to the foot of the cliff, Isidro gets to work tying the rope around Casca's waist to send her down as well. At that time, Farnese berates her men for falling to capture the Black Swordsman before ordering her men to search the cave for him. Joachim, being pelted by small pebbles, is lured to Nina's location and alerts the knights upon the two seeing each other. After surviving a fall from forcing the rope off of her, Casca wanders towards the knights while Isidro ends up tangled in the rope and dangling as he watches her and Nina taken by the knights.

Guts grasps Serpico's blade bare-handed.

Serpico then manages to prevent Guts from using either his crossbow or his sword, the swordsman realizing that his opponent is using their terrain and the sunrise to his advantage. After getting a cut on the cheek by Serpico, Guts is forced deflect Serpico's blade thrusts with his prosthetic hand. Furthermore, Serpico, having deduced the reason for Guts' appearance, attempts to provoke him to make a mistake by suggesting that Casca is in danger. This, however, results in the swordsman using his metallic left hand to grab his adversary's rapier so that he can smash its blade. His plan having failed, Serpico manages to retreat by swiping one of Guts' explosives and using it as cover.

The mysterious observer watching Guts and company approaching the Tower of Conviction.

Guts later finds Isidro, who apologizes to him. While Guts is overcome by rage upon realizing that Isidro has lost track of Casca, he calms himself down and heads off to find Casca who, in the distance, is being taken to the Tower of Conviction. At first, he tells Isidro and Luca to not follow him. However, after the latter insists on accompanying him out of concern for the girls, Guts allows them both to come with him. As Luca instructs her harlot apprentices to flee the city if she ends up being killed, Guts walks towards the tower while the Skull Knight's words of an upcoming event similar to the Eclipse are ringing in his head. Guts and his companions are seen by the mysterious observer (the one who guided Joachim to Nina), who is sitting on the top of the tower.

Nina brought to the torture room for interrogation.

Inside the tower, Casca and Nina are incarcerated in a tiny, dark, windowless room with the sounds of tortured screaming heard. Terrified as Casca comforts her, Nina pleas with her to use magic to save them, then shoves her in a bout of rage. Just then, the Imp and the Bubblehead enter the room to take Casca. As Nina was about to make a difficult choice to either offer herself for torture to save Casca or to allow her to suffer out of cowardice, Mozgus' underlings solve that dilemma for Nina by suddenly deciding to take her instead. She then learns from the torturers that they are trying to find out the identity of the pagans' witch, and that they narrowed it down to her and Casca. Nina then resolves to be brave for Casca's sake, but that courage quickly fades when she finds herself in a torture chamber for accused women, nearly fainting out of fear from seeing hanging corpses and instruments of torture.

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Inside the Tower of Conviction, Farnese proclaims to Guts that she has witnessed a miracle. Several corpses outside the Tower are shown, with Guts saying that faith equals death. The mysterious creature watches from atop the Tower as Mozgus chastises someone for rebelling against God. Meanwhile, Luca talks with Jerome with tears in her eyes, while Mozgus declares Casca to be a witch. The Skull Knight appears alongside Luca as he hunts for the source of the evil energy surrounding the Tower, while Mozgus declares that they will all atone for their sins in blood.

Characters in Order of Appearance

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Manga/Anime Differences

• The Great Goat's mangled face after being hit with a bomb is partially censored.
• When Nina walks into the torture chamber, the graphic violence of the women being tortured is toned down and some instruments are entirely removed.