"Howl from the Darkness" is episode 290 of the Berserk manga series.
Synopsis[]
Guts' fever worsens as the Beast of Darkness stirs more and more. It taunts Guts, telling him that its being bound by the talisman is only temporary, and that it was truly set free from the point Guts started wearing the Berserker Armor. It then begins to speak of Guts' new friends, saying that the closer Guts' bond with them becomes, the more it'll hurt when the Beast ultimately takes control and kills them. This, it says, is to destroy all obstacles that block the path to revenge against Griffith. The Beast then begins to settle and calm itself, biding its time until the time is right.
As the Beast of Darkness' influence vanishes, Guts awakens. He sits up, to the worriment of Schierke, Farnese and Serpico, but cannot seem to remember his nightmare. Isidro suddenly pokes his head through the doorway into the cargo hold, loudly raving about Roderick's epic battle against the pirates. At Guts' suggestion, the entire group head up to the deck, where the ecstatic crewmembers are eager to invite them to take part in the post-victory festivities - Isidro happily drinks with the crew, and Serpico sheepishly accepts his own cup.
Magnifico and Roderick speak alone on a secluded part of the deck. Magnifico explains that he's overheard crewmembers discuss the Seahorse's destination, the island of Skellig. Though he admits that he at first dismissed elven homeland as mere superstition, Magnifico has decided that recent events are proof enough that it is a real place. He proposes that he and Roderick use the Seahorse's considerable firepower to conquer the island, intending to take the elves and sell them to the nobility and creating a large market for elves.
Puck upon overhearing Magnifico's proposition to Roderick.
Roderick pretends to ponder the proposition for a moment before deciding that he is not the man whose opinion Magnifico should be asking for - he lifts the lid off a nearby barrel, revealing Puck, who's frozen between bites into an apple after overhearing Magnifico's plan. Puck tries to fly away, but is stopped when Magnifico offers a deal: when the elves of Skellig are enslaved, Puck will be made the new king of Elfhelm. Puck takes to his new role immediately, using Magnifico's head as a throne.
Roderick wanders off but soon sees a pair of shoes on the Seahorse's bulwark, near the rigging. He looks up and sees that Farnese has climbed into the crow's nest high above. Serpico watches as Roderick climbs to join her.
Placing his overcoat on her shoulders, Roderick asks why Farnese has climbed into the crow's nest. She explains that during her earlier magic training, she had literally flown above the Seahorse's highest mast and looked down on it like an omnipotent being. Back in her physical body, Farnese feels as though she is only a tiny piece of a much larger world. She tells Roderick that she feels useless among her group.
Roderick responds with an analogy: On a ship, every crewmember is required to have the ship operate at full capacity. On the ship that is Guts' party, Farnese fulfills the role of being Casca's babysitter. Roderick says that this is not as demeaning as it sounds; Casca is the thing Guts values most in the world, and he voluntarily entrusts her well-being to Farnese. Though not entirely convinced, Farnese thanks Roderick for consoling her.
Later at night, Guts, sitting on the rail on a lower deck of the Seahorse, watches Schierke sleep. He then turns his head to stare out to sea.