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The Skull Knight's sword is a thorned sword wielded by the Skull Knight against inhumans, namely apostles and God Hand members.[1] The Skull Knight is capable of coating the sword in a molten mass of ingested beherits stored within him, forming the Sword of Beherits[expl 1] (喚び水の剣; literally "Sword of Pump-priming"; Dark Horse: Sword of Actuation).

The sword is intended to "entomb" the God Hand in the vortex of the abyss.[2]

Story[]

Manga E303 Skull Knight Ambushes Femto

The Skull Knight attempting to strike Femto down with his sword.

The Skull Knight is forced to unveil his sword following Slan's abrupt disappearance in the deepest level of the Qliphoth. He uses it to send the subsequent swarm of multiplying trolls and ogres swirling into an abyssal vortex before tearing open a portal leading to the Qliphoth's uppermost level, which he uses to escape with Guts and return the swordsman to his companions.[2]

Later, atop the twice reincarnated Ganishka, the Skull Knight uses the Sword of Beherits in a seeming attempt at Femto's life; however, the sword stroke aimed for Femto is redirected by the demon toward Ganishka, tearing open the apostle-emperor's twice reincarnated form and triggering the Great Roar of the Astral World.[1]

Abilities[]

In its normal form, the Skull Knight's sword has considerable cutting power. With it, he is able to cleave through and dismember multiple monstrous enemies in his path.[3][4] The sword is evidently sufficient for the Skull Knight to match and even best the transformed Zodd in combat.[3][5]

Manga E221 Sword of Beherits Vortex

An abyssal vortex, torn open by the sword.

By virtue of being comprised of numerous molten beherits, the sword is capable of reaching into the deepest depths of the Astral World, due to the ability of beherits to cut through dimensions. The sword can also be used to cut open astral portals leading to other locations in the Physical World, allowing for nigh-instant travel.[2] A space-distorting sword stroke dealt by the Sword of Beherits splintered Ganishka's twice reincarnated form and brought about the Great Roar of the Astral World.[1]

Notes[]

  • 喚 (as in 喚び水の剣 (yobimizu no tsurugi)) is an amplification of 呼 (as in 異界への呼び水 (ikai e no yobimizu)), conveying an act of initiation of greater intensity; e.g., the elevation of a "call" to a "scream". This parallels how the sword is comprised of numerous beherits rather than a single one, and how it is capable of cutting open interdimensional rifts in rapid succession rather than merely summoning an interdimensional plane in one instance.
  • Despite commonly being colored crimson in mediums outside of the Berserk manga, the Sword of Beherits has no confirmed color. Additionally, whereas the Crimson Beherit is reserved exclusively for members of the God Hand,[6] the Skull Knight clarifies that the beherits which constitute the Sword of Beherits are those he has taken from apostles specifically.[2]
  • "Sword of Resonance" is a well-known mistranslation of the sword's name.
  • The sword's beherit coating is something the Skull Knight can place and remove at will, as after the incident in the Qliphoth, he was later seen at Flora's mansion wielding his sword in its normal form.[7]

Explanations[]

  1. ^ A key part of the sword transformation's original Japanese name – 喚び水 (yobimizu) – is shared with 「異界への呼び水」 (ikai e no yobimizu; literally "primed droplets connecting to the beyond"), the name beherits are referred to as in the original volume 13 version of episode 82. 呼び水 refers to pump-priming, particularly water pumping. Though "Sword of Actuation" communicates the act of initiation conveyed in 呼び水 by 喚, it fails to incorporate the attribute of "water" conveyed by 水, and thus fails to communicate the sword transformation's inherent relation to beherits.

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Berserk :: Volume 34, "Fissure"
  2. ^ a b c d Berserk :: Volume 26, "Companions"
  3. ^ a b Berserk :: Volume 13, "Escape"
  4. ^ Berserk :: Volume 26, "Whore Princess of the Uterine Sea"
  5. ^ Berserk :: Volume 26, "Flames (2)"
  6. ^ Berserk :: Volume 12, "All the Inhuman Monsters"
  7. ^ Berserk :: Volume 26, "Flames (1)"

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