Berserk Volume 13: Brutal but Brilliant

Imagine being locked in Hell. Welcome to Berserk volume thirteen. Imagine every character you hold dear dying in the most unimaginable, cruel ways and like the characters all you can do is watch.

You see fan-favorites getting torn-up and thrown like they are nothing. Characters who owned the battle field, like family, are played with like toys, and like toys are getting ripped every which way. While Corkus is certainly an annoying character, it’s hard not to pity him as he dies. He could’ve left the Band of the Hawk for so long, but like family, he stayed till the end.

The most tragic is certainly Judeau. While Guts had a stronger emotional connection with Casca, Judeau was like her soul lover. He knew her more than anyone and had her back till the end. You see him save her life more than once but this time they won’t be having drinks afterward. In other words, he has passed, right before he could even tell her he loved her. Like when she saw Griffith’s damaged state, it’s clear Casca can’t process it. It’s too much for anyone to handle and it seems she has given up mentally. But psychically she will fight, likely this time for Judeau, similar to when she fought back against her attacker when she recalled Griffith needing her. This time it seems like she does so in order to make sure Judeau gets a grave. In her view, it can’t end like this. But the unworldliness she is seeing consumes her and she ends up getting assaulted by the demons. When you see her past, Griffith saved her from being raped, and with this, even if it isn’t Griffith’s intent, it is already him enacting unspeakable acts on her. Since Griffith has become all they’ve fought against.

And tragically it won’t end. No matter how much Guts punches through every demon, it won’t end. Griffith won’t stop it. These tortures to the mind take on more than unendurable horror. They become Griffith’s dream. He is showing Guts that he will never be his equal.

It gets more brutal as you see Casca being raped by Griffith, with Guts forced to watch. He uses every bit of Casca like a pawn. As if he imagined himself the man that attacked her long ago. And he’s showing Guts he has reclaimed dominance. Unlike last time when he did an act and was tortured by the King, now he can do what he wants. He’s put every bit of hatred he had onto Guts, and attempts to destroy his very soul with the unimaginable. For Guts, he feels like he’s failed. Likely, he’s reminded of his younger self who he once imagined as Casca, and now he can do nothing to save her. It’s the hardest moment to read in Berserk.

After the Eclipse, we see Casca has survived but lost her state of mind due to being raped by Griffith. Now, Guts is left with the anger and pain of losing everyone and being unable to stop it. The most gloomiest end for a volume of Berserk yet.