In the latest chapter of the masterpiece Berserk, the author delivers a shocking twist about Guts’ true nature. The Black Swordsman is now confirmed to be an entity not fully belonging to the mortal world, but deeply connected to the Astral World.
However, if you’re a longtime fan, you’ll recognize that the late creator Kentaro Miura had already planted numerous hints about this abnormality from the very early chapters.
Guts was never truly an ordinary human, and here are four clear proofs.
1. Communicating with mystical beings since childhood
Before the Great Roar of the Astral World disaster, Berserk’s setting was firmly rooted in a realistic medieval era. At that time, ordinary people couldn’t see or interact with spiritual beings unless they were sorcerers or possessed a Behelit.
Yet, from his youth, long before meeting the spirit Puck, Guts was already able to befriend and talk with Chitch, a tiny flower spirit. For a nameless mortal to naturally cross the boundary between worlds like this is the first sign that Guts had touched the Astral World very early on.
2. Miraculous survival from a dead mother’s womb
Guts’ birth is one of the darkest and most mysterious moments in manga history. He was found newborn inside the corpse of his mother, who had been hanged long before.
By normal medical logic, when a mother dies, the fetus inside loses its life source and becomes stillborn. But Guts defied this. He cried out amidst a pool of blood and stubbornly survived.
The latest chapter explains this further. Being born from a womb touched by death meant Guts’ soul was never fully bound to the physical world. This anomaly made him a beacon attracting supernatural phenomena throughout his life.
3. Wounding the Apostle Zodd without divine gear
In Berserk, mortals cannot harm Apostles unless wielding weapons enchanted with magic or aided by spirits. Facing an Apostle, humans have only two fates: become prey or slaves.
But Guts defied this rule. Back when he was with the Hawks, armed only with a regular iron sword and without Dragonslayer or Berserker Armor, he managed to injure Nosferatu Zodd, one of the strongest Apostles ever. This incredible feat proves that Guts’ innate power far exceeds the biological limits of a mere mortal.
4. Monster-level physical strength, wielding a hundred-kilogram weapon single-handedly
Although humans in Berserk’s dark era are hardened by brutal battles, their strength still has limits. Guts, however, exists on a completely different scale.
He can effortlessly swing Dragonslayer, a solid iron slab weighing hundreds of kilograms, originally made to crush dragons, not for human use, with just one hand. This superhuman muscle power makes Guts nearly unbeatable against any human opponent. The only one to ever defeat him was Griffith, who we later learn is also a supreme entity beyond humanity.