02x21.5 - The Witch's Recollection

[bunniefuu]

"The angel is the Hawk of Darkness.

He is the master of the sinful black sheep.

And the king of the blind white sheep.

He will usher in an age of darkness to cover the world."

Oh, you're back!

Thank you.

That is the Hawk of Light. The savior of the world.

Or perhaps...

What a nauseating stench...

My mind's numb from the overwhelming scent of blood.

Everything is dyed red.

Everything is stained red,

red as the setting sun casts its rays on the blood...

The sight should be gruesome, and yet...

And yet it was like a painting, beautiful beyond compare.

Title, Recollections of the Witch

Gu We finally found you, Black Swordsman!

Gi Who was this man?

Gi A mere illusion, born of the people's fear, who did not exist in reality?

Gi Or... Was he actually an important figure bound up with our faith?

It was far too large to be called a sword.

It was far too large, thick, heavy, and much too crude.

By all accounts,

it was a hulking mass of iron.

What a sad end for the former hounds.

They're excited by the smell of blood.

Impossible. How can such things...

I learned the night's secret.

Pull back one thin layer called "the world,"

and fear undulates beneath it.

How can you be terrified of such a great opportunity?

As a believer, don't you have some phrase?

You could say, "Dear God..."

I've had my fill of miracles.

Enough to make me puke.

That's...

Amazing!

Hey, let's go, Puck.

Okay.

W-Wait...

He's no ordinary guy!

So you are the famed Black Swordsman...

I do not know what you seek to accomplish,

but I cannot let you have this witch,

in the name of God's justice!

Apostle, Curse you!

Apostle, Do you not fear God?

Apostle, You dare get in the way of my holy mission, you devils?

If you want to appease your God so much,

why not split your head open and offer it up?!

If you meet your God, say this for me...

Leave me the hell alone!

Apostle, Oh, God... I am coming home to you...

Fly up to heaven...

by your own damned self!

That man...

Whenever the Black Swordsman appears, it breaks apart.

The world I know

shatters, with a deafening roar.

In that moment,

all held their breath.

And all were transfixed.

Griffith...

And all realized...

That what they had desired had come.

Who is he?

He isn't human.

Do we ever get a break?

What now?

I'm going to follow the Black Swordsman.

I am leaving the Order.

Later.

In the end, I could not escape the darkness of my childhood.

Eventually, the darkness took shape and appeared before me.

As though the fate for one who continues to fear

is to be led by the Black Swordsman

who stands alone in the darkness.

We've got some visitors!

Hey.

Hi.

You guys...

Ever since that day, I've been searching for you like crazy!

You won't get away from me that easy.

You still plan to capture me?

Lady Farnese...

Black Swordsman,

please let us accompany you on your journey.

I want to know the truth

that transcends the ordered system to which I clung.

And I want to learn

how to survive in the darkness, where order's light does not reach.

To learn from you.

This is all I can do now.

I swear I shall make amends.

Why are priests and nobles so over the top?

Do what you want.

Th-Then...

Well, that was quick.

I don't need you to make amends or apologies.

I k*lled your guys, too. It goes both ways.

But no thanks to being your guide.

Not my thing.

I don't know what you want to learn, but do what you like.

Stay out of my way, and I won't interfere.

Something's weird.

Why would Guts let people he doesn't know into his circle?

If it were just me...

If I were my usual self, I'd have turned them down in a second.

But this time, I'm in a bind.

It's the first time

I find myself counting on people I don't know.

I am horrified by my own malice.

I feel crushed by powerlessness.

When was the last time she smiled?

Oh, I just remembered!

Beware if you're taking that path,

especially around the pass.

What the hell, Gramps?

Are you saying bandits are about?

What's out and about aren't human folk.

They're trolls!

Trolls?

What the hell?

What's going on?

Hey! Bandits?

All right!

Are you okay?

He isn't human!

What?

Oh, my.

He's going to die.

What are you going to do?

Berries?

Don't move.

Look all around you.

They're everywhere!

Wh-What the...

Wow.

What's going on?

Huh? What?

Okay... There you go.

What happened?

We were att*cked by trolls.

There were five others with me, but everyone else was...

But I can't just return to our village.

A band of trolls att*cked the village.

They came, like something out of the pages of a tale.

We counter the legend with another legend.

A witch... That's who we're thinking of asking for help.

I knew it was her!

The witch!

I am Schierke, and I am still an apprentice.

I am Ivalera, her guardian.

Welcome to the mansion of the spirit tree.

As for you two who bear the brand...

How did you know that?

Granny, who are you?

Wait one moment.

His story comes first right now.

What you witnessed involves trolls?

Yes.

Schierke, aid them.

Oh, that's a big responsibility!

Mistress, but I'm not...

It's time for you to apply your training out in the world.

But right now?

Could you all aid my apprentice?

Well, I shall be off.

May the spirits' blessings be with you.

What's wrong?

Here they come.

The trolls are here. To the church!

I'm counting on you, spirits!

Now's our chance!

Run to the church!

Reverend, did you see that?

Amazing.

He did it!

That man might take back the village from the trolls.

Wow, he's amazing!

You can't tell who the monster is here.

Indeed, he seems hardly human.

Is this also because

he long resided in the interstice, where mind easily influences matter?

Or something else?

What are the shadows I see around his blade?

The trolls are crumbling...

What is this light?

Magic?

Impossible.

I will not accept this black magic.

Not only is the world vast without,

it also contains great depths within.

The world cannot be defined by materialism or any single doctrine.

To accept that great mysteries exist,

and to explore all creation from within our world...

That is the way of mages.

Well, aren't you an impressive girl...

What's that?

A monster?

What is that monster?

An ogre!

We're finished!

With a monster like that...

We need to buy time...

Time for me to cast a spell.

Hey...

Got it, Commander.

Hey, hey! What the heck is he thinking?

No!

I knew he wasn't normal, but to think it was to this extent...

Well, would you look at that...

Now's your chance!

He managed that much, using only his physical body without magic.

How can a mortal go that far?

I must hurry.

Deeper... Slightly beyond the spirit world's depths!

That's a shrine...

The spiritual form of the shrine that stood before the church was built.

Water elementals... Undines!

I see!

Rumbling?

The river's flooding! It's headed this way!

This is magic?

The trolls... All the monsters were washed away.

We're saved!

We're somehow alive!

Lady Witch! Lady Witch!

Witch...

It's all over.

This is all my fault.

I drowned in the power...

Hey.

Let the tension out of your shoulders.

If you're that stiff, you won't be able to do things you normally can.

You saved this village... Though you were a bit rough.

No one blames you.

And so, I'm counting on you, Lady Witch.

Use your eyes and decide for yourself

what this fateful encounter means for you.

No!

Stay behind me!

Sorry to keep you waiting.

Guts!

You okay?

Apostle, With your sword, it is possible.

Apostle, For that sword is forged by the malice of thousands of dying souls.

Apostle, Pierce her!

Apostle, Let us meet again,

Apostle, my beloved boy.

sh*t! It's falling apart! Hey!

She's working really hard right now!

No... I can't hold it back anymore.

Schierke!

Guts!

Guts?

What happened?

Apostle, I cleaved space to travel through another layer.

Apostle, It is this sword's power.

I don't understand a damn thing you say.

What's going on?!

How were you behind us?

I owe him another debt.

He has resisted fate and lived.

Lived to meet Schierke,

the witch of the forest of the spirit tree's favorite disciple.

Comrades, huh?

I never thought I'd ever find them again.

What is this flow of od?

From the forest...

From the mansion!

The forest barrier has fallen!

Really bad things, far worse than trolls, are at the mansion.

The old lady's in trouble.

It's them.

M-Mistress...

There's no doubt about it...

Those are...

Apostles.

This is terrible.

Like Schierke said, his wounds have reopened...

We have no way to deal with them.

What now?

In his state, he couldn't do anything, even with armor!

True...

If he dons the armor in this state, his life will be in danger.

But...

He is still alive.

I understand, Mistress.

If that is your wish.

I do not know if he is my destiny.

But as a mage, I am the only one who can save him.

Only I, disciple of the witch Flora, of the forest of the spirit tree.

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Farewell, my sunlight.

Human... No, it's almost as if...

With the power granted to me as an Apostle, I will bury the Black Swordsman!

So that is your true power!

That's what makes you worth destroying.

Next Time A Journey Begins in Flames