This volume gets deeper into Guts life as we go through various stages.

The opening is pretty brutal as we see a ugly events get worse. Guts is sold for a night of "pleasure" to a dirty disgusting man and the poor boy, despite his try to fight back, doesn't do it. So after that we're introduced to Guts losing hope in people around him. This leads to him basically wanting to be on his own...Till the band of hawks comes up.

This is really a sad tale in some ways. Guts is almost always thrown to the side after being used by someone. And though this is the start of a "family" for guts with the band of hawks, we all know Griffith will betray him due to seeing him in the first arc. So Guts has no choice but to move forward in what seems to be good times with the people he cares for even if we know it won't end well.

Meeting the band of hawks is great with lots of wonderful characters. Casca is by far my favorite, and her backstory only makes her a even more interesting character. Strong, brave, fearless, motivational, she is clearly one of my favorite lead female characters.

Getting to see Zod too helps build for more of the supernatural side of it, and like before, it is horrifying. The art really gets to showcase here as the battle is fast and brutal as hell.

Overall, fantastic look into Guts and his life. This is when Berserk becomes one of the greatest of all time. A 5 out of 5.