Volume 3 of Berserk is the end of the beginning of Kenta Miura’s self-professed life’s work — the final installment in our introduction to Guts, the first true delineation of the universe he inhabits, and the first chapter of the next part of his violent odyssey.

The second book ended with Guts clashing with the vile Count, a man who used the mysterious Behelit to broker a deal with the demons from the world beyond to give him incredible power on earth. (I mentioned Hellraiser as a good point of reference, and the more I read of Berserk the more valid it all seems as homage.) Guts delivers as much of a hammering as he gets, not just to dole out sadism, but to prove a point: I may be “only” flesh and blood, but even flesh and blood can be far stronger than you imagine. In his dying moments, both the Count’s cry of despair and the blood showering from what’s left of his body fuse with the Behelit … and, as Guts mentioned in the previous volumes, that proves to be the key to unlocking the demonic dimension beyond.