Holy Iron Chain Knights

More symbol than fighting force, the Holy Iron Chain Knights exist chiefly as a decorative emblem of the Holy See. Their ranks are filled largely with the untested sons of noble houses from various nations, enrolled for the prestige and safety their families sought rather than for battlefield skill, which earned them the mocking name of Pretty Boy Knights. Only a couple break the mold: Azan, a former legendary knight who took holy orders, and Serpico, a genuinely gifted swordsman and tactician.

By long custom the order answers to a woman as its ornamental head. When the young zealot Farnese takes that seat, she tries to make the role active, leaning on the seasoned Azan while her troops chafe under her cold, duty-obsessed command and her refusal to play the figurehead they expect. Privately, the knights resent how rarely she shows them any gratitude.

Charged by the Holy See with tracking the so-called Black Swordsman, the order stumbles onto the aftermath of the Eclipse and later reaches the village of Jill, where rumors of the roaming swordsman lead them on. When they corner Guts, he cuts down several knights before Farnese wounds and captures him, only for him to escape soon after by taking her hostage. Their campaign culminates at the Tower of Conviction and the catastrophic Incarnation Ceremony, which wipes out most of the order. Only Farnese, Serpico, Jerome, and Azan survive; with Farnese and Serpico refusing to report back to the Holy See and now traveling alongside Guts, the future of the order is left in doubt.