Hell's Angels

Mozgus withdraws deeper into the hall with his disciples and the captive Casca while the crow-man blocks Guts' thrown knives with its spiked collar-spear. Denouncing the swordsman as a rebel against God, the inquisitor stands firm as Guts grasps the truth: these men are pseudo-Apostles, humans granted monstrous strength by another Apostle rather than the God Hand, weaker than true Apostles yet seven against one.

Guts slips the first thrown claw and shears away the tallest disciple's arm and part of its skull. The small pliers-wielder darts behind him, evading both a backhand and a kick, then lunges for his one good eye; Guts catches the tool in his teeth, headbutts the creature, but it recovers before his sword can land. The wheel-bearing disciple then barrels forward like a ram, and a timed swing knocks its charge into the pillars near Isidro while Guts is thrown to the floor.

Farnese reaches the top of the long staircase to a scene she cannot fathom: Jerome, Isidro, and Nina crouched near the steps, a gaping hole torn in the wall, Guts sprawled on one side and the wheel disciple buried in rubble on the other. Rising to press on, Guts has knocked the masks from his foes, baring their deformities, an infant's face on the wheel disciple, a cleft visage on the pliers one, and a great growth on the claw disciple that grips its own severed arm in its teeth.

Part of the Conviction Arc, the chapter ran in Young Animal issue 5 on February 25, 2000. It defines the pseudo-Apostle concept within the series and pits Guts against overwhelming numbers as the disciples' human faces are exposed. Casca, Guts, Mozgus, Jerome, Isidro, Puck, Nina, and Farnese appear.