Sea God (1)

Pushing further into the cave, Guts finds the Berserker Armor has sharpened his sight in the dark, and the oppressive air recalls Qliphoth. The difference here is that the Sea God's interference stops Schierke from calling on Astral beings for help. The narrow passage he runs through widens into a vast cavern, and at its mouth stands a ruined statue Schierke believes an ancient people once raised. Guts vaults onto it for a better view over the black abyss.

From the water below emerge dozens of enormous sea slugs alongside Bonebeard's ship. The pirate greets Guts, admitting that of all Roderick's companions he finds him the most compelling. He explains the slugs are only extensions of the Sea God itself and invites Guts to look harder into the gloom. Guts does, and at last makes out the deity, so immense that only its gaping mouth is visible. A low rumble from the creature strikes Guts like a sudden gale.

Bonebeard commands the slugs to close in. Schierke urges Guts to find a chokepoint near the entrance where the creatures can be picked off one by one, but he refuses. Declaring that he will hurl himself into the Sea God's mouth, Guts makes good on the boast immediately, springing from the statue and using the slugs, and even Bonebeard's face, as footholds to reach the deity.

Guts enters the Sea God's cavern, where the Berserker Armor grants night vision but the deity's interference blocks Schierke's Astral summons. Bonebeard reveals the sea slugs are extensions of the Sea God and shows Guts the creature's vast form. Rejecting Schierke's plan to fight at a bottleneck, Guts leaps toward the Sea God's mouth using slugs and Bonebeard's face as stepping stones.

The first chapter titled Sea God, this twenty-page Fantasia Arc installment ran in Young Animal issue 8 on April 8, 2011. Its publication followed a lengthy gap after the previous chapter, and it draws a deliberate comparison between the cave's atmosphere and Qliphoth.