Guts was once a wandering mercenary taken in by the mercenary group known as the Band of the Hawk and fought alongside them before their leader Griffith sacrificed his followers to become one of the God Hand to fulfill his dream of a kingdom of his own. Only Guts and his lover Casca, who lost her sanity from the horrors she saw and endured, escaped the "Eclipse" ritual though both are branded with marks that attract fell entities like restless spirits to them. Leaving Casca in the care of the blacksmith Godo, Erica and Rickert, the only member of the Hawks not sacrificed, Guts began to hunt down the God Hand's Apostles to find and kill Griffith. Years passed, and Guts is joined in his hunt by the elf Puck as events are starting to unfold.