Nosferatu Zodd

Nosferatu Zodd, ゾッド (Zoddo), is a legendary swordsman and powerful apostle said to have killed thousands of adversaries on the battlefield. After intervals of inactivity and purported death, Zodd resurfaces on the battlefield to continue his slaughter,[5]  having done so unmitigated for roughly three hundred years.

Personality
A fearless warrior who has devoted his entire existence to combat. His urge to fight stronger opponents and relish in battle has left myriads dead in his wake. He is ferocious and merciless, even when his opponents are clearly outmatched. Above all, he longs for an adequate challenge – the "ultimate strong one".[2]

Despite his intense hunger for battle and seeming one-track mind, Zodd is an enigmatic individual.[6]  Unlike most apostles, he does not eat human flesh, nor is he inherently sadistic and cruel; he takes no pleasure in torturing or killing weaklings. Indeed, Zodd has expressed great melancholy at his own strength, as he is too powerful to find adequate adversaries among men.[2]  For those who survive their encounters with him, and thus prove themselves, worthy opponents, Zodd has nothing but respect. He holds anyone who can harm or even defend themselves against him in great esteem, such as Guts and his rival the Skull Knight.

History
For approximately three centuries, Zodd earns the title of "Nosferatu" – a monstrous, immortal "battlefield god" – disappearing for long-spanning periods of time just to resurface again and continue his slaughter. He eventually offers his services to the Tudor Empire during its century-long war with the Kingdom of Midland. Zodd first meets Guts while protecting the inner citadel of a Tudor stronghold, slaughtering almost fifty of the Band of the Falcon's Raiders that storm its halls, before the swordsman enters alone to confront him. With Guts enraged to find him among the butchered remains of his men, Zodd knocks the charging swordsman back by throwing the corpses of two Raiders at him with a swing of his sword.[5]  He then advances towards Guts, complimenting his swordsmanship, before the two begin exchanging blows. After gambling his life on one swing, Guts manages to slice the top half of Zodd's blade clean off, cutting into the apostle's right shoulder in the process. Commending Guts for being the first man to injure him in 300 years, Zodd grabs his opponent's sword and assumes his true form, excited and ready to fight at full strength.

Zodd's immense strength proves to be too much for Guts to contend with, however; disappointed, Zodd decides to finish the swordsman off. Just as he begins crushing Guts in his grip, he is hit by an arrow volley from Falcon reinforcements lead by Griffith. Only angered by their interruption, Zodd decimates the Falcon soldiers, cornering Griffith and the now wounded Guts before they can escape,[1]  and insisting that they fight him. Meeting Zodd's advance, Guts and Griffith execute a pincer movement on the apostle, the former cutting deep into his torso and the latter severing his arm; Zodd retaliates by tail-whipping Griffith into a column, knocking the White Falcon unconscious. Delighted to have found two humans capable of so greatly wounding him, Zodd expresses regret in having to kill the two Falcons, before proceeding to finish off Griffith. However, Zodd stays his hand upon seeing Griffith's dangling Crimson Beherit, shocked that one such as Griffith bears the "Egg of the King". Knowing fully well the significance of this event, Zodd punches through the keep's roof and prepares to take his leave, cryptically warning Guts of an inescapable death that will befall him when Griffith's dream is shattered before flying off.[7]

During the Battle for Doldrey, while observing Guts and Boscogn's duel from afar, Zodd throws his sword towards Guts for the swordsman to wield after his own breaks mid-battle.[9]  He departs soon after Guts defeats Boscogn, knowing that the time of the Eclipse is near.[10]

A year later, Zodd encounters the Falcons for the last time as they are attacked by his fellow apostle Wyald.[11]  Zodd takes offense to Wyald acting against the God Hand's will and kills him for using a crippled Griffith as a hostage. Zodd then relays to Griffith that his lost Crimson Beherit will return to him, but neglects to answer Guts' questions regarding his previous statement, explaining that all will be revealed imminently before flying away.[12]

When Griffith invokes the fifth Eclipse, Zodd remains in the Physical World outside of the temporal junction point, having no interest in partaking in the slaughter of the Falcons alongside his fellow apostles. He awaits the arrival of the Skull Knight, who mistakenly concludes that Zodd was tasked with guarding the gate to the Eclipse.[13]  Ultimately, Zodd is overpowered by the knight in battle and forced to let him pass. Not long after, he witnesses his rival emerge from the Eclipse with Guts and Casca. Shocked to see Guts still alive, Zodd accepts the Skull Knight's request to postpone their battle until a more convenient time and allows him to escape with the surviving sacrifices and Rickert. While watching them leave, Zodd expresses his anticipation to see how a now branded Guts will survive in his darkened reality.[14]

Two years after the fifth Eclipse, having slaughtered three hundred mercenaries, Zodd becomes bored of constantly fighting weaker opponents. While sitting atop a mound of slain mercenaries, he assesses potential worthy opponents, dissatisfied with the opposition provided by his fellow apostles and only appeased by the thought of combating the Skull Knight. He then considers hunting down Guts after acknowledging how many apostles the swordsman has killed in his quest for revenge. Suddenly, Zodd experiences a vision of the Falcon of Light, wherein he assumes his true form and attacks, resulting in his immediate defeat to the apparition. As Zodd regains consciousness, he finds his left horn severed before him and a gash present on his forehead. He stares up at the crow-filled sky before hearing a disembodied voice beckoning him to travel to Albion where "the desired" will come.[2]  During the city's destruction caused by the Incarnation Ceremony, Zodd arrives at the outskirts where he comes face to face with the Skull Knight.[15]  The two travel together to Albion after daybreak to find the result of the ritual: a reconstituted Griffith.[16]  Zodd then bows to his new master, killing the Kushan soldiers advancing towards him before flying off with Griffith in tow.<sup id="cite_ref-e175_16-0">[17] <sup id="cite_ref-e176_17-0">[18]

After taking Griffith to the Hill of Swords, where Guts arrives and attacks the White Falcon, Zodd intervenes begins doing battle with the Black Swordsman.<sup id="cite_ref-e178_18-0">[19]  Expressing his excitement to fight Guts again and intent to protect Griffith, Zodd then proceeds to do battle with the swordsman.<sup id="cite_ref-e179_19-0">[20]  He commends Guts for having honed his abilities since their last fight, and assumes his true form, escalating the battle and resulting in the destruction of the cave near Godot's home. At that point, Griffith orders Zodd to cease fighting and carry him off to begin pursuing his dream.<sup id="cite_ref-e181_20-0">[21]

Zodd later appears in armor when Griffith commences his initial attack on the Kushan invasion force that took over Midland, massacring numerous Kushan soldiers alongside several powerful apostles that have arrived to serve Griffith as his reborn Band of the Falcon.<sup id="cite_ref-e183_21-0">[22] <sup id="cite_ref-e184_22-0">[23]  Later, Griffith sends Zodd, Grunbeld and other war demons to kill the witch Flora,<sup id="cite_ref-e223_23-0">[24]  considering her an obstacle to his goal. While Grunbeld duels a weakened Guts, Zodd once again combats the Skull Knight. When Guts is reinvigorated upon donning the Berserker Armor, Zodd reminisces about previous duels with the Skull Knight, and questions if the knight intends for Guts to walk the same path as him.<sup id="cite_ref-e226_24-0">[25]  From then on, Zodd and the Skull Knight cease their battle to observe the inhuman tenacity of a Berserker Guts.

Zodd again crosses paths with Guts in Vritannis, when he leads apostles against Ganishka and the Kushan emperor's pishacha army. Though he and Guts join forces to defeat Ganishka's mist form<sup id="cite_ref-e277_5-1">[6]  – neither capable of defeating their mutual enemy alone – Zodd tells the swordsman that they will have to settle their duel another time. However, when Guts learns that Griffith is outside the city to face Ganishka and his army, Zodd threatens to mince the swordsman if he considers going after the White Falcon. Guts accept the apostle's terms after Serpico reminds him of his priorities, and Zodd then leaves to lead the apostles out of the city to rejoin Griffith.<sup id="cite_ref-e278_25-0">[26]

Days later, during the Band of the Falcon's final battle with an ascended Ganishka, Zodd flies Griffith up to the towering apostle's head and is present at the ground zero of the Great Roar of the Astral World.<sup id="cite_ref-e304_26-0">[27]  After the establishment of Falconia, Griffith and the Band of the Falcon engaged with the jötnar in a battle. Zodd is one of the first to enter combat. In response, the giant leader orders subordinate jötnar to bring a massive hydra to sic on the Falcons. Zodd engages the hydra, strangling and biting off several of its heads while from afar Irvine supports him, shooting arrows into the giant snake. The finishing blow is dealt with by Grunbeld, who burns the hydra with his fire breath. Later, Zodd and his companions return triumphantly to Falconia.