Berserk is well-known for its brutal depiction of violence and gruesome themes in a world with monstrous creatures as vile as the humans that inhabit it. Throughout the series, depraved acts are committed without a shred of empathy by those gifted power by the God Hand, known as the apostles. Be they honest or evil in their past lives as humans, their humanity is stripped, and their souls belong to the God Hand upon their transformation from mortal to immortal.
Locus is an anomaly among the apostles. One of the major aspects that separates him from the other apostles is his apostle form. Where many others are deformed in overly sexualized or greed-ridden ways in their numerous mouths or appendages, Locus’ form has a small, human-life mouth. It seems entirely constructed for warfare and jousting. Everything about Locus appears designed for combat rather than the usual debauched pastimes many apostles enjoy.
Even though Locus has slain many foes in battle, he has always acted upon his sense of duty. Unlike many other apostles, Locus’ stoic nature is fueled by his self-control. Locus is built to serve as a soldier, nothing more.
Irvine the Archer is a member of the newly formed Band of the Falcon. He is a shadowy figure, living within the wild forests and maintaining his distance from the rest of the army. His nature of solitude alludes to a lack of interest in the depravity of other apostles, choosing to live alone without the desire to interact with humans. This could mean he does not care for the standardized consumption of humans many apostles partake in, leaning more toward the tradition of hunting beasts for sustenance.
Irvine has even shown kindness by allowing Sonia to warm herself by his fire and engaging in conversation. Even in his solitary nature, Irvine has shown not to be aggressive in maintaining it, even observably enjoying the experience of bonding with Sonia.
Like the other two members of the Band of the Falcon, Grunbeld recently swore fealty to Griffith, serving as a mighty warrior in his campaign. Grunbeld desires to fight in honor, challenging Guts to a one-on-one fight to the death. Similarly to Locus and Irvine, Grunbeld has shown restraint in his violence, as shown by his lack of desire to kill Flora. However, due to the novel Berserk: The Flame Dragon Knight, more information concerning his past has been revealed.
Due to Grunbeld’s consumption of his once friend-turned-traitor, and then his two close friends, Benedicte and Sigur, out of mercy, he was granted the power of the apostle dragon. In his life, Grunbeld portrayed a sense of honor and duty, and is of the same level as Locus and Irvine for their lack of depraved actions, only topping them by the canonical information of him consuming humans.
Zodd is a tried and tested warrior, proven to be one of the greatest in the Berserk world. As Griffith’s right-hand man, he has carved the way for Griffith’s ascension through blood and steel, paving the road to the Castle in the Sky with corpses. Zodd was also responsible for assisting Guts in defeating Emperor Ganishka during his storm apparition form, which was certainly a tick in favor of sainthood.
However, Zodd’s absolute disregard for life and the joy in combat leans him toward depravity. He brutally massacred Band of the Hawk soldiers, piling their bodies in a sign of triumph. While he may not chase after the innocent, he cares little if they are in his way.
Rosine is a controversial apostle. Without a doubt, Rosine committed numerous immoral acts that resulted in the death of many children in the Misty Valley. She led unknowing children into pseudo-elf transformations and used them as carnivorous weapons to kill any who crossed her path. Her actions led to the deaths of many children.
Yet, desires of malicious intent fueled many of the actions of more depraved Berserk apostles. They were aware of the pain and suffering they caused others and either were uncaring or enjoyed it. Rosine became an apostle as a child and lacked a full understanding of the consequences of her actions. She committed evil in her ignorance of what evil is.
When death is a person’s trade, they have already stepped into the boundaries of wickedness. Rakshas has expressed a desire and enjoyment of killing, though not in the fashion of Zodd. When Zodd wishes for a challenge and disregards human life, Raksha seeks to end it as an expression of his skill as an assassin.
Raksha’s obsessive pursuit of Ricket perfectly exemplifies his need to kill. He may not have taken as many lives in the Berserk manga as the more depraved apostles, but it is heavily implied he has done so off the page, serving as a master of death.
The Count is the first example of sheer decadence witnessed on the manga pages. His vengeful nature caused him to slaughter a room of those he considered sinful and to mutilate and consume his wife. Unlike Grunbeld, who became an apostle out of necessity, the Count became an apostle through wrath.