Casca (1)

Startled that his blow was parried, Adon winds up for his so-called ultimate technique, but Guts strikes first, driving the sword down onto his helmet and shearing away the right half of his face. He lives, yet the wound and terror leave him unwilling to fight on. Guts questions why Casca's usual skill has faltered, and rather than answer she simply passes out from exhaustion. She is perched at the edge of a cliff, so Guts leans down from his horse to grab her, only for an arrow from Adon to punch into his side. Her weight and the fresh wound together drag them both over the edge and into a river far below, as their comrades watch in dismay.

While the battle continues overhead, Guts hauls Casca out of the water and onto solid ground as rain begins to fall. Hearing no breath from her, he revives her until she coughs the water back up, then grips the crossbow bolt lodged in his side and tears it free.

Climbing the cliff with Casca in tow is out of the question, and the cold rain risks a fatal chill made worse by the fever already gripping her. Guts finds a shallow cave nearby and drags her inside. Up on the cliff, the fighting ends, and Judeau and Gaston, who saw the fall, report it to Griffith. They urge him to send a party down to search for the two commanders, but others argue the Falcon's thinned ranks cannot spare anyone and that fighters of their skill will manage the climb alone. Griffith is left torn over what to do.

Inside the cave, Guts binds his arrow wound. Though both of them are frozen, he dares not light a fire that might draw enemy soldiers. Seeing Casca shiver in her sleep, and finding no other option, he strips off her soaked clothing to warm her.

Pulling away her trousers, Guts notices blood on his hand. His first thought is a wound, but he soon understands that the bleeding, her cramps and her fever all stem from her menstruating. He reflects on how hard a woman's life must be. Holding Casca against his chest to share his warmth and keeping his sword tucked against his arm in case of attack, he settles in to wait out the long night. The chapter belongs to the Golden Age Arc and marks a turning point in the closeness between Guts and Casca.