Blood Flow of the Dead (1)

Approaching Albion with Luca and Isidro, Guts feels his Brand weep more heavily the nearer he draws to the Tower of Conviction, a sign of something far worse than an ordinary Apostle. Isidro spots a refuse chute set into the towering wall, and a stone thrown by Luca coaxes a hidden figure inside to lower a rope ladder. She climbs up, bribes the man to summon Jerome, and screens Isidro from view while Guts slips past unnoticed, ignoring her plea to leave Casca's rescue to her.

Below, the chamber's occupants recoil as Casca floats amid a churning mass of blood shaped into countless faces. A drop lands on Serpico, who realizes the substance has spread across the ceiling above them all. A tendril snatches a torturer and reduces him to bones within seconds, sending the survivors fleeing; Serpico and the others guide Farnese toward one exit while Mozgus and his disciples escape through the chapel. Only Puck remains, reaching for Casca before she vanishes beneath the crimson tide.

Roaming the halls, Guts hides as Farnese's group meets Azan and moves to flee. He seizes Farnese, drags her into a side passage, and holds a dagger to her face to force Casca's location from her. She reveals the underground torture chamber but warns him against descending, hinting vaguely at a monster in the depths. When she refuses to show him another route, he shatters a statue above her head, cowing her into leading the way, none of them aware that a third figure trails behind.

Part of the Conviction Arc, the chapter debuted in the first Young Animal issue of the new year on December 24, 1999. It stages Guts' infiltration of the tower and the awakening of the flesh-eating blood, while deepening the coercive, uneasy dynamic between Guts and Farnese. Guts, Luca, Isidro, Mozgus, Puck, Casca, Farnese, Serpico, and Azan appear.