Siren

The merrow's chorus leaves the Sea God thrashing in agony, baffling the crew above who cannot see the cause. Isidro catches the distant melody drifting off the waves, and inside the monster a shaking Schierke hears it too. Abruptly both the song and the creature's pulse fade at once, and the witch understands that the two forces have negated one another. Seizing the lull, she pushes Guts to rise. He hauls the Dragon Slayer up, gets to his feet, and begs the Beast of Darkness to grant him the pain he needs to keep going.

Blood streams from the seams of the armor as Schierke steers him toward the heart, each step tearing his wounds wider. The clustered eyes on the organ track his approach. Raising the great blade overhead, Guts brings it down in a single enormous stroke that cleaves the heart open, and a colossal blast of wind hurls him away as it bleeds out.

Choking up gore along with the wrecked ships it had devoured, the Sea God buckles inward and dies. Schierke snaps back into her own body aboard the Seahorse, ringed by her companions. When Isidro asks after Guts, her sudden panic silences the group as she recalls exactly where he remains trapped.

The opposing song and heartbeat neutralize each other, giving Guts an opening. He severs the Sea God's heart with one strike and is blown clear as it perishes. The monster collapses and sinks. Schierke returns to her physical form, only to realize with dread that Guts is still inside the dead creature.

This twenty-three-page chapter, titled "Siren," appeared in Young Animal issue three on 27 January 2012 as part of the Fantasia Arc. The corresponding magazine cover carried color artwork of Guts and Griffith.