Requiem of the Wind

Having left the forest near Wyndham for a lush plain close to Midland's frontier, the remnants of the rescue force gather around Casca, with Judeau and Pippin nearby and Guts seated on a rock behind her, while Griffith sleeps apart in his cart. Rickert has stayed away ever since the massacre of the wounded, and Wyald's claim that Griffith is beyond saving now hangs over the group in heavy silence. Corkus finally breaks it, pressing Casca on whether the apostle meant what he said, and when she offers no answer, he moves to wake Griffith and ask the leader himself.

Judeau stops him, revealing to Corkus and the others still unaware of the leader's state that Griffith cannot answer at all. The confirmation shakes the band; Corkus mourns the ruined hope of restoring the Falcons to their former glory, smashes his sword against a rock in fury, and sinks down as everyone quietly accepts that Griffith will never lead again and that their legacy is closing. Some recall that Casca guided them capably through the past year and wonder whether she could take the leader's place, though Judeau observes that she once led of her own accord and owes them no permanent claim to command, since she did not found the band.

Guts rises to speak but Casca cuts him off, agreeing to lead only until they reunite with the injured unit, none of them but Rickert knowing it has been wiped out. She walks toward the carts with Guts following and asks what he meant to say; he admits he would have told the men to finish the fights they start. Casca replies that while he no longer depends on Griffith's dream to move forward, the rest of the band still does and cannot simply be told to let go, then leans into his shoulder and confesses how lonely the leader's seat had felt, unaware that the wakeful Griffith is watching through the cart's coverings. The chapter belongs to the Golden Age Arc and first ran in Young Animal issue 24.