>>5185678"Run that back a lil' bit. You're part plant?" Puck questions you after attently hearing your story in the swamp.
"I...Guess?"
"Ha! That's so weird! How does it feel to eat veggies? Feeling like a cannibal now?" You don't really know how to answer that after the emotional rollercoaster that was telling them about the silver eyed clan, so you choose to ignore him for now and focus on Guts.
"It's a shame that witch passed away. No doubt she would have done some damage to the apostles I fought..." Guts seems to mourn the powerful Merlina, though more lamenting that he didn't find her first. "You're certainly no slouch yourself, fighitng not one apostle, but clearing an entire swamp with her while you know more about your real parents. You should be proud."
"I can't say I feel proud about letting her die... Merlina swam alone for so long, and just when I thought I could give her peace, she died washed up on the shore... She was probably waiting for me to come purify her soul in her last moments, but when you're born with such a burden on your back before you can even learn how to speak, it was foolish of me to think I could undo Hedwyn's sins without some of them coming my way..."
"You are what you are, Vlad. Don't beat yourself over it." Guts tries to snap you out of your depression, but Puck seems to think he has no room to say that.
"You're one to talk..."
"Right, guess I should tell you what you want to know." Guts finally takes some time to explain what happened after you've last seen him.
"When I said my goodbyes to the group, Griffith showed up and said I could only go away if I defeat him in a duel. It didn't take long, but I did not think he would take it personally when I came to Casca and invited her to come with me after I won. I imagined that since Griffith was planning to marry the princess and Casca would lose her place, that was the best time for her to do something else of her life."
"And what did she say?
"...Nothing. I thought that being more honest with the others would have eased my worries, much like how it happened with you and I. But she still stood to Griffith's side. Guess it served as a wakeup call that she'd rather stay with him..."
"After that, I decided to stick around in a blacksmith's house. Thought I could use some alone time after all that happened, but to my surprise... Casca eventually found her way at his house. She ran away as soon as the king started persecuting the falcons. Told me all about how you used magic to become an impostor according to the officials... Only to die on your cell."
