Back from the escape, the Hawks feel helpless due to Griffith's condition. Once they're ready, they go into a dungeon under the Tower of Rebirth, finding Griffith mutilated, disfigured and rendered mute. Casca has a plan to rescue Griffith from the Tower of Rebirth, where he is being held.

Guts goes to their aid, arriving in time as they battle a group of mercenaries. Guts, who spent a year training to become a better swordsman, eventually learns that the Hawks are now outlaws and that Casca has taken over as their leader. Consequently, Griffith is imprisoned and tortured while the rest of the Hawks are marked for death. Psychologically devastated by Guts' departure, Griffith, in a lapse of judgement, has sexual intercourse with Princess Charlotte-unaware that he is being watched. After defeating Griffith with a single swing of his sword, Guts reaffirms his decision and walks away. Griffith challenges Guts to a duel, telling him that he joined the Band of the Hawk because he lost, and that he can only leave the Hawks if he can defeat him. Some time after the Hawks' victory, Guts decides to leave the group to stop living for Griffith's dream. In the meantime, Guts develops a closest relationship with Casca, the Hawks' unit commander and only female member. The Band of the Hawk is eventually hired full-time by the kingdom of Midland, helping to win the Hundred Year War against the Tudor empire. At one point, Guts overhears a conversation between Griffith and Charlotte at a royal dinner party, where Griffith says that to him, a true friend is someone who has their own dream. While recovering, Griffith starts getting closer to the King of Midland's daughter, Charlotte. Guts encounters Immortal Zodd, a fearsome giant warrior, who after nearly killing him and Griffith, spares their lives upon seeing Griffith's Behelit, warning Guts of an inescapable death when Griffith's dream dies.

Three years later, the Band of the Hawk have grown in power and numbers, with Guts serving as a commander of the group. One day, Griffith shows Guts his Behelit, a mysterious demonic relic, and tells him about his dream to rule a kingdom of his own. Guts quickly rises through the ranks, becoming Griffith's best warrior. After being defeated by Griffith, the ambitious and charismatic leader of a fearsome mercenary group called the Band of the Hawk, Guts becomes a full member of the group. Guts is a lone mercenary warrior who wanders Midland looking for battles, driven solely by his will to survive.

Penpals tell me why berserk