Hopefully they don't die as their characters have been way more developed than The Hawks, which is mainly why I do not see them getting slaughtered and remain optimistic. It's possible that Guts is aware that the beast will do something like this in the future and attempt to keep them all safe...
Hey Guys, First Post!
What I get from reading episode 290 is that the beast will lay dormant in Guts until the final battle with Griffith, where he will take control, or at least try. Which looks like its gonna be Guts unleashed, lol, sounds like fun. But the beast could take over before hand...