After his capture by Dilandau and the Dragon Slayers, Van is imprisoned aboard the Zaibach floating fortress Vione. Here, the Zaibach strategist Folken reveals his identity to Van and attempts to invite him into the folds of the empire. Fortunately, Hitomi uses her dowsing abilities to discover the Vione, and the crew of Allen's ship Crusade mount a rescue operation...

Hitomi, Van, and his attendant Merle are forced to depart from Paras in the wake of the devastation Dilandau caused. Allen is imprisoned for having abetted them, and Millerna learns that the Zaibach forces intend to invade Freid. As Millerna attempts to free Allen to warn Freid, Hitomi's party tries to disrupt the operations of a Zaibach Energist quarry. The ensuing events forces one of them to reveal a closely guarded secret ....