Silver Arrow

The Imperial Army invades Astania before the people can even celebrate the reclamation of Cutis. Imperial Governor Griam Lang, stationed in Imperial Pandragon, leads his troops to invade Astania, prompting the Allied forces to rush to Astania's aid — the invasion the Temple of the Sun warning (Chapter 7) anticipated.

Griam fields a Machina of his own — also named Asura (a second-class machine, distinct from the demonic sword that surfaces much later) — and in the course of the battle, Griam captures Erich Schultz, pilot of Astania's Garius, before the Alliance can bring him down. The Empire seizes another God of Destruction statue here amid the chaos.

The Paladin Corps devises a plan to strike the Imperial rear, but while making their way out of the Forest of the Gods to rendezvous with the Mercenary Corps, the Paladin Order is ambushed by the Black Shadows — the same covert unit first encountered back in Bifrost (Chapter 2). The Paladins are scattered by the Shadow Reaper, and Iyolin is forced to fight illusionary Paladins conjured by the enemy; furious once she realizes the whole thing was a trap, she wanders the forest afterward and encounters what turns out to be a fake G.S as well. The real G.S joins her shortly after, and together they cut down the impostor with the Dark Shadow Slash.

The Black Shadows try the trick again and are defeated a second time. Satisfied that he's bought enough time, Hanzo — Beradin's agent, last seen staging Vincent Bernstein's fake assassination in Chapter 6 — withdraws from the front lines.

The Allied Forces face off against Imperial commander Maddocks's unit in the Silent Forest, successfully withstanding his offensive and neutralizing his Manes Machina — Imperial tank units — before he's forced to retreat. The Allied Forces press on toward Astania Castle with the Machina El Jenaro, the same unit deployed back in Chapter 9 for the liberation of Cutis.

As Astania's guardian deity Garius and the Imperial Army stand off, the Allied Forces arrive at the rear. Griam splits his troops between the front and rear lines to prepare for battle — but having lost all his Asura units and suffered heavy troop losses, he's ultimately forced to retreat.

Rubens Heisenberg expresses his gratitude to the Allied Forces who fought to protect Astania. Recognizing the weakened Imperial position, the Paladin Order, Dagal, the Cutis Resistance, and the Astania Allied Forces officially declare the revival of Silver Arrow, with Iyolin recognized as its leader.

A victory banquet follows: as Iyolin enters the ballroom, she chooses G.S as her dance partner over the assembled nobility. The two dance, kiss — and she immediately hides her feelings, gets angry at him, and leaves alone to stare at the night sky. Locarno Stanley, consumed by jealousy watching them, causes a scene — the first hint of feelings of his own he never gets to act on.

Elsewhere, Karls Brandt — leader of the Four Imperial Guardians — reports to Beradin that the Imperial Army has been defeated and the Silver Arrow Alliance has been resurrected. Karls questions whether the Imperial Army's goal is still to unify the continent of Antaria; Beradin tells him there's a much bigger plan.