Ice Castle

The Paladins climb the Gigantes Mountains with G.S's guidance, but crossing the range proves a much more difficult task than expected. Past the worst of it lies the Ice Crystal Trail — the exposed, high-altitude stretch where conditions are most extreme, and where the polished Holy Knights are plainly out of their element next to their scruffy guide.

After a series of twists and turns, the Paladins finally arrive in Laika Village. Having heard that an Ice Dragon lives nearby at the Ice Castle, Lacid wonders whether Ancient Dragons really exist, but sets the curiosity aside to keep pace with the Order. With help from the village's Chief Talikan, he learns the way back to Dagal from this stretch of the mountains — knowledge that will let him wander off on his own later without getting permanently lost.

Iyolin sincerely thanks G.S. for his hard work guiding the Order this far. Seeing this softer side of her, G.S. realizes she's a genuinely good person, contrary to what he'd assumed of a Holy Knight. Then a mysterious light draws Lacid's attention, and he slips away toward the Ice Castle alone.

As the Order finishes packing to leave for Dagal, they realize Lacid has disappeared and find a letter he's left behind in his tent. Learning he's gone to the Ice Castle, Iyolin heads there with Locarno; knowing there's no stopping the two of them, G.S quietly follows after they've already departed.

Iyolin and Locarno split up inside the castle to search for Lacid as quickly as possible. Arriving later than the others, G.S. searches for Iyolin and Locarno himself, but finds the castle far larger than expected; once he meets up with Iyolin, neither of them knows where Locarno has gotten to, though G.S. has a bad feeling about it.

Worried about Lacid, Iyolin is comforted by G.S. — and in the process he shares his own story for the first time: that he's lost his memories of the past and has traveled the continent searching for them without success. Iyolin, moved to learn this about him, comforts him in turn, and G.S. is struck by her kindness.

Deeper in the castle, the two of them find a mysterious ancient stone tablet. An ominous light bursts from it, and Iyolin — caught in its glow — falls into a hallucination and raises her sword against G.S.; he draws his own in response, desperate to calm her without hurting her. Once she comes back to her senses, she's horrified at what she nearly did, but G.S. reassures her that everything is fine, giving a bitter laugh and saying it was his own lost memory — no attachments, nothing left to hesitate over — that let him save her.

Unseen by the search party, the Ice Castle is under a separate, parallel assault: Beradin's forces strike to seize the God of Destruction statue that Xavier the Ice Dragon has stood guard over, grievously wounding him in the theft — the real cause of the near-death state Lacid finds him in, not simple old age or dormancy.

Venturing deep into the castle alone, Lacid encounters the Ancient Dragon Xavier, momentarily captivated by the majestic sight before he registers how close to death the dragon is. Driven by a desperate wish for Xavier to survive, Lacid's will manifests as a healing spell that saves the dragon's life — building on a moment from the Bashi Cave crossing, where he used recovery magic to save a gravely wounded ally for the first time, and deepening that commitment into a pact with the beast, his first real step from overprotected boy toward something more. Grateful, Xavier promises to repay him and teleports Lacid back to where Iyolin is waiting.

Reunited with Lacid at last, Iyolin scolds her brother the moment she sees him; deeply regretful of his recklessness, he apologizes, and the two return to Laika Village. Locarno, left alone in the castle when the group split up, doesn't make it back himself until three days later.

With the incident resolved, the Paladin Order finishes its preparations and departs for Dagal — Chief Talikan guiding the party the last frozen stretch from the ice fields once Xavier's pact is sealed. Just before they leave, Lacid feels a strange sensation, Xavier's farewell, and shouts a loud goodbye back toward the Ice Castle.

With G.S.'s help, the Order arrives safely in Dagal. In gratitude, Draupnir Mond, Chancellor of Pandragon, thanks G.S. on behalf of the Order and promises to ask around the city to see if anyone recognizes him, given his lost memory. With everything settled, G.S. says a brief farewell to Iyolin and leaves Dagal on his own — the first parting of the two since they met, with Draupnir's promise left as the thread that could bring him back into the story.