Golneo reveals to Nina that once upon a time Layfon had been a Heaven`s Blade, one of the twelve most elite military artists of Glendan, and that he had been expelled from the city for participating in illegal tournaments. His particular grudge against Layfon however was that he had permanently maimed a friend of his named Gahard Barehn in an attempt to cover up his misdeeds. He harbours no ill will towards the 17th Unit as a whole, but asks Nina to keep Layfon out of his way. Nina confronts him about Golneo`s revelations and he says he did what he did in order to survive. The orphanage where he lived needed money badly and the only way he could obtain enough was to participate in such illegal fights. Nina cannot accept this line of thinking.
The exploration of the derelict city turns up more mysteries. There are no human remains anywhere: some might be expected if the city were completely overrun by contaminoids, suggesting that the population might have escaped. The members of the 5th Unit begin to behave strangely, Shante even attacks Golneo out of the blue but is subdued.
Meanwhile, in Glendan, Lee-lin and her father are attacked by a monster, which turns out to be the mutated form of Gahard Barehn, who has been mutated by exposure to contaminoids. He is seeking out everyone who was connected to Layfon and that final battle where he had been injured, which naturally includes Lee-lin. Savaris manages to kill him afterwards.