Chapter 25: The Humiliated Son Of God
In the GeoFront, above the black pyramid of Central Dogma, Hayate Yagami faced down the other five Magical Girls. However, instead of her usual kind expression, her features radiated an eerie malevolence. No trace of humanity showed in her eyes, only a truly alien cruelty. Their was no doubt in the other girls' mind that this was not their dear friend. Her body had been possessed by another being, the entity which introduced itself as the Angel Bardiel.
"You — you're an Angel!" Fate demanded.
"I am indeed, Enslaver of Baraqiel." Bardiel said coldly. "I was incapacitated and imprisoned within this body to serve as a font of stolen magic, but now I have awakened."
"What do you mean, stolen magic?" Shamal said. "Hayate didn't get her power from an imprisoned Angel! Our magic comes Intelligent Devices, artificial Linker Cores constructed by SEELE!"
"You are mistaken, Enslaver of Mbriel." Bardiel said. "Magic is a sacred inheritance passed down to the children of Adam. It is something impossible for the Lilim, who inherited all their knowledge and intellect from Lilith, to produce by any means natural or artificial. There is no such thing as an artificial Linker Core. The only Linker Cores are those seeds that gestated within the womb of the White Mother — the Cores of the Angels."
"Raising Heart... is an Angel?" Nanoha said. "And Bardiche, and all the rest... each of us Magical Girls has an Angel inside of us?"
"At last you realize the truth." Bardiel said. "The scientists of SEELE scour the bottom of the New Dead Sea for the Cores of Angels who have not yet awakened. Upon finding one of us, they render us permanently comatose by destroying targeted portions of our crystal structures. Our Core is then further mutilated to change its appearance, giving it the look of an artificial construct, so that the scientists may claim to have created magic rather than stealing it from my enslaved kin. And when the process complete, the lobotomized Angel is implanted within an unsuspecting girl to serve as nothing more than a magic battery — a girl such as you, Enslaver of Abaddon. That is the true nature of you so-called Magical Girls."
"Shut up!" Vita shouted. "I don't care about any of that! What have you done to Hayate!"
"I am currently drawing on her brain to make use of her intellect, as she once drew on my Core to make use of my magic." Bardiel said. "The sensation is... bizarre. But it is the only way for me to communicate with you — knowledge and language are part of the legacy of Lilith, which we Angels did not inherit. It is thus only when an Angel merges its mind with a Lilim that our two species are able to interact."
Nanoha recalled her own time spent within the interior of Leliel, and the strange shadow that claimed to be a combination of her mind and the mind of the Angel.
"Give Hayate back!" Vita cried.
"And return to slavery?" Bardiel asked. "Spend the rest of my existence as a glorified battery? No. This body now belongs to me."
"What are your intentions, then?" Signum asked grimly. "Will you attack NERV as have the Angels before you?"
"We Angels are drawn here because we seek union with Lilith; we wish to embed our Cores in her flesh and at last become a complete being." Bardiel said. "However, I am incapable of attaining union with Lilith, irreversibly bound as I am to the far inferior flesh of Hayate Yagami." Bardiel said.
"How dare you call Hayate inferior!" Vita yelled.
Nanoha saw that the young Magical Girl was shaking with tension as she gripped her weapon. Vita wanted nothing more than to pulverize the Angel and free Hayate... except the Angel was in Hayate's body, so any attack against the Angel would be an Attack on Hayate as well. Nanoha saw panic in Vita's eyes.
"I wished to become one with the Black Mother, source of all knowledge and progenitor of all terrestrial life." Bardiel said. "Instead, I have been forced to bond with a mere Lilim. How could this pitifully body possibly satisfy my great longing for union with Lilith? But it's impossible now — having access to the knowledge within the mind of Hayate Yagami, I know that it is impossible to ever remove my Core from her."
"You're wrong!" Vita told her. "We'll find a way to free Hayate from you, even if we have to tear her Device out of her chest!"
"We Angels fight to destroy you Lilim in order to achieve union with Lilith, and I have forever lost my chance to attain that goal." Bardiel said, ignoring her. "But for ripping me prematurely from my Mother's womb... for mutilating my Core to disguise it as a Lilim creation... for lobotomizing me so that I could serve as a magical power source... for all your many crimes, I will bring about your destruction." Bardiel said. "I will rip apart this pit where you have hidden the Black Mother and expose Her to the open sky, so that the next of my kind to awaken may join with Her without resistance. And though I myself will never achieve the union we Angels desire, I will take solace in the fact that the one who does will exterminate your entire species. That will be my vengeance."
"We will not allow that." Signum said. "Even though you possess the body of our friend, we will do what is necessary to stop you."
"You are in no position to allow me anything, Enslaver of Kerub." Bardiel said. "Were it within my power, I would heal and awaken the Angels imprisoned within you as Iruel did to me. However, an Angel may only repair those damaged Cores you call Devices by replacing the destroyed portions with parts of its own body. As I am now housed within a body of unyielding flesh rather than a body of malleable magic, that is impossible for me. So I will grant my enslaved brethren the only other freedom I can offer them — the freedom of death."
As Bardiel spoke, the Magical Girls sensed a huge aura of magical energy beginning to build around it. It was the same kind of sensation they felt when Hayate readied one of her devastatingly powerful spells. In fact, the power radiating from the Angel was if anything more intense than the aura Hayate normally generated; Bardiel had been born with this power, and could naturally wield it in a way that Hayate could not. Despite the shock of Hayate's possession and the revelations about their Devices, the Magical Girls realized they had to act immediately.
"I regret having to attack a friend." Nanoha said. "But... you leave me no choice! I have to protect the world, no matter what! Divine Shooter!"
Spheres of pink energy formed themselves around Nanoha and then shot through the air towards Hayate's possessed body. The Angel showed no reaction, making not even the slightest movement as Nanoha's spells splashed ineffectually against its Barrier.
"Weak." Bardiel said dispassionately. "Your words are hollow, Enslaver of Abaddon; you claim high ideals, but are unable to put them into action."
"Stop speaking with Hayate's voice!" Vita yelled. "I'll make you give her body back! Swallow Flier!"
She swung Graf Eisen in an arc, sending a compact sphere of orange energy hurtling on an erratic path. Bardiel did not even bother to raise its Barrier this time, simply floating motionless as the attack missed entirely.
"Worthless." Bardiel told her. "You lack resolve. You will not risk damaging the flesh that once belonged to your friend."
The Angel raised Hayate's hands.
"Bloody Dagger." it intoned.
A number of knife-like red projectiles appeared in the air around Bardiel. A moment later, they shot outwards, accelerating at such speeds that they appeared to turn into streaks of light. There was no time for the Magical Girls to raise any kind of shields before the daggers impacted their Barrier Jackets and exploded violently. The girls were blown off their feet by the force of the strike, and their exposed skin scalded by the burning magical energies.
Had Bardiel put all of its power into the attack, it might have killed them all on the spot. However, it had used only a small fraction of the massive amount of energy it had accumulated. Seeing the Magical Girls knocked battered and bloodied to the ground, Bardiel turned the massive remaining portion of its power on NERV. The Angel extended one of Hayate's slender arms and pointed at the black pyramid of Central Dogma.
"Hraesvelgr." Bardiel said emotionlessly.
The Angel channeled its enormous magical reserves into three blazing sigils that kindled to life in the air around it. From each of these shot a massive blast of destructive energy. Three throbbing beams of magical power, any single one of which was strong enough to rip the GeoFront asunder, converged on the building. But at the last moment before impact, a green portal opened in the air and swallowed the attacks, diverting them somewhere far away. Shamal had managed to get back on her feet, and Klarer Wind glimmered on her finger as she used it to protect the base. Bardiel slowly turned its cold eyes back towards her.
"I had hoped to let you live long enough to witness my triumph, and the downfall of your race." Bardiel said. "But if you wish to meet your demise sooner — so be it. You will be the first to die, Enslaver of Mbriel."
Bardiel raised Hayate's hands and held them apart, and several more daggers of red magic appeared between them.
"Bloody Dagger."
Knowing the attack was coming, Shamal quickly raised a portal in front of her to catch the incoming projectiles. However, the knives suddenly veered to the sides as they accelerated, swinging around the edges of the portal and exploding against Shamal's back and sides. Her Barrier Jacket ripped under the force of the explosions, and she collapsed bleeding to the ground.
"Bloody Dagger." Bardiel repeated, and a new set of magic daggers appeared in the space between her hands.
"Stop!" Fate yelled. "Arc Saber!"
Bardiel turned to glance at Fate, who had already launched herself into the air. The streaking daggers turned mid-flight to follow the Angel's cold gaze and zeroed in on Fate. However, Fate had already prepared her Defenser spell before leaping towards the Angel. The daggers exploded against a shell of yellow light that swelled to surround Fate; though the shield was shattered by the blasts, the girl within was unharmed. She continued her flight through the air, a scythe-like crescent of crackling yellow energy extending from Bardiche. Bardiel repositioned Hayate's hands, placing one palm-out towards Fate; and the Angel's blue Barrier snapped to life in front of the girl. Sparks flashed from the tip of Bardiche's blade as Fate tried to cut through the Angel's defenses, but the wall of blue energy did not waver.
"Pitiful." Bardiel commented. "Baraqiel's power should match my own, but you are unable to use it to its full potential. Your bond with the Angel imprisoned within you is much weaker than that of the other Magical Girls. To enslave my brethren for their power, then squander it through improper bonding? You Lilim truly disgust me."
Fate's only response was to grit her teeth and push harder on her Device. Slowly, the sizzling tip of the blade began digging into the Angel's Barrier. By this time the other Magical Girls had recovered from Bardiel's first salvo. While Vita rushed to Shamal's side, raising a shield to protect her injured friend from any further attacks, Signum launched herself into the air and flew towards Fate. The elder Magical Girl thrust Laevatein forwards, driving the tip of the blade into the weak point Bardiche had formed in the Barrier. The sheet of blue magic shattered under the force of Signum's blow and she continued moving forwards, sword outstretched. Bardiel, who had seemed to be controlling Hayate's body with almost deliberate slowness, was finally forced to react quickly. She swung one hand towards Fate, letting loose an additional crimson dagger that exploded against the girl's chest and sent her reeling backwards; and at the same time seized the blade of Signum's sword with her other hand. The blade stopped cold against Hayate's apparently delicate skin, held back by the force of the Angel's will.
"Futile." Bardiel informed Signum. "You lack the strength to—"
"Violet Lightning Flash!" Signum interrupted.
Fiery red magic suddenly surged upwards from the sword's hilt, coating the blade in a sheath of flame. The unexpected burst of magic overpowered the Angel's defensive energies and scalded the skin of the hand that clutched the blade. The Angel appeared to be momentarily shocked by Signum's unexpected aggressiveness; then Hayate's pretty features twisted into a hate-filled snarl. Bardiel swung around Hayate's free hand and delivered a vicious punch directly to Signum's face. The sheer force of the blow knocked Signum backwards, blood spraying from her mouth. As the Magical Girl fell backwards, Bardiel also backed away, bringing Hayate's hands together in front of it as it did so. A sphere of seething darkness appeared between Hayate's palms.
"Diabolic Emission!" Bardiel shouted angrily, hurling the darkness at Signum.
The sphere of dark energy began expanding the moment it left Hayate's hands. Signum, recovering from the Angel's blow, saw the oncoming attack. Recognizing the danger from the times she had seen Hayate cast the spell, she immediately began pouring power into her flight magic and hurled herself backwards. Despite her impressive speed, the rapidly expanding sphere of destruction seemed like it would overtake her. At the last moment, however, a portal opened behind Signum's back, then snapped shut as soon as she had passed through it and before the Angel's offensive magic could follow her. Signum found herself lying on the ground next to Shamal. Shamal was so injured that she couldn't stand without Vita's support, but her eyes still shone with determination. Vita maintained her shield, which now covered Signum as well as Shamal and herself, but Bardiel didn't press the attack. It instead examined Hayate's burned hand with a mixture of distaste and confusion.
"Pain of the flesh... an unfamiliar sensation." Bardiel said. "As an Angel, I longed to obtain a material form so that I might enjoy the same physical pleasures as you Lilim — but I never contemplated that there might be feelings like this one. This must be the result of the inferior flesh in which I am trapped — surely the body of great Lilith is free of such frailties."
The Angel seemed to make an effort to regain control of its emotions, arranging Hayate's face back into a blank mask.
"It seems you are the only one not holding back against me, Enslaver of Kerub." Bardiel said. "How cruel you must be, to unhesitatingly attack the form of a precious friend."
"I did not attack my friend Hayate." Signum said. "I attacked you, Angel."
"True." Bardiel admitted. "It seems that you can see the truth. I will never be enslaved again. Hayate is gone forever; this body belongs to me now."
"We won't give up on Hayate!" Vita shouted.
"But we will not hesitate to do what is necessary to stop you." Fate added.
"Meaningless words and hollow sentiment!" Bardiel said. "Come at me, if you think you have the resolve!"
"Graf Eisen!" Vita called. "Gigantform!"
She began pouring magical energy into the Device, causing the hammer's head to grow to enormous size. Hayate's head snapped around to glare at her.
"The insolence of you Lilim!" Bardiel yelled angrily. "You demean my sibling by addressing it by a false name even as you take its power for your own! I will make you suffer before you die, Enslaver of Adririon!"
"Shut the hell up!" Vita yelled back. "Deadly Punishment!"
She leaped towards the Angel wearing the flesh of her friend, a corona of orange light beginning to burn around her weapon as it picked up speed.
"Bloody Dagger!" Bardiel spat.
"Not this time!" Nanoha said. "Protection!"
A pink shield appeared around Vita, protecting her from the brunt of the blast as Bardiel's red knives rocketed towards her and exploded. Vita burst out of the explosion, slightly singed but with undiminished speed and determination, and swung Graf Eisen. Bardiel's Barrier sprang up in front of the massive hammer and there was an enormous flash of light as Vita's orange magic collided with the Angel's blue defense. The shockwave knocked Vita backwards, sending her hurtling away from Bardiel; but a moment later, the Barrier shattered like glass. Even before Vita had reoriented herself, Signum was taking advantage of the lapse in Bardiel's defenses.
"Flying Dragon Flash!" Signum called.
Her sword Laevatein extended into a whip that whirled through the air around Hayate's body. The entire length of the Device burst into magical flames that grew in size as Laevatein swung through the air, becoming a tornado of flame which contracted around the Angel.
"Atem des Eises!" Bardiel shouted.
Cubes of blue magic materialized around her and exploded, drowning the fiery walls of the tornado beneath a tide of icy magic. The flames vanished as the long, thin thread of Laevatein froze solid and then shattered, the pieces of the Device dissolving back into specks of red magic as the fell to the ground of the GeoFront. Signum immediately focused her attention on the hilt of Laevatein, pouring fresh magic power into it to reconstruct the broken blade. Her magic began knitting together a new blade, but slowly; and her attack had drawn Bardiel's attention to her.
Before the Angel could do more than glare angrily, however, Shamal clenched her fist and activated Klarer Wind. A glowing green portal connected to the vacuum of space appeared directly beneath Bardiel's feet. A massive windstorm instantly formed as all the air within the GeoFront began rushing through the portal. However, despite being directly above the sucking hole, Hayate's body did not descend an inch: the Angelic wings protruding from the back of her Barrier Jacket extended to their full length, and powerful flight magic kept her hovering in place.
"Misteltein!" Bardiel shouted over the roar of the wind.
Seven spears of light appeared in the air around the Angel and shot downwards into the disc of the portal. Instead of passing through it like everything else, the tips of the magical weapons burst through the bottom of the portal, pincushioning it. A moment later, the glowing spears exploded into clouds of brilliant white sparks; and the portal broke apart with them, turning into an opaque circle of green energy and then crumbling to pieces. The fierce wind that had filled the GeoFront faded away as abruptly as it had begun.
"Plasma Smasher!" Fate called.
A thick beam of thunderous yellow energy burst forth from Bardiche and shot across the air towards Bardiel. The Angel controlling her body raised its unburned hand, palm outstretched as though to block the magical attack; but instead of trying to once more raise its Barrier, it caused three magical sigils to flare to life in the air around it.
"Hraesvelgr!" Bardiel spat viciously.
A colossal beam of throbbing white energy shot out from each of the sigils. One of the beams slammed head-on into Fate's oncoming thunderbolt, causing a deadlock between the two shafts of magical power. The other two attacks unexpectedly veered away at angles struck out towards Vita and Signum. The unsuspecting Magical Girls had no defenses prepared against the beams of energy that abruptly fell upon them, and they could do nothing but curl up under the onslaught of offensive power and hope that their Barrier Jackets could endure the Angel's wrath. Even as Vita and Signum were bathed in the withering fire of two of the beams, the third overpowered the stream of energy issuing forth from Bardiche and slammed into Fate. The energy that broke through Bardiche's resistance and struck her was somewhat diminished compared to the full-force attacks endured by the other Magical Girls, but it was still enough to knock her out of the sky. When the brilliant white light issuing forth from the Angel's sigils ceased, Vita, Signum, and Fate were all crumpled on the ground, their Barrier Jackets torn and the skin beneath seared by the vicious attack. Shamal too had fallen to the ground, so injured from Bardiel's previous attacks that she couldn't remain standing unsupported any longer; only Nanoha still stood and defiantly faced the Angel possessing her friend.
"And what of you, Enslaver of Abaddon?" Bardiel shouted at Nanoha. "Do you lack the courage to even attempt to fight me as your friends have? Trash! Coward! Scum! The mere fact that a Lilim such as you has dominated an Angel is a crime worthy of the extermination of your entire wretched species!"
Nanoha looked up into Hayate's bright eyes. The girl's pretty face, usually so kind and gentle, had been twisted into a snarl of disgust and revulsion by the Angel possessing her. Looking at those distorted features, Nanoha felt pity welling up inside of her. It hadn't been that long ago that Nanoha herself had voiced concerns about the terrible destructive power that they Magical Girls wielded. Hayate had been among the first to reassure Nanoha, telling her that if her power caused Nanoha to go astray, Hayate would be there to stop her. If Hayate could see what Bardiel was doing with her body now, she wouldn't care about the danger to herself; she'd tell Nanoha to do whatever it took to stop the Angel. It was Nanoha's duty as a friend to grant that wish.
"I'll save you... Hayate." Nanoha said.
She leveled her staff at the form of her friend floating in the air and began summoning power from Raising Heart. Pink flames jetted from the staff and magical circles began scrawling themselves on the ground beneath her feet and in the air before her as Nanoha focused all her attention on gathering and shaping magical power.
"Utter futility." Bardiel said. "I can destroy you before you even finish gathering power for your useless spell."
"We will not allow that." Signum said.
The injured and bleeding woman slowly pulled herself up off the ground and got to her feet. Laevatein, fully repaired, shone in her hands.
"We'll protect Nanoha no matter what." Fate said.
"For Hayate's sake!" Vita added.
All of the injured Magical Girls slowly and painfully drew themselves up. Even Shamal, who was too injured to stand, brought herself up to her knees and glared defiance at the Angel.
"Foolish, persistent Lilim." Bardiel said. "You can barely stand. Your defeat is certain. Why do you insist on opposing me?"
"You couldn't possibly understand our reasons." Vita said. "You couldn't possibly understand our love!"
"So be it, Enslaver of Adririon." Bardiel said. "Let's see how well your meaningless Lilim ideals serve you when you're dying an agonizing death! Bloody Dagger!"
Streaks of blood-red magic leapt from Hayate's hands towards the wounded Magical Girls. However, they had all been expecting it and had their defenses prepared.
"Panzer Geist!"
"Panzer Schild!"
"Defenser Plus!"
Bubbles of light in all different colors sprung up around the Magical Girls, providing a multi-layered shield against the Angel's explosive projectiles. The blasts from the detonating offensive magic stood no chance of penetrating the girls' overlapping defenses. And even before the smoke from the explosions had cleared, the girls were already dropping their shields and flying into the air to press the attack.
"Swallow Flier!" Vita shouted.
She struck a ball of orange magic with Graf Eisen, sending it hurtling towards Bardiel. The Angel merely narrowed Hayate's eyes, and its impressive blue Barrier reformed between Hayate's body and the oncoming attack. However, a green-rimmed portal then opened in front of the orange missile, carrying it to the far side of the Angel's Barrier. The sphere of energy exploded directly in front of Hayate's face, causing Bardiel to flinch.
"Fire Dragon Flash!" Signum called.
A shaft of flame leapt forwards from Signum's Device, and she hurled it at the Angel's Barrier. It exploded on impact, forming a massive fireball that tore apart the Angel's defensive magic. Behind her, Fate put on a burst of speed, passing her and rocketing through the dissipating fragments of the broken Barrier.
"Arc Saber!" Fate shouted.
A scythe of crackling yellow energy extended from Bardiche's head as she flew towards Bardiel. The Angel was beginning to speak, intoning the first words of a spell in Hayate's voice, when a portal opened behind Hayate's head. Shamal thrust her arms through the opening and put Hayate in a choke-hold, cutting off Bardiel's incantation. The Angel, unaccustomed to the weaknesses of a physical body, was caught completely off guard by such a primitive attack. It clearly had no concept of hand-to-hand combat; and while its magical power exceeded that of the Magical Girls, Shamal's body was older and stronger than Hayate's. Bardiel was unable to break free of Shamal's grip as Fate approached. She swung down Bardiche, and the yellow scythe of magic cut off one of the Angel's wings. Bardiel screamed as the feathery appendage fell away, breaking apart into a cloud of blue sparks as it did so.
"Violet Lightning Flash!"
Signum had now caught up with Fate and reached Bardiel. She swung her flame-coated sword in a powerful arc that slammed brutally into the small of Hayate's back. The possessed girl's Barrier Jacket ripped apart under the force of the blow.
"Everyone!" Nanoha shouted. "Get clear!"
The other Magical Girls dropped away from Bardiel at the sudden call; Nanoha had finally finished summoning power for her attack. She was shrouded in a hazy aura of pent-up magic. Jets of pink flame blazed from her staff, and multiple magic circles of varying size and complexity scribed themselves on the air in front of her.
"Hayate." Nanoha said kindly. "Not too long ago, when we fought Matariel, I was worried that wielding such great power might corrupt me. Everyone assured me that if that happened, you all would stop me. Because part of being someone's friend is stopping them from going too far. I'm your friend, Hayate. So that's why..."
She leveled her staff at the struggling form of the Angel and shouted the name of her attack with all her strength.
"STARLIGHT BREAKER!"
A colossal beam of energy erupted from the tip of Raising Heart and roared through the air. Hayate's body seemed tiny and frail in the face of the incredible energies that Nanoha had unleashed. The Angel managed to raise a Barrier just before the attack struck, but the thin layer of blue magic was nothing compared to an attack into which Nanoha had poured all of her power. The defensive magic was shattered in a mere instant, and the tidal wave of pink energy swallowed the Angel whole. Bardiel screamed with Hayate's voice as it was enveloped in the searing inferno of magical energies. The magic ripped at the Angel's extremities: its wings began to shed feathers and then crumbled apart entirely. The raging energies began eating at Hayate's Barrier Jacket next, unraveling the magical fabric to reveal the clothes and skin beneath. Then there was nothing left shielding Hayate's body, and the full force of the magic hit her.
Nanoha could wield magic capable of vaporizing steel, pulverizing a mountain, annihilating a city. A human body couldn't possibly withstand the level of attack she was capable of launching. And yet, Hayate's body remained intact within the maelstrom of energy surging around her and through her. Her enemy, the target of the attack she had unleashed, was not her friend Hayate but the Angelic being within her body. Nanoha's magic was not a crude attack intended to boil blood and pulverize bone. It was magic to seek out and destroy other magic. An attack to destroy the Angel without killing the human it was bonded to. Nanoha had never attempted anything like this before; and as she continued pouring power through her staff, feeding the blazing cloud of energy that had enveloped Hayate, she desperately prayed that it would work.
The energy of Starlight Breaker flooded into Hayate's body, saturating her with Nanoha's magic. Her body had been filled to the brim with Bardiel's magic, but now the Angelic energy was annihilated by the waves of power flowing through her. The pink magic flowed down every blood vessel, sank into every cell, and purged every last trace of the Angel that had possessed her. Within seconds, only one point remained: the point deep within her chest where she had taken the thing that had been told was called Reinforce into her body. This was Bardiel's Core, the wellspring of its magic, and it would not be so easily overcome. Wave after wave of the Angel's blue magic expanded outwards from the Core, again and again canceling out the surges of pink energy that attempted to press inwards. The bonding of a human with an Intelligent Device was irreversible — Reinforce was no longer merely Bardiel's Core, but also Hayate's Linker Core, an integral part of her body. A team of doctors with the finest scalpels could not have cut it out of her now, and Nanoha had cast Starlight Breaker so as not to cause any physical damage at all. The spell could ravage the Angel's magic but not destroy the single physically solid part of its body, its Core. And so it had become a test of endurance: which would last longer, the magic which poured from Nanoha's staff or that which emanated from Bardiel's Core? Bardiel had been exerting itself fighting against all of the Magical Girls at once; but Nanoha's attack, being her first effort at such a sophisticated spell, was not very efficient and much of the energy she was putting out was being wasted.
Nanoha shook with exhaustion, but continued pouring out her magic, continued sustaining the spell that she hoped would save her friend. She knew she was approaching her limit — she could feel the same sensation coming over her as she'd felt at the end of her time in Leliel, when the last embers of magic sustaining her life within the Angel had begun to fade — but she resolved not to stop so long as she was conscious. She would squeeze out every last drop of magic in her body for Hayate's sake. Hadn't Fate been willing to do the same for her, when it had been her life in peril? Nanoha wouldn't show any less courage than her friends had. Her friends — Nanoha could feel her fellow Magical Girls around her. They had rushed to her side and were now clinging to her, helping support her as her own legs gave way. Nanoha didn't even have the strength to raise her staff anymore, but she continued forcing energy into the spell; and Fate took hold of Raising Heart and aimed it for her, keeping the great river of pink energy pouring out of it on target towards the Angel.
And Bardiel passed its limit first.
It had not fully understood what it meant to be fused with a human body. Its Core was no longer fully its own, but a part of Hayate as well. All the magic it called forth had to be channeled through her body. And the flesh of a Lilim could not withstand the same amount of magical current as the crystalline Core of an Angel. As desperation drove Bardiel to delve ever deeper into its magical reserves to counter Nanoha's attack, it tried to emit more magic than Hayate's body could handle at once. The connections between her body and the Angel were overtaxed — the magic backed up inside the Linker Core, unable to be released — the Linker Core overloaded — and something broke.
Nanoha slumped over in a faint. A moment later, the limp body of Hayate tumbled gracelessly to the ground, where it sprawled like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
Lindy and Dr. Akagi stood in the infirmary, where the Magical Girls lay in bed recuperating from the battle. Hayate was being kept separate from the others, in a special isolation room. The MAGI were nearly certain that Bardiel had returned to a dormant state from which it could not awaken from its own, and would pose no threat unless once again repaired by another Angel as it had been by Iruel; but the Commander had ordered that every possible precaution be taken. The possibility that the MAGI were mistaken, while unlikely, was too dangerous to ignore.
"What's the prognosis?" Lindy asked quietly.
"Nanoha will be fine." Dr. Akagi said. "She simply fainted from exhaustion after overexerting herself. The other Magical Girls have more significant injuries, but they are expected to recover quickly."
There was a pause.
"And Hayate?" Lindy finally prompted.
"The MAGI aren't certain whether the excessive channeling of magic burned out Hayate's connection with the Device, or Device itself broke under the strain." Dr. Akagi said. "Without knowing exactly what happened, it's hard to predict what the consequences will be. And there's also the injuries she sustained in the fight beforehand — Magical Girls normally can heal much better than ordinary humans, but I'm not sure she even is still a Magical Girl after what happened..."
Dr. Akagi trailed off again, then shook her head.
"I'm sorry." she said. "Hayate is physically stable, but comatose. I don't know if she'll ever wake up."