Episode 20 - Infinite Greed
As the Saint's Cradle rises toward the sky, it is now clear what Carim's prophecy meant by "the wings returned from the holy land under the dead king". Chrono contacts Hayate and informs him that the Dimensional Navy is on its way, but can't reach Mid-Childa for several more hours. He asks her to send Riot Force Six into action.
Scaglietti and the senior Numbers go over their battle plan with the others. Uno will return to base along with Tre, Sette and Sein, and Dieco and Quattro will take her place aboard the Cradle. Nove, Wendi and Deed will proceed with Number 13 (Ginga) towards Ground Forces HQ. He explains that the Cradle will be invincible once it reaches orbit and can draw magical power from Mid-Childa's moons. At that point, everyone on the surface will be their hostages, and even the Dimensional Navy won't be a threat.
Wendi asks Scaglietti who or what Vivio actually is. He replies that she was cloned from genetic material stolen from the Saint Church's most holy relic, the remains of the Saint King — ruler of ancient Belka and the focus of the Church's faith — because only a living Saint King can activate the Saint's Cradle. He goes on to describe how a high-ranking priest of the Church fell in love with a woman who caused him to steal the genetic material, which then made its way to Scaglietti's labs and, eventually, to Vivio's creation. Sein wonders about the identity of this conveniently-placed woman, but gets no answer. She also asks if it's going to be a problem that they're going against their sponsors, Regius and the High Council, but Jail says he'll deal with that.
The three members of the High Council are presently engaged in furious debate over Scaglietti's latest actions. They are revealed to be disembodied brains — the original founders of the TSAB, who abandoned their bodies generations ago to continue overseeing it from the shadows. Saying that Scaglietti is a valuable puppet, they are reluctant to eliminate him yet. As they discuss their options, a female officer enters, saying it's time for their maintenance. She says they seem worried, but they tell her not to be concerned. When her face is revealed, she bears a striking resemblance to the woman who seduced the Saint Church priest all those years ago...
Hayate has a hasty conference with Admiral Crowbell, one of the three Legendary Admirals in charge of the TSAB. She tells Crowbell it's clear that Regius and the High Council have been working with Scaglietti for a long time, only to be double-crossed by him now. Hayate then orders Riot Force Six to split into different groups to deal with the various threats: Scaglietti, the Cradle, and the Numbers (plus Zest) attacking the city.
Rein and Signum discuss the mysterious Zest and his Unison device, Agito. Signum says that his name is Zest Grangaitz, and he used to be a TSAB mage with the Ground Forces. However, according to Major Nakajima, he supposedly died eight years ago.
Nanoha gives the Forwards a quick pep talk, telling them they're good enough to handle any situation. As they get ready to leave, Subaru tries to reassure Nanoha about Vivio, but Nanoha ends up doing most of the reassuring.
Riot Force Six deploys in four groups: Fate, to join Verossa and Schach in going after Scaglietti; the Forwards, to intercept the Numbers heading for the city; Signum and Rein to go after Zest and Agito; and Nanoha, Vita, and Hayate to lead an assault on the Saint's Cradle. As they launch, Carim releases all of the captains' ability limiters and wishes them luck.
Uno arrives back at Scaglietti's base and reports on the position of the other Numbers. She mentions that Zest is also on the move, and worries that he might interfere somehow. Scaglietti says that won't be a problem — Due will be heading for Ground Forces HQ as soon as she finishes her current mission...
Back in the High Council chamber, the mysterious woman has sprouted Wolverine Claws and is in the process of slaughtering the council members. The council leader asks why she is doing this. She tells him they sealed their own fate when they created Jail Scaglietti, with the lost knowledge and infinite greed of ancient Al Hazard inside him. Her appearance morphs into that of a combat cyborg wearing the number 'II' as, with a Slasher Smile, she delivers the killing blow.
Hayate, Nanoha and Vita catch up to the Saint's Cradle along with a large force of TSAB aerial mages. The vessel is surrounded by a fleet of Gadgets, and a furious battle begins. Chrono and the Dimensional Navy won't arrive for another three hours; in the meantime, the Cradle continues its rise towards orbit...
Tropes
- Affectionate Gesture to the Head: Nanoha tenderly strokes Subaru's hair when the latter tries to encourage her. She follows this up by
cupping Subaru's cheeks in her hands as she delivers her Badass Boast (below). - Badass Boast: Nanoha answers Subaru's concerns with one."The Nanoha that you've always admired is an invincible Ace who won't lose to anybody."
- Call-Back: The episode title is a reference to the first line of Carim's prophecy: "In the land where ancient crystals and infinite greed gather and intertwine".
- Establishing Character Moment: Her appearance in this episode, while very brief, leaves little room for doubt about Due's nature.
- Finger-Lickin' Evil: Due does this after killing one of the High Council members, highlighting how creepy she is. Given the context, doubles as Squick.
- Hoist by Their Own Petard: The High Council. They created Scaglietti, with all his genius and ambition, to bring them unlimited power. They failed to realize that his very genius and ambition would never be satisfied merely existing as their puppet. Lampshaded by Due:"No matter what chain you place around his neck, or what prison you put him in, a power you cannot master will bring about your destruction."
- The Mole: Due, both in the Saint Church years ago, and in the TSAB now.
- The Reveal:
- Vivio is a clone of the last Saint King, ruler of ancient Belka and the only one capable of activating the Saint's Cradle.
- It's been heavily implied before now, but this is the first time it's openly stated that Regius and the High Council have been working with Scaglietti. Moreover, it's said that the High Council actually created him, although whether this is meant figuratively or literally is unclear.
- Due, the last Number to be accounted for, finally appears, as it's revealed just what she's been up to all this time.
- Slasher Smile: Jail gives a memorable one when he mentions Due. Due herself echoes it almost perfectly as she delivers her final killing blow against the High Council leader.
- This Cannot Be!: The High Council leader's last words amount to this.
- Utopia Justifies the Means: The High Council believe that illegal genetic engineering, development of dangerous forbidden technology, use of long-lost superweapons, and sponsoring a fanatical terrorist are all worth it in the name of preserving peace and order. Needless to say, this belief comes back to bite them in a terminal way.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: The TSAB High Council really do want to protect the dimensions and preserve the TSAB system which has maintained peace for so long. They just believe that no-one else can be trusted to do that, and so are determined to continue controlling everything from the shadows.
- Wolverine Claws: Due has these, which she uses to massacre the High Council.
