"A sculptor named Poeas." "He's one of the remaining unprocessed bioroids." "I'm sure you've heard we're on 24-hour personal security duty starting tomorrow." "Mm." "Daddy!" "Daddy!" "Daddy!" "Dear..." "Do you not feel the sadness of those who've been killed and those who loved them?" "!" "Bioroids are things." "Not human." "Wow!" "But aren't these?" "What's with that?" "It's something aging sculptors often do." "His grip has weakened to the point that this is the only way he can continue his work." "He wakes up every morning before sunrise almost as if exactly measured out." "Apparently that's been his life here for three straight years now." "Three years?" "!" "Deunan!" "Hitomi!" "I didn't know you were here!" "I am!" "Situation report? and went straight to bed." "huh?" "I'm guessing that's just how he's always lived." "Bioroids are things." "Not human." "Here!" "Hitomi!" "But you didn't need to go out of your way to bring me extra clothes." "What about the baby?" "Yoshitsune is looking after it!" "you know?" "This is nice recreation for me!" "They're simply puppets that hold no suspicion as they smile with their make-believe families." "huh? while others are like that old man and will dedicate their entire lives to creating art." "Yeah." "no!" "It's almost past milk time!" "Bye!" "She calls this recreation but rushes back home in a tizzy..." "Sheesh." "Maybe she came to see you because she was worried?" "Huh?" "Because this Deia stuff's taken a toll on you." "That concludes my report." "sending ES.W.A.T. members to guard me has certainly made things at home a bit lively." "Prime Minister Athena." "you say... though." "I assume they intend to utilize both FBI and ES.W.A.T. surveillance." "Wouldn't that be advantageous for the Administrative Bureau?" "You believe it's vital that you give the impression do you not?" "Are you saying being overly cautious could prove detrimental?" "Not at all." "I'm simply admiring your prudence." "I must be going now." "Neuro-augmentation should give you processing capacity that surpasses that of current Hekatoncheires." "the resultant neural strain and heat generation will be far worse than anything before." "I have no time for hesitation now." "I'm your business partner." "I'll cooperate in any way possible. could you stay as you are now?" "Such sad eyes..." "Do you know what this is?" "The Hydra." "Hydra? leading him to slay his own sons." "he performed twelve "labors." "The Nemean Lion..." "The Ceryneian Hind..." "The Erymanthian Boar..." "The Augean stables..." "The Stymphalean Birds..." "The Cretan Bull..." "The Mares of Diomedes..." "The girdle of the Queen of the Amazons..." "The Cattle of Geryon..." "The golden apples of the Hesperides..." "Cerberus... the Lernaean Hydra." "they'll all be done?" "I might not be able to sculpt this one." "Why not?" "It's the last one... it's about finding the breath of life residing within and revealing it." "I just can't seem to grasp the breath of life within this stone." "It's a keepsake from my late husband." "The sadness of losing someone is nothing like that." "So Hercules was a hero who was cursed by a god and made to kill the ones he loved..." "You mentioned sad eyes just now." "Mm." "I suddenly got a sense of such overwhelming sadness that the future doesn't seem worth living for." "huh..." "I'm sorry for saying something so strange even though I don't know anything about art... it's all right." "Might I ask your name?" "I'm Deunan Knute." "sent here to protect you." "huh?" "That's a strong name." "Like you're someone who never fails." "Naturally!" "The Hydra is a snake beast with nine heads." "two will quickly grow in its place." "So Hercules and his friend Iolaus teamed up to defeat it by burning its heads with torch flames and preventing them from growing back." "too? leaving salvation for none." "True sadness produces hate." "know someone like the Hydra." "just like hers was..." "Why did Hercules battle with hate that kept being born?" "Was it out of a sense of responsibility?" "Or maybe for redemption?" "This Hercules sculpture was modeled after someone." "It was?" "His name was Ercole." "He was a sculptor too." "We were a lot alike in many ways." "not a bioroid." "We joined the same workshop and polished our skills as if competing with each other." "a clear difference between us began to show. he would always have many supporters while I would have none at all." "He was the only one who acknowledged my works." "He would try to cheer me up with a smile." "But at some point he made the realization that his skill wasn't the reason his works were so well-received." "Gaia had produced bioroid supporters to keep human artists in Olympus regardless of the art they created." "he ended his life. because Gaia has cleverly avoided the risk of humans committing suicide upon feeling the despair of utter barrenness and futility." "for bioroids it's different." "I was told that I was a bioroid specifically engineered with the appropriate genes for overseeing and honing his skill." "it has been my job to do the work that he would have handled." "I was reminded of the dream Ercole told me about with a smile." "He dreamt of us working together on sculptures of a hero battling and overcoming all obstacles as he moved toward the future as a way to represent the history of this world as it will hopefully develop and progress toward the future." "I had hoped creating these twelve labors of Hercules would be a way to share that divine smile and dream of his and cyborgs who come to Olympus in search of paradise." "I just can't seem to sculpt this statue of Hercules battling the Hydra. perhaps the task is beyond me." "though." "He gave me a dream and good cheer." "I know he could've created a masterpiece that would've emboldened the people." "You aren't alone." "You've sculpted all alone all this time right?" "You inherited that ambition from Ercole." "I know you can do it." "Because your art has cheered me up." "You can do it." "I'm Miss Knute!" "you say..." "She's appeared at Eurys' manor!" "She's after Eurys?" "!" "Request backup!" "Ercole..." "Just a little more..." "Just a little more!" "I was about to say the same to you." "Same here!" "No life signs?" "The cockpit is unmanned!" "113!" "This one's a decoy!" "Head back!" "Don't tell me she can control that Landmate remotely?" "!" "Deia!" "It's done... I consider them all treasured family members." "Deia!" "Deia!" "I never imagined there were two of those Landmates." "It's not your fault." "Even a Hekatoncheires would have a hard time controlling two of those Landmates simultaneously." "It's quite possible Deia is no longer human..."