I feel bad about you being a guinea pig for us.
Schoolmaster Smiley, you saved my life.
I'll endure any kind of suffering.
Wonderful sense of commitment.
Your dead father would be proud of you for being so useful.
I'm scared, Mom. Where are we going?
Hurry, we must go.
Stop right there.
Let us go.
Charlotte, listen. The experiment failed.
I… was a failure?
Hemiteos modifications were incomplete. Jessica sabotaged the device.
Mom did?
No, Charlotte.
Don't worry.
No matter the result, you're like my daughter.
In place of your dead father, I will love you as my daughter.
You'll be my father?
So just come back here to my side, Charlotte.
Shut up, Smiley!
This is where your plan ends.
Mom?
There's no other choice now.
A parent murdering their child?
Well, I'll forgive your sin.
Come back with us and complete your daughter's Hemiteos modifications.
Make your daughter into my bride to bear my child.
Never!
Aren't you concerned about her life?
You can't kill her because it's still possible for her to be fully adaptable.
But I will never let her be yours. I swear I'll save her someday.
You're neither human nor machine. You're nothing but a sex doll.
You can't love anyone, no one loves you. You'll never have a child.
I'm going to overcome my fate. Kill her.
Charlotte… You…
Please, save my daughter.
Black Rock Shooter.
You should forget about your mother who tried to kill her own daughter.
Don't worry.
You will fight for me and someday you will conceive my child.
Only I can love you whether you'll be a Hemiteos Unit or not.
Schoolmaster Smiley.
The experience of almost being killed by her own mother traumatized her deeply.
She was moved to tears by my love, and pledged her lifelong loyalty to me.
So that's how you completed her brainwashing?
What a plotter!
Did you call for me?
Those guys made it to Cartagena. They'll reach the Orbital Elevator soon.
Yes, I knew that.
Well, if you don't do something, they'll topple the Tower of God.
Although, my actual body's on the moon,
and I don't care at all about equipment on the Earth being destroyed.
Just rebuild and it's all okay.
We'll destroy the whole Earth someday anyway.
Schoolmaster Smiley.
I promise I will kill Empress.
Then, we have to find Light House No. 8.
I don't take orders from you.
If you go to Light House No. 8, you can become a complete Hemiteos Unit.
You should hurry. That's the goal of Black Rock Shooter and the others.
Empress still has a high fever.
According to Black Trike,
the only solution is to recalibrate her body.
There's no other choice but to look for Light House No. 8.
The Orbital Elevator is close by now. We didn't need this detour.
BOGOTA, CAPITAL OF COLOMBIA
From Earth to the moon, then into space. Elysion Project has commenced.
Hello. Welcome to Light House No. 8.
Can I ask you your name?
I don't have a name.
Then, pick a card.
A name will connect you to the world.
And connect people to other people.
I'm Jessica. I'm a teacher at this orphanage.
Jessica.
Yes. Why don't you show me your card that will decide your name?
Here.
Wow! This is the Empress card with very good meanings
-like happiness, love… -Empress.
-and prosperity. -Empress.
She's awake.
Where are we?
This city used to be Bogota, the capital of Colombia.
Really, it's totally desolate.
It's the home city of the Elevator.
Too many drones around for humans to live here.
We got here following your directions. Are you sure this is the place?
Yes. According to the salvaged data,
there's a building registered by the name Light House No. 8 in the center of town.
If we go there, I might be able to find out
what my mission is, and what Hemiteos Units really are.
Quiet down, pay attention.
-By DNA computer analysis, Hemiteos Units… -Were you transferred here?
What…
From today we'll be training partners, I'm told.
I'm Empress, and you are?
I'm a demon.
They say my horns are weird, like a monster.
I think your horns are cool, like a deer in the woods.
An angel…
Never mind, it's nothing. But I don't have a name.
Then pick a card.
"Death."
Maybe you should be Dead Master. It sounds cooler than a demon.
-Really? -Yes.
I'm Dead Master.
So starting from today…
-We're on the same team. -We're on the same team.
Good morning, my angel.
Where's the Light House?
It's right here. We're at Light House No. 8.
What?
It seems to have collapsed in the war.
We strolled around the facility. There is no info on Hemiteos Units.
But why…
Well, if Hemiteos Units were mankind's secret weapon,
I guess Lunatic's gang wouldn't leave this place alone.
Are you here to make wisecracks, you hooligan?
What did you say? It's just the opposite. I came to say I found a clue.
This isn't Light House?
Don't you think an orphanage would be too out in the open for secret research?
So you think the research lab for Hemiteos Units is somewhere else?
That's right.
Your deployment has been decided.
They'll give us the details later.
Our duty was mainly to guard.
Light House No. 8 was an experimental lab for creating top-quality soldiers.
Were we so easily deceived?
I don't think they deceived us.
If I hadn't come here, I would have died long ago.
I thought my life was over when I lost both of my arms.
When I became a Hemiteos Unit, I got these big arms. Not bad, actually.
Who are we going to fight?
If we battle humans, we'll have to kill humans.
I don't care who. I'll kill them all.
I'm Strength. I'm absolute power.
They said our powers are something special.
If that's true, what's important is not who we fight.
It's what we're fighting for, and that is our choice.
Then what are you going to fight for?
I want to fight to protect those I care for.
What? Do you have someone you care for other than me?
Isn't that irrelevant?
It's Jessica. I don't want to disappoint her.
Oh, the teacher. I see.
Of course, I care for you two as well. If it's for my friends, I'm able to fight.
The orphanage had a deed for the rights to an emerald mine in Light Houses' name.
Yes, but there aren't any records of them actually trading emeralds.
It's more logical to think that they were using the mine for other purposes.
Their numbers have increased.
What?
The number of drones.
We'll keep a lookout in this area. You wait here, Strength.
Monica, go inside with those two and quickly check the mine.
Okay.
This is Light House.
What's this?
It seems to be some kind of laboratory.
All of the electric power in this mine is concentrated here.
What could this be?
There's something tucked between the tarot cards.
A high-capacity storage medium.
I guess I should play it back, huh?
Play it.
November 27, 2052.
The Peacebuilding Force decided
to completely abandon Hemiteos Project and Light House.
Jessica.
You mean, the Colonel's wife?
I know this person.
My name is Jessica. I'm a Hemiteos Unit, just like you.
It's definitely her. Jessica.
But Colonel, did you know your wife was a Hemiteos Unit?
No, it's news to me too.
Should I play the rest?
Let's watch it. I want to know the truth too.
Using biological nanomachines, Arche, which reproduce infinitely,
Elysion Project's purpose was to build a semipermanent infrastructure.
I assisted the Peacebuilding Force's research into creating ultimate soldiers.
They were called Hemiteos Units, and I was a trial subject, at Light House No. 8.
Code Name, Stella.
But my Hemiteos modifications failed because I was too old.
So to acquire girls of adequate age which were teenagers, many orphanages
called Light Houses were built around the world.
And complete and functional Hemiteos Units were created.
But right around that time, Artemis' uprising began.
Hemiteos Units that existed to guard the project
were sent to the front lines and died in the battles.
Only three high-performance Units survived.
They were Empress, Dead Master, and Strength.
As the war situation deteriorated,
initial specimens like me were to be recalibrated.
But Empress' team was defeated before that happened,
and the Peacebuilding Force lost the war.
The project was canceled, and the Light Houses were closed.
I hid my identity and started life as a normal human being.
I even lied to the man who became my husband.
Because anyone who discovered my secret would be in great danger.
And yet, my daughter and I were kidnapped by the Educational Institution.
That man Smiley said my husband was dead.
But I don't believe my husband was killed.
So if you meet my husband, I want you to tell him…
In a life full of lies, meeting you, my husband
and birthing Charlotte were my few truly happy moments.
Thank you, David.
From here are the records of the experiments by the Institution.
They tried to force me to create a Hemiteos Unit.
My daughter, Charlotte, was the subject of the experiment.
But I planted a virus in their device's program.
I'll let my daughter escape during the system disruption.
I firmly believe that this record and my daughter will make it out.
And if this video is found,
that means you came back, Empress.
You fought longer than anyone else.
You fought but finally lost to Lunatic.
You were wounded and disappeared.
But I knew you would reappear someday.
Welcome back to our home.
I'm… home.
I couldn't prevent you girls from being pulled into the war.
I knew you would be hurt but I closed my eyes to it.
Still, I'm begging you. If I fail to help my daughter, Charlotte…
please save her.
Jessica.
I'm entrusting this to you.
The Hemiteos proteins in your body can be recalibrated by entering this pod.
That means...
This pod has the capability to enhance or erase the power of the Hemiteos Units.
Empress, you have the freedom to choose either option.
It seems that this device only has enough battery power to be used once.
If we use it to recalibrate Empress, Charlotte's powers can't be erased.
Start the recalibration of Empress.
But--
We're not out of options.
Lunatic said it would be a problem if Charlotte was abducted from them.
If Charlotte was a perfectly brainwashed Hemiteos Unit,
that shouldn't be a problem.
I'll secure the area.
Colonel.
I promise I'll save Charlotte.
Finish as quickly as possible. We don't have time to waste now.
Got it.
The Educational Institution is approaching. They found us, I see.
Many tank-class vehicles are coming. You need to retreat!
Strength will deal with the tanks. Retreat into the tunnel. Hurry!
There's no other choice now.
This is for Schoolmaster Smiley.
How dare you interrupt her once-in-a-lifetime makeover, you brat!
How's Empress?
Still recalibrating. It might take at least another ten minutes.
Damn it. I'll protect this area. You go treat the wounded soldiers.
Okay, sir!
Damn.
Charlotte!
Great aim. You should be an ace pitcher for the New York Yankees.
What are you talking about? You're being creepy.
It doesn't look like I can get through to you.
Let me through or I'll kill you.
Although I'll kill you either way.
I refuse.
Then… I'll kill you.
You're not resisting. Are you some kind of perv?
A father who hit his child is scum, Charlotte.
My father is Schoolmaster Smiley.
My mother tried to kill me. You're trying to kill me too.
Jessica…
I'll kill you! Die!
Black Rock Shooter.
I won't let you kill anymore.
Translated by Ikuko Ohno