Panjandrum 48 — Manifest Calamity 3456

 

「Incoming object detected. It’s an Another Level Silhouette, codename Karanos.」

「It’s not an Another Level Silhouette designed for housing a super AI. It’s a mass-produced model built for human use. Their pilots were called Hemitheoi. You’ve heard the term before, haven’t you? It’s where ‘Hemitheos’ comes from—those who are half-man, half-god.」

「So we’re talking something with divine blood in its veins, huh.」

「Precisely. The motif is based on a king of Asia Minor, said to be a great-grandson of Heracles.」

「A descendant of Heracles?!」

「Any Another Level Silhouette bestowed upon a chosen one—whether by Zeus or one of the other rebellious super AI—was given the name of a king from Greek mythology. Their combat power exceeds even the space battleships of the Pioneering Era.」

「I know that well enough.」

Arthur, itself an Another-Level Silhouette, had once destroyed the Mythology Weapon Seth, built from the remnants of a space battleship, using a portable positron cannon.

「At full capability,