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Saint Seiya: the Lost Canvas is a Japanese anime that lasted 26 episodes across two seasons. The outcome of this battle leaves the two surviving Saints, Libra Dohko and Ares Shion, to plan for a future conflict with the agents of Hades. The Saints battle with Hades' agents, known as Specters, with Tenma ultimately left to battle Alone in single combat. After Tenma and several other Saints pass through several Demonic Temples within the partially completed Canvas, it becomes revealed that Alone is not completely overtaken by Hades, just merely using the god's powers for his own end. The Canvas is a massive painting which depicts the entire planet and thus, will result in the destruction of all life on Earth upon its completion. Understanding this occurrence, Alone's ultimate plan is to paint the "Lost Canvas" into the sky. As the years pass, Alone realizes that everything he paints eventually becomes destroyed, possibly a manifestation of his powers as Hades. The goddess Pandora finds Alone and claims that since Alone is the purest human on the planet that he will become the vessel of Hades. Tenma and Alone's paths diverge at the very start of the series, with Tenma leaving with his mentor Libra Dohko to become a true Saint while Alone seeks to become a master painter. This forces Tenma to look beyond his former friendship and confront the threat that Alone now poses to humanity. The very same Hades who serves as the dark Greek god of the underworld and whom is an archenemy of Athena. This calling quickly evolves into a major conflict, as Tenma's best friend, Alone, finds himself awakening as the reincarnation of Hades. The central element of this series is how the orphan protagonist Tenma discovers his calling as one of the Saints, eighty-eight warriors who serve the Greek goddess of wisdom and war, Athena. The series takes place more than two centuries prior to the events of the main series, simply titled "Saint Seiya," in Italy, during the eighteen century.
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