Chapter 359: The Pope

"I didn’t know it was going to hatch," Regis said.

Levada glanced towards the dragon before looking back at him. "That doesn’t tell me what you intend to do with it."

"I was hoping you would know."

Killian lowered his head beside him, though the movement did little to hide his expression. Regis was about to say something when Anna raised a hand, her attention fixed on the creature’s flank.

"Levada. Look at its scales."

The dragon had shifted beneath the sunlight. What Regis had initially mistaken for dust darkening its silver scales moved with the changing angle, leaving a black sheen across its body. He leaned forwards, trying to see more clearly, but Anna had already taken a cautious step closer.

A low sound escaped the dragon’s throat. Its wing lifted, and a familiar fluctuation reached Regis before Anna stopped.

’Demonic power...?’

Levada’s expression hardened. She moved beside Anna without drawing her sickles, studying the creature until its wing gradually settled again.

"You felt it too?" Anna asked.

"Yes. But there’s something else mixed with it." Levada frowned. "I can’t tell what’s happening inside its body."

Regis looked at the dark sheen again. Flona’s damaged arms came to mind, along with the corruption still clinging to them. However, the dragon wasn’t an Ancient Tree, and he knew almost nothing about its condition. Trying to remove something from its body just because he recognised it would be a terrible way to find out.

Anna glanced towards the broken shell, where part of the opening left by Tinateria remained visible. "We should inform His Holiness."

Levada nodded before turning towards the others. "Keep everyone away from here."

"Including us?" Killian asked.

"Especially anyone who thinks touching it is a good idea."

Pandora quietly lowered the hand she had been using to point at its horns.

Anna re-established contact with Hagios shortly afterward.

Regis remained seated nearby as she described the hatching, the black sheen, and the demonic power they had sensed. When Levada added her observations, she also mentioned the unfamiliar purple energy she had seen Regis use during their battle against Aziza.

"It existed alongside his demonic power," she explained. "Neither seemed to reject the other."

There was a pause before Hagios answered. "Has anyone attempted to purify the creature?"

"No, Your Holiness."

"Good. Do not attempt it until we understand its condition. Keep it under observation." His next words made Anna straighten. "I would like to examine it myself."

***

Several days passed before Hagios arrived with the first group sent to assist the survivors.

During that time, Regis returned to Flona whenever his condition allowed it. The treatments still left him exhausted, but walking back gradually became less painful, and the fading discoloration gave Marzana a reason to meet him at the trunk each time.

The dragon occupied a cleared stretch away from the courtyard. Looking after it had become an awkward shared task, especially after Killian discovered that a bowl large enough for him was considerably less useful to a creature that could cover it with one foot.

It remained wary of sudden movements. Familiar voices drew its attention more readily now, though Regis still couldn’t tell whether it recognised his words or simply liked having something to watch.

By the time he heard that the Pope had arrived, supplies were already being carried towards the wounded. Anna led him through the courtyard with Killian, Pandora, and Aurelia close behind.

A remarkably tall man stood beside Marzana, his white robe adorned with golden inscriptions. White hair framed his face, and the golden scepter in his left hand reached only to his shoulder despite being roughly two meters long.

"I am sorry about your mother."

Regis recognised the voice immediately. Marzana lowered her gaze, her fingers tightening around Aeola’s arm before she managed a quiet reply. Hagios listened, then spoke briefly with the people waiting for his instructions before Anna approached.

"Your Holiness. Regis is here."

Blue eyes turned towards him. Regis had to tilt his head back farther than expected to meet them.

’To think that a human became the Pope of Light... I’d heard about him, but seeing him for myself is another matter altogether.’

Humans’ natural affinity for mana and aura was poor compared with that of the other races. Yet the Temple’s highest positions depended heavily on prowess, and the man before him had risen to its very top. Anna alone had already shown him how misleading those natural disadvantages could be.

Remembering Toran made his amazement falter. He had felt this man’s power before, even if he had never seen his face.

"It is good to finally meet you in person, Regis." Hagios’s expression softened as he noticed the way Regis favoured one leg. "I hope I haven’t interrupted your rest."

"No, Your Holiness. I was already awake." Regis hesitated before adding, "It’s good to meet you too."

Hagios smiled without pressing him. Beside Regis, Aurelia’s hand loosened around his sleeve, though she remained close as Anna explained where they were keeping the dragon.

Levada was waiting near the cleared area. The creature lifted its head at their approach, its golden eyes following the unfamiliar figure behind Anna. Regis stopped before they came too close.

"Easy. We’re just coming over."

Its gaze shifted towards him. He waited until its raised wing settled before moving again, and Hagios followed at the same unhurried pace.

"Has it shown any signs of pain?" the Pope asked.

"Nothing we could identify," Anna replied. "It eats and rests. The demonic power becomes easier to sense whenever it’s startled."

Hagios crouched beside its flank, holding his palm a short distance above the scales. The dragon turned its head to watch him, but he remained still until it lowered its snout again.

For a while, no one spoke. Regis watched the Pope’s hand move slowly along the creature’s back, pausing where the black sheen was most apparent.

"There is demonic power here," Hagios eventually said. "However, the other power you sensed is aether. Dragons are beings of aether. Their command over mana is something they possess from birth."

Regis looked up sharply. "Dragons naturally possess aether?"

"That’s right. The purple power you use."

Regis’s eyes moved briefly towards Levada. He had heard her report, but having Hagios identify it so easily still made him uncomfortable. All the difficulty he had gone through to combine mana and aura, and the creature lying before him had been born with it...?

Killian looked from him to the dragon, his mouth opening slightly before he seemed to think better of whatever he intended to say.

"Then the demonic power is corrupting it?" Anna asked.

"That was my concern when you contacted me." Hagios lowered his hand towards the dragon’s shoulder without touching it. "There are records of devils attempting to corrupt dragons. Their command over mana made them desirable servants, but those same abilities made the attempts fail. Their native aether and the control they possessed were too powerful for the corruption to overcome."

"Even for devils?" Levada’s brows drew together.

"In the recorded attempts, yes. Forcing another power into such a creature is very different from taking hold of an ordinary beast." Hagios’s attention returned to the scales beneath his palm. "That is why this troubles me."

The dragon shifted, dragging one foreleg beneath its chest. Hagios withdrew his hand to give it room, waiting until it settled before continuing.

"The demonic power is moving with its own power. I cannot find the damage I would expect from one trying to overcome the other."

Regis glanced towards Flona’s distant branches. "So it isn’t like the corruption in the Ancient Tree?"

"No. From what I can determine, it is part of the dragon’s nature." Hagios looked at Anna. "Attempting to purify it could injure the creature itself."

Anna’s lips pressed together. Beside her, Levada studied the dragon with renewed attention, her earlier uncertainty giving way to something more troubled.

’Aether and demonic power...’ Regis looked down at his own hand. He knew they could exist together. Still, Perfect Adaptation had allowed things to happen to him that he would never have expected from anyone else.

How had this creature ended up like that before it even left its egg?

"Then it is a dragon with the nature of a demon?" Anna asked.

Hagios did not immediately answer. He was studying the creature’s shoulder, and the silence lasted long enough for Regis to look up again.

"Your Holiness?"

"There is something deeper." Hagios’s voice had grown quieter. "A trace of a devil’s authority. It is embedded in the creature’s nature as well."

Levada went still. Anna stared at him, then at the dragon resting between them.

"Nothing like this has ever appeared in our records," Hagios continued. "As far as our histories can tell us, this creature is the first of its kind."

Regis followed his gaze towards the silver scales and their black sheen as Hagios spoke again.

"A dragon, a demon... and a devil."