'I want to sleep so much, but there is still a stack of reports and other documents to go through.'

Gereon sighed in defeat. Even though he was a cardinal of one of the major religions of the continent and involved in one of the most dangerous schemes of the century, he still couldn't deal with a pile of paper.

'I mean, I could burn it.'

With a sudden movement, Gereon slapped himself in order to prevent himself from following his intrusive thoughts.

"This is a strange case of self-harm that I never saw before."

A voice sounded from the entrance of the room.

A man with short black hair and round glasses, who could not see through because of the reflection of the light, was there with an amused smile.

"I didn't know that Lord Gereon had such tendencies."

"Know your place, doctor."

"Kukuku, there's no need for such hostility, Lord Gereon."

This man was The Doctor, a mysterious man who suddenly appeared at the Brotherhood's headquarters, which shouldn't be known by the way, and revealed his outstanding discovery...

A new type of mana.

It wasn't really new, rather it was only real in legends and myths, but this man proved it to be real.

At the start of the world, it was said to exist a neutral and constantly evolving type of mana, primordial mana.

That mana then split up between sacred or blessed mana and corrupted or cursed mana.

What this man discovered was a type of mana as ancient as primordial mana and exclusive to the dragon species.

The Draconic mana.

Nothing much was known about its properties, it wasn't stronger than normal mana, but it was harder to control.

According to The Doctor, he discovered this mana on the remains of a dragon that he found in the Drachen Mountains, which were a few hundred kilometers south of the borders of the Empire.

With such a discovery, the Pope opened up a new project, the 'Evil Dragon Project'.

The project's goal was to find a way to allow a person to use this draconic mana by changing the mana channels or adding new ones.

"I'm here to talk about the project."

"What about it?" said Gereon as he placed his cup on the table.

"Are you already aware of how the research is going?"

"I'm not."

'I wasn't informed of anything!'Gereon protested in his mind.

"Well, normally, to change or add mana channels to someone's body, we need a plan."

"Plan?"

"Yes. You could see it as a drawing that represents where each channel should be and what form it should have. Do you understand?"

"I think I do, proceed."

"Normally, this process would need a basis, something to follow, but this type of mana is totally new, and therefore the only thing we can have to follow is the mana channels of the dragon corpse, however, said corpse is too badly damaged to be of any use.

"Therefore, we need to draw this plan from scratch, and in this case, we need to go with trial and error, that's why we need people to experiment on."

"I see."

"For now, our studies have concluded that the mana that I discovered has a certain affinity with fire, but don't worry, it is not limited to that element, but the properties it might receive are a complete mystery."

"What do you mean affinity?" Gereon inquired.

"It's quite simple, really. Draconic mana can't be used in its purest form, and the reason why is that our brain does not possess the ability to control it correctly. If it could, we would only need to fill one's mana core with draconic mana.

"But the only way for us humans to utilize draconic mana is by combining both sacred and draconic mana."

"How?"

"During our research, I found out that the Draconic mana can be used to alter the way sacred mana works. So when I meant that it has an affinity, I meant that the fire element was much easier to augment with draconic mana."

"I see. So how will you proceed?"

"I have already decided my approach, I just need to draw the perfect plan."

"So what is that approach?"

Gereon just wanted to be done with it. He didn't really care about the specifics of the project, but if John Feuervogel received such power, in order to keep him under control, Gereon needed to be prepared, which is why he asked for the Doctor's approach.

"We will add new mana channels to the bodies of the subjects, but those channels will be quite special. You see, they will be connected to two different mana cores."

"I'm sorry what?"

Gereon was dumbfounded. 'Did I hear that right?' He thought. How the hell could a being have two mana cores?

"Kukuku, you seem confused, let me explain." The Doctor said, he then took a sip of Gereon's wine before starting his explanation.

"You see, those channels will be connected to the mana core that one has normally, the one with sacred mana. But they will also be connected to a second mana core. This core was made with the remains of the mana core of the dragon, so it will be filled with draconic mana. And being an artificial mana core, it's able to refill itself. I guess you can guess what's the use of the second mana core?"

"To augment the mana that comes from the main core?" Gereon answered.

"That's correct!! Full Marks!"

Gereon's mana flexed, representing his hostility.

"Don't toy with me." He uttered.

"Geez, calm down."

A short silence insued, both staring at each other, waiting for the other to start speaking.

"Kuhum, well, that was the explanation, I hope it was very informative."

"It was." Gereon adamantly admitted.

It was informative, after all, he couldn't lie about that.

"Since it was so informative, I would like to know some information myself."

In all the meetings Gereon had with the Doctor, he had never seen anything but an aloof expression on his face. So, when the Doctor's face started to form a cold expression and his cruel obsidian eyes became visible, Gereon felt a chill on his spine, his instinct screaming only one thing, and one thing only...

It didn't make sense, Gereon possessed three talents and two gifts, he was of the Saint Rank, he was a high-ranked member of one of the greatest organizations on the continent.

'How can I feel fear of a simple doctor?'

Simple? No. This Doctor was not simple he had made a big discovery that would change history, but his biggest achievements were different.

He found our secret headquarters and worked with us without disclosing his name, rank, or runes.

I know nothing about him, no one does.

'How could I just have realized now?'

Clenching his fists, Gereon tried to recompose himself.

"W-what information do you need?"

"The knowledge about the imprint of runes"

'Of all things, that!'

"I-I cannot disclose that information." stuttering Gereon answered

The Doctor's eyes grew colder.

"I... see."

Once again, the reflection of the light hides his eyes, not showing what sort of emotions passes through them.

"Then I will hold the project hostage for now."

'What?!'

"If you do not provide me with the information I want, then I will sabotage the project, and believe me when I say it, it's quite easy to do that."

"T-there's no need to go so far! We can reach an understanding, can we not?"

"What do you suggest, then?"

'Damn it.'

Gereon paused, thinking about a solution, considering every possibility and every card on the table.

"Complete the project."

"Speak louder."

"Once you complete the project, I give my word that you will receive the information you so desire."

Gereon was confident in this solution, it would buy him enough time to think of a way to get by safely, either by tricking the Doctor or the Pope. And it would also serve as motivation to speed up the process of the project.

"I... accept the terms, it will be reported to you when I'm done."

And like that, the Doctor left the office and never came back.