Papus

Papus is one of the Travelers belonging to the Genius faction. It is one of the main antagonists of volume 9, along with Rasphuia. It reprises that role in volume 11, taking on the disguise of a woman named Youren, claiming to be a fellow Ancient to Elias Hackblade and pitting him against the amnesiac Krusty.

It is also referred to as Papus of Healing (治癒のパプス); its name is derived from Papus the Physician, one of the Genii of the First Hour from the Nuctemeron.

Appearance
Papus is a mass of parasitic, acid-spewing tentacles wearing a robe. A coal-colored, tar-like bubbling puddle is always spread at its feet; it is how Papus communicates, as it lacks vocal chords. Every word and laughter that Papus speaks are composed of a collection of popping sounds of bubbles that rise from the puddle. It is capable of controlling other monsters by its tentacles.

Later on, it takes on the disguise of a woman named Youren. She has long, dark hair and wears hanfu.

Personality
Like most of the other Genius, Papus looks down on Earthlings, seeing them as puppets without will. However, even it seems to be unsettled by Rasphuia's personality.

Synopsis
Papus is most likely the cause of the Black Dragon's attack and the infection of a young Earthling boy. One of the Chinese server's more famous guilds, the Lelang Wolf Cavalry, is wiped out twice by the Black Dragon, so Kanami's Party decides to take care of it. On their way to the mountainside, they are encountered by the Black Dragon, with Rasphuia and Papus riding atop it. Papus was aware of Earthlings and Ancients being created by personality software and nearly killed Elias Hackblade with its "words of death." Before it could do so, Kanami snapped Elias out of it, and they kill Papus.

As hinted in the Season 2 Anime Settings Book and the TRPG's "Celdesia Gazette," however, Papus escaped by dividing itself, and is still alive. It seems to have possessed a person named Youren, who appears in volume 11 by setting up the conflicts seen in the volume. Youren, along with the rest of Papus, is killed by Krusty.

Skills

 * Ningyo (ニンギョ)
 * A skill of Papus' that spreads the Words of Death to Ancients and Earthlings, causing them to believe that they are nothing but personality software and purposeless puppets.
 * The term is derived from the name of traditional Japanese dolls, which is spelled 人形.