Chapter 157 Monster?

Kairos gave Chase a glance as they climbed up the building. He returned it with a skeptical look and nodded.

Kairos double-checked below him at the monsters. They were reaching out their arms towards both him and Chase, but they didn't seem to understand how to actually climb, and thus were unable to reach them.

At the top of the building, a conversation ensued.

"Get the hell away from me right now!"

"W-What? But I'm just a normal person! I'm not a monster!"

Kairos slowly clambered up until he was close to the top of the roof and Chase followed suit.

"Just look at what you've become! There's no way you're human!"

"No... no... that's not what's happening! You have to trust me!"

"Why the hell should we trust a fucking monster? If you have at least some human part of you left, go jump off the building and die!"

Kairos gave Chase a look before climbing up to the roof.

"That's a rather rude thing to say, don't you think?

Upon getting up there, he saw a group of five people that were all on the roof. Four of them surrounded another, holding up various weapons towards the person in question threateningly.

Chase got up as well and had a casual smile on his face.

"What's going on here?"

The four people holding up weapons tilted them as though they wanted to point them towards the two of them, but soon after they stopped, instead continuing to point them towards the man. It seemed that the moment they realized the two people were human, they determined that the two were a far less greater threat.

Kairos rubbed his chin as he stared at the person in the middle.

"...I suppose you are right in saying he doesn't look human."

The man in the middle was in a strange condition, to say the least, and was one that was even more disturbing than a normal monster. One of his arms burgeoned strangely, almost like it was infected by some alien parasite. The fact that it was bright red didn't help either. As for his other arm, it looked like a normal human's, but the hand had transformed into a very monster-like claw.

As for his face, one of his eyes resembled a monster's, with no pupil and a slight yellow color along with blood vessels. Along with that, roughly a third of his teeth were also elongated and sharpened, as it was with monsters.

On top of that, although his body was clothed, it was easy to tell strange bumps underneath that almost made it look like spores were growing on him.

Chase raised an eyebrow.

"To say that he is a monster isn't exactly correct, as monsters can't talk."

He narrowed his eyes slightly after saying that.

"...Well, most monsters at least."

One of the men holding a weapon looked towards Chase and Karios questioningly.

"Why are you here? We don't have any problems with you, and you shouldn't have any problems with us!"

Kairos shrugged his shoulders.

"We are actually part of a city, and due to a recent natural disaster, most of the farmers had become monsters. As such, we are trying to recruit other survivors to become part of the city to take their place."

The man that asked had calmed down considerably after hearing that.

"...I see. So what did you do to the people that had become monsters? Killed them, right?"

The partly monsterified man in the middle flinched when he heard that.

Chase let out a helpless sigh.

"Well, what else was there to do with mindless monsters that attacked anything they saw? The higher-ups of the city took care of it, killing them all."

The man nodded.

"So we should've just killed this monster then too!"

The man in the middle raised both his hands.

"Wait, wait! But I'm not a mindless monster attacking whatever I see! I'm still me, just a little different!"

Kairos blinked a few times.

"Well, I wouldn't say a little different."

The man got down onto his knees while keeping his hands up.

"Ok, fine, it's very different, but I'm still a human!"

A woman holding up a weapon frowned when she heard that.

"...I can't say I know how to define what is human, but I highly doubt that you are one."

Kairos took a deep breath.

"If you claim that you are indeed still human, then let's put it to the test. I will ask you some questions to prove it."

The man nodded hastily.

"Yes, ask anything!"

Kairos started off simple.

"What is your name?"

The man responded confidently.

"Liam!"

Kairos tapped his chin.

"Alright, Liam. Can you recount when you started to gain these strange traits to appear on your body?"

The woman holding up a weapon frowned.

"Hey, you can't actually believe that he's really human?"

Kairos put his hand up.

"I don't believe he is human, but maybe at least most of him still is. Now, can you recount the events?"

Liam clenched his fists.

"I know this! Um, I remember that last night there was a strange red light coming from the ground. I immediately ran up and warned the others about it when I saw it, but my body began changing as that happened."

Another man holding up a weapon scowled.

"So you transformed into a monster like the farmers in that guy's city!"

Kairos shook his head.

"Not necessarily. Let me continue with the questions. What rank are you?"

Liam blinked a few times as though confused, but didn't ask.

"Um, I'm currently at the peak of E rank."

Kairos narrowed his eyes. He was not fully expecting that as he thought someone that didn't fully transform into a monster must've at least been at the D rank. Though, given how strongly the monster traits were on the man right now, he didn't take it as that surprising.

Kairos nodded.

"Please answer this honestly. Do you feel like you are in control of your own actions?"

Liam hurriedly nodded.

"Of course I am!"

Chase sighed.

"At least take a moment to think about it. Are you truly in control of your actions? Is there anything urging you to do... something?"

Liam shook his head.

"Of course not! I'm confident that I am in control!"

Kairos narrowed his eyes.

"...Is that so? Well, can you tell me what thirty-five multiplied by thirteen is equal to?"

One of the men holding their weapons frowned.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Kairos waved his hand dismissively.

"Humans have intelligence, which puts us above animals and monsters. Being able to solve various math problems is just one of the byproducts of our intelligence."

The man slowly nodded.

"...Ah, that makes sense! If he can't solve the problem, then he's a monster!"

Another man furrowed his brow.

"But I can't solve it... I was never really good at math."

Liam was nearly having a breakdown with his claw digging into the scalp on the side of his head, but when he heard that he grasped onto it like a drowning man.

"Y-Yeah, just give me something easier and I'll solve it!"

Kairos let out a soft sigh.

"Then what is eight multiplied by seven?"

Liam's expression froze as he began thinking. He took several deep breaths and lowered his head in thought. Everyone began waiting, but more than five minutes had already passed.

The man that mentioned he was bad at math earlier furrowed his brows.

"...Even if I'm bad at math, I already figured out the answer a long time ago. That's definitely not normal."

Liam nearly broke down.

"No! No! It's just too hard for me, give me something easier! Then I'll be able to solve it."

Kairos narrowed his eyes ever so slightly.

"Then what is three plus four?"

Liam began sweating, while his lips trembled.

A man holding up a weapon scowled.

"He can't even do basic addition? He's definitely a monster!"

Liam held his hands up.

"No, no, just give me an easier one! I'll be able to do it!"

Chase chuckled.

"It doesn't get much easier than that."

Liam slammed his head into the ground.

"No! Just something... something a little easier!"

Kairos shook his head.

"...What's one plus one?"

Liam didn't respond for a full ten seconds.

"It's two! Two! I know the answer, it's two! See, I'm still human, right?"

He answered with enthusiasm and looked around him at the others, as though expecting a warm response. Unfortunately for Liam, everyone only looked at him with more skepticism.

Kairos let out a soft sigh.

"It seems that you are definitely not purely a human."

Liam looked at the ground with a despairing expression.

"But I-"

"Though it wouldn't be right to say you are completely a monster either."

Chase looked at Kairos with a curious look, wondering what exactly he was trying to do, but stayed silent.

Kairos raised a finger.

"Since our city has a lot of manpower, we can attempt to save you, but you have to understand that your freedom will be heavily restricted."

Liam hastily nodded.

"Of course I understand. Even if part of me is a monster right now, my heart is still human. Please save me."

Kairos shook his head.

"I don't know how to save you. The only thing I can do is try."

Liam placed his forehead on the ground.

"That much is fine! I will comply..."

Kairos turned to the others.

"That's fine with you all, no?"

A man frowned.

"...Well, if possible I would like Liam to be transformed back into a real human. I don't think he was a bad person."

The woman slowly nodded.

"If he really can be turned back fully into a human, then I'd accept it."

Liam let out a sigh of relief.

"I'll definitely become human again, I swear it!"

Kairos gave him a disdainful glance, but didn't call him out on the promise he couldn't even keep. He slowly shook his head.

"Well, for the rest of you all, you can become regular farmers in our city."

The other four people looked at Kairos with intrigue but didn't jump the gun.

One man spoke up.

"What exactly is being a farmer like?"

Kairos cleared his throat.

"Basically, the terms are we protect you from the monsters, while you work on your farm. We will take half of what you grow, and you can keep the other half for yourself to eat. It's a fair deal, no?"

Chase chuckled.

"There were actually people fighting to become farmers in the city, but we weren't able to accept all of them just because there weren't enough plots of land for that."

The four of them looked at each other skeptically.

Kairos cleared his throat.

"You don't have to accept it. It's just an offer. We don't plan on keeping anyone that doesn't want to, alright?"

The woman slowly nodded.

"I think we can do it then."

The man furrowed his brow.

"Are you sure?"

Another man shrugged his shoulders.

"If you don't want to, then you don't have to, right? The rest of us can go."

This seemed to make the hesitant man anxious.

"Ah, alright then, I'll go too."

Kairos nodded.

"Alright then. You all can follow me now back to the city."

Chase gave a smile.

"Going somewhere new is always scary, but I'm sure all of you will get used to it soon."

The woman gave a small nod.

"I-I imagine so..."

Kairos gestured with his head.

"Alright then. Let's climb down."

A man looked surprised.

"C-Climb down? But it's so high up!"

Chase shrugged his shoulders.

"It can't be helped. There are far too many monsters entering the building, so this way is actually much safer."

The group seemed a little nervous, but they complied in the end.

If they knew what was coming to them, then they wouldn't have. After all, even if it was an apocalypse, it could be far worse.