Chereads / Rekka's Last Stand / Chapter 36 - The Human Experimentation Labs - 2

Chapter 36 - The Human Experimentation Labs - 2

"What?" Charybdis said in disbelief. "But can't you control the custom projector I gave you?"

"No… I don't think so," Silas said. Hopefully Charybdis thought that he hadn't had a chance to figure that out for himself beforehand. Then, at least, he could hide the fact trying to hide it.

"Well… you can use magic, right? I sensed magic within you. And Yona did tell me that you threw a boulder at her before."

"Oh… yeah, I can use magic, but it isn't as strong as everybody else's for some reason," Silas admitted, scratching his head. This only confirmed it. He was absolutely useless, talentless as a human being. Without magic powers, it seriously worsened humanity's chances of survival. If he couldn't use magic, then what power did he have? He wasn't particularly strong or smart. He was just average. He hated that fact, but even an objective scientist like Charybdis had made it obvious. He was weak.

He felt bile and panic rising within his throat. He didn't want to accept that fact. It meant that he couldn't fend for himself. It meant he had to rely on others, stronger people like Rekka or Julia. And that meant that as soon as they stopped protecting him, he would die, especially in a brutal world already out to kill him in the first place.

It was like a death sentence. But Charybdis didn't seem to notice.

"I see. Well, that complicates things. After I heard that every human could use magic I prepared these projectors for your use. Unfortunately, since you seem to be unable to use them, we'll have to resort to a different method of experimentation. I'll have to change all my methods for you, but that makes comparison between you and the other members much less reliable, now that there's a new variable…"

Charybdis shook her head, sighing.

"First, one of you is infected with lykanthropy. That already throws a wrench in my plans. But now one of you can't use the projector?"

"I'm sorry," Silas mumbled, sensing an angry outburst. He lowered his head, pulling his arms against his chest, bracing for an impact.

"No, no, you're fine. It's not your fault. It's simply unfortunate."

"There's another problem though that we have to address. The fact that you don't have enough magic to use the projector means that we'll have to switch to a method of testing that does not require that level of magic. The thing is, before humans were exterminated, they were excluded from society by means of require magic use."

"After we took control of the government, we changed everything – food, water, transportation, communication – everything, to rely on magic. In order to call one another we need magic. In order to buy food we use magic. In order to live in our society, one must use magic daily. Since humans forewent their duty to coexist with nature by destroying it for selfish gain, they've lost the ability to use magic. Without magic, humans couldn't live in society."

"And that means that if you can't operate these projectors… even if you do have magic, it's still too weak to function in our society. And there aren't a lot of options or opportunities to live without it."

The realization hit Silas like a truck. It was true. Everybody else was stronger and better than him. He even had to have special accommodations. He couldn't stand up for himself. He was weak, he had to be taken care of. It was shameful and horrifying. What right did he even have to call himself a human being? He should have been the one who was bitten by Redd. Then, he wouldn't have to bear this awful responsibility of holding the entirety of humankind on his shoulders while being a useless, powerless fool.

He slumped back into his chair, his spirit crushed. Charybdis got up from hers and put a long, draconic arm on his shoulder. He felt the thin nails of her claws dig slightly into his skin, but the gesture was genuine and kind.

"I'm sorry, this is hard for both of us. But do not worry, I don't blame you for your innate lack of magical ability. After all, you're still much more powerful than the average human, and even if it's a little, it's still something and absolutely worth remembering and investigating."

"You know, a lot of people here, including my coworkers Scylla and Hydra believe that the humans of today deserve to be punished because of the grievous mistakes that their ancestors made. Just because they descend from atrocious beings does not make them inherently evil. I think it's unfair that humans still can't use magic, even when their ancestors were the ones who broke the promise. But who am I to argue with the laws of nature?"

Charybdis let out a deep, long sigh, placing her long claws behind her head and stretching, pushing her rectangular glasses up and sitting back down. She placed her elbows on the table and leaned forwards, looking Silas directly in the eye with such an intense stare that he had no choice but to look at her.

"I've always been against the treatment of humanity under monsterkind. What humanity did in the past is wrong but punishing innocent humans just because of their predecessors mistakes is no better. Don't worry. I am not your enemy, I'm on your side. I'll figure out a way so that we can perform our experiments without your magic. All I need is your trust and cooperation."

"If you were always against killing humans, then why didn't you do anything to stop it?" Silas spat, his own self-hate and disappointment manifesting suddenly as anger, redirected at Charybdis. To his surprise, Charybdis didn't react angrily, but instead looked sad and regretful, turning away and this time it was her who refused to make eye contact with Silas.

"That's a question that I ask myself every day," she said, her voice quiet and sorrowful. "I now can only hope that now it is not too late to redeem myself."