[Do you even understand how frustrating it was to attend PTO meetings? Such foolish farces... gatherings of arrogant lumps of flesh who wish for nothing more than to be seen as better than each other.]

The eyes of the monster who had stolen the body of a man darkened as he spoke with spite in his voice, as if rotten memories were linked to such a statement.

[As I infiltrated the human realm, I took over the body of this man for two reasons. The first was so that I could use the connections that such a man had to gain access to information and contacts which a normal human would not have access to. The second was so that I could perform my work in investigating human psychology without any suspicion arousing.]

With a grin, the man began to walk down the stairs, motioning for the rest of the party to follow him as he spoke.

[Of course, I inherited the memories of this man, therefore impersonating him was simple. Although… I obtained a bit more than I bargained for… but I will leave such details for later. As a result of obtaining his memories and merging with his personality, there was no risk of being exposed as an imposter even among those who knew him in his previous life.]

Leading them onwards as he lectured, the man pushed up his glasses with a smirk.

[Intrigued by his experiences, I begun my own studies on the demented nature of humanity. I started with merely observing their behavior in public, and this allowed me to gain a basic understanding of society. Yet that much was not enough. There was far too much to learn about the human mind, and about the differences in ideologies from person to person - and even from nation to nation. At some point, I took in a homeless girl to study her as well.]

The seven all proceeded down the hallway slowly as the man told his story, each and every person listening carefully.

[However this girl was the only human who I found that I could so conveniently take in as a subject. Even with as many contacts as I had, taking in any test subjects through force would have been far too risk oriented, as such things are typically shunned upon in this society.]

Stopping in his tracks, the man let out a short laugh as he voiced his thoughts.

[Although… perhaps the true owner of this body would not have thought twice about such a thing.]

Continuing, the man motioned with his hand as he once more walked forth.

[Therefore I decided instead to resort to volunteer testing, where I began running experiments of my own which were... humane.]

Letting out a sigh of regret, the man shrugged his shoulders as he descended the stairs.

[If I truly wished to delve into the madness of humanity, then perhaps I should have used my contacts to perform and cover up more... gruesome experiments. Yet each time I thought of doing so... a part of me was repulsed by the idea.]

Stopping in his tracks, the man looked back with a smile.

[Perhaps it was my subconscious desire not to imitate THAT MAN.]

Continuing forward, the seven came to the bottom of the stairway, at which the man stepped into the room filled with heads, bodies, blood, gore, and chains.

[Yet more so than any other place on earth, there was one single location which I found to be more appalling than any other.]

The six stepped out to witness the room, once again met with the disturbing scene.

[Those PTO meetings.]

Even as he stood in the middle of a torture chamber, the man made such a statement as he placed his hand on his forehead, recalling the bitter memories.

[How truly irritating it was... despite the fact that externally there was perfect harmony among the participants... the amount of pure ARROGANCE I felt emanating from each and every person in that stuffed room.... it was enough to make me gag.]

As they entered the room once again, Marcus and Sylvia tightened their expressions while Amy didn't so much as react to such a place.

However as the three children stepped inside, they froze.

'W... what...'

Stella felt her strength drain from her as she looked around.

'This...'

Falling to her knees, tears formed in the eyes of the girl.

'What is this?'

'Is this... what this world has become?'

[You are wondering now to yourself... if this place is a product of this new and rotten world.]

Walking over to one particular body with sophistication, the man stood above the body of a muscular man who had been mutilated beyond belief.

"What... What are you doing? Did... did you do this?"

Stella was barely able to even croak out such words, for her throat felt as if it was closing up with every breath.

[Did I do this? Hahaha... my daughter, I said I was going to tell you the truth about HUMANITY.]

With a smile, the man thinned his eyes as he spoke with grandeur.

[And I am no human.]

Grabbing the man by the hair of his head, Number Two lifted the body up as blood dripped from it, presenting it with a firm expression.

[This human was the orchestrator to this place of madness.]

"That's... Mr. Pertan?"

As the girl realized who the man was, she squeaked out these words.

And then, a flood of realization overcame her.

The looks the man had given her.

The special classroom he was going to take her to.

The unexplainable chill she felt just by being with him.

The overwhelming sense of dread that she sensed whenever he commanded her to do something.

"He... did this?"

[Indeed. Ah... but this is only the tip of the iceberg. For this man is only the realization of the demented nature which lies in each and every single one of you HUMANS. My foolish daughter... I watched you yourself as you leaned towards such madness. If you had continued on as you were... then perhaps you yourself would have become a MONSTER like this man. After all... that is the natural state of a man.]

With a grin, the man dropped the body as it splattered on the ground with a squishy noise.

Pushing up his glasses, he smiled grandly as he spread his arms with dominance.

[Men and monsters... they are one and the same.]

[And in this world where chaos is prevalent... then perhaps you will see that in a much more obvious manner.]

[For when pushed to the edge... even the man who once smiled and waved from a pedestal of justice will soon turn to become a murderer.]

----

'How...'

'How is this possible?'

'I just... I only wanted to tease Melody...'

'I didn't want... I didn't want this....'

'Why.... why is everything like this?'

'Is this... my punishment?'

A flurry of thoughts shot through the mind of Stella as she was unable to bear the immense amount of information which had been slammed onto her.

'It must be, right?'

'After all... I was so overtaken...'

'He's right, isn't he?'

'I was so FOOLISH that I went so far as to...'

Grabbing her forehead, the girl closed her eyes as she bit her lip with remorse.

'Why... did I do all that?'

'Do I even have worth as a human being?'

[Do not question your worth. For while all humans are equally worthless... that does not mean you hold any less worth in my eyes. I have said this once before, my daughter. And I will repeat myself. Even if I am USING you, that does not mean that I do not CARE for you.]

With a grin, the man slowly approached the girl, placing his hand on her head.

[And so long as I consider you to hold worth... then your worth exists. Even if you are worthless in the eyes of every single human on this wretched planet.]

With a chuckle, the man looked down on the girl with a grand expression, the arrogance not leaving his face for even a moment as the girl looked up to him.

[For I am ABOVE humanity.]

Then, walking forth, the man waved to all those present as he approached the exit.

[Come now, humans and hosts. I have seen enough of this place. Have you not? There is plenty of work to be done, therefore I would like to discuss the plan from here on out. And if you would like... then I would like to share some INFORMATION with you. Use it as you will.]

With that, the man walked off up the stairs, leaving the six to merely listen to his footsteps.

Stunned with surprise, they found themselves barely even able to move for a moment, however soon enough they found themselves jolted up.

'We should follow him.'

'If we don't, who knows what might happen.'

'Will he kill us?'

'Perhaps.'

'But even more concerning... what will he do if he doesn't?'

Stella and Marcus found themselves faced with yet another monster whose thoughts were far beyond anything they could possibly imagine.

Just when they started to believe that they could comprehend the beings living within them, yet another one appeared and shattered these conceptions.

'Am I... really worth something?'

'As filthy... as corrupted as I am?'

Stella found herself wondering these things as she stood up, slowly making her way to follow the man.

"Hey."

As she stepped forward, she felt another hand on her shoulder as Gordon called out to her.

Looking back, she met his expression - one filled with a combination of fear and bravery.

"I don't know anything about what he is or your relationship with him... but at the very least... I think he's right in one thing."

His face tensing up, Gordon spoke with a serious expression.

"No matter what you've done in the past... you are worth something. It’s only when you continue to abuse and use those around you without regret that you truly become a monster."

With this statement, Gordon walked past Stella, leaving her with a pained expression as she furrowed her eyebrows.

'So long as you continue...'

"I think what he's trying to say is that you should try and change yourself! After all, you’re probably a shitty person. Am I wrong, miss?"

Stella found herself faced with a zombified child who spoke without censorship as she joyfully exclaimed such an offensive statement.

"Wha- you-"

"Amy, you're not supposed to speak to people like that."

"Eh? Why not, big brother? Am I supposed to LIE to people?"

"Well... I guess you're not supposed to do that either... but.... you know what, forget it."

"Hehehe..."

Shane looked at Stella with an apologetic expression as he led his sister away, at which Marcus and Sylvia stepped behind them.

"Whatever this creature wants... I suppose we have no choice but to listen. I can only hope that he will be reasonable.", Marcus stated.

"Do you think we can expect such a thing from one of them? Well... I suppose it's not like we have any choice. I suppose we'll just keep on moving and see where it takes us. Ah, girl. Don't be too much of a burden on us. You seem to know that thing, so I guess you probably have some use sticking with us - and since you're already involved with one of them it means that we probably shouldn't let you go off on your own."

"Involved? What... what am I involved in?", Stella asked.

Looking at her with a pained smile, Marcus let out a sigh as he laughed.

"The end of the world."

----

Gathered around a picnic table were seven beings.

Two men, two boys, one woman, and two girls.

Among these seven, three held the bodies of the undead, rotting from within.

And inside the minds of three of these seven people were creatures who could never be considered human in the first place.

[A lovely night, don't you all think? The moon is out, the skies are clear... not a drop of rain in sight. Truly, a beautiful night to take over the world, no?]

As the man who sat at the head of the table made this statement, each and every person tensed up - every fiber of their being filled with anxiety.

For the grandeur with which the man carried himself was enough to make such a statement believable.

[Hahaha... I jest.]

As the man said this, Marcus let out a sigh of relief.

'I thought he was serious for a moment there.'

[Not tonight.]

'Ah.'

[Number 7. I propose that you cease all operations in spreading the virus. 95% of humanity has already been annihilated, and the difficulty of surviving in this world far exceeds human capability. To put things simply... if we interfere further, then we truly will wipe out humanity.]

[So?]

A mouth formed from the hand of Marcus, responding to Number Two as he spoke.

[So? Well, I am sure that you should understand yourself. Even if you wish to destroy everything... there is no point in a world which is completely devoid of anything worth destroying.]

[I suppose so. However I had no intention to destroy everything in the first place. I have my own goal, you know.]

[Are you quite sure about that? After all, you planned on continuing to spread your disease to the last person right until your host awakened from his slumber. Am I wrong?]

[Your ability to read people is irritating as always. Enough.]

[Hahaha...]

With a chuckle, Number Two leaned forward as he looked around him.

[Now then... before anything, I suppose I should establish my position relative to you all, no? I will first begin by stating that I have absolutely no intention to make an enemy of anyone present... however I will say one thing.]

At that moment, the man disappeared.

'Where-'

[You WILL NOT get in my way.]

Turning around, each of the people looked behind them as a voice whispered into their ears from behind, however they saw nothing.

No person was behind them.

Then, slowly, Marcus turned his head to face forward.

And as he did, he saw it.

The man.

Sitting in his seat at the head of this rickety picnic table with one leg crossed over the other.

Drinking tea.

An expensive teapot and even an entire array of extremely expensive silverware and platters had been spread before the group.

Platters of muffins, cakes, pastries, and cups of tea had all been prepared before them.

"Oh... this looks tasty! I'm going to eat!"

Amy began stuffing the food into her mouth, the child being the only one to accept such a ludicrous situation.

'What... is this?'

'How... did such a thing-'

[Ah, perhaps you don't like tea? Forgive me for not... taking your tastes into account. Perhaps I should have asked you all first before preparing this meal?]

The man took a sip from his cup with an overarching smile as he pushed up his glasses with his free hand.

'This is... a zombie apocalypse....'

'95% of the world has been destroyed...'

'Yet this tea is steaming... and these pastries are freshly baked.'

'In that instant...'

'He not only was able to gather the ingredients for these things, but cook them to perfection.'

'And set everything up... right before our very eyes.'

Shock didn't even begin to describe it.

Time after time, Marcus had been shown the absolute madness which these creatures contained within them.

However this time, madness could not even graze the tip of this iceberg of insanity.

"No, they're great! Thank you, Number Two!! You're almost as fun as Number One!"

[Haha... almost, you say? I suppose I've never been all too good with children. Although... I managed to raise one daughter, so I suppose this isn't all too bad either. Ahem... I seem to have gone off on a tangent. Now then... since the table has been properly set, I think it is high time that I explain a few things. Where to start and how much to reveal... well, I suppose I will begin with this.]

Placing his cup of tea down as all eyes focused on the man - with Amy aside - he held out one hand which now had a white glove on it as he spoke.

[Where did myself and the other six experiments originate from? Of course, we were experiments - but for what purpose were we created?]

Gazing at his own hand, the man smiled as he thinned his eyes with sadism.

[Hahaha... how truly foolish. You all know of nuclear weaponry, no?]

With a gulp, Sylvia nodded, motioning for the man to continue on.

[As you know, such weaponry can - or should I say COULD be easily countered with a nuclear defense system… of which, almost every City on this planet had installed. Essentially… before this apocalypse, we were in an era where the weapon of all weapons had become OUTDATED and INFERIOR.]

As he continued to study his own hand, the man spoke without even facing any of the people present at the table.

[Therefore... a new set of weapons had to be created. Weapons made from... the most dangerous possible material. And what is more dangerous than the human mind?]

Spreading his arms, the man's expression tinted with madness as his smile bore it's way across his expression.

Marcus and Sylvia found their own bodies trembling as they slowly came to realize the meaning of this statement.

'This... cannot be....'

'Impossible... no... there... how....'

[You believe it to be impossible... yet I stand before you right here and now - performing the impossible. Yes... that is correct. You are not mistaken in your logic, hosts.]

Placing his hand on his chest, the man stood up as he introduced himself one final time.

[I am experiment Number Two of the Human Calamity Project. It’s a pleasure to meet you.]