Chapter 377: The Feline District
Despite the power Michael held at his fingertips, he rarely allowed emotions like pride or anger to cloud his judgment. For a soldier of humanity, feelings were more of a liability than an advantage.
However, even his unusually high tolerance had its limits.
Out of every companion Michael had, Ruby undoubtedly had lived the hardest life.
A life created by sentient AI, a human’s soul mercilessly altered all in the name of experimentation. Not to mention having lived confined like cattle, all to further their research... Yet the feline girl was capable of moving past that.
Her very nature remained pure. Personality of an innocent curiosity that, even if she was a bit different, she was willing to adapt, aid Michael and those less fortunate than her.
All around a truly adorable girl that didn’t wish ill on anybody.
Even if her senses were heightened due to her feline nature, she was a Grandmaster while Michael was a Lord.
Therefore, everything she was able to perceive, he was able to as well.
The moment Michael heard somebody dare to curse at his usually cheerful companion filled him with disdain.
He already had been in a foul mood with the worries of his mother on his mind. A fool insulting Ruby had been the last straw.
Frowning, Ruby glanced at the man who had called her ’Feral Halfbreed’. Her lips parted, but before she could utter any retort, the whole area shuddered, Michael’s killing intent going wild.
Although his comrades weren’t the focus of his overwhelming presence, they still shivered cold chills running down their backs.
"Why don’t you repeat that?" Bloodlust oozed from Michael’s eyes as he paced towards the arrogant man.
Terrified by Michael’s aura, the man’s hatred dispersed in a heartbeat. His knees buckled, tears filling his eyes, his mouth clamped shut so firmly that cracks began to spread across his teeth.
With each step Michael took, the tension intensified. The man was sure of his demise. Or so until Ruby placed a hand on Michael’s shoulder, calming him down.
"I don’t want you to shield me. Even if it’s hard, I need to see what kind of treatment my kind receives."
Realizing his mistake, Michael nodded, easing the pressure he emitted.
Immediately, the man began to gasp for air. Never in his life had oxygen felt so delicious.
"I screwed up!" The man muttered, clearly frightened.
"When I noticed that the feline woman looked much more appealing than her kind, I suspected that there was something amiss. As it turned out, she had been part of Michael’s faction all along!" The realization hit him like a hammer of judgment.
With the Indomitable Alliance’s victory over the tournament, there were very few who didn’t know about their existence. Their leader Michael and his feline companion, Ruby.
In retrospect, the man should have thought before cursing out loud, yet the usual hatred he held for Ruby’s kin had overpowered his common sense.
"F—Forgive me!" He wailed, swiftly running for his life.
Witnessing the scene, Robert’s eyes dimmed.
"I am sorry, Michael, but Ruby is right." He exclaimed grimly. "Responding to every provocation, would take quite literally forever."
Michael growled. At the time of the disaster, when the androids had once run rampant across the capital, killing humans left and right. Ruby had been among those who fought bravely, forgetting self-preservation, all just to shield those weaker than her.
How could these people be so deluded to respond with hostility toward their saviors?
Recognizing that the discrepancy was worse than they thought, the crew followed Robert to the feline district.
Along the way, numerous others hurled curses at Ruby’s boldness of displaying her feline heritage proudly. Usually her kin did their best to hide their differences to the best of their ability.
Eventually they reached their destination. An inherently wrong feeling slowly settled over them.
The area they resided in seemed to be literally isolated, tall makeshift walls were erected, separating Ruby’s kin from the rest. There was only a single visible entrance, guarded by doctors wearing air filters and protective suits.
When roughly 100,000 feline people had been rescued, it became a struggle to house them all. Especially after the destruction of the androids’ rampage. To make things easier, it was decided that a dedicated region would be created to accommodate them.
At the time, it seemed like the correct move. Not only would they have shelter, but it would also make it easier to integrate them into how humanity functioned. After spending their entire lives being treated like cattle in underground tunnels, it was expected that there would be differences. Some of which might hold them back.
Everything had been fine at the beginning. Most people even sympathized with their tormented state, doing their best to help.
But things took a darker turn when cults began to emerge, claiming the feline kin were disguised aliens.
Perhaps they wouldn’t have risen so quickly if a plague hadn’t begun to spread through their district unexpectedly.
"Gearing up is mandatory." Robert glanced at Michael. "Even Lords like us aren’t entirely safe. We still don’t fully understand the disease, so it’s better to be safe than sorry."
The crew quickly cooperated, putting on masks with filtering capabilities and protective robes before entering the locked-down area.
Contrary to common expectations, the place didn’t reek of death, nor were there lines of corpses waiting to be moved, as frequently shown in TV dramas and novels set in the Middle Ages during times of plague.
Instead, it looked like any ordinary settlement, with people going about mundane tasks... Only with feline features to set them apart.
Though it was worth noting that their eyes seemed dim. With few, if any, sparing Michael’s crew a second glance.
In their protective attire, the crew was indistinguishable from the medical teams that frequently examined the area.
"Currently, the ones we’re looking at are the least affected." Robert explained, leading the way. "The more severe cases are being treated in hospitals."
Reaching the medical center, the crew stepped into the largest clinic. Inside, rows of beds were placed side by side, each separated by privacy curtains.
"They look fine to me." Richard shrugged. "You said these are the most critical cases, but aside from looking a little paler than usual, they don’t seem sick. How can that make the common people distrust the feline population?"
Robert shook his head.
"Ironically, that’s the problem. They look fine on the outside, but once you examine them closely, you can see the problem."
Because Michael wanted to get a better understanding of the situation, he took on the task of examining them himself.
Since taking the whole crew with him could make the patient nervous, Michael moved toward a bed marked as "yet to be examined."
Beyond the privacy curtain, a woman rested, bearing feline traits much like Ruby.
However, unlike Ruby’s athletic figure, the patient looked pale and frail.
"Hello." Michael said in a soft voice, careful not to startle her. "Would it be alright to take a closer look at the progression of your illness?"
With a timid nod, the woman lifted her shirt, exposing her abdomen.
Gently placing a hand over her exposed stomach, Michael utilized his superior mastery over spiritual energy to assess the problem with the patient.
"Oh..." A grimace twisted on his face, thankfully obscured by his mask.
’This is, without a doubt, catastrophically bad.’ He thought.