Chapter 19

I bounded across the rooftops, running on all fours like the cat I had borrowed many of my features from, my tail flowing behind me to keep me stable, as my overengineered musculature and skeletal system easily allowed for the movements no human could ever emulate, as I kept myself perfectly balanced, my back now free of the burdensome backpack that I had left behind in an old abandoned warehouse I had came across, keeping with me only my weapons, and a few toys I thought may be necessary in today's expedition. My face, exposed to the elements to improve the accuracy of my olfactory senses, displaying a gleeful smile, as adrenaline flowed through my powerful body, the feel of the air rushing across my skin, and the constant, powerful motions of my body, nothing short of addicting. As I leapt across the gaps between buildings, traveling the city at a blistering 270kmh as I chased the distant smell of the slums, the ideal location for my current task.

I watched as the buildings began to be built with visibly lower quality. How the roads slowly became less and less populated, and the stench and effluvia grew more powerful.

Satisfied with my location, I quickly chose an arbitrary patrol pattern, and continued on my run, simply enjoying the pure power of my body now that I had no reason to be prudent with energy expenditure, nor travel in one direction burdened by the weight of my items.

Roughly 15 minutes later, my nose picked up the nearby smell of fresh blood, and I twisted my body mid air to land perpendicular to my current direction of travel, pulling myself forwards the moment I landed, I sailed across the narrow road, and a few buildings down, before landing on the side of a hard wood building forming the wall of an alley, my sharpened claws, as well as the climbing spikes at the front of my boots, easily finding purchase in the otherwise powerful material, -the buildings here were of incredible quality in construction despite the relative decay of the rest of these slums, a shame there seems to have been no planning or consideration for basic utilities and necessities to go along with it.- as I launched myself forward simultaneously as my powerful limbs absorbed the remainder of my sideways momentum, before pushing myself up and away from the wall the moment said momentum had disappeared, as I twisted around myself, landing perfectly back on the rooftops, allowing me to complete my 90° turn with no lost speed in less than 5 seconds.

It took me only another 10 seconds before I was forced to slow, the distant sound of laughter and exertion reaching my ears. landing in a roll on the next building, I only lept to the next building just before I ran out of space to travel. It occurred to me that I had not begun to slow soon enough to land above the source of the blood silently. 

But I cared not, rolling on the next roof as I bled off as much speed as possible, I allowed myself to fall into the next alley way, pulling my legs out in front of me, I landed softly on the wall before me, the sound of creaking wood traveling out through the night, lept softly from the wall, flipping through the air, I landed on a thick laundry rope just below me, wrapping my legs around it, as It dipped down under my weight, loudly creaking in complaint but holding fast, and I came to a complete stop, hanging there upside down, 5 meters from the floor, taking in the scene below me.

Below me, a group of three men stood, two leaning against a nearby wall in conversation, as the third lay, naked and undulating atop the bruised corpse of a young woman, likely no older than 15, her eyes clouded and lifeless. Blood flowed from the numerous cuts across her body, many dried and flaky, and covered in ugly bruises, the lack of rigor mortis in the cadaver suggested the death was recent. Although her body was already cold. Likely less than an hour had passed since her death.

The sound of conversation died quickly, as one of the men, sporting large rat-like ears, held his fist up to the other, turning up in the direction of the noise he had heard, they were met with my own, and his body stiffened in fear, a wide grin replacing the frown that had formed on my face upon seeing the corpse.

"~Hey there! You guys wouldn't happen to be part of a familia would you?"

His friend, a tall elf, his eyes and voice the definition of arrogance. Responded first, having discovered my form just moments after his comrade. 

"Get down at once! You are in the presence of the great Thorian the second! Son of Thorian the first! And a member of the great Soma Familia!"

My grin just grew wider with every word that left his mouth, and I watched with amusement as the scrawny rat man slowly inched backwards in a vain attempt to separate himself from this elf.

"~purrfect~"

(an: hope you enjoyed the chapter…

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Oh you're still here. I don't really have anything else to say. So uh. Yeah. that's it. See ya."