When the two young men returned to the hotel, they met the three girls at the front desk. Each girl was carrying several bags, which they held as best they could. When the girls saw the young men arrive, they were excited.
"Jack! Alexis! You guys are such handsome, big, strong, chivalrous boys. Will you hold this for me?" Irina, the quickest of the girls, approached her teammates. Without waiting for a response, she handed Alexis a couple of bags.
"Jack is mine," said Laria. Her tone was neutral, but it made Lisa stop her attempt to approach Jack. She puffed out her cheeks, ready to complain.
"But these things are too heavy! Besides, my breasts hurt!" she complained loudly. She was oblivious to the strange looks some people gave her as they walked past.
"I gave you a potion for that. You should be fine. Don't overdo it," Laria answered her coldly before taking the ice cream jar from Jack's hand. She gave him all the bags she had carried to the hotel, suddenly making the man feel tired for no reason.
"Oops, Lisa. Don't try to argue. Alexis has strong arms, doesn't he? Let him help you," said Irina, gently touching Alexis's arm muscles. This made Lisa's purple eyes sparkle with interest.
"Thank you! I will reward you, maybe tonight...?" Although Lisa didn't finish her sentence, her companions understood her meaning from her chuckle.
Now, Alexis had both his arms and neck covered with bags to carry. Out of curiosity, he tried to look inside one of the bags and noticed that they contained garments. He knew they were feminine very quickly, seeing the black lace panties at first glance.
"Why did you buy so many clothes? Jack and I only picked out one pair!" Besides, did you know that there's a special hotel service that handles these things? Our purchases are in our rooms!" Alexis looked at his two companions with a strange expression, as if they were idiots.
"Where would be the fun in that? We were waiting for you guys to bond and share a moment," Lisa said in a dignified tone. If it weren't for the mocking smile on her face, Alexis might have believed her.
"I don't even know why I agreed to help," Alexis muttered before realizing that Jack hadn't complained at all during this whole situation. He turned his gaze to him, but what he saw made her left eye twitch slightly.
He saw Jack whispering in Laria's ear as she enjoyed the tub of ice cream. However, he noticed the girl shiver slightly and shrug her shoulders.
Because of this, Alexis had a clear idea of what his friend was whispering to his girlfriend. This made Alexis feel a pang of envy before he turned and looked at his two companions. This brought an idea to his mind.
"Jack, why don't you take Laria to that ballroom we found?" Alexis asked. Laria raised one of her white eyebrows, showing a bit of interest on her usually cold face.
"That's what I was getting at," Jack grumbled. He had been enjoying whispering to his girlfriend, but now that he had been interrupted, it would be too frivolous to continue.
"Alex and I found a ballroom. I told you I'd take you to one. Do you want to dance with me?" Jack asked, and Laria looked at him for a few moments before sketching a small smile.
"Yeah," it was rare for Laria to show emotion unless it was under certain special circumstances, so her smile made Jack smile as well.
"Okay, let's get your things to the room," Jack said, before giving Laria a quick kiss on the cheek. He walked toward the hotel elevator.
"How cloying," Irina complained. But she didn't resist the gossip and walked over to Laria, staring at her with her big eyes.
"What?" Laria continued eating ice cream as she walked to the elevator with her teammates.
"Nothing. I'm just thinking. When will you get married?" Irina asked abruptly, trying to bewilder Laria. Laria simply turned her head to look at her with her gray eyes.
"That's years away," Laria replied, causing doubts to fill Irina's mind.
Did her friends have plans for their future wedding? And she knew nothing! Wanting to probe further, Irina began to hurl questions at Laria, who remained silent to her dismay.
Lisa had also joined them, but Laria ignored her as she finished eating the ice cream Jack had brought her. Only the slight smile on her lips indicated that she was having fun at her friends' expense as they tried to get information out of her.
The guys, who were carrying things and watching the women chat, just looked at each other before shrugging.
"Are they getting married in a couple of years? I never thought you wanted to get married," Alexis whispered to Jack, who nodded with a smile.
"Yes, I know. It's complicated to talk about marriage when we work for UNMSO. But she and I have discussed it. Even if we remain agents, we'll choose a day to get married properly," Jack replied excitedly. He could already imagine their future wedding.
But for that, they had to stay alive.
...
In just a couple of hours, both Laria and Jack had showered and gotten ready for their date tonight. After battling a Cyber Ghost and completing their recent mission concerning the Mimic, they were looking forward to going out.
It had been a long time since they had gone on a proper date, so the couple was excited about tonight's outing. Jack had no weapon on his person except for his dagger, which he carried for minimal security.
He wore a simple black suit and white shirt. He wasn't sure how to dress for the ballroom in this city because such places in the capital were usually frequented by wealthy people. However, he felt his attire was suitable for the occasion.
Laria was quite well-groomed. She wore a long green dress and a white feathered coat that matched her hair, which was completely loose and further embellished her appearance.
Jack stared at Laria for a few seconds until she patted his arm, snapping him out of his stupor. She simply smiled at him slightly as she hooked his arm with hers.
"Will you stand there looking at me like that? We were supposed to dance tonight!" she said softly, accentuating her cleavage against her boyfriend's body. He only nodded.
"I was simply appreciating your beauty. You look beautiful tonight," Jack said after a moment's thought, offering his girlfriend a sincere compliment.
"New clothes have that effect," Laria pointed out, nodding at her outfit. Although she kept a neutral tone of voice, receiving a compliment made her happy.
She had chosen the dress she was wearing, as well as many other garments, knowing her boyfriend's aesthetic preferences. One could say that Laria took quite a bit of care in this regard.
After flirting with each other a bit, they borrowed a car from UNMSO's Norian City headquarters and drove toward the ballroom. When they arrived, they were quickly enveloped by the lively atmosphere.
Unlike other classical ballrooms, where the atmosphere was more serious and the people were there to make connections rather than dance, this one had a different vibe.
Instead of live music, they had a much better sound system than the one on the train. Although there was a small bar, it was not the main focus; rather, it was the large open space where many people danced freely.
There was no slow dancing or strict steps; it was much freer and more jovial. Though people were dancing together, they weren't following a classical structure; rather, they moved with the sensuality inherent in the modern music.
Jack hadn't heard the song before, but just by listening to its beat, he began to lightly tap the floor and gently pat his legs, letting the music carry him away.
Laria watched with interest as the dancing became liberating. She was very strict on the outside, only showing her more unrestrained side in private.
Watching these people dance with such excitement and with dance steps that seemed to incite sexuality between the couples was a bit of a shock for her. However, Laria was fascinated by research, especially biological research, so she turned her gray eyes to her boyfriend.
If it weren't for the glimpses of emotion she showed him when they were alone, Jack might have thought Laria was one of those cold automatons that appear in some parts of the world and stories from the past.
However, even without using his sixth sense, Jack could see the intensity in his girlfriend's eyes. She seemed to want to eat him alive, so he smiled as he stood in front of Laria.
"Let's dance, my lady," Jack said, understanding what she wanted. He offered her his hand and bowed slightly.
"It will be a pleasure to dance with you, my Warrior," Laria said as she took his hand. For a moment, the Pneuma between them resonated, allowing them to understand the other's emotions much more deeply.
In that instant, the world disappeared for the couple. Jack's brown eyes locked with Laria's gray ones, and they began to dance under the catchy beat of the music.
They spent only a short time watching the others dance, but it was enough for them to memorize most of the steps and the general style.
As Pneuma users who strengthened their bodies, they had a high level of self-control and were able to replicate the dance they had seen. It wasn't an instant learning experience, but they didn't mind.
Their date wasn't about dancing in the first place, but about spending time together. With every brush and every bold movement that brought their bodies together, the Pneuma pulsed within them, connecting them even more.
Pneuma is an energy present in all living beings, but only operators can use it among humans. It was generally an inert energy that only reacted when controlled or when certain situations occurred, many of which were dangerous. However, some were a bit more special.
As operators, they had already noticed the phenomenon of the energies in their bodies connecting when they spent intimate moments together, such as having sex. However, this was the first time this happened while dancing.
This connection made their movements more synchronized and their emotions more closely aligned. They simply enjoyed the moment. They didn't care about anyone but each other, not even the looks they received from others.
Those who had come to dance made room for them and paused to watch them become one in their dance. For many, it was a new experience. When would they see two people interact in such a way again?
Because of them, the ballroom atmosphere seemed to light up. Many couples got together and started dancing, inspired by them. Even the man who managed the music decided he wanted to leave his post, but he had a duty to fulfill.
Maurice was in charge of selecting music, placing records on the turntable, and ensuring the sound was properly amplified. Inspired by Jack and Laria's dance, he repeated the same song four times, but he didn't feel burdened by it.
"Looks like this is what love looks like," the man muttered, remembering his past.
While all this was going on, something else was brewing. Among Maurice's pile of records, one was undergoing an unfamiliar transformation.
Had Jack not been dancing, his sixth sense would have picked up on a hint of danger. However, he was engrossed in dancing with Laria.
So when a wave of ambient Pneuma swept through the ballroom, neither he nor Laria detected anything strange. For everyone else, the atmosphere simply became warmer, which was normal with so many people dancing.
That is, until the song that had been repeated several times was replaced by a very different one. Jack and Laria came out of their trance and finally noticed the strangeness in the atmosphere.
Maurice, who should have been controlling the sound in another location, was now in the crowd with an object that Jack identified as a phonograph. The song that overlapped the previous one came from this object.
It was horrible. There was no identifiable rhythm, and the words were a mix of mumbles and shouts that gave Jack a slight headache. Before he could control the Pneuma in his body and cover himself with a thin layer of this energy, things started to go awry.
Laria had to do the same. Luckily, they did it in time because, as the song played on, things started to go awry... quite literally and graphically.
First, Maurice dropped the phonograph on the floor, but the object did not seem to suffer any damage. The man's body began to shake uncontrollably, and soon his limbs started twitching.
"No! Stop it! I don't want to move! Stop it!" he cried, but his arms twisted tightly, followed by a series of clicks.
His legs made him walk stiffly, and his body shook to the sound of the horrible song. No matter how much he resisted or screamed, his body had begun a macabre dance.
Jack and Laria stepped back and watched as others began to suffer the same fate. Their bodies moved on their own, their limbs twisting and snapping. Some people even had bones piercing their skin, spilling blood all over the floor.
There was a common pattern, though: they all seemed to be dancing in some strange way. Moreover, the effect became more drastic with each passing minute of the song, inducing the victims' bodies to perform increasingly agile and complicated movements.
The couple saw one woman do a backward, twisting jump. Due to a lack of coordination, however, she fell backward to the ground. With a crunch, her neck twisted, and still, the nightmare did not end.
With her neck broken, the woman writhed on the floor before getting up and continuing to dance. There was no life in her eyes; she was a dead body dancing.
Her dance continued until death, and even then, it was not stopped. Only Jack and Laria could still control your bodies, but a strange desire began to grow in your minds. They wanted to join the dance. They wanted to twist your bodies to the music.
"Jack, did we run into an anomaly on our date?" Laria asked quietly. For the first time in a long time, Jack detected fear in her voice.
The last time he had heard Laria like this was when he was bitten by the Arachne on his right arm and nearly died. His girlfriend did her best to rescue him, showing fear at the prospect of his death.
"Laria, go call the others. This isn't something we can solve alone," Jack said. He noticed how the anomaly was spreading, but he didn't understand why no one was trying to run away.
"I don't think we can run away. Jack, look back." Following Laria's words, Jack looked back. His sixth sense exploded at that moment due to the fear alert he felt.
There was nothing at the door of the ballroom, yet terror invaded his mind. Jack understood one aspect of the situation at that moment: a dangerous cognitive phenomenon was causing fear in those who looked at the entrance, probably to prevent them from fleeing.
"Shit..." Jack exclaimed before his hand shook uncontrollably, causing him to lower his gaze.
His hands and body started to shake and writhe slightly. Even though he continued to reinforce his body with Pneuma, he couldn't mitigate this phenomenon.
"Is this thing mocking our resistance?" Laria wondered as her body began to suffer. She felt fear, but was also curious about her body's current condition.
"So it's not operating from the outside in, but the other way around." Though her body was getting out of control, Jack awkwardly brought his hands to his ears, wanting to taste something.
Though it didn't block out all the sound, making that simple gesture brought Jack's body back under control, causing his brown eyes to glow as the Pneuma boiled inside him.
Jack was angry right now. Watching the people's bodies writhe uncontrollably to a horrible song only fueled his anger.
He had chosen this place to have a good time with his girlfriend. She had dressed beautifully. They had danced, their energies resonating with each other. It was a perfect night, ruined by this anomaly.
If we're talking about who was angrier than Jack at that moment, though, it was his instincts. The voices of his instincts called out to him, urging him to fight. One voice stood out from the rest.
Jack's heart generated Pneuma, which completely reinforced his body. This time, it wasn't just a layer of energetic protection; it empowered his physical capabilities. All of this prepared him for what he was about to do.
"Laria, it looks like we won't be able to enjoy the rest of the night, but I have something to crush," Jack said, taking the enchanted dagger he had decided to bring with him.
Laria watched as Jack ducked slightly, and the ballroom floor cracked. She knew what was coming, so she looked at the phonograph, specifically at the record playing on it.
"Which one of the eight?" she asked, trying to keep her tone neutral, but it was clear she was distressed by the situation.
"The Fighting Instinct," Jack answered with a smile, because a much louder voice was in his head right now. Something inside him refused to give control of his body to the anomaly, even though he was still having slight spasms.
A voice repeated a simple phrase: Crush it all! This voice was accompanied by a voracious desire to fight.