After Arco's speech ended, the entire room become lively. 

Some of the men went to nearby ladies and asked for a dance.

'Ok, remember your special training with Elma.' John tried to encourage himself.

John stood up from his seat and went in front of Lucia. He bowed and awkwardly asked. "Would you give me your first dance this evening?" John raised his arm to Lucia.

Lucia smiled and put her hands on John's hand. "Glady." 

Then the whole orchestra came alive. The music changed from background music to forefront one.

Both Lucia and John slowly walked in synched with other couples to the center of the room.

Some guests are at their table looking at the crowd in the middle of the room with envy. Others are happily chatting with each other. 

Soon all the couples formed two circles, one small and one large.  

John once again stiffly bowed to Lucia, while Lucia elegantly did her curtsy. John put his hand on Lucia's back and grasp her other hand with the other.

Soon the dance begins. John and Lucia swayed their body while moving clockwise in the circle.

'Okay after I spin her under my arm, we go counterclockwise' John thinks of the next moves making his movement stiff.

"Oww, what?" John said in a soft voice. Lucia's nail had dug deep into John's hand.

"John, you also need to pay attention to your dance partner." Lucia lightly scolds John.

'Yeah, she's right.' John relaxed and smiled at Lucia. After taking a breath, John decided to enjoy the dance with Lucia. His movement became fluid though it was a tempo slower. Lucia was able to make up the tempo with her dance skills.

The two dance while conversing silently.

"I did not know you know how to dance," Lucia whispered.

"I took some lessons. But I guess I am still an amateur. " John smiled. 

"Hahaha, but it is enough to have a wonderful time." Lucia smiled back.

Thankfully they weren't the worst dancers on the floor.

The last movement of the dance came, Lucia slowly lean back and John supports her. 

Along with the other people, John and Lucia left the center of the room. Lucia went to the restroom, while John returned to the table.

'Huh, I feel like the color of the room is off...' John thinks as he looks around the room from his seat.

'Maybe it has always been this way.' Seeing no other guests were confused, John dismissed his doubts.

John took a sip of the water he got from a passing waiter when he noticed Alice returning to the table.

"Welcome back Lady Alice, where is your father you?" John asked.

My father went to talk to his associates"

"I see. Lady Alice, did you enjoy the dance as well?"

"Noone asked me to dance." 

Alice's answers are short and to the point, making it difficult to John to have a conversation. The orchestra began playing a soft melody signaling the second dance was about to begin.

Making up his mind, John went in front of Alice. He then did the same movements asking Alice for a dance.

"..." Alice didn't answer but simply placed her hand on John's outstretched hand.

Soon the music began in earnest. John and Alice slowly walked to the center of the room along with the other guests.

The orchestra played another piece and the second dance has begun. John and Alice soon took the center of attention of the room.

The fluid and perfect movements of the two look like art. Their dance made the rest look like backdrops. Alice was an amazing dancer. She guided John's amateur moves like a puppeteer guides a puppet.

The music slowly faded signaling the end of the second dance.

"Huh? The dance has already ended." John broke from a daze. His body is exhausted. John and Alice went back to the table to rest.

'The room now has a light orange tinge.' John observes the lights.

He tried to see if anyone else notice the changes. Most guests were in discussions, but a few guests are also looking around the room with puzzled expressions.

The music started again, but this time John decided to look for Lucia. Meanwhile, Alice was asked by another male guest for the third dance.

John walked toward the exit doors only to see Lucia hiding behind the shadow of one of the columns. She was carefully observing a candle in her hands. John approached her only to see a familiar shimmer next to the column.

"Lucia, where did you get a sword?" John asked in a hushed tone. 

"I took one of the swords displayed in the hallway when I returned from the restroom," Lucia answered 

"Something strange is happening," John then told Lucia his observations.

"You think every time the dance ends, the light in the room will change?"

"Yes, I think I also need a weapon," John replied going to the doors t

"It's no use. The doors are locked shut after I returned. I tried waiting for the servants to leave, but they seem to be using a hidden door."

While they were discussing, the light in the room changed. It turned from light orange to sunset. 

"!" Lucia grabbed the sword.

"I don't like where this is going" John spoke his mind out loud.

John looked around to see if anyone else notice the strange phenomenon.

However, it seems only a couple of people are nervously looking around.

The break between the third and fourth dances was short. John and Lucia waited in the shadow of the column for the end of the fourth dance.

This time the room has turned blood red. The orchestra was playing a dissonant tune. But most guests are acting as if everything is normal. The few that John noticed the strange phenomena are stiff like statues. 

The fifth dance started. In addition to a strange dance, the dancers are also chanting in a strange language. Even the guests at the tables are chanting. Even John felt an urge to join.

John didn't notice when Arco appeared in the middle of the room. One by one, Arco pierced the dancer's chest with his hand.

When Arco was about to pierce the last dancer, a scream rang through the room.

It seems one of the guests was not able to take it any longer. They ran straight to the doors.

"Hahaha, I was wondering when someone will scream. I guess this is the new record." Arco's cold voice sounded around the room. He pierced the last dancers.

The scream awakened the rest of the guests.

Seeing the weird and bloody scene, most guests left their seats and rushed toward the two exits. 

John and Lucia move away from the door while keeping their sight of Arco and his entourage.

Some of the guests decided to confront Arco with props they found nearby.

 Soon the doors opened and guards rushed inside.

"Thank you..."

"Please save us..."

The guests pleaded to the guards, but they answered with the thrust of their weapons to the chest of the nearest guest. 

The unlucky guest with their eyes wide open weakly tried to grab one of the blades on their chest. However, one of the guards push kick away the dying guest's body making it fall to the ground with a thud.

The horrifying scene made the rest of the guests step back in horror. 

 

Unable to simply watch, Lucia grasped the sword and slowly moved toward Arco.

Meanwhile, John took a chair and slammed it into the glass window. The chair simply shattered to pieces, while the glass remained intact.

"What the hell." John cursed as he throw the broken chair to the ground.

Arco let out a horrible screech. Someone had pierced his eye with knives. Arco's entourage forced back the guests away from Arco. Arco took out a knife from his eye.

Taking this chance, Lucia slashed his sword at Arco's body. The sword cleaves down through Arco's shoulders to his body. With a thud, Arco's body fell on the floor. 

However, Arco's death did not stop the guards and Arco's entourage. Lucia is now fighting some of the guards and entourage. Her every attack is fierce and deadly. She danced between offense and defense.

Meanwhile, a guard approached John. The guard's obvious overhead swing was dodged by John. John grabbed a glass of liquor and splashed it on the guard's face. 

"Aughh"

The guard screamed in pain as he tried to wipe to alcohol from his face. John took this chance and slammed a chair on top of the guard's head.

John took the guard's dropped sword and looked at the room.

Lucia has whittled down the group of guards and entourage to just two.

"What the f**k?" John cursed in fright. 

Red pulsing tendrils sprouted out of Arco's wound. The tendrils are crawling on the ground. Some of the tendrils are digging into the corpses on the ground. 

A horrifying scene soon. The corpses with red tendrils attached crawled slowly toward Arco's body.

"Lucia, let's leave," John shouted. He has a feeling that he doesn't want to be in this room when whatever is happening is finished.