In a single, breathtaking fraction of a second, the crystal tile floor exploded. Hundreds of geometric plates lit up in a volcanic burst of neon green, deep violet, fiery orange, and electric blue. A shockwave of heavy bass thundered through the crystal; pant legs vibrated against the legs of the partygoers, and the air above the floor began to sizzle with heat and magical pressure. Glasses danced across the wooden tables, while the silence was blown away by a staggering wall of crystal clear synth melodies and pounding drum rhythms.
Across the entire floor, the crowd merged into a wildly moving ocean of bodies. Bones glided like a graceful, shadowy silhouette through the people, his form breaking apart in the trail of flashing tiles. Zephyr was practically flying across the venue; with weightless leaps, he seemed to defy gravity above the illuminated crystal. Elena and Sir Ouroboros swirled in a tight, synchronized spiral across the floor, the neon light rippling over the fabric of their clothes as if they were draped in liquid light.
Above the steaming crowd, the hypeman's microphone crackled. Standing on a floating platform, wielding a staff that shot thick trails of purple lightning into the air, the man screamed until the veins on his neck bulged:
"YES YES YES! Let me see those hands! Feel that bass slam into your chest, let the electricity drive through your veins! TONIGHT, WE TEAR THIS WHOLE TOWN DOWN!"
At the absolute center of the arena, Beat closed his eyes for a fraction of a second and let his shoulders drop loose. As soon as the next heavy bass drop vibrated through the crystal tile floor, he shot into motion.
His upper body moved smoothly, low to the ground, riding the lazy, rolling rhythm of the reggaeton: his hips rotated in short, controlled bursts, his shoulders isolating flawlessly on every snare hit. But from his waist down, it was a complete explosion of lightning fast action. With unbelievable precision, his soles bounced off the tiles. His heels and toes tapped the edges of the glowing crystal at an absurd tempo; an aggressive running man seamlessly transitioned into a wide, gliding T-step, hooking his feet inward and outward with blinding speed.
With every sway of his hips and every hard kick of his legs, a mini fountain of violet and gold sparks sprayed out from under his shoes upon impact. He seemed to defy gravity; one second he was hanging tilted on a single heel while sweeping his other leg in a wide circle, and before the sparks could even hit the ground, he was already three meters away finishing a rapid spin. The light strips on his clothes flashed brightly with every footstep, making his shadow dance in strange, slow motion patterns across the illuminated tile floor.
At the edge of the dance floor, in the VIP area near a massive oak bar, stood King Solomon, Faustus, and Leonardo. Their cheeks were flushed red, their eyes gleamed unsteadily from the strong liquor, and with foaming mugs of beer in hand, they bumped shoulders continuously. Leonardo burst out laughing, spilling drink down his sleeve, while Faustus, with a thick cigar clamped between his teeth, slyly slid a rolled scroll with a royal seal under a beer coaster. Solomon gave a barely noticeable nod, took a deep gulp, and grinned broadly at a dirty joke.
Until the hypeman's floating platform slammed to a halt directly above the center of the room with a deafening crack of light:
"PEOPLE, PEOPLE! GET YOUR GROUPS READY! BRACE YOURSELVES, BECAUSE THE LEGENDARY DANCE BATTLE TOURNAMENT IS STARTING RIGHT NOW!"
Leonardo erupted into a booming fit of laughter, leaning heavily against the bar top until the wood creaked and bowed, waving his hand dismissively toward the floor:
"Haha… how bad could it possibly be? Those kids aren't really that competitive with each other… right?"
In a microsecond, the faces of Solomon and Faustus hardened. The drunken amusement vanished like snow under the sun. Their pupils narrowed into sharp slits, their broad shoulders squared, and the look in their eyes turned ice cold and razor sharp; as if a magical shock had instantly burned all the alcohol out of their bloodstreams.
"You don't know a damn thing, hahahaha!" their voices thundered in unison.
With a heavy thud, both of their palms slammed onto Leonardo's shoulders simultaneously. The impact made his knees buckle and sent a shiver straight down his spine. From his overflowing beer mug, a thick golden droplet shot upward, hung frozen in the air for a second amidst the flashing neon beams, and fell back into his glass with a sharp plop.
Meanwhile, a brutal division of power was taking place on the crystal tile floor. Lines of light on the ground began to flash like borders between different territories. Aurelius and Jane stepped forward, chins held high with pride, their clothes pulled tight as if they were about to fight a knight's duel. Miki and Ren turned back to back, crossed their arms tightly over their chests, and stared into the room with a mocking, provocative smirk. Silarias and Nyx clenched their fists, bumped their knuckles hard against each other, and formed a closed, unbreakable front.
Beat looked around frantically and tried to run over to Apollo, but Apollo was already stretched out over the length of a wooden bench, snoring loudly with an empty beer mug still loosely clutched in his fingers. Out of the smoke, Blitz leapt forward. Blitz and Beat exchanged a quick, hard nod, their eyes locked in absolute focus; no words needed, this team was ready to crush everything in their path.
Then the air at the edge of the arena ripped open. With a hellish flash of purple light and a thick cloud of smoke rolling over the tiles like a wall, Vulkan and Valeria marched into the circle. The muscles in Vulkan's neck strained so tight his veins bulged, and he roared at the top of his lungs over the deafening crowd:
"I DON'T CARE WHAT KIND OF CONTEST IT IS, I'M DOWN!"
With a tense, trembling index finger, he pointed straight into Silarias' face:
"Congratulations, fathead! Haha! But prepare yourself, because I'm going to wipe the floor with you!"
Valeria stepped out from behind him, rolling her eyes dramatically at his yelling, but her mouth curled into a wide, warm smile as she waved at the newlyweds:
"Yeah Sil and Nyx, huge congratulations!"
Before Vulkan's roar could even fade, Balamore and Izamaru stepped forward. The tiles under their feet turned deep red with every step they took. Balamore clapped theatrically above his head and swayed his hips provocatively across the floor:
"Aaaaaand where's that party at?! Hahaha! Sil and Nyx!"
Izamaru clenched both fists beside his head, pulled a wild face, and screamed until his voice cracked:
"CONGRATULATIONS!"
And then… the entire arena fell silent.
The music faded down to a low, vibrating undertone. The five groups edged forward until their noses were barely half a meter apart. A circle of searing white light closed in around them. Face to face, the tension stretched so tight that the crystal under their feet almost seemed to creak.
Miki took a step forward, drew her thumb across her throat, and looked at Aurelius and Jane with icy disdain.
"Fancy clothes," she spat, her muscles tensing to the blaring bass, "too bad you move in them like you swallowed wooden broomsticks!"
Jane slowly raised an eyebrow. Without twitching a single muscle, she leaned forward until the tips of their noses almost touched, and blew a lock of hair out of her eyes.
"Cute, Miki. But save that big mouth for when you're crawling on your knees to the first aid station because you broke your own ankles."
Aurelius smirked wickedly. He cast a quick glance at Beat and Blitz and shook his head pitifully.
"And look at this desperate band of misfits… Beat, did you seriously have to pick up a stray off the street because Apollo knocked himself out after just two beers?"
The glowing tiles under Blitz' boots flashed bright red as he slammed his foot down hard. He stepped dangerously close into Aurelius' personal space and tapped a heavy index finger against his polished chestplate.
"Stray?! This stray is about to wipe those shiny slippers of yours off this floor so hard your mommy and daddy won't even recognize you, marblehead!"
"Haha, listen to him bark!" Vulkan yelled right through it. The veins on his neck were so taut they looked ready to burst. He flexed his arms until the fabric of his sleeves strained against his muscles, pulled his top lip into a savage sneer, and pointed at everyone in the circle one by one.
"You're all side characters in my show! Balamore, your moves look like you've got a nest of wasps in your pants! And Silarias, buddy… I love you, but that fat ass of yours isn't hitting anything today except the hard ground!"
Nyx placed her hands on her hips, stuck her tongue out as far as she could at Vulkan, and burst into a shrill, teasing laugh.
"Look at him, big muscles, tiny little brain! Vulkan, you look like you need to take a dump! Try stepping on the beat for a change instead of stomping across the tiles like a wild gorilla!"
Izamaru made a blabbering hand gesture at Nyx, sniffed melodramatically, and brushed imaginary dust off his shoulder.
"Blah blah blah! Nyx, girl, congrats on the wedding, but your man's gonna have to wipe your tears when we completely obliterate you guys! Balamore, show these amateurs who's boss!"
Balamore shook his hips provocatively back and forth, pointed his thumbs down, and made a ridiculous face toward Ren.
"Numéro uno, baby! You guys aren't even warm-up material! Ren, go back to kindergarten, your footwork is so slow the mold on the tiles grows faster!"
Ren clenched his fists. Anger shot through his body; he dropped deep into a crouch, brought his hands up as if ready to go for someone's throat, and bared his teeth in a fierce, dangerous grimace.
"Bring it on, loudmouths! Come get some! We're kicking all of you out of here one by one—"
"HOLD UP, HOLD UP!" the hypeman's magically amplified voice suddenly rasped through the speakers. He leaned far over the edge of his floating platform, staring intently down at the roaring teenager. "This is a dance battle, not a street fight!"
Ren froze mid-stance. He looked up at the platform, gave a single sharp nod, recovered his rhythm, and turned back to the rest with a wide grimace:
"Bring it on, talkers… we're DANCING you out of this room!"
The sound of three hard slaps rang out almost simultaneously across the venue. Miki, Jane, and Nyx all facepalmed at the exact same moment, letting their heads drop in utter despair.
To the side of the glowing arena, just outside the steaming crowd, Vespera watched the chaotic scene. She burst into uncontrollable laughter, leaning on Juro's shoulder with a broad grin and nudging him playfully with her elbow.
"Now I know where they get that behavior from, haha!"
Juro looked at her, his eyes reflecting the blue-purple glow of the crystal tile floor. The corner of his mouth twitched upward into a faint smile.
"With any luck, tonight we might catch a glimpse of what they've actually been learning all this time…"
At that moment, the hypeman's staff erupted into a fountain of blazing white fire. The floating discs above the floor began to spin, projecting massive, glowing letters into the smoke-filled air.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" the speakers thundered, as the echo bounced through the entire space. "ACCEPT YOUR OPPONENTS! THE TEAMS ARE SET!"
Above the heads of the partygoers, the names flamed to life in brilliant magical neon symbols:
TEAM 1: Miki x Ren
TEAM 2: Balamore x Izamaru
TEAM 3: Aurelius x Jane
TEAM 4: Silarias x Nyx
TEAM 5: Beat x Blitz
TEAM 6: Vulkan x Valeria
TEAM 7: Zephyr x Bones
TEAM 8: Lady Ouroboros x Sir Ouroboros
The letters of light shifted rapidly. Magical threads of illumination connected the names, weaving a giant, floating bracket right above the middle of the dance floor.
ROUND 1: QUARTER FINALS
MATCH 1: Silarias & Nyx vs. Vulkan & Valeria
MATCH 2: Aurelius & Jane vs. Miki & Ren
MATCH 3: Beat & Blitz vs. Balamore & Izamaru
MATCH 4: Lady & Sir Ouroboros vs. Zephyr & Bones
The crowd went completely wild at the sight of the match-ups. Whistles, screams, and deafening cheers filled the hall.
The hypeman grinned widely beneath his hood, spat a shower of sparks from his microphone, and added in a casual, sinister tone:
"And remember the only golden rule tonight: anything goes… as long as nobody stays dead! THE DANCING FIGHT CONTEST HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN!"
The entire floor fell into a confused, dead silence.
Everyone stared up at the floating platform. The dancers' eyes grew as wide as saucers. It took a few seconds for what had just been said to register.
"FIGHT…?!" all sixteen participants screamed at the exact same time, their voices cracking in shock and disbelief.
Before anyone could ask a single question or back out, the crystal tile floor transformed.
The geometric tiles beneath their feet tore free from one another with a mechanical rumble and began rising and falling, creating a massive, three-dimensional arena of elevated platforms, crystal staircases, and floating dance blocks in a fraction of a second. From the edges of the tiles, meter-high walls of roaring purple and orange magical fire shot upward, dividing the different combat zones.
The heavy bass line in the music shifted into a pulsing, militaristic drum beat. The tournament bracket above them flashed blood-red, and the tiles under the feet of Silarias, Nyx, Vulkan, and Valeria began lifting upward at breakneck speed toward the absolute center of the blazing fire arena.
Sparks flew through the air, the crystal hummed with magical tension, and the very first confrontation was on the verge of breaking loose.