"The only good thing about this situation is the taste of this," muttered Jack as he took a sip from a bottle containing a red potion created by Laria.
The potion was designed for situations like this, causing some of his wounds to begin healing while he kept his attention on the approaching enemies.
After returning the bottle to his girlfriend, Jack took a deep breath to relax and prepare himself physically and mentally for what was about to happen. It wasn't just a matter of eliminating the affected individuals trying to surround them; it was also a matter of sealing the anomaly.
'Dealing with that bastard thing,' Jack growled mentally. His family's technique allowed him to listen to his instincts, which agreed with him because if there was anything more radical than himself, it was these things.
After all, although instincts may focus on different areas, they all point to the same thing: the survival of the organism that carries them at all costs.
That's why, metaphorically speaking, the loudest instinct in his ear was always survival, drowning out the other seven. Of course, it wasn't necessary to use his family technique at that moment. Now, he only had two simple tasks: cut and dismember.
The things in front of him no longer deserved the mercy given to humans. The anomaly in this town had been deeply rooted for a long time, affecting the townspeople profoundly. They were running toward Jack with maniacal laughter.
The saddest part of these events was that they rarely arrived in time to prevent the worst. Events such as the anomalous disc that Jack and Laria recently dealt with, where the phenomenon didn't spread beyond a few individuals, were rare.
No UNMSO-affiliated operator enjoyed dealing with affected humans in such cases. In fact, these conflicts were usually avoided. However, the five present knew this was no longer possible.
Jack was bothered by the fact that the amount of Pneuma in his body had decreased significantly, especially after emerging from the strange trance induced by his sixth sense.
'This is going to be a problem,' Jack thought, internally checking his body and assessing how much energy he had left. He couldn't suppress an uncomfortable smile.
After training, each operator could 'delve' into their body to examine their energy reserves and evaluate details about them.
Thus, he confirmed that this 'new ability,' over which he had no control, was energy-intensive. In such a dangerous situation, this condition could lead to his death.
Furthermore, this lack of control seemed to be due to his failure to meet certain requirements he didn't fully understand. Its use was related to the phenomenon mentioned by the mechanical existence.
This lack of control disturbed him, especially as a self-aware warrior. He did not know when he would have another 'vision' of this kind. If it happened again in this village, it would be deadly.
'I'll have to study more about this supposed World Pneuma Wave, but that will have to wait. There are more important things here. I just hope there are no unpleasant surprises,' thought Jack, narrowing his eyes and gripping the handle of his axe tightly. He placed it on his shoulder in a smooth motion.
"Looks like you're not dazed anymore," said Alexis. Like the others, he had noticed the strange state his friend had fallen into. He approached his friend and patted him on the shoulder before shooting an enemy directly in the head.
Bang!
"I thought you were going to laugh suddenly, Jack!" joked Irina, who had also taken one of Laria's potions. She adopted a quick-draw stance, which would seem strange to the untrained eye.
But to her, she was holding the projection of an Eastern Continent sword, from where her ancestors came. With a fierce movement, she swung her weapon and decapitated another affected villager. With quick steps, she avoided being stained by the splattered blood.
"We have to open a gap. We can't waste time here dealing with these guys," Lisa commented. She used her Pneuma bullets to wound the enemies and adapted more and more to her technique, which allowed her to accelerate these projectiles.
Luckily, she had prodigious aim, and with her visual talent, this process was fast. Since she was surrounded by her companions and barely consumed energy when using her projection, she could afford to "waste" energy in this way.
"The faster we finish this, the better," Alexis replied to his companion, using his Pneuma-made hands to slow down the movements of those affected.
This left several enemies vulnerable at once. Meanwhile, he used his enchanted pistol to weaken them. However, his support was much more important due to the wide range of possibilities it offered in combat.
This allowed teammates like Jack to conserve energy because he didn't have to exert himself too much to eliminate the townspeople under the anomaly's influence.
He only needed to swing his axe once to finish them off, without having to reinforce his body with Pneuma first. This allowed his body to gradually recover. With each heartbeat, strands of this invisible energy spread throughout his body, replenishing the reserves that had been consumed previously.
"It's not fun to do this, especially when I already know the changes in their bodies," Laria muttered before kicking the head of a woman who wouldn't stop laughing. Since her leg was reinforced with Pneuma, the blow was powerful enough to kill her instantly.
She only used her scalpel as a secondary weapon because her true strength lay in the martial arts she could perform with her body as a tool. With the empowerment of energy, these arts could reach even greater power.
After eliminating the closest enemy, she approached her companions, who had gathered close together instead of spreading out. They were still in an alley, a somewhat restrictive place for the team.
They didn't want to be separated by mistake and get hurt, so they decided to stand close together. Then, they focused tacitly on a specific point among the barricade formed by those affected by uncontrollable laughter in the village.
Alexis took a grenade with a high explosive level from one of the objects he was carrying. When he threw it, the enemies hardly reacted except with more crazy laughter because, in their state, they had no lucidity whatsoever.
Boom! Splat! Splat! Splat!
The grenade explosion caused chaos with blood and pieces of flesh. Even so, the wounded who remained laughed while crawling toward the team. Those behind them had fallen due to the shockwave produced by the explosion.
This created a gap with few enemies, which they took advantage of to escape the alley where they were trapped. They were no longer surrounded by people affected by uncontrollable laughter.
They decided that they couldn't fight everything that came at them. This was especially important to Jack, who wanted to be prepared for the dangers of the mission and any eventualities that might arise, especially after that strange vision.
After Alexis threw more smoke bombs, obscuring the people's vision, the group decided to go incognito and search for their mission's target: the source of all evil in this town.
A peculiar object found in the stomach of a fish. They did not know if this object was the source of the anomaly, but it was found when all this began, so it was a clue they had to follow.
Thus, the group began to move through the village silently and secretly. They avoided conflict and sought not to be seen or found by those affected by the anomaly, not even by a lone figure.
They had confirmed that they were all connected, probably because of the anomaly itself. It was as if they shared senses and perceptions, a particularly terrifying assumption.
Their mission was proceeding at a good pace while, in the shadows, certain entities writhed, waiting for the moment to launch their attack. At least someone was aware of their sinister intentions.
...
As time passed, the sun had moved across the sky; however, a thin layer of fog covered the village. While it did not obscure the view, it increased the temperature, making the search tedious due to the heat. As it was a coastal area, the heat was much stronger than in other parts of the Federation.
"This is the twenty-third house we're checking, but at least the smell of fish is strong here. I just hope it's because of the fish," Irina muttered, covering her nose with her fingers. She did not want to continue experiencing the foul odor coming from the small, dilapidated wooden house in front of her.
"Let's hope this is the one. But, as always, be prepared and keep your mind focused," replied Jack, whose energy had recovered considerably by this point.
His hand gripped the handle of his axe tightly; it rested on his shoulder. His eyes narrowed, and although he appeared relaxed, all his muscles were tense because his sixth sense told him something strange was happening nearby.
The only problem was that the heat had made him sweat a lot, so he had to constantly replenish his water supply. He decided to take a quick sip from his canteen while paying attention to his companions' conversation.
After all, moving around so much had made him very thirsty. They had already spent hours searching the village, focusing on the houses more than other areas because the town was fairly small and there weren't many areas worth exploring.
"Well, let's go in," said Irina, manifesting her invisible sword and holding it in her hand. She walked to the door of the house, but just as she was about to open it, a hand grabbed her shoulder and stopped her.
"Strangely, there's no one around..." commented Lisa, who, along with Jack, had noticed this, so she stopped her companion.
Although this would be an insignificant phrase in another context, it was an obvious oddity here, so the countenance of all the group members hardened.
Whenever they explored an area, they would encounter someone overcome with uncontrollable laughter. They always had to be cautious around them so as not to attract a mob, but now... There was nothing around, not even the distant sound of deranged laughter.
"Have your weapons ready," Laria said sharply. She twirled the scalpel she always carried, ready to attack. Even the Pneuma in her body stirred gently, prepared to reinforce her body quickly if she found herself in danger.
"This really gives me a bad feeling," said Alexis, holding his enchanted pistol. His Pneuma-made hands took the explosives he carried on his body. If there were any kind of trap or ambush, he would blow everything up without hesitation.
After raising their guard to the highest level, the team let Irina open the door. Expectations were high. Although they didn't see anything come out when the house opened, the tension was still present. After all, they still had to go in and explore.
Just as Jack stepped forward, he felt the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably. He clenched his teeth tightly, and the Pneuma in his body surged, reinforcing his entire being.
The protective properties of this energy kicked in, stopping his facial muscles from twitching. However, the operator's attention was on a strange statue placed on the table in front of him.
It was a small, pristine pearl. There was something unusual about it—or rather, its shape. It was impossibly round, and Jack, being a lover of enchantments, could easily identify this aspect.
In nature, nothing is perfect. Something like this was undoubtedly an anomaly. The pearl had visible cuts, but from a distance, they were difficult to understand. Just by paying attention to them, he felt that the air inside his body wanted to be expelled... with a loud laugh.
His companions who entered the house also had to use their Pneuma to neutralize the anomaly's increasingly strong influence. It was obvious that the anomaly was responsible for the situation. The question was, Why were there no enemies nearby?
That detail bothered them the most. They had found the anomaly responsible for the problem in this town, which caused the inhabitants to become madmen who only knew how to laugh and spread their laughter. But now... THERE WAS NOTHING!
Not even another entity like the one the team had faced a few hours ago. Nothing. The five of them stood in silence, staring intently at the perfect pearl until Alexis broke the silence.
"We can't just stand here and do nothing. I'll go seal it. Jack, help me," said the redhead, adjusting the glasses that covered his green, determined eyes.
"We'll keep an eye out for any changes," said Laria. She looked around and noticed that this house was unusually tidy, unlike the others they had checked, which were in complete disarray.
While the two men approached the pearl to seal it, the women moved away a little to guard the area, constantly checking for approaching enemies, though none appeared.
Alexis and Jack prepared the tools they had brought to perform the sealing. The tools were in a white bag. Upon opening it, Alexis took out several metal stakes filled with enchantment circuits. Both of their eyes shone with interest.
There were five of them, all silver with red lines delicately outlined. They intersected with each other to form a distinctive pattern that only connoisseurs or the interested could understand.
At the base of each stake were pieces of Vetro, a purple crystal and the source of energy for these tools. Along with a metal sphere bearing the same carved lines, which he took out of the bag, they had everything needed to seal the anomaly.
"To reinforce this, I will use my blood," Jack declared. His companions glanced at him, especially Laria. Despite her cold exterior, she conveyed her concern for her boyfriend through her gray eyes.
"Dude, it's not necessary..." Alexis tried to stop Jack, but when he saw the serious look in his friend's eyes, he realized that Jack wasn't suggesting anything; he was warning him about what he was going to do.
Knowing this, Alexis decided not to try to convince Jack anymore. Instead, he focused on preparing the sealing ritual. Although they were very close to the anomalous pearl, their desire to laugh did not grow as quickly as they thought it would. However, they could hear laughter coming from the object, which seemed to find their actions funny.
"I know you're sensitive. Many anomalies are. We're going to seal you, catalog you, and deposit you in an isolated warehouse where you'll never laugh again," Jack said, holding his dagger and pressing its blade against his wrist.
Perhaps because of his words, the pearl stirred slightly, and the laughter became louder, as if several people were laughing uncontrollably in the house. Jack, however, was incredibly serious, forcefully controlling the corners of his lips that threatened to turn into a smile.
"Jack, you can start." After placing the five stakes around the pearl, Alexis held the metal ball, which began to emit an attractive crimson glow that resonated with the stakes.
"Then...let this be the end of your joke," Jack muttered, slashing his wrist and causing a stream of blood to spurt out and fall onto and around the pearl.
This time, he didn't have to cast the same spell because the sealing devices emitted a special energy fluctuation that covered the pearl and guided the spilled blood automatically.
Ohm! Ohm! Ohm! Ohm! Ohm!
The environmental Pneuma buzzed constantly as it focused on the ritual area. This created a strange barrier that covered the entire anomalous object, thus initiating its sealing.
The pearl shook more violently, and the laughter grew louder. However, the sealing devices worked properly, containing the anomaly's influence. Thus, to the team, it was just normal laughter; they did not feel the urge to laugh uncontrollably.
While Jack drank a health potion that Laria had given him, Alexis turned the metal ball into pieces that surrounded the anomalous pearl, enclosing it completely. Together with the stakes, the entire sealing assembly took on a new shape: a cube.
The complete seal rested on the table. The laughter and jokes ended. The anomaly was successfully sealed. However, Jack remained tense, his sixth sense on full alert as he tried to sense something he was already familiar with.
'And there you are, bastard,' thought the warrior as that greedy gaze fell on him again.