"Merry Christmas!"
Cheers swept through the brilliantly lit Piccadilly Circus like a tsunami.
Streamers fluttered, balloons rose into the air, and strangers embraced, kissed, and raised their glasses.
Beneath the giant Christmas tree at the center of the square, an adorable little girl wearing a reindeer-antler headband was held high by her father, her laughter as clear as silver bells.
Not far away, a group of tourists from Dongda excitedly took pictures of one another, with flashing neon lights and artificial snowflakes drifting through the sky behind them. They shouted "Merry Christmas" in Chinese.
Before the final note of "Christmas" had fully faded, the smile of the father holding his daughter aloft abruptly froze, twisting into an expression of extreme agony.
A short, hoarse gasp escaped his throat, as though someone had clamped a hand tightly around his neck.
The girl stared in terror at Dad's suddenly widened eyes. Before her eyes, they rapidly filled with blood vessels.
Suppressing the agony, he set his daughter down and slowly collapsed to the ground.
"Dad!"
Centered on him, an invisible curse began spreading outward.
In an instant, dozens of people nearby, regardless of gender or nationality, suffered the same pain at the same time.
Their bones seemed to be crushed, their organs pierced by icy needles, and their skin roasted by searing lava, drawing groans of agony from them.
"Aah!!!"
"God! No—"
"It hurts!"
One after another, shrill screams that barely sounded human instantly replaced the festive clamor.
The people in the square seemed to have been struck by heavy hammers, collapsing in clusters and curling into themselves.
Even the giant Christmas tree in the center seemed infected by the pain. Its lights began flickering rapidly and irregularly, illuminating one twisted face after another.
Among the Dongda tour group, several people on