The others in the conference room could not see Kadman's face head-on. Most were still immersed in the cheerful mood brought on by the absurdity.
But there were exceptions, such as the operations captain, Hood. He belonged to neither side of the negotiations and thus was not seated at the negotiating table. Following professional habit, he stood in a corner of the conference room, roughly behind and to Kadman's right.
At that moment, he saw Kadman's right hand, extended at his side, making repeated unnatural flicking motions. Under such circumstances, the suddenly bright firelight became especially eerie.
For a normal person, shifting mentally from one state into another completely contrary state always required an adjustment period. Hood hesitated for two seconds before finally striding over to ask what was happening.
Yet when he was only one step away, Kadman's flicking motion suddenly became ten times more violent, like a savage hook.
Hood's reflexes far surpassed those of an ordinary person. He made the most correct response, bending his upper body backward using only the strength of his waist and abdomen while sliding his feet away.
The fist wrapped in blood-colored flames swung past almost against his chin. Hood even heard the explosive crack of burning air, along with indistinct, chaotic noises mixed within it.
Startled cries rang out in the conference room, followed by the scrape of tables and chairs against the floor. Some people stood up; others froze where they were. Clearly, all of them had been frightened.
The earlier cheerful atmosphere collapsed in an instant.
The next second, Hood pulled back and shouted sharply:
"Kadman!"
Kadman did not respond. After throwing that punch, he seemed to have flung away control over his body as well. He staggered a step from the momentum, turning half sideways as his normal