After quite a while.
Leonard felt his vision slowly return. About ten seconds later, he could finally make out his surroundings.
He saw that his three companions and the many spectators in the gallery were all weeping uncontrollably, as though their eyes had been irritated by intense light. The four Tribunal security officers who had charged at him, along with the standing Tribunal security official, were all lying on the ground, their fates unknown.
Inside the tribunal, the remaining four Tribunal security officers hurried over from the gallery to provide support, but they did not dare approach. They merely watched him warily.
In a distant corner, the Magistrate Tribunal Captain—a Wizard with deeply sunken eyes—rose from his seat. He held a twenty-centimeter Short Staff in his hand and frowned as he looked over. After glancing at Leonard, he turned his head toward the side.
From that direction, a middle-aged man in a golden robe stepped in from outside the hall. His hair was impeccably combed, and his bearing was as sharp as a freshly drawn blade.
The moment Leonard saw him, he cried out involuntarily, "Deputy Arbiter!"
The man was the Deputy Arbiter of the Judgment Tribunal Leonard belonged to—the department's second-in-command, wielding considerable authority.
The instant he saw him, Leonard understood what had happened just now. Before the Tribunal security officers could attack him, this Deputy Arbiter must have intervened, blocked the attack, stripped the Tribunal security officers and the Magistrate Tribunal Captain of their ability to fight, and then made his appearance.
The only question was... why was the Deputy Arbiter here? Could it really be such a coincidence?
While Leonard was puzzled, Deputy Arbiter Ke En walked to his side and gave him a slight nod in greeting. Then he turned toward Adam, who had just recovered