Hawthorne's laughter echoed through the deathly silence, hoarse, desolate... mad.
He laughed so hard he doubled over, tears nearly spilling from his eyes, as though he had never encountered anything so ridiculous in his life.
The people around him looked at him with varying expressions—shock, contempt, wariness—but most of all, the cold detachment of those looking down on a madman.
It was as though they stood upon invisible bleachers, gazing down at the disgraced, deranged Chairman. Their last traces of doubt and guilt seemed to have been erased by this "madness"—
[Look, he really has lost his mind.]
Lyla Piquery frowned slightly, cold disgust and impatience flashing through her eyes. She lightly waved a hand and said flatly:
"Grim, arrest him."
Rex Grim gritted his teeth and immediately strode toward Hawthorne, who was still laughing, reaching out to carry out the arrest.
However, just as his fingertips were about to touch Hawthorne's arm—
A silent red spell brimming with terrifying power suddenly struck from behind and to the side, hitting Grim squarely in the ribs!
"Urgh—!"
Grim let out a brief cry of pain. Like a sack struck by a massive hammer, he flew through the air in an arc before crashing heavily onto the stone floor several yards away!
As he landed, he curled up and coughed up a mouthful of blood. He struggled to rise, but for the moment, he had no strength left!
Lila spun around and looked toward where the spell had come from.
At the edge of the crowd stood Madam Seraphina Piquery, though no one knew when she had arrived.
The aged former Chairwoman looked haggard. Having rushed over in haste, she was still wearing a pair of fluffy slippers, and her shawl had slipped halfway off her shoulders.
Her body trembled faintly from