Chapter 1113 - 200: Stay Away

Chapter 1113: Chapter 200: Stay Away

Hawthorne’s laughter echoed in the midst of a dead silence, hoarse, desolate...mad.

He laughed until he was doubled over, tears nearly streaming down his face, as if he had never encountered something so ridiculous in his life.

The people around him watched him, their expressions varied—astonishment, disdain, alertness, but mostly a detached, superior indifference, viewing a madman.

They stood as if on an invisible grandstand, looking down at the disgraced, deranged chairman, and the last shred of doubt and guilt in their hearts seemed to be wiped away by this "madness"—

[Look, he really is abnormal now.]

Laira Piqueley furrowed her brows slightly, a cold disgust and impatience flashed in her eyes, as she waved her hand lightly and said coldly:

"Grim, arrest him."

Rex Grim gritted his teeth, immediately striding towards Hawthorne who was still laughing, reaching out to execute the arrest.

However, just as his fingertips were about to touch Hawthorne’s arm—

A silent, yet terrifyingly powerful red light curse suddenly struck from the side, landing precise and fierce on Grim’s waist and ribs!

"Ugh—!"

Grim let out a sharp cry of pain, his whole body like a sandbag hit by a giant hammer, flying through the air, drawing an arc, and landing heavily a few meters away on the stone ground!

Upon landing, he curled up, coughing out a mouthful of fresh blood, struggling to get up but temporarily unable to muster any strength!

Laira jerked her head around, looking in the direction from which the spell came.

There at the edge of the crowd, Madam Seraphina Piqueley was already standing there, unaware.

The elderly former chairwoman looked haggard, having rushed over, wearing a pair of furry slippers, her shawl had accidentally slipped halfway off.

Her body trembled slightly from excitement and emotional impact, but the hand holding the magic wand was as steady as a rock, the tip aimed directly, unwaveringly, at Laira.

Her gaze was no longer the tolerant and cloudy during her days of house arrest, but burning with fierce anger and a resolute defiance, completely betrayed and intolerant.

That sharp look was like a blade, to the extent that it silenced the "judges" around her momentarily.

Everyone subconsciously avoided her gaze, the few closest took an involuntary step back.

The air seemed to have frozen.

Hawthorne’s laughter abruptly stopped at this moment. He stood in place, his dim eyes looking toward the frail Seraphina.

"Madam Piqueley!" Laira said coldly, "What are you trying to do? Assault an Auror and harbor a criminal! Just for this alone, I can arrest you!"

"Then pin a crime on me too, arrest me as well! Otherwise—"

Seraphina’s chest heaved violently, her aged voice trembling from anger:

"Laira Piqueley! I won’t allow... I will never allow you to use such filthy means to trample the law, and slander colleagues!"

Laira’s face instantly darkened like water, she took a deep breath, quickly turning her shock and anger into a stern and painful righteousness of "putting family above all," her voice suddenly raised:

"Aunt! Have you been deceived by Hawthorne’s sweet talk?! Look around! Look at Perez’s corpse, look at Director Hughes’ plight!"

"Nikolo Hossun has committed undeniable serious crimes! Do you truly mean to harbor a killer of colleagues and stand against the entire Magic Congress?!"

Saying this, she didn’t hesitate, loudly ordering:

"Madam Seraphina Piqueley has been mentally agitated, her actions are out of control! To prevent her from harming herself or others, temporarily restrain her!"

A few Aurors and officials hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly moved toward Seraphina.

"Don’t put us in a difficult position, Madam Piqueley..." one of them whispered, "Hawthorne is destined to step down, you don’t have to—"

"Stupefy!"

"Stupefy!"

Lady Seraphina stood her ground, her wand pointed, spells whistled out accurately and fiercely, directly knocking away the two who approached first.

Her face full of anger, she shouted, "I don’t care what benefits Laira offered you, but you all! You’ve sunk to this level! Agilbert, I never thought you would be one of them!"

Fontana lifted his eyes, saying, "Whether or not you believe it, Seraphina... our actions are all for the American Magic World. Hawthorne is old-fashioned and conservative, no longer keeping up with the times. He may not be a bad person, but he’s indeed a hindrance to Magic Congress’ development..."

His words hadn’t yet finished when the attention of those around focused on the two, a scream distorted by extreme fear suddenly exploded from the other side of the crowd—

"Put it down! Hawthorne! What are you trying to do?!"

Everyone’s eyes instinctively turned to look, only to see Hawthorne, who had been crazily laughing, now quietly holding baby Hughes in his arms, along with something else:

It was a sparkling golden orb of light, like a star plucked from the night sky, hovering above Hawthorne’s palm, slowly rotating.

Within the orb, dense golden particles flowed like a nebula, breathtakingly beautiful but equally dangerous.

At this moment, everyone who witnessed Hughes and Perez’s plight simultaneously changed color, horrified, staring at Hawthorne.

And Hawthorne’s face was devoid of madness and laughter, leaving only a calm, bone-chilling hatred and indifference.

His gaze swept over Laira, swept over Fontana, swept over every familiar or unfamiliar face present.

These faces, he had once believed represented the future of the American Magic World, the people he was meant to support and protect.

Finally, he looked at Seraphina.

"Thank you, Seraphina."

He said calmly, "I’m sorry, about the promise I made to you before... I can’t keep it anymore. So now, get away, Madam!"

As soon as the words fell, the golden orb suddenly soared into the air, its radiant light bursting forth!

"He’s going to detonate the Time Particles!"

"Run—!"

"Stop him!"

Screams and shouts of terror exploded instantly, everyone frantically running in all directions, some even forgetting they were wizards, staggering and then rolling and crawling to escape.

Some did remember that the golden dust couldn’t resist the simplest breeze, hurriedly using the Atmospheri Charm, but those with this idea were not alone, yet their spell directions differed.

So in a split second, the airflow within the venue was a chaos, countless gusts of wind madly rushing unpredictably within the space, no one could foresee where the next wind would come from.

Seraphina did not flee, she waved her magic wand, the cloak on her body suddenly grew several times larger, enveloping her entirely.

On the other side, Laira was not panicked either, because Fontana was right behind her, with the Principal of Iphamoni’s ability, not even a speck of dust could fall on them.

She coldly watched the chaotic scene, watched the orb explode in the sky, then softly uttered:

"Don’t let him escape amidst the chaos, Sir."