"HAHA… HAHAHHAHAHA… AAAAHHHAHAHAHAHAH!"
The maniacal laughter tore through the city like a thunderclap, Leviathan rising higher into the sky with his arms stretched wide, his head thrown back, that inhuman sound rolling outward in waves.
It was not merely loud. It carried a weight to it, an oppressiveness that struck the weak-willed like hammer blows, pressing down on the chest, crushing the air from the lungs, driving many throughout the city to their knees without a single hand being laid upon them.
When the laughter finally broke, Leviathan looked down, and his eyes found Emperor Melvin standing atop the palace spire. He let his smile settle into something slower and more deliberate, his eyes pressing thin with quiet, vicious amusement.
"Melvin," he said, drawing the name out almost lazily, as though savoring it. "Did you truly believe that your presence warranted my personal attention?"
He let the question hang in the air for several long seconds, giving it room to breathe.
