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"What's your plan here, Killer? Surely you don't think you can defeat me alone." Was he banking on the Rainlords showing up to help him?

A sharp pain arrived in his skull, so sudden and intense that he had to endure it for a few moments before using Elinox's power to numb it. Which provided Croll with an opening to attack.

The Killer lunged straight toward him, unsheathing his blade.

In a blink, Vanderberk was bisected in two, straight down the middle.

If he wasn't already in pan-rozum, that might have been a small problem. The blade flashed again, and Vanderberk raised a hand to catch Croll's sword arm with a helium prison. Croll would be able to resist it, Vanderberk knew, but it would still be enough to slow or even deflect the attack.

It did nothing, however. Croll's attacked continued, unabated, and sliced Vanderberk diagonally from shoulder to hip.

What the hell?

Croll didn't let up. He kept slashing away.

More confused than upset, Vanderberk resorted to his full helium form in order begin dodging more easily. The blade whiffed or passed through his gaseous body as Vanderberk focused on creating space between him and Croll while he reassessed.

Several things were wrong here. The world around him seemed to slow as he sorted through them all.

One. Croll had not only betrayed him but done it stupidly. Alone, the man stood no chance here, so where was his backup? Vanderberk couldn't sense anyone.

Two. Vanderberk couldn't stop or slow Croll's attacks, as if he wasn't even feeling the helium interruptions.

Three. Where had that sharp headache come from? A psychic assault? Croll had no such power, as far as Vanderberk knew.

Four. Croll's attacks were sloppy. Despite how much power was behind them and how fast they appeared, these slashes were actually quite slow, by Croll's standards. Rather than cutting him into two, the Killer of Krohin should have been able to dice a vulnerable Vanderberk into dozens of pieces in that same amount of time. Vanderberk had seen Croll's swordwork countless times before, so unless the man was holding back, this made little sense.

Five. The other incapacitated subordinates. What had happened to them? They weren't dead. If Croll had really attacked them, they would be.

That was enough. Vanderberk came back to reality, having a new test in mind for his opponent.