Page 3301 -- CCLXXVIII.

Behind.

Vanderberk could sense it himself now. Yes. The Inferno was afraid, but it knew something was there. Instead of pursuing on its own, it was giving its knowledge to him. Its extra senses.

What were these? Vanderberk couldn't have described them, even if he'd had the presence of mind to do so. This had never happened before.

Didn't matter, though. He knew enough.

He attacked. And learned more.


Chapter Two Hundred Seventy-Eight: 'Coddled sprout, be uprooted...'
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Raul sprinted across the surface of the river, not wanting to look back but knowing that he had to. Vanderberk seemed to have finally forgotten about him, but that hadn't improved his circumstances nearly as much as Raul might've hoped.

Whatever the hell was happening in this fight right now made absolutely no sense to him. His eyes could scarcely even comprehend what he was looking at. What were those hellish abominations flying around all over the place? Evil spirits? Literal demons? And the crystal monsters? What were those? Golems? Angels?

Nothing made sense.

But then, he'd been warned about this. By "Croll," no less.

When Thaddeus Croll had first shown up at Logden, Raul had thought it anything but good. But that began to change when the man started speaking to him telepathically.

'Listen to me, young Rainlord. I am not Thaddeus Croll. This is a disguise to fool Vanderberk. You do not know me, but I am your ally. Here is my plan. Convey it to your kin for me.'

And over the next day, the fake Croll fed him information. Raul hadn't exactly enjoyed getting his windpipe crushed or his fingers broken, but he didn't get much choice in the matter. He would've certainly been willing to feed Vanderberk lies, but perhaps the imposter hadn't wanted to risk relying on him for that.

It had been a bold plan, though.

To isolate Vanderberk and kill him. Meanwhile, the Rainlords were supposed to sneak into the prison again and finally rescue everyone.

There would still be plenty of Abolish fighters back at Logden, of course, but with Vanderberk busy and the element of surprise on their side, it seemed doable.

Raul would've liked to ask the fake any number of different questions, but the crushed windpipe had occurred too soon into the encounter for that. No doubt, the imposter feared him saying something stupid.

He had gotten a few answers, though.