If we had thought that the zombified students were all Casper had in his bag of tricks, we were in for a huge surprise.
Annabelle and the others had managed to open a way for me to face Casper while saving my strength but Casper still overpowered me without trying. Barely a few exchanges and he already had me to the floor so hard I shattered the asphalt. I looked at him, sure I wasn't going to stand up anytime soon as he taunted "Why is it that you're fighting as though you are missing something? Why are you this weak? Well, it isn't much to worry so I'll make you forget what it is that you miss". Just then, he raised a hand into the air, saying some words under his breath in that strange language he always used. Suddenly, the air rose, the dust gathered and a familiar monster came back.
"Didn't he obliterate them then?" Ivy asked and I answered "I thought the same as well but as you can see, that's not the case" just as they stomped at me. I managed to roll away as Luke, Will and Castor (combined) rushed at me. I suddenly felt a familiar surge of power which I couldn't tell if it was a friend or foe just as a rift opened as though through space and Delphine came out. She grabbed at them, pushing them out of my way just in time as Ivory came to my side. She injected me with something which accelerated my healing process, allowing me to return to the fight faster than I thought.
I charged at the wall that had now formed in front of Casper as I fought, knocking them out as I grabbed him by the throat, straight into the wall and said "So you didn't finish them off after all." "You were the fool for thinking that in the first place." he replied, using a trick I hadn't seen in a while. He punched me with such force without touching me. The space around me contorted, creating the effect of being punched. I made to close the distance from him but he just laughed, saying "I thought you'd know better. Distance means nothing to me" just as he focused his gaze on my position. I could see myself running towards him but try as hard as I could, I couldn't close the distance between us.
All this ended when Delphine slashed the air in front of me with her hand. Suddenly I could move and rushed him with a barrage of punches, all of which he blocked and we got to fighting properly. I grabbed at his head, kneeing him in the face but he seemed unfazed. He shook me off and kicked me before I could raise my head. Dizzy, I stood and faced him, my vision turning red before being clear again. I moved in on him, attacking from his blind spots and taking advantage of my new helper. Delphine had handed the monster that used to be Luke, Castor and Will over to Ivy and Jerry who seemed to have little problem taking that offer.
Together we pushed Casper back, with me attacking from his blind spots while Delphine drew his attention from the front. It certainly got a lot better with her help since if he focused his attention on me, he'll fall for Delphine's tricks, and if he focused on her, I'll deal physical damage. He seemed to be only slightly annoyed by our combined attacks and I confirmed when he said amidst our attacks "I must admit, you're quite good. But you're only good enough for me to do this" as he pulled out a sword from thin air with which he attacked back. Even with Delphine's help, it was all I could do to defend myself as he attacked without giving me room to get myself. All of a sudden, a blast of energy pushed him back, allowing for me to get a weapon to defend myself with. I saw that the weapon I had picked up belonged to someone I knew - Arthur was the best swordsman in the entire academy, excelling in any art of the sword that ever existed, from western to eastern sword styles. The sword I picked up was viewed as his signature sword which could change shape, depending on the wielder. In my hands it adjusted, becoming a longsword which conformed with my weight, granting me the advantage of weapon reach and I moved in on him, following Delphine's directions as we coordinated our moves. We kept it up, fighting until he said "Okay, I've had my fill playing with you two. Time for me to get serious." as his eyes glowed green, the same way my eyes glowed and he attacked, focusing on Delphine as he ignored me and everything I tried, landing attack after attack without relenting. She put up quite the fight but it seemed even she couldn't get one over him.
The battle took quite some time but I noticed it was over when I saw her cough up blood, a hand through her chest. He had stabbed her with his hand while I couldn't do a single thing. Upon seeing that, it was as though I had lost everything, despair crept up on me and I screamed out, a sound so horrible I wasn't sure it came from me. Some kind of smoke, reddish black in colour started pouring out of my body, my conscious started fading and I attacked him.