I was in control....... barely.
I could feel the smoky substance leaving my body, my skin turning lighter in colour as my vision became even clearer (if that is actually possible) while Casper drowned in laughter.
"I knew it!" he kept exclaiming while he paced around. "I knew I wasn't wrong." he suddenly stopped to look me in the eye and said "So what now, Eric Licht? Will you take revenge for the one you couldn't save?" Facing him and concentrating hard to calm myself, I said "Flames, roar". Immediately, a column of flames roared to life at my feet. He made to move away when I asked "Where do you think you're going?" The ground reshaped itself at my words, holding his legs to the ground at the ankles and allowing for the flames to attack him without a moment's rest. He laughed and said "Surely you didn't you think this would be enough to hold me down" as he released himself from his restraints. "I didn't-" he made to say but I suddenly asked him "And what gave you the right to talk?" I asked and his face sealed at the mouth position. The surrounding place resounded with his laughter "You'll need more than that to shut me up." he said "Good to see you take advantage of your powers, the Words of Reality." "Go forth." I said as the floor broke into pieces, shaping itself into daggers as it rushed towards him. Just as I managed to pin him to the wall, he disappeared and materialized behind me.
He made to erode my sense of distance but I managed to finish before him. "Palace of Nature" I said, creating an area of effect where magic and innate abilities were sealed, causing us to resort to close quarter combat. He came in with a punch which I dodged, picking up a steel rod which I used like a sword, swinging it at his head but he released his aura and the rod bent. He kicked me and I fell but just as he was coming in for the finish, he got two blasts to the gut. Looking in the direction from which the blast came, I saw Ivy and Jerry, their eyes flaring with anger. Ivy looked at me and said "Thankful your abilities limit to just magic." as she charged in with a punch, Jerry by her side. The fight was very brief. Casper easily overpowered them, knocking them both unconscious and throwing their bodies at me.
Now my body trembled, betraying the emotions I had managed to keep in check- anger, frustration, pain as I caught their bodies. My aura released unconsciously as I struggled to keep myself in check. I put them close to Annabelle who was tending to Talia and Natalie and said "If you don't want to die, don't think of coming close". She nodded as I moved forward, facing Casper. I gained the upper hand of the battle easily, having a few opportunities to finish him off but due to some reason, I couldn't bring myself to finish him. He noticed it and asked "You could have finished me time and time again. Why do you hesitate?" "Probably because we're still brothers, no matter what may happen" I answered him "And I also want to see if there's anything I can learn from you" to which he laughed, attacking and seizing control of the battle.
It went on like this for a while, both of us not letting up and battling with all we've got when he said "The earlier you drop that thought, the better for both of us" as he hit me with a technique I couldn't understand. It felt like he was using magic but didn't feel like that at the same time. As soon as the attack connected, every spell I had casted previously were dispelled and he suddenly disappeared, materializing behind Annabelle who was taking care of the others and made to slash at them with a dagger.
At that, I lost my cool. All the emotions I had struggled to keep in check suddenly burst forth and I looked him straight in the eye. The next moment, I was on him with a punch that sent him flying into the distance. Just as he was going to land, I was on him again, hitting like a maniac. "Seems there's still some left before you reach the Origin." he said as I kept hitting. I could feel my conscious slip away until a voice called "Eric Licht!" All of a sudden, I got myself. Annabelle was looking my way, worry written clearly on her face as she stood with the entire crew. When I turned to look back at Casper, he had already created a portal and was about stepping into it. He looked at me and said "We will meet again. I hope you're closer to the Origin when that happens." as he stepped into the portal, vanishing from our sight. At that, I fell on my knees as the pain of losing my friends overwhelmed me and I sobbed uncontrollably. Looking at the unconscious students that now have no hope of returning to their normal selves, I steeled my resolve. "I won't wait until you come for me again. This time, I'll make sure to take the fight to you." I said to myself as I faced Delphine's body. I turned to face the center of the academy and said "I promise you all, this is not over. Not by a long shot. We will end this farce and meet again. That I will assure you". I turned to face the bodies and said "Ash!" I said and all the bodies were turned to ashes along with the buildings of Charlotte academy, leaving a desolate wasteland. I turned to Annabelle and said "I'm taking this fight to him!" "And we're coming with you" She said while Talia and Natalie agreed. "So are we." Ivy and Jerry said but I immediately said to them "No! You guys should not even think of it. I won't be able to bear it if anything was to happen to you. You might have superior technology but at the end of the day, you're still humans. For my sake at least, don't try to come with me." Ivory made to argue but a pointed glare at her dissuaded her. Annabelle looked at me and asked "We may have decided to follow him but how do we even go about it?" "Residual magic" I answered "Whenever someone casts a spell, there is always a residual energy where the spell is released. You just have to release sufficient energy at that point to recast the spell". I then went to the point where the portal was opened and felt the energy. Channeling my fists with sufficient energy, I punched through, reopening the portal. Turning to face Ivy and Jerry, I said to them "Take care." as I, Annabelle, Talia and Natalie stepped together into the unknown.