With this being the premises of his new state, he had no difficulty distracting Sabrina from seeing his random jolting around. And when he finally went in for a back attack, he went in with the confidence that he was going to at least land a blow, even if he didn't end up being a fatal one. There was definitely no way she could keep up with his speed.
Gabby was right in that regard, Sabrina could never hope to see him coming at that speed, talk less of defending herself. But as Gabby was soon to discover, Sabrina's petals and her consciousness were two very different things.
