A Dirge and a Eulogy

It was a truly frightening sight as five large fire-breathing Chimeras charged at them, they started hurling spells at the Chimeras but to no avail. The bodies of the Chimera were so resistant to basic magic that it needed really deep magic spells to scratch them, magic spells that weakened the user faster than It normally would. They tried attacking the Professor since he was human and he was connected to the beasts but he wouldn't budge, his skin was almost as hard as that of the Chimeras.

"Mom! the last time we fought it, I used the vine spell and it made it bleed, maybe if we did it together it would help weaken it" Alice shouted as she dodged a large ball of fire shot at her.

"Okay then, on three we attack," Sarah said. They did their best evading sets of consecutive attacks as they waited patiently for an opening to strike the Chimera. "THREE!" Sarah shouted and in unison, the both of them bellowed "Spina vites" and the ground shook and a large volume of Vines came from the ground under the Chimera they were fighting and it squeezed it so tightly the Chimera fell to it kneels and then large spikes came from the Vines and went through the beast on every side with blood spurting in large quantities, it continued for a couple of seconds until the beast finally let out a roar and died with its body turning to ash. The Professor who was not actively involved in the fight was bleeding from his nose and his body but he got up and shook it off.

"Everyone uses the spike vine spell together!" Alice shouted but when they all tried using it, it didn't do any harm to the Chimera it was almost as if it wasn't feeling anything even though a large number of spikes were been shot through it. It didn't take long before the Chimeras broke free from the Vines used in binding them.

"It won't work, the same spell can't be used in killing a Chimera," the Professor said as he burst into laughter mocking their efforts. At this point Claire had already passed out since she could no longer keep up with the intensity of the battle due to her frail body, Peter quickly cast a protective barrier over her so she wouldn't get hit by a stray spell or get trampled upon by the beasts. Even he was getting tired and weak, he could no longer feel his left arm and he was forcing his body to move, just then Mr. Julien came riding on the back of a horse, he navigated through the field of the battle dodging lightening strikes from the serpentine tails but his luck came to an end as his horse was knocked off balance by Professor Hugo with an earth manipulation spell. Mr. Julien fell to the ground but got up quickly as he ran towards Peter.

"Everyone! run behind the Grounds keeper" The Principal shouted. All of them began running behind Mr. Julien except Sarah who held up a large barrier providing cover for them by blocking the continuous assault from the Chimeras.

"Gather around me everyone," Mr. Julien said. They gathered around him and he began to chant incantations, as he chanted a ring of white light proceeded from his body and began towards them until it covered them and they started feeling strong again. Mr. Julien couldn't cast spells as humans could but he was like a bottomless pit of endless energy he couldn't use for himself but share with others.

"Hurry up with whatever you're doing, I'm not sure I can hold this up for very long," Sarah said. They ran towards Sarah but before they could get there the barrier broke and a Chimera hit Sarah with its paws blasting her against the Principal's building and she collapsed.

"Mom! Alice shouted as she ran towards Sarah, but Melissa quickly stopped her and urged her to continue fighting. Mr. Julien ran over to her and dragged her body inside the house so he could revive her. Peter surprisingly didn't lose control, he was angry but it didn't trigger the Demon Lord's power. He ran towards the Chimera with an ice spear in his hand, slid under it, dodging its inswinging paw, and stabbed it, tearing through its belly and revealing the guts of the beast. When he came out from behind the fallen Chimera he felt as if all the power he had just gotten had left him and he fell to his knees panting heavily.

It was just three Chimeras left and at the rate at which the battle was going the Professor was sure to lose, so he thought of what would hurt the Principal so badly and he found it. He quickly commanded a Chimera to head towards the dormitories and burn down everything. Melissa saw a Chimera leaving the battle and heading for the school so she chased after it with Alice following behind her.

"Foolish demons, now they've left you behind to face my judgment," Professor Hugo said as he walked slowly to the Principal with the remaining two beasts behind him.

"I'm not alone Erik, you are," the Principal said as he ducked and a large blast of lightning ran through the Professor sending him across the field. It was Sarah, she had already been healed and Energised by Mr. Julien, she ran towards the Chimeras and with all her might she shouted

"ego dolorem" released an immense amount of magic power and immediately the two beasts stood on two feet and let out a loud deafening shriek an already rejuvenated Peter blasted one of the two Chimeras with a very large flaming spear through its heart and it slowly faded away into ash. The last one was still on the ground writhing in pain as Sarah maintained her concentration but suddenly the ground turned into sand and started to swallow Sarah slowly, it was the Professor, but that spell required deep concentration and in doing so he lost his grip on the last Chimera and it disappeared back to the dark dimension. The Sand put Sarah in a tight spot as she was already weak but she wasn't too weak to quickly dispel the Professor with a binding spell. She got pulled from the sand by the Principal and as she got up she saw Peter kneeling on the ground breathing heavily, Mr. Julien who was hiding inside the house came out and started walking towards them smiling broadly but it was short-lived as he shouted: "behind you! behind you!". It was the professor who used all of his remaining life force to shoot a curse (after which he died) at Peter who was being helped to his feet by the Principal, none of them were quick to react as Peter fell to the ground life started leaving him slowly.

"No no no, Peter!" the Principal cried shaking Peter vigorously "you can't die on us now, you're the only hope in saving our world". Sarah who was still lying on the ground was dumbfounded, she couldn't even shed a tear as she looked at Peter's soon-to-be lifeless body on the ground.

"I know what I'll do, I know what I must do," the Principal said anxiously. He got up and drew a circle around Peter and conjures candle lights around the circle and began to mutter an incantation putting his left hand on Peter's chest and raising Peter's right hand to touch his heart, it was unclear what he was saying till he shouted "vita mea" which translates to 'my life' then it was clear he was exchanging his life for Peter's. Immediately after the incantations, the Principal collapsed to the ground and Peter opened his eyes. Melissa and Alice had already defeated the runaway Chimera and arrived just in time to see the Noble deed of the Principal, Claire who was almost forgotten woke up due to the blistering sun which was now erect in the sky and disabled the protective barrier and on seeing the Principal's lifeless body let out a scream as she ran towards him, she cried bitterly and would not be consoled. Alice and Melissa had to carry her away from the body so they could take his body back to the ministry.

Two weeks had passed and the death of the Principal still seemed like it just happened, there were no classes in session as both teachers and students couldn't get over the passing of Mr. Pierre, the silence was almost deafening and the only thing that calmed the brutal silence was wailing from Mrs. Brigitte the lunch lady who received her order for ingredients used in making Pink Pralines because that very day was the second time it was going to served that month as was tradition. She cried because seeing the ingredients reminded her of how the Principal would childishly sneak in through the back door to steal the delicious pastry from the pan before it was served, she looked at the big spatula she would use in threatening the Principal whenever he came and burst into another round of tears. A suggestion was made that Pink Pralines stopped being served in memorial for the Principal but Mrs. Brigitte quickly dispelled the idea and ordered that they should be served in honor and memory of him, so whenever it was that time of the month to eat Pink Pralines everyone would remember Principal Pierre Guillaume and the idea was adopted.

The Tuesday of the following week was the day scheduled for his wake, Tuesday was specifically picked because during an assembly at the Great Hall the Principal wouldn't stop rambling about how Tuesday was the best day of the week and that on that day special reception magic was in the air that aided learning so he would increase the workload on the students. At the time the students thought him cruel for it and dreaded Tuesdays but now it was a beautiful memory they didn't soon forget as they shared his belief and continued his tradition. With the Dirge playing in the background Claire came forward to give the Eulogy on behalf of the students and on that day, she was brightly dressed as she wore the Principal's favorite colors which he always wore on Tuesdays.

"Another Tuesday in which you're absent, I'll

be sure to dish out your punishment

(she giggled as tears slowly rolled down her

cheek). I wear your favorite colors in place

of my school uniform with the hope that you'll

come scold me and tell me to get properly

dressed (she said smiling). You were a great

man and a wonderful Principal even though

outwardly you look unapproachable with your

curled mustache and your blazing look that

scared most people away, but deep down

your love for all of us surpassed even words

and action. You taught us kindness and

tolerance, you taught us the values of peace

but also prepared us for war, you helped our

weaknesses and taught us true strengths,

and above all, you were a Father to me, the

one I never had and that's why I'd like to say

a big thank you for the love you showed me,

the teachings you gave us here and for your

service to humanity.

Principal Pierre Guillaume the world will miss

you. Goodbye and farewell. After which she broke down in tears and was helped away by Alice. The Music playing was the saddest Peter ever heard and deep down he wished he didn't have to hear it ever again.