The blue fluid crackling across Adom's skin actually made Helios pause. For about three seconds, which was probably some kind of record for vampire reaction times to unexpected situations.

"Oh?" His perfect eyebrows rose slightly. "Now that's interesting. Some hidden strength perhaps? A touch of courage?" He took a step forward, wood creaking beneath his feet. "Admirable, really. Most would have-"

The man started monologuing.

Helios, it seems, really wanted Adom to understand the vast gulf between them. The centuries of experience. The careful cultivation of power. The futility of resistance. Something about being apex predators and food chains, blah, blah, blah.

Adom wasn't really listening. There was no time for that. Instead, he was remembering another rule of street fighting. Was it rule four? Maybe seven? Honestly, at this point, the exact numbering didn't matter.

What mattered was the principle:

'The best time to attack is when they're still explaining why you can't possibly beat them.'

[Stone Spike]

Stone spikes erupted through the floorboards, punching through Helios's legs, chest, shoulders - pinning him in place like an insect on display. His perfect face contorted in shock, then rage, then pain.

[Fireball]. Once, then...

[Fireball] [Fireball] [Fireball] [Fireball]

The rapid-fire spells lit up the room like a miniature sun.

Heat rolled off in waves, warping the air and forcing sweat from every pore. The first fireball caught Helios in the chest with a roar that drowned out all other sounds. The second and third followed with thunderous cracks, their explosions merging into one continuous blast that engulfed his torso. The fourth turned his head into a torch. His screams started as something inhuman, then became very, very human.

Each spell hit before the previous one's flames had died. They left deep scorch marks where they collided, and soon, the stench of burning flesh mingled with the wood smoke. The heat became so intense that the remaining glass in the windows began to crack.

"MAGE! IT'S A MAGE!"

People scrambled over each other trying to escape the shop, their previous morbid curiosity evaporating at the sight of actual combat magic.

[Control]

Everything that wasn't nailed down - broken furniture, glass shards, wooden splinters, even that merchant's cart from earlier - suddenly developed a burning desire to become intimately acquainted with Helios's person. At high velocity.

And because Adom was feeling particularly spiteful (and because some habits are hard to break), another [Fireball] for good measure.

The explosion rattled windows and sent smoke billowing into the street.

There was something deeply satisfying about setting the object of your anger on fire. Multiple times. Probably not the healthiest coping mechanism, but Adom wasn't exactly looking for therapy recommendations right now.

Still, Adom knew better than to celebrate too early.

The problem with vampires was their endurance. Everyone knew that. Without the power of the sun, killing one was like trying to put out a forest fire with a water pistol - theoretically possible, practically suicidal.

Which was why Adom wasn't particularly surprised when the charred, smoking wreck that was Helios broke free from the stone spikes with a sound that might have been a roar, if his vocal cords hadn't been mostly ash. The vampire launched himself forward, movements jerky and wild, claws extended where his perfectly manicured fingers used to be.

Rule number five of street fighting came to mind: "The best defense is not being there when they try to hit you."

The vampire's burned eyes were useless, but his other senses were working just fine. Not that it helped much - Adom could practically taste the rage coming off him. Every swipe, every lunge was powered by pure fury.

[Fireball]

Dodge.

[Push]

Roll.

Another [Fireball] for good measure.

BOOM

Each miss, each new burn, each impact just fed that anger. Helios's movements became more erratic, more predictable. The kind of patterns even someone like Adom - who'd spent more time reading books than throwing punches - could read.

Which brought him to another rule of street fighting: "If you're going to do something stupid, do it with absolute confidence."

There - the opening was so obvious. Helios overextended on a swipe, his balance shifted just a fraction too far forward.

[Steel Fist]

[Push]

The second spell wasn't aimed at Helios. Adom cast it on himself, launching his body forward like a missile. The combination of momentum and reinforced fist met Helios's jaw in what was possibly the most vicious hook ever thrown by a 79 years old boy.

The impact was spectacular. Bone met bone with a crack that echoed through the room. Adom's shoulder dislocated instantly - not that he felt it. Too much spite for pain right now.

[-13 Life force]

[+6 White Wyrm Body]

[-56 Mana Pool]

Helios went flying through the same wall he'd sent Adom through earlier - a fact that brought Adom more satisfaction than he cared to admit. The vampire's body disappeared into the market, accompanied by the sound of multiple impacts and shattering wood.