[h2]Down in the Mausoleum[/h2]

"You seem rather... confused," the vampire pointed out, raising an eyebrow. On his end, the fight was remarkably stress free--while the floor was increasingly marked by scorches of flame, the disconnected hand was the only thing that needed to move. His voice carried a note of disappointment, but at the same time, there was an undeniable tinge of [i]amusement[/i] to it. "Did you think to challenge a vampire without knowing the bare minimum of our capabilities? My dear, such overconfidence is going to get you killed some day."

His other hand, still holding the crossbow, tapped against the neck, "Decapitation. Fire. Going for the heart. Holy magic or the power of the sun more directly. [i]Those[/i] are the things you need to fight us, and many others beside. Anything else is to engage in a battle of attrition, and, why--I can't imagine you [i]haven't[/i] seen or heard of the paladin's approach to combat. She has enough of a reputation for myself to have heard of it."

Damon's eyes glanced up towards the roof, paying attention to something just beyond human perception. "Well, I think that's my favour repaid, I'll leave you knights to clear up the infestation."

The flames licking away at his blade intensified, the weapon slamming into the ground between them and sending out a red line that rose into a full wall. "Tell my family that I said hello. And let little Veilena know that I'm [i]very[/i] interested to see what she does from here~"

Already darting back from the flame, the vampire slung his handless arm over the demon and--with another purple ripple in the air--they were gone. Demon, vampire, and blood-fuelled flames, leaving only the sabre stabbed into the rocky ground.

And the now-limp hand.