4 The Opportunity

Ferric and Ares stared each other down. Ferric's grip tightened on his battle axe as his knuckles whitened. His face was overcast, obviously in deep thought. Meanwhile, Ares was covered behind his helmet, looking stoic and imposing. The only indication of his feelings was the relaxed stance he took while facing Ferric. "I am ready whenever you are, mortal," Ares said, his voice knocking Ferric out of his trance.

"I hope you are," Ferric said. In reality, though, Ferric had no idea what to do to win this fight. He had never met an opponent whose armor was so indestructible. It had no visible chinks anywhere in it. Even the joints seemed to be covered by some ultra-hard material. Grimacing, Ferric dug in and prepared to engage the god of war once more.

Ferric was once again the one to engage, this time running low to the ground his axe swinging in a diagonal arc across Ares's body. Ares lifted his sword almost lazily to block Ferric's strike. Ferric, however, changed the angle of his strike at the last second, making his axe slide down the sword towards the ground. Then, before Ares could react, Ferric swung the axe backwards as he slid past Ares, slamming the weapon into the back of his kneecap. Ares stumbled for a second, nearly kneeling down, before swinging his sword ferociously full circle back at Ferric.

Anger flashed across Ferric's face as he rolled out of the way. He had just hit Ares in the weakest point of any armor he had faced, and Ares barely flinched. Ares quickly adjusted his body so that he was facing Ferric. "Not bad, not bad at all mortal. The last person to make me stumble is the current leader of the Barbarian clan in Valhalla. However, it is still futile in the end. You will never be able to pierce through the gap in my armor," Ares rumbled.

Ferric's expression shifted into a grin. "So there is a gap in the armor?" he said, knowing he was right.

Ares's body tensed up. "None that you will hit!" he said, roaring, before leaping at Ferric. Ferric laughed before quickly dodging the massive sword.

"Just because you are the god of war does not mean you have any brains to speak of!" Ferric taunted Ares.

Enraged, Ares put two hands on his massive sword and swung it violently at Ferric. Ferric, wise enough not to meet it directly with his blade, deflected the greatsword with the edge of his axe before scampering away. "You know Ares, I'm convinced that there's nothing inside that helmet at all, it just completes the set of armor."

Ares looked at him and roared like a beast, the sound waves ruffling Ferric's hair and lifting up Ares's cape. Ferric's eyes were hyper focused on Ares. Thanks to years of battling and a lifetime of experience, Ferric's gaze was trained to seek out the flaws in his opponent immediately. As he stared at Ares, his gaze rested on the cape. From what he knew of Ares so far, he was an incredibly proficient fighter. Although arrogant, Ares did take things seriously, as seen by his furious and speedy attacks. So why would he wear a cape, something that would only slow him down and leave his opponent with something to grab?

Ferric's thought was interrupted by the bellowing war god running at him. Hastily retreating backwards, he swung his axe at the sword. The sword sent his battle axe flying, once again leaving him weaponless.

At this point, Ferric's mind was working overtime. He was frantically trying to find a way to deal with Ares, even without his axe. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. "Hey Ares, having trouble with this puny mortal, are you? Well really, your just too slow. I can see your charges from a mile away. How do you expect to hit anyone at a snail's pace?"

Ares was now thoroughly enraged. He yelled at the top of his lungs again, before running straight at Ferric at a speed much faster than before. Ferric was almost startled from this speed, but having been expecting it, his eyes focused in. As the point of Ares's sword came towards his chest he narrowly leaped out of the way, latching on to Ares's shoulder. As Ares's momentum carried him forward, Ferric tore the clasps off of Ares's cape, disconnecting it from his body. The cape fell away, revealing a gap smack dab in the middle of Ares's back. The hole in the armor emitted a faint glow, which would never have been seen with the cape.

Ferric's eyes lit up. However, as he was celebrating internally, Ares grabbed his head and brought him over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground. Ferric felt his bones break and was unable to move. Ares looked down at him and slammed the sword into his gut. Ferric gasped at the pain, nearly screaming out loud.

"Well, now you know. Just because you do means nothing, however. Maybe you'll really have a chance on your next try," Ares said, looking down at Ferric as the life faded from his eyes.