As I closed the distance between us, Teros stood in a defensive position as though he wanted me to strike first.
This made me nervous, but I couldn't allow myself to hesitate. I had already committed to the offense and I would make sure to follow through.
I stepped inside of his range and attempted to deliver a palm at the god's chest, but he swatted the attack away with his forearm. I struck again, a palm aimed at his head but it was defended as well.
Teros refused to be pushed back, blocking each attack with speed a body that large should not have allowed.
I, however, was faster. I feinted high and aimed low, landing a blow to his abdomen. I felt him tense against the force but he could not help but be pushed backwards as his feet slid a few meters in the dirt.
I advanced again, with kicks this time.
Spinning and aiming them towards his head, which finally managed to make Teros retreat a few steps backwards.
For a moment, I thought I had gotten him, until I realized what he had planned.
Behind the feet of Teros was a snapped fallen log, easily many the size of myself.
I tried to hop backwards to get out of range, but I was too late, the god reached over and lifted the log with ease, displaying the disparity in strength between us.
Teros stepped forward, and hurled the fallen tree in my direction, forcing me to act fast and rash.
I jumped, but as soon as I did, I knew I would not clear the entire height of the log. I would have to try something different.
As the log flew beneath me, rather than landing on top of it clumsily, I stepped on top of it while in midair, and gently pushed my feet off of its surface.
The trajectory sent me flying upwards,
soaring through the air for a few moments until I eventually landed in the branch of a nearby tree.
The log that had been thrown crashed into another tree behind me, sending it toppling over.
Still, I was given no time to relax, Teros had seen the tree that I landed in and he sprinted towards it.
I should have been able to guess what he would do next, as it seemed to be well within his character, but still I was surprised.
As Teros reached the tree I stood in, he swung his arm back, and delivered a punch to the wood so powerful that I heard the tree trunk splinter beneath me.
Thump
Another punch, and this time, the tree began to topple and fall.
I leapt to another tree, landing in its branches and hoping that the god of foolhardiness did not spot me.
I began to fear the ground, unwilling to meet the god in hand to hand combat. It was the first time I had felt such fear since becoming a god, as I truly believed my life was at risk.
Teros must have failed to see where I landed, but it did not stop him from searching for me.
From above, through the leaves of the branch that I stood on, I watched the god make his way to each tree, and collapse them using blows with different limbs of his body.
I cannot stay here. Eventually, he will reach my location.
I attempted to think of plans, but my nerves failed me, causing my mind to blank.
I felt just as weak as I had been on Earth.
And then I heard it.
In the distance, a loud cry of agony echoed through the battlefield. I could not tell who the voice came from, only that it was certainly from a male.
Teros began to laugh an evil laugh as he made his way over to another tree and hit the trunk with tremendous force.
"You hear that Vale? Whilst you cower away in the trees of this forest, your men and women die on that hill. What sort of god are you!" He shouted.
The words boiled my blood and made me feel angry at myself. He was correct, I was a failure of a god.
I cannot allow things to play out this way.
On my back was the copper sword, strapped to me by plant fibers. I did not draw it at the start of the fight, as I believed myself to be faster when using no weapon.
But now I faced a god much larger and stronger than me. I needed something that would negate the reach advantage that Teros had on me.
Silently, I unstrapped the sword from my back. It was in the shape of the Japanese katanas of Earth, though its design was much less crude and made from a far weaker material.
Another cry echoed through the battlefield, and I wasted no time.
Gripping the hilt with both hands, I jumped from the tree and aimed to land on Teros' back.
The man noticed as the leaves rustled behind me, but he was slightly too late.
He held up both arms in a defensive grip, but the blade made its way through and punctured a hole in one of his arms.
With the blade lodged within him and me holding its hilt, he swung me around and threw me into a nearby tree. Luckily, I had managed to keep hold of the blade.
He pressed towards me, blood squirting from the wound in his arms and aimed a strike at my head, but I rolled out of the way and the punch hit the tree that I layed against, once again toppling it over.
As I rolled, I struck low, aiming for his legs and delivering a shallow but effective strike.
Teros roared in pain, but still stalked after me with determination, as I made my way back to my feet and back stepped away from him.
We stood five meters apart, the god constantly advancing on me with a steady pace.
"A blade is useless when there is such a strength difference between us Vale! Can you not see? These shallow cuts will do noth-"
I hurled my blade as he was distracted by foolish dialogue, and it took him in his throat.
The sword was thrown with so much force that it entered in one end of his neck and flew out from the other, effectively rendering him dead on impact.
Still, the god placed his hand to the hole in his throat with disbelief.
Blood squirted from the wound as he remained on his feet for a few moments,
before eventually toppling over and landing face first in the dirt beneath him.