Theodoric's giant proved willing enough for the encounter, and scarcely, indeed, waited to be challenged. Thyrsus, although the bigger and more terrible of aspect, with a skin bronzed by the open-air life he had led, and his muscles developed and kept in condition by constant exercise, was not so skilful and wily as his opponent, whose every movement showed him to be a master in both the arts of attack and defence. We are told that Thyrsus grasped in his hand a pine tree which he had torn up by the roots to serve as a weapon, and that at every movement of his the ground shook under his tread, which made a noise like thunder. Rushing impetuously to attack Haimon he found the latter cool and collected, watchful of his antagonist's every movement, and waiting patiently for the opportunity of striking a decisive blow. As the Titanic struggle went on, Haimon merely acting on the defensive, Thyrsus became weary, and then Haimon gathering all his force together fell upon him and slew him. The story goes on to tell how a Benedictine monk of Tegernsee, passing whilst Haimon was still flushed with victory, stopped to reason with him on the worthlessness of mere brutal strength and all that he had hitherto deemed of value, and succeeded so well in painting the attractions of a better life that the giant was converted on the spot, and thenceforth abandoned his life of battle and bloodshed, and devoted his time and strength to the service of God. One of his first acts was to start building with his own hands a church and monastery on the site of ruined Veldidena on the banks of the Sill. The legend tells us that he quarried the stone necessary for this undertaking with his own hands, and at last the day came when he had sufficient to lay the foundations of the church. He found, however, that the work he did in the day was always undone at night, so that he made no progress. This, though he did not know it, was the work of the devil; who, in the form of a huge dragon, had hidden himself in a cave with the express purpose of thwarting Haimon's pious intentions.