The Paladin in the Abyss

After leaving the cave, the approaching figure was still several hundred feet away, yet the rhythmic booming sound was clearly audible in the quiet night. Lancelot thought for a moment, turned around, and leapt onto a huge rock tens of feet high, watching as the person neared.

As he had expected, it was indeed the frost giantess priestess with the golden hair. Lancelot's heart slowly sank. How had she found this place? Had she been quietly tracking him? Or was it some kind of spell that could locate him? He could run away immediately, but if he didn't find out the answers to these questions, she would still find him again.

As she drew closer, Lancelot saw more details of the giantess. She had an impressively sharp gaze, fingers long and elegant as they grasped the handle of her axe, and her long, golden hair nearly taller than Lancelot himself. She wore a purple-brown tight leather outfit that made her already ample chest look incredibly impactful, while at the abdomen it was cut away partially to showcase defined muscles. Her skirt had a high slit up to the thigh root, allowing those long legs to move unimpeded, and her magical leather boots left the snow merely inching above her ankles as though she weighed but a tenth of her actual weight.

"Good evening, Madam." Lancelot watched the seemingly flawless giantess, carefully spoke, "How should I address you?"

"Hmph, foolish little man, think standing higher gives you equal status?" The giantess stopped in front of him, speaking in a superior tone, "Be grateful, I am Gertie Oriel Sdottir, Lord of the Flashing Hall, leader of all Frost Giants in the World's Spine!"

"Pleased to meet you, Madam Oriel Sdottir, I am…"

"Save it, I don't care about that." Gertie rudely interrupted Lancelot's words, "You have something of mine. Give it back, and perhaps I will spare your life."

"I don't think I owe you anything." Lancelot shook his head firmly, but he already had an answer in his heart regarding why she had been able to track him, "There might be some misunderstanding here. Can you tell me what it is?"

"You refuse to hand it over?" The giantess threateningly hoisted her double-edged battle axe onto her shoulder, "Perhaps it would be quicker to search your corpse."

"How can I hand it over if you don't tell me what it actually is?" Lancelot shook his head, "Besides, you shouldn't threaten me, Madam."

"That wasn't a threat, just a possible description of the future." Gertie narrowed her eyes dangerously, "I'm referring to a holy relic of my Goddess Olul, and you are clearly not her follower. Hand it over; this is your final warning."

"So, you are talking about the Guardian of the Frost Maiden." Lancelot took out the snowflake-shaped amulet, "I'm sorry, but I can ascertain this object doesn't belong to you, and it still has use for us, so I cannot give it to you…"

Lancelot's words were cut short as he suddenly leapt to the side, dodging the giantess's brusquely swung battle axe. When he rose to his feet again, Frostslash had appeared in his hand, while the enemy's great axe swept towards him like a malady clinging to bone. He was forced to roll on the ground again, and with the longsword in his hand, he flicked upward, accurately hitting the handle of the double-edged axe.

Gertie's battle axe was knocked off course by his sword, and Lancelot seized the opportunity to test his opponent's strength—heavy, but not overwhelmingly superior to his own.

Taking advantage of the short moment when his opponent lost control of her weapon, the Human Knight fiercely jumped down from the rock on which he was standing. His height was less than half that of his opponent, but his agile movement technique and the destructive power far exceeding his peers gave him a significant advantage. The moment he landed, he again dodged another axe strike with a deceptive feint and quickly circled around his opponent in a counterclockwise direction.

Even though the giantess adjusted her stance with speed far exceeding the average of her race, Lancelot's speed had already surpassed the limits of a mortal. Within a few breaths, he had completely positioned himself behind his opponent, his longsword viciously thrusting toward the giantess' right leg that was supporting her body, with blue-green flames simultaneously lighting up on the sword blade.

"Aaaaahhhhh!!!!"

Gertie let out a piercing scream as Frostslash pierced a terrible hole in the hollow of her knee, the intense pain making it difficult for her right leg to bear her body's weight, forcing her to kneel on the ground. The giantess braced one hand on the ground, and with the other, she lifted her battle axe, swinging it towards the human knight in front of her as if to split him in two with that blow.

Confronted with the enemy's one-handed attack, Lancelot didn't dodge again. He gripped his sword with both hands and took a fierce step forward. Before his opponent's axe arm could land, he thrust the tip of his sword into the giantess' throat, which had been lowered by her kneeling.

"I told you, you shouldn't have threatened me, because after coming to the Abyss, I quickly realized that my principle of not killing women was not fitting here." Gazing into the blue eyes that were bigger than his own fist, Lancelot gently shook his head, "By the way, when you see Olul, you can ask Him yourself how exactly I got that amulet."

"We will, cough cough... meet again..." Despite the blade stuck in her throat, the giantess forcefully spoke, her originally beautiful face now severely contorted with pain, "It won't be long...soon..."

"I'd rather not," Lancelot shook his head and violently withdrew his longsword, followed by a swift Horizontal Slash that cleanly decapitated Gertie Oriel Sdottir's head.

If left alone, the opponent would gradually suffocate as blood flowed into her lungs, which would be one of the most painful ways to die. To swiftly end his opponent's life, to avoid unnecessary torture, this served as a consolation to himself after he had to abandon his principle of not killing women.

The headless body of the giantess crashed onto the snowy ground with a thud, blood spurted from the smooth cut as if from a champagne bottle that had been uncorked.

She may have had many techniques and spells unused, but Lancelot's lightning-fast slaying rendered all the preparation of his opponent futile. Looking at the cooling corpse, Lancelot gave a helpless sigh. Although his retaliation had been completely justified, his mood was inevitably downcast.

A unique swelling sensation came from the handkerchief in his arms, and Lancelot walked to an open space nearby, laying the half-realm entrance flat on the ground. Bruto's head then poked out from it.

"What's the matter, can't sleep?" Lancelot extended his hand to pull the dwarf out of the portal.

"No, I slept very well, but it's my turn to keep watch, and then I noticed the portal was suddenly closed, so I thought I'd come out to look..." Only then did the dwarf notice the enormous body in the snow. His eyes bulged, "Moradin's whiskers! Isn't that the female Frost Giant we met before? How is she here? Who killed her?"

"Me, in less than a minute," Lancelot shrugged helplessly, "but she struck first."

"Well, she shouldn't have done that," the dwarf shook his head, "she really shouldn't have."