She reaches for him, but his armor protects him. He tries to cut her, but his sword can't cut her. The two begin to wrestle, but neither gains the upper hand in this combat. Beowulf spies a large sword nearby. He manages to grab it, and in one mighty blow, he beheads Grendel's mother.
Light enters the murky water then.
Meanwhile, the Danes and Geats are convinced that they will never see Beowulf again after all, he has been underwater for such a long time. The Danes soon leave, but the Geats wait. The need for repayment in some form is also a constant theme within the poem. The monsters of the poem all seek payment from life. Here Grendel's mother seeks vengeance for Grendel's death, wanting to take a life for his life.