The battle progressed. The duchy's soldiers advanced, using advanced squads to call for mortars to strike the catapults or deal with them themselves using the rail cannons. After some hours, the strategy changed; the catapults were no longer seen. At the command building, Ariadne got up and pointed out the obvious.

‘Where are those beasts?’ She frowned.

‘Yes, we haven’t had a report of them for some time now, but we just need to clean around where they were. The sword is.' Alon put his finger right on top of it on the map.

‘Our time to shine.’ Edmund smiled.

‘Don’t be so excited about it, peasant; it's disgusting, people are dying.' She looked at him with disgust.

‘Alright… alright.’ He took two steps back with his hands up and a quick laugh.

Her gaze passed to the map and how the pieces were being moved, revealing that her soldiers had already passed the temple where the hero's sword was. She was trying to hide, but she was feeling every death; it wasn’t a hard blow but a buildup of anger within her being. It was hard to explain with words and ‌useless to try, as there was no solution.

Ariadne realized that being inside the dungeon amplified her connection with everyone, and she noticed this happening in both directions. She struggled to believe her soldiers were fighting ‌against an ancient evil as if it were just another mission. She saw the soldiers coming and going from the field hospital, too. Some of them had experienced death two or maybe three times, and even that wasn’t a deterrent.

‘Let’s go peasant.’ Ariadne walked toward the door.

‘Ok.’ Edmund followed her. ‘Hey, let’s go, you two.’ He pointed to Sorth and her cameraman.

They looked at one another, nodded, and followed Edmund. Sorth tried to calm herself as they got out of the building. The duchess entered one truck as wounded soldiers were being transported inside from the other, all of which her cameraman recorded.

Edmund Sword was always outside of the building, leaning against the wall with its tip fixed on the ground; nobody touched it because they knew only he and the duchess herself could use it.

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He also didn’t ‌care for the sword because it was a tool. He could protect himself without it, but it was needed to unlock Ariadne's full potential while fighting the Dungeon Guardian. It was also huge compared to a standard sword.

The new design used crystals on the handle and pommel, and its total length was to match the hero's sword's original size and shape. Edmund didn’t want a complete copy; if it felt the same, there would be no practical transport method. Unlike the hero's sword, which could be summoned at will, his was cumbersome because of its height, passing Edmund's height a little.

‘Edmund, isn’t this thing kind of too large?’ Sorth spoke as she saw Edmund sitting in front of her.

‘Right? But that is how I fight. It is the same length as the sword Her Highness will pull on the temple we are going to.’ Edmund looked and smiled at her.

‘But with all due respect, her highness is my height; how is she supposed to fight with this thing?’ She frowned.

‘You didn’t see the two training? It's completely unreal.’ The cameraman spoke.

‘Don’t worry, I’m good with it, but it's funny seeing your reaction, thanks to that.’ Ariadne gave Sorth a wide smile.

‘Well, it is beautiful with the crystals and all.’ Sorth looked at the shining pommel.

‘This is charged with magic to handle trading blows with the guardian; it won't last forever but can buy me some time.’ Edmund spoke while looking at the blue crystal on his blade.

‘You are brave, Edmund, facing everything with this sword and not even wearing any armor; you love her Highness.’ She smiles at him.

‘Well, no armor we have would resist a hit by the guardian, and mobility is better than this. Armor is just for show; she put on it so people wouldn’t be worried. It's useless.’ Edmund spoke in a calm and serious tone.

Sorth's eyes widened as she realized how dangerous things would be. She shifted her attention to Ariadne, who the cameraman was recording. The duchess got up and sat beside her, touching her shoulder.

‘Don’t worry, the peasant will sacrifice his life for me if things get serious.’ She giggles.

‘Ok, that was funny, but also true.’ Edmund gave a quick laugh.

‘To be honest, the brave ones here are you two, going there with nothing to protect yourself; don’t put yourselves in danger, ok?' Ariadne gave Sorth a quick pat.

They were getting closer as the sounds of the battle were getting closer and closer until they stopped right in front of the temple. The truck stopped in front of the massive temple with an incredible set of stairs, making it stand out from the other buildings around it. When Ariadne got out of it, Lieutenant Orfar was there with the wounded, lying on the ground waiting for their transport.

‘Your Highness, as requested, we didn’t enter the temple; we don’t know if the creatures are inside, but when we attacked, no magic came from inside the building, just the streets by its side.’ He pointed at the streets.

‘Okay, thanks for your hard work, Lieutenant. Let’s put the men in the vehicle.’ Ariadne walked towards the wounded on the ground.

‘You don’t need to; I have two spare soldiers to accompany you inside.’ He stood next to her, scratching the back of his head.

‘Is too dangerous, and they will only be in the way; help with the wounded, and you are dismissed.’ She spoke while helping one soldier get up.

Edmund also helped while Sorth watched, and the camera operators recorded everything. By the end, the truck was on its way back. The three soldiers saluted Ariadne and headed towards the side streets toward the frontline.

‘Well, shall we?’ Edmund looked at Ariadne as he started to walk up the stairs.