The Shrine Guardian is the first boss of Queen's Domain: a skeleton wearing a large headdress and wielding two swords, waiting in the circular area overlooking the sea. He is beatable without losing health if you use his own openings, but the walk to him is gated behind a key you have to take from the tomb hall first.

Getting to the circular area

  1. In the large hall with columns and tombs, the Endu Shrine Gate Key is in the central tomb. Take it.
  2. Use it on the barred gate and step through into an outdoor area full of vegetation with more chests.
  3. Destroy the crates on the road and clear the red bugs on the way to the open coast.
  4. Follow the dirt road up the cliff, defeat the fighting skeletons, and clear the winged frog-like enemies in the small square.
  5. Use the same key on the stone gate to reach the circular area overlooking the sea.

That same arena holds the secret wall with the fallen brazier that hides the Pandora Blade, so sweep it before you leave — the Pandora Blade guide has the exact wall.

What the Shrine Guardian does

He is a two-sword skeleton with a large headdress, and his melee attacks are dodged by moving to the side. He swings, and the openings come from the swing itself — which means the fight rewards patience rather than aggression.

One thing to keep in mind: a weapon can change form in the middle of the fight, because weapons evolve at level 10 and the secondary attack may change with them. If your weapon evolves mid-fight, the moveset you have learned is not the one you have anymore.

Queen's Domain Shrine Guardian: how to beat him

  1. Step sideways as he swings. His melee attacks are sidestepped, not blocked.
  2. Strike when he exposes himself after the swing, rather than swinging first.
  3. Use the sword thrust special attack — with that, you can take him down without taking any damage at all.
  4. If your health gets low, use potions and medicinal herbs rather than continuing to trade.

The thrust special is the reason this fight is so much easier than it looks. The timing of a charged version of that move is in the charge attack guide.

What he drops and where it leads

He drops a stone statuette. Take it, go through the gate beyond the arch, walk along the pier to the circular structure by the sea, and pick up the Holy Sword Endu from the pedestal in the centre.

Beating him also unlocks the shop, which is the first time you can spend Ancient Coins on anything — the Azure Torch in particular is worth buying the moment it is available. The full route from this pedestal onward is in the Holy Sword guide.