Duskwither Hollow: Zone 3

Zone 3: Tomb of Names

The stone archway leading into the third zone felt different—elegant. Unlike the twisted roots or scorched embers of the previous floors, this corridor was lined with symmetrical stonework. Polished granite. Faded runes etched in ancient language. A strange reverence clung to the walls, like the hallway itself demanded silence.

Lilith stepped cautiously, her daggers ready, mana map pulsing faintly in her pouch. As she passed under the final arch, the corridor opened—

Into a graveyard.

A vast crypt space, neatly carved beneath the earth, filled with rows of sealed stone coffins. Marble gravestones stood in uniform rows. Broken angel statues watched over the dead, most with shattered wings. But everything was... clean. Well-maintained. No wild overgrowth. No sign of chaos.

Just stillness.

A narrow stone-paved walkway divided the cemetery straight down the center, leading toward a faintly glowing door at the far end.

Lilith inhaled slowly.

"Creepy... but not hostile. Yet."

Then she felt it.

The air was heavy. Pressing on her shoulders, on her lungs. It wasn't just tension — it was dense mana. Her own pool of mana felt sluggish. Casting would cost her more here.

[System Tip: Mana density detected. Natural regeneration slowed by 30%.]

"Lovely."

She took another step, boots clacking softly on the stone path—

KREEEEEH!!

The shriek hit her like a spear through the eardrums.

Five shapes shot out from above the statues—winged, skeletal, fast.

Bone Ravens.

Their forms were sickly thin, with wings made of twisted bone fragments and glowing red eyes. Their screeches sent echoes through the graveyard like knives in wind.

"Tch—already?"

One dove straight at her head.

She ducked, spun low, slashed upward—cleaving it midair.

Another swooped in from behind, claws raking across her coat.

She snarled, twisting and burying her dagger into its chest. The bones cracked as it dropped lifeless to the floor.

But the other three were smarter.

They backed off. Formed a loose triangle around her. Circling. Watching.

Lilith wiped blood from her lip and panted.

"So that's how we're playing this, huh?"

She crouched, tracking their pattern—one high, one low, one diving fast and pulling away. They were testing her.

"You want distance? Fine. Let's do magic."

She clenched her fist. Ice gathered at her fingertips.

"Ice Bullet!"

A sharp spear of frost launched at the mid-air raven—but it twisted midflight, just barely evading.

The second raven dove for her head.

Lilith ducked, rolled, then spun and fired—

"Fire Spark!"

A burst of flame caught its wing. It shrieked, spiraled, and slammed into a tombstone. Dead.

"Two left."

But now her breathing was heavier. Mana was draining fast. She felt it — her pulse thudding in her ears, the pressure in her chest.

The third raven dove. She sidestepped. The fourth darted in close—too close.

She baited it.

Dodged late. It grazed her shoulder—pain bloomed—

But she grabbed its brittle wing mid-slash and slammed it into the stone floor. Her dagger followed through its skull.

"One more."

The last one hovered high. Too high to jump.

Lilith narrowed her eyes.

It dove—straight, fast.

Now.

She launched Ice Bullet again—just as it committed to the charge.

The spell struck dead center.

The raven exploded in a burst of bone and frost, raining shards across the tombs.

Silence returned.

Lilith dropped to one knee, breathing hard, sweat rolling down her brow.

[XP Gained: 30]

She chuckled between pants.

"That... sucked more than I expected."

She staggered to her feet, glanced down the long graveyard path toward the glowing door.

"If that was the appetizer... the boss better be worth the calories."

She took a swig from her mana potion, wiped her blade, and limped forward—toward the Heartchamber.

----

The heavy silence after the raven battle clung to Lilith's clothes like sweat. Her breath fogged lightly in the cold air of Zone 3, the mana pressure still making every step feel like a chore.

She followed the central stone path toward the faint glow ahead—the source of dungeon mana pulsing like a heartbeat behind a pair of massive iron doors.

As she approached the entrance to the boss room, she noticed the statue standing guard beside the gate.

A humanoid figure carved from gray stone. Its arms crossed over a stone greatsword planted into the floor. Its helm shaped like a mourning knight, eyes closed, motionless.

Lilith slowed her pace, eyes narrowing.

"That's not just decoration… is it?"

The moment her boots scraped within ten feet of the doors—

KRK-KRRRRKK.

The statue's eyes lit up with dull red light. Stone cracked and shifted. Dust fell away as it stepped forward, one foot crushing the edge of the marble floor.

The Gravestone Sentinel had awakened.

With a slow, deliberate motion, it drew the massive stone greatsword and raised it high.

WHOOOM—!

The blade came down.

Lilith tried to parry—crossing both daggers instinctively.

The impact nearly broke her arms.

She was flung backward, hitting the ground with a cry. Her forearm throbbed where the force had partially glanced through her guard—her daggers were completely unsuited for this kind of brute force.

"Tch... okay. This one's built different."

The golem charged again, its stone footsteps booming against the crypt floor.

Lilith dodged, rolled, sprang up—but the follow-up swing grazed her left arm, slicing a bloody line across her bicep.

She hissed, staggering back.

"I can't block it. Not with these."

She scanned her surroundings, heart pounding, breath ragged. The sword's weight. Its reach. If she couldn't block—she had to either outrun or outmuscle it.

"But how…?"

Then—her eyes locked on something half-buried in the dust near a broken pillar.

A battle axe.

Old. Scarred. But still intact.

Likely left behind by a fallen adventurer who'd made it this far... but no further.

Lilith didn't hesitate.

She sprinted, rolled beneath the Sentinel's swing, grabbed the axe in a single swoop, and turned just in time to parry another strike—

CLAAANG!

Steel-on-stone.

This time, the weapon held.

Lilith's knees buckled from the force, but she held her ground.

The axe was heavy, awkward even—but her [Strength: 31] was enough to make it swing.

And she did.

The two clashed again and again—his massive sword vs her borrowed axe. Sparks and stone chips scattered as metal scraped across enchanted rock.

Each swing rattled her bones. Her stamina was draining fast. Her muscles screamed.

But so did her battle instinct.

She timed his patterns.

Waited for overreach.

Then—

She sidestepped the overhead slam, spun with the axe, and cleaved diagonally across its torso.

A crack formed.

The Sentinel stumbled. Tried to lift its sword again.

Lilith charged, leapt, and brought the axe down with all her might—

CRACK!!

Its stone head split from its shoulders, crashing to the floor and shattering.

The body crumbled with it.

Dust billowed. Silence returned.

And then—

The fallen golem's mouth moved, just barely.

"...Forgive me... my lady... I have failed you..."

The light in its eyes faded.

Lilith stood there, stunned.

Dripping sweat. Panting. Bleeding.

She slumped to the floor, letting the axe clatter beside her.

"That… was too close."

She opened her palm, let mana gather, but her arm trembled. She was pushing her limits.

Then—

[XP Gained: 30]

[System Notice: "You have proven yourself worthy of facing the core guardian."]

A faint rumble echoed from the iron door behind her.

The boss room had unlocked.

Lilith looked up at the ancient doors, their surface pulsing faintly with red mana veins, and grinned despite herself.

"Let's end this."

.

.

Continued...

Non-canon filler: The previous owner of the body has now become a yokai and came to haunt me and she has something to say to you all.

❝Hehe~ I worked really hard on this chapter! If you enjoyed it, even just a little, tap the «Power Stone» so I know~!❞

Support me: Patreon(.)com/MR_Stranger

Discord: discord(.)gg/WDPMCvpdYq