Welcome to the Into Indie Games walkthrough of Submerged Alleys in Stonemachia.
Stonemachia is a Soulslike game in which you play as The Pawn, a chess piece with the ability to transform into several other chess pieces. Your goal is to defeat the angels and ascend to heaven. For more information, check out the game’s Steam page.
As you progress, the game becomes increasingly difficult, making it more challenging to advance. In this guide, we will provide a walkthrough of the seventh area in the game, Submerged Alleys.
Table of contents
Stonemachia – Submerged Alleys Walkthrough
As you start in this area, do note that the Captain will be standing right beside you and can take you back to Navilia for 3,000 feathers. However, we do not need to do that right now, so head toward the semi-sunken and destroyed houses on the right side. Follow the path ahead, and a short cutscene will begin.
After the cutscene, continue moving forward, and you will eventually have to defeat a mini boss in order to unlock the path ahead.
Defeat The Mini Boss
Do note that this mini boss can take you out very quickly, mainly because some of its attacks can hit twice in what feels like a single frame. Because of that, you may need to press the parry button twice almost instantly on certain attacks. This enemy also loves rolling away from you and launching projectiles in your direction.
That said, while this enemy can certainly be annoying to deal with, it has a relatively small health pool. So, this enemy will likely go down before it can even showcase its full moveset. Defeat the enemy and, once the path is opened, move through it, continue ahead, and drop through the giant hole.
You will now be underwater, so continue progressing while defeating the enemies in your way. Further ahead, you will find a red fog gate. Interact with it to move to the other side and, as soon as you do, a boss fight will begin.
Defeat Naiad
This boss wields a spear and most of the attacks it performs have a very wide range, making them fairly easy to parry. Most of the combos used by this boss will not have more than two attack strings, so you can attack quite freely after successfully parrying both hits.
This boss can also perform a plunge attack which, once again, is fairly simple to parry. As the fight continues, the boss will eventually unleash an AoE attack where a giant wave resembling a water tsunami is launched toward you. Simply run either to the right or the left, and you will be completely safe.
This boss fight is not particularly difficult, so defeat it, and you will receive a new card as a reward. Once the boss has been defeated, go through the red gate, and you will arrive in a new area.
In The Shadow Of The Spire
There will be a Giant Feather waiting just ahead. Pick it up and the path will unlock. You will encounter several giant enemies here that have a massive health pool and can perform both sweeping attacks and dangerous AoE attacks. If you decide to fight them, it may take quite some time to defeat all three of them.
However, you can simply ignore them and head up the stairs instead. Continue moving forward, and you will meet Barachiel, the NPC who has helped you numerous times before. This time, he will not be able to offer access to the Altar of Behemoth, so continue ahead and a cutscene will begin.
Once the cutscene ends, talk to Derasin and then follow the path on the right side of the door while defeating any enemies you encounter. After that, head up the stairs and, at the end of the path, jump down to reach a new area.
Oozing Blood Abyss
Derasin will be standing nearby, so talk to her and then head north from that position. Continue moving forward, fall down from the bridge, and make sure to roll so you can move a little farther ahead. Once you arrive there, you will notice Derasin once again. Speak to her, continue forward, and you will find the path blocked. Defeat the enemies in the area, and the path will unlock.
One specific enemy will be standing directly in front of the blocked path and preventing progress. Once the path has been unlocked, continue forward and talk to Barachiel.
Keep moving ahead, and you will eventually come across an NPC named Desperate. From there, head left and move up the path until you reach a chessboard. After you are done using the chessboard, continue forward and follow the path on the left side.
There will be several eggs scattered throughout the area, and they will crack open as you approach, causing enemies to emerge from inside. Keep moving ahead and make sure to pick up the Giant Feather located on the left side of the path.
Once you reach the third and final egg, continue ahead, and you will find an NPC standing on the left side. Right beside that NPC will be a statue. Take a right from there, follow the path upward, pick up the feather, and you will be teleported to a different location.
Defeat Zerafim, Heaven Ripper
Once you have been teleported to a different area, move ahead and begin the fight by attacking Zerafim. This boss is not particularly tanky and can be defeated rather quickly, but do note that it is capable of dealing a tremendous amount of damage. Because of that, you can be defeated in the blink of an eye if you are not careful.
Zerafim can perform a rolling attack that may be a little tricky to parry at first, but the timing is essentially the same as a fast overhead slam attack. Aside from that, the boss has several slash attacks that can be either parried or dodged without much difficulty.
When Zerafim slams its sword into the ground and you notice a red glow appearing beneath it, do not move close to the boss because this indicates a small AoE attack. Zerafim can also perform a spinning slash where it swings the sword in a full 360-degree arc while rotating sideways. It is generally safer to dodge away from this attack rather than attempting to parry it.
Defeat The Enemy To Unlock The Path
After you have defeated Zerafim, continue along the path you were following before. Eventually, you will reach another enemy that is blocking the way forward. Head over to the enemy, defeat it, and the path ahead will be unlocked. Once the way forward is open, continue ahead and, in order to progress further, make your way down using the giant hands.
However, do note that these hands have active hitboxes. When they close, they can damage you if you are standing in the wrong position, so be careful while crossing.
After making your way across, continue forward, and you will eventually reach a chessboard. Derasin will be standing nearby. Talk to her and then continue onward. Fight the enemy ahead and do not be surprised if it does not attack you immediately. It will collapse a few times and then, eventually, a cutscene will begin.
After the cutscene, a boss fight against Mikhaim, Prince of the Heavenly Hosts, will commence.
Defeat Mikhaim, Prince Of The Heavenly Hosts
While this boss is not extremely difficult overall, it is capable of taking huge chunks of your health in an instant. This is mainly because many of its combo strings are both lengthy and incredibly fast.
One of Mikhaim’s combos starts with the boss stepping back slightly before performing a triple overhead slam. This sequence is then sometimes followed by a fourth overhead slam that is noticeably delayed. Do note that the fourth slam is not always guaranteed and may not occur every time.
The first overhead slam often misses due to the distance Mikhaim creates before beginning the combo. He also has several sword slash combinations where he performs an initial slash, backs away, follows up with a second slash, and then immediately unleashes a third strike. There is another variation of this combo where the boss does not back away and instead performs the third slash directly after the first attack.
There can be numerous mix-ups throughout the encounter and, because RNG plays an important role in many of these fights, you may not witness every possible attack pattern in a single attempt. Another thing worth noting is that Mikhaim can also change its weapon to a spear. So, in total there are three weapons this boss can use.
Beware Of The Hammer
Aside from that, the boss can switch weapons and change to a hammer. The hammer comes with a completely different moveset, but its attacks are generally much easier to parry. Another thing worth noting during the spear phase is that Mikhaim can perform leaping poke attacks. The first poke is usually safe to parry, but it is often better to dodge the other ones.
The reason for this is that, at the end of the string, it can trigger an AoE attack immediately afterward. Getting caught by that follow-up can result in taking a significant amount of damage.
The boss can freely switch between weapons whenever it wants during the encounter. The hammer, while easy to Parry, Mikhaim can do consecutive hits from it, which can deal tremendous damage. In addition to that, Mikhaim also has a ranged move where it launches consecutive attacks from a distance. Thankfully, these attacks are relatively easy to parry once you become familiar with the timing.
The rest of the fight follows a similar pattern. So, continue learning the attack timings and take advantage of every opening you get. Once you have finally defeated the boss, pick up the card reward and then talk to Derasin.
Go Further After Defeating Mikhaim
The path ahead will now be open, so continue forward, and you will notice a building ahead. Enter the building, go ahead, exit, and then enter the train ahead.
Then, you will arrive in a new area. With that, the walkthrough of Submerged Alleys in Stonemachia comes to an end.
Don’t forget to check out the following walkthrough hubs as well:
- Into Indie Games Homepage
- Alabaster Dawn Walkthrough Hub
- Motorslice Complete Walkthrough Hub
- Directive 8020 Walkthrough Hub
- Will: Follow the Light – Complete Walkthrough Hub
Obaid Ur Rehman is a lifelong gaming enthusiast with a deep passion for writing about video games. While he enjoys all genres, he specializes in RPGs and Soulslike titles. After tackling some of the toughest bosses, he often unwinds with a cozy game to relax. Outside of gaming, Obaid enjoys watching anime, bingeing TV series, or staying active at the gym.
