Medusa guards the flooded ruins under Holy Innocents’ Cemetery in Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse. She has a small health pool, but two of her attacks can cover almost the whole room. Both come with a spoken warning, and each has one clear answer. Once you know those answers, the fight gets much shorter. After she falls, a sword and shield set waits on the stairs outside her arena, and it is easy to walk past.
Quick answer: At “Sticks and Stones,” hide behind the last boulder that lands on the lower platform. At “Look into my eyes!”, turn Rose away from Medusa. Then pick up Rusted Harpe and Aegis on the Serpents’ Lair stairs.
Medusa attacks and the counter for each
Medusa moves around a flooded chamber built from platforms at several heights. Rose gets between them by jumping and by grappling onto the golden rings with her whip. Most of the fight is reading which attack is coming next.
| Attack | Warning | Counter |
|---|---|---|
| Falling rocks | “Sticks and Stones” voice line | Stop attacking and dodge debris |
| Multi-beam laser sweep | Follows the rockfall | Stand behind the final boulder |
 Petrifying gaze | “Look into my eyes!” | Face away from Medusa |
| Tail sweep | Body moving across platforms | Switch to another level |
| Snake heads | Heads floating into the arena | Avoid or knock them away |
The rockfall and the laser
When Medusa starts the “Sticks and Stones” line, several large rocks drop from the ceiling. Dodge them, and track where the last boulder lands. It stays on the lower platform, and it is the only real cover from the beam barrage that follows. Drop down, put the rock between Rose and Medusa, and stay there until every beam has stopped. Jumping around the room to dodge the lasers does not work.
Her attacks can damage the rock, so do not treat it as permanent cover. Leave it only after the barrage has fully ended.
She uses the barrage more than once. Each time, a new rock falls, so the answer stays the same even as the cover changes position.
The petrifying gaze
“Look into my eyes!” means a wide beam is about to fire, and it turns Rose to stone if it catches her. While petrified, she cannot jump, block, or dodge, so any follow-up attack lands for free. You do not need cover for this one. What matters is which way Rose is facing when the beam goes off. Turn her back to Medusa as soon as the line starts, and skip the extra hit you were about to throw.
Tail sweeps and snake heads
Between her special attacks, Medusa dives and comes back up around the platforms, and her tail sweeps across the lower sections. When the tail heads your way, move up or down a level. Floating snake heads and snake-head projectiles show up later in the fight. Use the grapple rings to get out of crowded parts of the room instead of trading hits with them.
How to beat Medusa with the Lance
The Lance is a strong choice for this battle. Its range lets you strike Medusa from close to medium distance while minimizing time spent in her line of attack. It is found in Holy Innocents’ Cemetery, meaning most players will have it before reaching her. Begin the fight at full health with Healing Flasks in your inventory.
| Lance stat | Value |
|---|---|
| ATK | 25 |
| Attack power | 22 |
| Stagger power | 30 |
| Mana per hit | 3 |
| Combo finisher | Push |
| Rarity / tier | Ordinary, tier 1 |
Holding Attack lets you aim the Lance, and releasing it throws the weapon. That gives you a way to keep hitting Medusa when she floats out of melee range.
Medusa boss stats and immunities
| Field | Medusa |
|---|---|
| Health | 1500 |
| Attack | 24 |
| XP | 500 |
| Area | Holy Innocents’ Cemetery |
| District | Ossuary of the Innocents |
| Arcana card |  The Prophetess |
| Rewards | Petrifying Gaze, The Prophetess’s Key |
Several crowd-control effects do nothing to Medusa. Do not spend mana on them during this fight. She is immune to:
- Chronomantic Dive slow and Freezing Path link
- Infernal Pyre launch
- Freeze and petrify
- Launch into the air and slam down
- Fatal fall
Medusa rewards: The Prophetess, Petrifying Gaze, and the key
After Medusa sinks into the water, a short scene plays in which she names Lord Dracula as her master. The game then shows the reward screens. Seeing The Prophetess card and The Prophetess’s Key on screen confirms the win, and a “Defeat the Prophetess” achievement also pops up.
- The Prophetess: the Arcana card that seals Medusa into Rose’s Tarot deck.
- Petrifying Gaze: the spell unlocked by that card, costing 75 MP.
- The Prophetess’s Key: is part of the trio required to unseal the Catacombs’ entrance.
- 500 XP for the kill.
Petrifying Gaze turns every enemy in front of Rose to stone, and petrified enemies cannot act. Two hits or a hard fall shatter the stone and deal bonus damage. Killing a petrified enemy returns half the spell’s mana cost. Enemies closer to Rose stay petrified longer and take more hits to break free. You can check the spell on the Arcanas screen, which also lists its Works of Mercy challenges. One challenge asks you to petrify a shield-carrying enemy. The other asks for 25 kills from fall damage on enemies petrified in midair. Completing them unlocks the Arcana’s Blessings.
If you already hold the other two keys, the Catacombs door can now be opened. If not, The Prophetess’s Key stays in your inventory until you have all three.
How to get Rusted Harpe and Aegis after the fight
Rusted Harpe and Aegis is not a boss reward and does not appear on the victory screens. The set is the sword and shield of Perseus, an Ordinary-rarity pair lying just outside the arena. Because nothing points you to it, it is easy to miss.
The pickup worked if the equipment menu lists RUSTED HARPE AND AEGIS next to your other weapons. Once equipped, Rose stands with the shield raised. Holding the button blocks attacks from the front, and the combo ends in a Shield Bash. It suits a slower, block-then-punish style rather than the Lance’s poke-and-retreat rhythm. If you liked the Lance against Medusa, keep both and switch between them depending on the fight.
