Chapter.43 12-3. Out of the Magic Hat Came a White Rabbit.
In the Knight Heart Trilogy, the Demon Lord was considered overpowered.
“Using the abilities gained as a hero, combined with the powers of the Demon Lord that contradict them, he engulfs the world.”
I bit my lower lip. One of those roles alone would have been enough, right? Why does he get to use the abilities from before his fall too?
“It doesn’t seem to work. Even though I’ve changed my hair color and eye color to your favorites, my dear.”
Magic Hat’s power was the ability to overlay “falsehoods.” It seemed she was trying to imitate our saintess, but the ability wasn’t perfect.
“Oh, I understand now! I finally realize why my dear is being so cold to me!”
“…For the record, I’m not your ‘dear.’”
I raised my sword again. Magic Hat gave me a sly smile. Why does she keep looking at me with that sticky gaze?
“Lovers are said to argue from time to time. That’s it, isn’t it, dear?”
“Not a chance. Now get lost.”
A cold sweat trickled down my back. The magician woman with long white hair swayed as she closed the distance between us. She pulled out some playing cards and flung them.
A ten of hearts.
A jack of hearts.
The Ace of Hearts.
“My dear… I’ll remind you of everything one by one!”
She only threw heart-patterned cards, as if intentionally aiming for some twisted form of love letter. The Demon Lord smiled so widely her lips curled upward as though unable to contain her excitement.
It was terrifying—her blatant advances and overtures of affection aimed at me, the player.
Was she always this kind of character?
I used Vacuum Slash to deflect the flying cards. Each one was dangerous if it hit; every suit had a unique special ability.
“Wow… Your swordsmanship hasn’t rusted at all! It’s a bit different from what I knew, though!”
“Please, shut up already.”
Oh, and now I could see the Empress of the Empire too.
It was a pattern I had memorized and drawn in my notes countless times, but seeing it in person filled me with unease.
Her name was Bellin Gransia, Lupus’s mother.
The mature woman with black hair and wolf ears, adorned with red heart-shaped decorations, stood silently observing me while waiting for Magic Hat’s orders.
…This person is the biggest problem.
When I was clearing Black Heart, her Queen of Hearts card pattern had made me nauseous.
If the player forced attacks that barely dealt any damage, she’d heal Magic Hat back to full health using this woman as her servant. In the original Licht’s case, he would have outdamaged the healing and conquered the pattern.
“Licht… that person…”
“Don’t worry. I won’t harm your mother.”
“…You knew?”
Back then, it was just a game. But now, this was reality. No matter how crucial defeating the Demon Lord was, I was following the Crown Prince’s companion route.
Saving her was the right thing to do.
“It would be strange if I didn’t, Mardol.”
“I see… So you knew all along….”
Mardol’s golden eyes, reminiscent of a glass knight, widened as he looked at me. Did he really think I wouldn’t realize he was part of the royal family? Even now, he’s still walking around in sparkling armor, isn’t he?
“…Oh, is it because of this person? Are you bothered because she’s a woman?”
“You’re surprisingly perceptive, you lunatic.”
“I’m a woman too! My dear…!! Stop calling me crazy! Hmph!”
The white-haired magician puffed out her cheeks in a sulk, putting her childish pout on full display.
Still, I needed to buy time for the hero’s party to escape.
“Fine, fine. I’ll collect my cards again if you’re jealous.”
“Good, do that.”
Magic Hat obediently gathered the cards back into her hands, but her voice pitch shot through the roof after I gave her a slight compliment.
“Oh… oh my… my dear praised me… he praised me…!!”
Is she seriously losing it? In the sequel, she was a lunatic obsessed with fun, but now she seemed even worse. Her ecstatic posture, holding her cheeks in her hands, only added to the unsettling scene.
“Hah… My dear, then what else should I do next?”
Her breath came out hot and ragged, her excitement palpable.
(Does she have some kind of status condition?) That shouldn’t be it, though. Demon Lords were generally immune to such things. I couldn’t make sense of the situation.
“…Can’t you just bite your tongue and die?”
Seizing the moment, I launched another Vacuum Slash. The shockwave surged forward, aiming for the Demon Lord of Truth. But it failed to connect this time.
“I don’t want to!! I’ve decided to spend the rest of my life with you, dear!”
Magic Hat blocked my attack with a single hand, her fingers brushing my sword’s trajectory. Then, as though regretful of losing the sensation, she licked her fingers with a grotesque delight.
“Ah… It’s been so long since I felt your swordsmanship… as amazing as ever…♡”
The lascivious expression on her face sent a chill through my body.
This was just a full-on yandere now.
I found myself longing for our wolf-eared saintess. What on earth had happened in the prequel to turn so many characters into this mess?
“…You’re seriously insane.”
“I’m crazy in love. No, maybe I’m just crazy about you, my dear…?”
If our saintess had a personality like this, I might have tolerated it. But having the Demon Lord of Truth obsess over me like this was horrifying.
Magic Hat kept closing the distance, her intense gaze making my blood run cold.
Think. What can I do right now?
Without the Holy Sword, I couldn’t fight a Demon Lord. And I didn’t have access to any of the in-game items or anything like that….
“Licht, should I use Shine Strike?”
“Oh, Kainel.”
Right, I still had this guy. I turned to the golden-haired hero and made a request.
“…Could I borrow the Holy Sword?”
It was the method I least wanted to use, but there was no other option. I had to protect the people here.
“What? Licht… You can’t use it, though.”
“…I might be able to.”
There was one tactic left—something players referred to as an insane, death-defying gamble.
The Fallen Route Glitch.
That was my only choice.
[“Fallen Route” appears on the loading screen. This seems to be the official name.]
Fallen Route.
It was first confirmed in Black Heart as an additional route.
Based on cross-verifications by numerous players, the conclusion was clear:
[Conclusion: You have to lose the red cat to trigger the Demon Lord transformation. Verified in other routes as well.]
The condition for witnessing it was singular:
The loss of a loved one.
Whether it was a friend, family member, or lover, it didn’t matter.
***
“Hand it over. I won’t know until I try.”
“All right… Licht.”
Kainel reluctantly handed me the Holy Sword of Light. The moment I gripped the handle, the sword began to tremble violently, rejecting me outright.
As expected, if you’re not chosen, you can’t even equip it.
Unless you were playing the game as Kainel, the playable character, you couldn’t use it—even if you followed the companion route, as I had with Black Knight Licht.
I gave up on using the power of the Light Hero in his place.
“Licht, stop it.”