CH.52 14-4. The Black Heart of a Knight
Something was wrong with the status window.
[“I only asked you to protect the love lines! You didn’t need to meddle with the Demon Lords!”]
The same status window that had sent me warnings during the fight against Magic Hat popped up again during my training with Baek Mok-ryun.
[“Lee Soo-hyun! I warned you, but now there’s a contradiction in Black Heart! What are you going to do about this?”]
Right. It was probably about Kainel and Ariel’s trauma. But it didn’t matter. If anyone needed to carry painful memories, it would be me alone.
[“You went so far as to challenge the Demon Lord who’s supposed to be the final boss in my story! Now Black Heart is completely out of alignment!”]
“…”
Black Heart was supposed to be a mediocre game. I thought I was fixing its flaws, but apparently not. I halted my swings and stared at the translucent text.
Notifications I hadn’t had time to check during battle now appeared one after another.
[“Why did you do that? I thought you’d at least be considerate enough to avoid this!”]
[“You should’ve made more careful ‘choices.’”]
[“You only have two chances left. After that, you’re on your own!”]
Two chances?
I squinted at the strange phrasing, staring at the status window now glowing an ominous crimson.
[Objective: Achieve the Grand Route 0/1]
[Kainel♡Ariel 31% ‘NEW!’]
Their progress had increased. Likely because the battle with Magic Hat left a significant impression—they’d nearly died without confessing their feelings.
[Charitines♡Nex 62%]
This pair’s percentage wouldn’t reach 100% unless I resolved the conflict with Asha Aureus. I’d have to visit the northern region at some point.
[Reward: Return to the real world, Grand Route ending for the Nameless Saintess.]
As I scanned the window, something unusual caught my eye.
[Failure Condition: ?? Chapter]
“…Chapter? What does that mean?”
Even speaking aloud yielded no answers. The status window always communicated one way, leaving me to puzzle out the meaning.
“It’s not about dying, penalties, or losing a save file… It’s about something related to a chapter.”
That left only one conclusion. If I created two more contradictions by interfering with the Demon Lords,
“It’ll ruin the Nameless Saintess’s Grand Route ending, and I’ll face… whatever this punishment is.”
I frowned. Initially, I’d assumed risking my life against Magic Hat was the end of it. Apparently, I’d miscalculated.
“…Hmm.”
I wasn’t sure what to do. Many people deserved happiness, and their stories weren’t something I could just ignore. Baek Mok-ryun, Nex and Charitines—they all had their struggles.
“…Well, I guess there’s no need to hesitate.”
The Nameless Saintess wouldn’t want me to stand by and let Demon Lords hurt others, even if it was to protect the love lines. She was someone who’d said, “True love is invincible.”
“If I were going to follow this cursed status window’s rules, I wouldn’t have named myself the Pure Love Dark Knight.”
If Demon Lords targeted those who loved purely, then protecting them was my role as the Pure Love Dark Knight.
I let out a soft chuckle. My original username was just my name, but I’d spent money on a name-change item because of a line she’d said.
“Pure love. That’s all that matters. Lee Soo-hyun, nothing else is needed.”
Now that I’d admitted my feelings for her, there was no running away. The status window could try to stop me all it wanted—it wouldn’t work.
“What are you staring at so intently?”
“…Nothing at all.”
The Heavenly Demon noticed me glaring into the distance and raised an eyebrow. I waved off her concern.
***
Time passed, and Baek Mok-ryun gave her assessment of my progress. She remarked that I’d managed to break through the will she had bound to the sword faster than she expected.
“You’ve established your foundation. Your will is firm now, boy.”
“Thank you. Does this mean you’ll teach me swordsmanship now?”
“Indeed.”
She seemed pleased, her tail swaying slightly like an excited puppy. It reminded me of the Saintess. I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic.
“The fundamentals of my Magnolia Swordsmanship are four techniques,” she began, her tone proud.
“First, the White Mountain —unyielding like white snow.”
She drew her sword so quickly it blurred, a faint white aura enveloping the blade. Was this what they called internal energy? It looked like the move was designed to withstand any incoming technique with the steadiness of a mountain.
“Second, the Red Wood —a technique that flows like crimson blood…”
As I stared intently at the sword, Baek Mok-ryun smiled with pride, her demeanor almost playful. She then transitioned to another stance, one aimed at striking vital points.
It radiated a sinister red energy, yet it was far smoother than Drake’s techniques. It bore some resemblance to Reverse Scale Thrust, but it moved with a finality meant to kill outright, closer to Dragon Slayer.
“Like falling petals, Falling Blossom.”
The sound of her sword slicing through the air resembled a gentle breeze, the motion a graceful arc from above. It reminded me of Blooming Petals and felt like part of the same category. It was as if flower petals floated delicately before being swept away.
“Flowing like clear water, Clear Stream.”
Finally, she unleashed a flurry of strikes on a nearby tree. Her movements resembled a dance, so fluid and elegant that it blurred the line between swordplay and performance.
“This is why they called me the Heavenly Demon. These techniques were forged to defy a king who abandoned his people and heavens that ignored justice.”
Her swordsmanship was indeed worthy of her title.
“What do you think? Do you have what it takes to learn this? Khehe!”
But there was one thing—she wasn’t being entirely truthful.
“…I’ll only learn Clear Stream.”
“And why is that? Across eras and lands, there have always been those who coveted my techniques.”
“Because Clear Stream isn’t actually part of the Magnolia Swordsmanship, is it?”
Most of her techniques had names tied to mountains, trees, or flowers. Introducing water out of nowhere felt odd and out of place.
“As expected, you must’ve heard from Dennis. Clever boy.”
“…You still doubted me?”
It was obvious to anyone. This technique was made for Dennis. His blue hair and eyes symbolized water, and he was the pinnacle of water magic.
“Hmm. After years of being trapped here, caution becomes a habit. I had to ensure you weren’t a Demon Lord sent to finish me off.”
“I am no such Demon Lord, Heavenly Demon.”
I exhaled deeply, my shoulders slumping. Completing the Grand Route and achieving a happy ending for her was the only path forward.
“…”
When I return to the academy, I’ll ask the Seer or Laplace about the Saintess again.
“Unlike them, I’ve spent my life running from my own feelings,” I admitted.
I had to make an effort. I couldn’t keep avoiding the Nameless Saintess. My voice softened as I trailed off, but her trademark khehe laugh echoed behind me.
“In that case, boy, I’ll teach you all four techniques!”
“…Really? You mean it?”
“Of course. That way, Dennis might have a better chance of remembering me.”
Her sharp dragon-like teeth gleamed as she smiled mischievously. It was clear the training would be grueling, but I couldn’t afford to hold back now.
“…Thank you, Heavenly Demon.”
I clasped my hands together, mimicking the gesture Dennis made in Night Heart’s ending.
***
While the Black Knight immersed himself in rigorous training, a lone woman stood before a mirror in the Demon Lord’s castle, examining her wounds and laughing maniacally.
“Heheh… My beloved is still alive…”
Magic Hat, the Demon Lord of Truth, gingerly touched her injuries, her expression teetering between exhilaration and madness.
“Ugh, this doesn’t match the rest of me. I’ll have to patch this up,” she muttered, inspecting the remnants of her clone that Licht had decimated. She pouted as if jealous, crafting new duplicates of herself as she spoke.
“I thought I’d pay a fun visit, but it turned out to be so much more! What a delightful surprise!”
Her pale cheeks flushed as she clasped her hands to her face, her golden eyes glinting—but they lacked the wolfish shapes I was familiar with.
“That helmet… It was definitely his, wasn’t it? I looked everywhere, and it never turned up!”
Humming gleefully, Magic Hat tended to her wounds with an unsettling precision. Anyone watching might think her utterly insane.
“These scars… I’ll keep them forever~.”
Caught in her own delusion, the woman trembled slightly, her voice dripping with twisted desire.
“Heheh, I won’t be moving much for a while. My beloved was so rough with me…”
Even as she gazed at the gashes left by my blade, she muttered perverse remarks without hesitation, the very embodiment of corruption.
“Hmm. But scars aren’t pretty… I’ll cover them up, make the surface flawless,” she mused, her eyes narrowing into crescent moons. Magic Hat feared her beloved would disapprove if her body bore permanent marks.
“…I avoided marring his face, so surely he isn’t disfigured, right?”
Dusting herself off as if trying to shake away a bad thought, she muttered to herself about the injuries she had sustained in our battle.
“I hate it…! Being disfigured is the worst!”
Her concern wasn’t for my well-being but her own appearance. She paced anxiously, her voice rising.
“What if he’s disappointed in me? My beloved!”
Grabbing a playing card, she flung it at the mirror in frustration. The Jack of Spades embedded itself with a sharp thwack, leaving a red smear on the reflective surface.
“I can’t stand boring things, you know…!”
A thin line of blood began to drip from the shattered glass.