[Grand Route achievement failed.]
A gigantic status window looms in front of me.
The message that the Grand Route has failed is something I can hardly believe.
How did I even get this far? What the heck is going on?
I thought if Drake and the Sage were connected, the Grand Route would be completed.
Even if there were still couples who hadn’t filled their affection level to 100%, that was something we could figure out slowly, right?
[Penalty for failure: Magic Hat’s Demon Transformation will be applied.]
What the… what does this even mean?
It’s not me or Pina becoming demons, but the Magic Hat becoming one?
[Player [Lee Soo-hyun], good luck in the future.]
“……”
You crazy lunatics.
“Call the Imperial Guard. Pina, hurry up!!”
“Su, Soo-hyun… what’s wrong? Your face is pale…”
I frantically asked Pina to help me.
The status window had never lied to me, so this must be real too.
My hands are shaking. The warnings I’ve seen in the status window flash through my mind.
Was the reason I was warned every time I caught a Demon King not because of Pina, but because of the Magic Hat?
‘This can’t be happening. There must be some way out.’
Contradiction.
I thought that if I took out the Demon Kings early, it would create contradictions in the future.
But it looks like there was another issue.
‘Is it a failure because Black Cloud died, preventing the connection between Drake and the Sage?’
The target for revenge has disappeared?
Originally, Drake was supposed to satisfy his revenge by killing Black Cloud and then connect with the Sage, right?
In the sequel [Black Heart], the Demon King who died…
It’s likely that Drake killed him based on the circumstances.
Then, originally, it’s highly probable that the Demon King of Might was also taken out by Kainel.
“What exactly is the reason? Why did the Grand Route fail?”
But this is just a suspicion. I need solid information.
[It does not meet the conditions for the Grand Route.]
“…..”
Deviation from the route.
The failure of the Grand Route means the conditions weren’t met, causing the future to go awry.
This was something easily seen in [Night Heart Trilogy].
Even minor actions of the player can change the endings, so I was extra cautious.
[Defeat the Magic Hat who has become a Demon. Lee Soo-hyun, hope still exists.]
If that were the case, you should have told me from the beginning!
I yelled at the empty air to gather more information from the status window, but nothing came out.
‘I should have noticed when those so-called gods stopped us from catching the Demon Kings…’
If it were the God of Light or the God of Darkness, would it have been different?
The four gods referred to as ‘Fantasia’ felt like they were subcontracted to their own names.
“..Pina, it sounds crazy, but trust me. The Magic Hat has awakened as a Demon.”
“What? A Demon..? The Demons are certainly my father and the Ten Heroes…”
I grabbed Pina’s shoulders and explained the situation.
Black Cloud had died, causing the Demon of Truth, the Magic Hat, to awaken as a Demon.
“That can’t be possible… Demons died 20 years ago…”
At that, her wolf ears and tail drooped, shaking slightly as if drenched in rain.
It seems she’s in shock, recalling the incident with the Magic Hat during her childhood.
“I thought the resurrection of the Demon Kings by the Hero Church was prophesied…”
“Pina, it seems that was not the case.”
As I held Pina’s hand, she began taking deep breaths.
According to her, it was Emperor Rock who cut off the dying Demon King’s breath.
“The transformation of the Magic Hat into a Demon might have been the goal all along.”
“That’s impossible. That wasn’t a human…”
A grotesque creature that had been summoned to defeat the Demon was now guarding the scene after the chosen heroes fell into darkness.
As I listened to her story, I picked up a book.
A book titled [The Truth of the Demon War].
The backdrop to the war that the Ten Heroes fought against the Demon Kings was written there.
As she described, it was about how the four heroes chosen to defeat the Demons fell into darkness.
Later, the Ten Heroes became hostile toward the Demon Kings, which is how the name formed.
‘Even in the game, there wasn’t just one hero or Demon King.’
A setting from the original [Night Heart], which was wildly popular due to the interesting twist.
“What if the Demon isn’t just one like the Hero?”
“The Demon… like the Hero?”
I mentioned that and began conveying my thoughts to Pina. It made sense since the same could apply to Demons.
“What if, as long as they meet certain conditions, anyone could become one?”
Why hadn’t I realized this simple fact sooner? Even the penalty details didn’t have a subject from the start.
The Pina I saw in my dreams might also be a Demon.
Considering how the messengers of Tardun and Akasha were frightened when they saw Pina, it was likely.
A force that could influence even other worlds…
That’s what was written about the existence of the Demon in the book.
‘I should have caught on sooner.’
I sighed while biting my lower lip.
What if I hadn’t tried to think of everything alone like Giseok had advised?
“Pina, we’re going to need to mobilize every possible means to stop the Magic Hat.”
At least I wouldn’t be a liar to her.
I kept turning over my thoughts. Could we stop the Magic Hat with our current power?
Pina awoke as a Hero of Affection, and Kainel and Ariel were the same.
Dennis would help me, and I’d just have to explain the whole situation to Laplace.
The circumstances were similar to when I defeated the Magic Hat in the game.
So why did I feel such vague unease? Like something ominous was looming ahead…
‘The Magic Hat as a Demon…’
For starters, it’s an opponent I’ve never fought before.
Even in [Black Heart], most of the Demon Kings died, but the Magic Hat becoming a Demon never happened.
The description in the book refers to it as a superior existence above the Demon Kings, sending chills down my spine.
Looking at the information I couldn’t find in the Library of Truth, I checked the author of the book and found a familiar name.
‘Fantasia.’
Looks like the gods are hiding their names here too.
If I defeat the current Magic Hat as they mentioned, it should be possible to return to the Grand Route again.
Can I take down the Magic Hat?
Right now, I’m not the Black Knight Licht.
I couldn’t use the skills I had used before since I hadn’t taken the Demon Swordmaster tree.
The patterns and strategies I memorized before may also be useless, and a forced event where everyone dies, like in the game, might trigger too.
‘…Among them, the Nameless Saintess can’t even end up on the list of casualties.’
The reason I was struggling to save Pina.
The settings and events I saw in the game have a high chance of being applied here too.
Kainel and Ariel are unlikely to run away from combat, but now any mistake I make could endanger her life.
“…That guy is going to invade the Grand Hertz Academy.”
The Magic Hat will come directly to the Academy.
After all, the place where the battle took place in the sequel [Black Heart] was also where the Academy used to be.
That’s also why I knew where Schartines had been kidnapped before.
The prophesized Hero.
Was the fact that the Magic Hat became a Demon before Pina, who has the modifier of ‘affection’, grew her power the issue?
In fact, the failure of the Grand Route might mean this.
The more people you love, the stronger the prophesized Hero becomes.
If Drake and the Sage’s love isn’t fully realized, then it makes sense that her abilities couldn’t grow completely.
“So, should we just contact the people inside the Academy…?”
“The Celestial Demon should maintain stability… Rather, it’d be better if…”
Pina, who was casting communication magic to alert everyone, asked me.
The Celestial Demon is no longer alone. It was best not to risk anything if we could avoid it.
“I think it’s better to contact Professor Dennis and summon Sophia and Giseok as well.”
Instead, I decided to call the guy who had also played the same game.
He also had experience facing the Magic Hat and had tried to strategize a way to defeat it.
Normally, the fight with the Magic Hat would only be a raid between the player and NPCs.
Since that battle was the finale of the sequel [Black Heart], it wasn’t supposed to involve other players.
‘..But this is reality, not a game.’
It should be completely possible to summon others. It’s not like there would be access restrictions as in the game.
Wait, in that case, wouldn’t it also be possible to call ‘that person’?
“Pina, could you inform your father about this too?”
“…What? Soo-hyun… are you sure about that?”
A wolf king gnawing on the sun and devouring the moon.
The emperor who united the four divided nations.
While he wasn’t a character you could recruit in the game…
“If you just say that the Demon of Truth, the Magic Hat, is targeting you, he’ll come running right away.”
He is not the type to dismiss this provocation lightly.
*
Since a while ago, the glass sword that Pina was carrying on her back was trembling slightly.
‘So it’s true… the Magic Hat has become a Demon…’
The Holy Sword resonating seems to react to the birth of a Demon.
Kainel also mentioned that the Holy Sword was vibrating.
She continued to use communication magic to spread the news that the Magic Hat had become a Demon.
[Just wait a bit. My daughter.]
[Understood. Lady Grancia, if it’s what Licht is saying, then it must be true.]
Emperor Rock shouted loudly that he would be there immediately, while Laplace had strengthened the barriers around the Academy.
[Licht has…? Alright. I will let Milyon rest at home, but I will evacuate the students first and come soon.]
[When a disciple calls, the master must always go!]
Drake and the Sage quickly said they would join Lee Soo-hyun’s group, and Dennis teleported all the students at the Academy to safety.
“Captain!! We’re here!”
“Licht.. what do you mean? The Magic Hat has become a Demon?!”
Soon after, Kainel and Ariel arrived at the Academy library.
The Hero couple was gasping for breath, sweating profusely as they rushed in.
All this happened thanks to the trust that Soo-hyun built while defeating the Demon Kings.
The Black Knight who helped others’ love even though he knew the future.
If he had tried to monopolize love, this wouldn’t have happened.
‘So, could it be that the kid we met last time was real too?’
The Black Knight from a miserable future was not lying.
Suddenly, Pina remembered the black-haired girl she had met before.
The little girl who had called Soo-hyun “Daddy.”
‘That wasn’t a lie. In fact, the boy we met at the fountain lied…’
Names like Lyn and Ifrit were probably lies too.
Pina Grancia had keen eyes to see through lies.
‘If I recall the rose scent emanating from them… it must mean that…’
Soo-hyun and Pina Grancia’s child.
If the kids also crossed over from the future, then everything that happened that day would start to make sense.
“Lady Grancia, the guards have assembled at your summons.”
As Pina was deep in thought, the Imperial Guard had appeared around her without notice.
Knights with wolf ears in armor of different colors.
“Where’s Silver? Gold..?”
“Right? Someone’s missing.”
Seeing that, both Pina and Soo-hyun felt something was off. The elite guard named after the metals used in the Empire.
“…Silver?”
Among them, the silver knight symbolizing the silver coin had vanished, and the commander named Gold hadn’t noticed.
