After watching the game’s ending, one should feel a bittersweet emotion.
The pride of having achieved something.
And the regret that there are no more stories left.
You should definitely think that everything has come to an end.
“Yes, boss. I’ll send it right away.”
But in my heart, I felt a nagging feeling, like a bug gnawing away at my insides.
“So, where should I send the documents…”
“Oh, by email? Got it.”
Even though it was my vacation, I got a message from work.
Luckily, it was a simple matter of just sending the documents via email.
“No, it’s fine. Tomorrow is my return from vacation anyway.”
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Thud—
As soon as I hung up the call from work, a wave of fatigue hit me.
“Is it already the last day of my vacation…”
I took off my headphones and let out a deep sigh.
I had spent the night playing the game instead of taking a proper break.
Time had passed by like it was melting away.
Knight Heart.
A CD game I used to enjoy ten years ago.
I had used my vacation time to play the sequel I heard had come out.
“I just spent my vacation playing games…”
Morning had already crept in, and sunlight was creeping into my room.
On my desk lay empty cans of caffeine drinks.
“I should have gone outside and done some exercise.”
Regret surged in late.
I had been so excited for the game, but…
‘Well, the vacation was meant for gaming anyway…’
The title of the sequel that came out ten years after the original Knight Heart was
Black Heart.
Meaning “Sword is Heart,” the title implied that the sword was indeed the heart.
I had gritted my teeth and rushed to finish it during my vacation, but—
‘Who would’ve thought the end would be such a disaster?’
Whether it was a bug or what,
Even after completing the game, there was no ending, not even the credits.
“…Grand Route.”
It was supposed to create a route according to the original save file.
Ultimately, you would see a new happy ending, following the prequel.
‘I really thought I’d finally get to see a happy ending this time.’
My gaze landed on a character smiling on the game’s introduction page.
An NPC called the Nameless Saintess, with wolf ears and a tail.
A weak saintess with no name, memory, or power.
Her divine power was so underdeveloped that she was often mistreated, making it her everyday life.
I wanted her to find happiness.
She was a supporting character, always a step away from happiness.
“……”
Could she not find happiness again this time?
Even in this game, there was no happy ending for the saintess, and instead of catering to the original,
“Ugh, seriously!! It makes me angry just thinking about it!”
“Even so, killing off a character from the previous game so brutally?!”
A mad magician appeared, meticulously killing off every character who had been with us until now.
“This is complete mockery! Mockery!”
Even after defeating the final boss, nothing changed.
The forced events that couldn’t be altered.
Despite advertising new endings or epilogues, there was nothing upon defeating the boss.
Even when I entered the gaming community to find news, all I saw was the uproar about how difficult the boss was.
Am I the only one who defeated the Magic Hat?
“..Ha, let me just send an email to my boss.”
Calming my anger, I opened my inbox to resolve the message from work.
“Huh..?”
There was an unfamiliar email address.
Fantasia.
The development company behind the sequel Black Heart.
What could they possibly want from me?
Are they launching a new event or something?
“Maybe they should fix the ending bug.”
Ah, there was an email I sent them about not getting an ending despite defeating the final boss.
Honestly, I expected them to just ignore it.
[Hello! Player Lee Soo-hyun!]
[This is the production team for Black Heart.]
Not a promotional event email, but a personal email sent just to me.
[First of all, congratulations on achieving the global first kill of the Demon King of Truth, ‘Magic Hat’!]
Are they going to pat my back for this? They’re surprisingly considerate in these matters.
[You might have been confused since nothing happened after the hunt…]
[To cut to the chase, the ‘Grand Route’ is currently not implemented!]
What?!
“Are you kidding me?!”
Releasing the sequel in an unfinished state and having the audacity to say that!
[Originally, ‘Magic Hat’ was designed to be an unbeatable boss.]
The development team continued shamelessly.
They basically said they designed a boss you couldn’t defeat at all, questioning how I managed to defeat it.
[It’s not false advertising; think of it as a step back for two steps forward.]
“Forget that! Just show me the ending!!”
I was flabbergasted.
Even after all the effort to beat the demon king, nothing changed.
Now they say ‘the ending hasn’t been implemented’? That’s just pathetic.
[Anyway, we truly appreciate your hard work… so we’d like to propose one thing.]
“..So you finally showed up, huh?”
You better not try anything funny.
I’ll just post this on the gaming community to expose you.
[We at Fantasia officially propose…]
[To summon you as the Hero of Conviction!]
“…?”
That’s absurd.
It’s something no one would believe.
Is it spam?
Just as I was about to hit delete,
[It’s useless to try deleting.]
The letters on the monitor shifted, and a new sentence appeared.
“Am I seeing things..?”
[No, we at Fantasia have been waiting for a hero like you.]
I couldn’t trust my own eyes.
Could my computer be infected with a virus, or is this some hidden camera prank?
“I don’t know what kind of nonsense this is…”
Just as I grabbed my phone to report it,
[Saintess, if we could save her?]
“…….”
The mention of the Nameless Saintess momentarily rattled me.
[Please listen to us just once. It’s also about the saintess.]
“Alright, I’ll hear you out for now…”
It was kind of underhanded to pull out the cheat card so shamefully, but I had to listen.
[In fact, our game is a simulation modeled after a real world.]
“What?”
[We’re searching for someone to help us kill the Demon King of Truth from Knight Heart to Black Heart.]
So that’s why even after defeating Magic Hat, the ending didn’t appear…
[Yes, indeed. Originally, a world line where Magic Hat dies doesn’t exist.]
They search for possibilities through simulations.
Since they are insufficient on their own, they need to borrow someone else’s strength.
“So you tried to find a hero who could kill that guy through the game?”
[Yes, that was our atonement for the mistake we made.]
It felt off.
What game releases without testing its ending first?
Plus, when compared to games of the same era, the tech was excessively advanced, which explained a lot.
I thought maybe they’d used aliens or something.
[I am the Goddess of Emotion, Pantoze. I have watched your efforts while playing the game.]
The identity of the goddess only made me laugh.
“Wait, if there really is a world that serves as the basis for this game…”
In an instant, a thought flashed through my mind.
If the game truly modeled itself after a real world,
A Nameless Saintess.
“Then the saintess really…”
[Yes, she is ‘still’ alive.]
She exists!
The one who saved me during the darkest time of my life.
“If I get summoned as a hero, can I meet her?”
I might get to see the pure saintess who I always wished to be happy.
[Of course. Would you like to see?]
As the photos attached to the email rapidly changed, I saw someone playing with children in a monastery.
A saintess like a blank staff paper with nothing else.
—Hehe, the terrifying wolf will come to find you, so please hide well!
The fluffy wolf ears and tail moved just like the person I remembered.
“…It’s really the saintess.”
I stared in disbelief at the astonishing sight.
She may have died in the game, but she was alive in the real world.
[However, there are some restrictions.]
[You will be possessed by Black Knight Licht.]
The deity who introduced herself as Pantoze began stating the precautions.
[And you will be summoned at the time of the original Knight Heart, not the sequel Black Heart.]
“Why…?”
Can’t I just bundle up the best equipment and rush to catch Magic Hat?
[That would introduce the most variables.]
Things achieved in the game wouldn’t apply to the real world.
The reverse might be possible, but it seemed my leveling up Licht from the game wouldn’t have an effect.
[You will be possessed at the time Licht is at his weakest. The Hero Church’s Demon Kings won’t notice you.]
“Well, that’s true.”
Demon King Head Ake.
If it were known that the renowned hero had any weaknesses or information leaked,
Not only could I not save the saintess, but I could also be the one to perish first.
[Lee Soo-hyun, you were selected as the hero after the careful consideration of the four of us gods.]
Just as doubts filled my mind,
Four patterns I often saw in the game began appearing on the monitor.
[You will become a ‘Successor’ who revives even after death with my power.]
The flame representing the Goddess of Emotion, Pantoze.
[With the power of Tardun, you will be chosen as a ‘Possessor.’]
The earth representing the God of Will, Tardun.
[With the power of Jisheer, you will be a ‘Transcender’ beyond worlds.]
The grass representing the God of Reason, Jisheer.
[With the power of Akasha, you will be sent back to the ‘Return’ of the past by reversing time.]
And lastly, the droplet representing Akasha, the Goddess of Intelligence.
[If you accomplish the mission, you will be granted one wish.]
The gods of this world dangled a carrot in front of me.
That wish could grant the happiness the Nameless Saintess desired.
‘To wear a pure white wedding dress.’
If she’s saying that much, it must be truly possible.
[You must eliminate the Demon King of Truth, ‘Magic Hat.’]
As the four patterns lit up, bright light began to pour out from the monitor.
—We kindly ask for your assistance in our world, Hero of Conviction.
