Hammer of Justice

For the music track, see Hammer of Justice (soundtrack).

Can you hear its song, singing from the deep...?
That... is the ringing...
... of the Hammer of Justice!

Hammer of Justice, Chapter 4

The Hammer of Justice (JP: 正義の鉄槌) is the alternate form of Gerson's Darkner incarnation, and the Shadow Crystal boss of Chapter 4 of Deltarune.

Once he is defeated, which can be done by amassing "stars" through either surviving long enough or "impressing" Gerson enough with Susie's actions in battle, the party will receive the JusticeAxe, Susie's Magic stat will be permanently increased by 4 and her OKHeal spell will be upgraded to BetterHeal, improving its healing formula and reducing its TP cost by 5%.

Profile

Appearance

As the Hammer of Justice, Gerson swaps his typical brown suit for silver body armor and armored boots, and forgoes his green cane for a giant hammer. No longer wearing his hat, Gerson lets his long pink hair flow out.

Personality

In battle, Gerson displays remarkable flexibility for his old age, constantly kicking his legs out in place while carrying his massive war hammer behind his back in his idle animation, and demonstrating great speed in his many attack animations. He is confident throughout the fight, posing in a one-handed handstand as he dodges attacks and boisterously laughing after his fakeout last strike at the end of his final attack sequence.

Both the mid-battle text and the stars that appear above his head signal his delight when Susie does something to impress him, mainly by attacking him or by using healing magic. This is mirrored in gameplay by tying Susie's attacks and heals to the progression of battle; the fight takes longer if Susie never attacks or heals. Gerson also progressively deals less damage to Susie the lower her health is, suggesting that he is not interested in winning outright.

Main story

As with Jevil and Spamton NEO, the Hammer of Justice is optional to fight. The Hammer of Justice can only be fought in the Dark Sanctuary through solving the golden piano puzzle, unlocking the fireplace entrance in the Study. Once the party climbs up the tower near the very start of the Dark Sanctuary (made accessible by opening the locked right-side entrance of the upper Study), the main story progresses, and the Hammer of Justice fight is no longer possible.

Pre-battle

Upon interacting with the fireplace in the Study of the Dark Sanctuary, the plaque placed above reads the "Legend of the Magic Axe":

"The Axe which nests beyond the pyre
Awakes from rest by golden choir
3 tunes bekiss'd in dulcet wire
Which whispers in the darkest mire."

The first time this interaction occurs, Susie and Ralsei comment that Gerson may know more. Upon inquiring Gerson about the "Magic Axe", he states the Axe will grant "great magic power" to those wielding it, but it is locked away in the Study's walls. Susie, after wondering if such magic power would "work on everyone", will then ask Kris to try and retrieve the Axe if possible.

Certain notable events occur during the discovery of the piano notes for the Golden Piano puzzle:

• A one-time encounter with the HolywaterCooler, a.k.a. Miss Mizzle, for the first music notes in the lower left of the Sanctuary.
• A cutscene of a tea party with Gerson, after discovering the last music notes in the room behind the donation fountain.

Such events are completely optional, even for the requirements for the battle with the Hammer of Justice, as the Golden Piano's music notes can be played without ever discovering them in-game.

Initiating battle

If Kris solves the golden piano puzzle, the door to the JusticeAxe opens in Gerson's Study. When Susie attempts to take the JusticeAxe, Gerson stops her, saying that, just like the rest of his items, the axe is not free. It costs $999,999,999, which Gerson claims is actually a discounted price. However, since the heroes went to so much effort to obtain the axe in the first place, he offers to give the axe to Susie if she can cut just one of his hairs. Susie attempts to do so with her axe, but he dodges her swings with ease. Eventually, Susie realizes that he wants a battle, and Gerson switches to his Hammer of Justice form, revealing himself as the Shadow Crystal boss.

Battle

Gerson battling Susie

The battle itself only features Susie up against Gerson, without Kris or Ralsei. However, near the start when Gerson turns the SOUL green, Susie will express confusion and directly asks Kris for help.

As the battle progresses, Gerson recounts a chapter-by-chapter summary of the Lord of the Hammer series. He ends the summary by stating the series was never finished: the story became so massive that it "swallowed up" the original author, and the "youth" who was meant to continue the series never did.

Near the end of the battle, Gerson asks Susie how she wants "it all" to end. Susie responds that she wants no ending at all, preferring that everything "goes on forever". Gerson, amused, tells Susie to hold on to that desire for "eternity", stating that she holds a "white pen" of hope that can overwrite the darkness.

Upon successfully surviving the final attack, Susie distracts Gerson by shooting a healing blast above his head, before finally cutting the hairs of his beard.

Post-battle

Upon losing the battle, Susie briefly laments the loss. Gerson will then freely offer the Axe to Susie anyway, along with his Shadow Crystal, already convinced by the "fire" in her eyes. Susie refuses, preferring to win the Axe properly in a rematch. This still unlocks the rewards to be obtained later from Castle Town after Chapter 4 even if she does not defeat him.

Susie triumphs over Gerson's challenge

Upon winning the battle, Gerson laughs over how much fun the duel was, while Susie expresses pride in her use of healing magic. Susie then properly claims the JusticeAxe. Gerson also gives Susie his Shadow Crystal, stating that while he felt someone wanted him to use it, he was not interested.

If the battle was won without ever losing once before, Gerson states he was going to give the Axe away anyway, but was impressed by the strong fight, commending both Kris and Susie's efforts. If the battle was won after at least one previous loss, he gives credit to Susie's perseverance.

Before the party leaves the room post victory, Susie asks Gerson why he kept helping her. He responds that Susie reminded him of a character from Lord of the Hammer, and the two converse over how the Dragon Blazers video game series were based off of that book series. The conversation ends with Gerson stating that, out of the Dragon Blazers characters, Susie would be "the Dragon", much to her approval.

Creation and development

In early 2016, Toby Fox created Hammer of Justice (Piano Sketch), an initial arrangement of the Hammer of Justice theme.

Jean Canellas had assembled Hammer of Justice's battle, which he had collaborated with Toby and AlexMdle to create, and that it "took a long time".

According to Temmie Chang, she animated the idle animation for the Hammer of Justice based on Toby acting it out using a broom.

In battle

Attacks

Gerson utilizes the green SOUL mode, forcing Susie to use her axe to block attacks by facing a specific direction. After a certain point, Gerson can attack from eight sides instead of just four, requiring two inputs to block in a diagonal direction. Blocking an attack usually grants 0.5% TP, but if the axe is moved right before the attack hits, it gives 1% TP. (The axe does not have to change directions; simply re-pressing the direction the axe is already facing works as well.)

There are three types of attacks while the SOUL is green. There are spears, which appear as wholly yellow arrows until one is the next one to hit the SOUL, in which case it will be red with a yellow outline. There are also shells, which will bounce back and change color upon being blocked and have additional variants. Normal shells (only spawning as green) will always come from one direction, spinning shells will change their direction by 90° counterclockwise, and larger shells are slower. Green shells must be blocked twice, blue shells must be blocked thrice, purple shells must be blocked four times, and red shells must be blocked five times. Lastly, there are hammers, which will change the SOUL to red when they attack (regardless of whether it hits or not).

While the SOUL is red, there are three more types of attacks. Gerson can hit a rebounding shell back and forth (with stars appearing as a trail), throw hammers, or directly attack the SOUL.

Using Susie's Rude Buster lets Gerson reflect the strike, requiring her to counter-deflect to stagger/"impress" him and not take damage. Subsequent uses of Rude Buster results in Gerson deflecting once more for each use, up to 3 times, before being staggered.

Most of the green SOUL attacks are fixed; the sequence of arrows does not change between attempts. The directions mentioned here are the direction that needs to be moved to block the projectile, rather than the facing/movement direction of the projectile which is the inverse.

List of attacks

The attacks occur in sequence, except attacks 1/2 can be skipped, and attack 21 usually arrives early, skipping past all the attacks in between and thus ending the fight.

• Attack 1/2: Only occurs the first time the battle is played. Attack 2 only occurs if damage was taken on attack 1. Gerson turns the SOUL green, then there are slow-moving arrows up, up, up, left, down, right.
• Attack 3: Starts with slow arrows: 3 up, 1 left, 1 down. Then faster arrows follow: 2 right, 2 left, 1 right, 1 left, 3 up.
• Attack 4: Fast arrows come at a uniform interval: Right, up, down, right, down, up. Then the slow-moving left arrow reaches the shield. Followed by a second volley of right, up, down, left, down, up, left, left, before the slow-moving right arrow reaches the shield.
• Attack 5: Contains an up, right, up, left pattern of arrows of different speeds, repeated 3 times. Partway through the last repeat, the shield suddenly becomes 8-directional, which is needed to block the upleft arrows that come immediately after the third repeat. Then there is an upright arrow. From this point, the green SOUL remains 8-directional.
• Attack 6: A hammer starts slowly falling from the top. Before it arrives, there are arrows: down, upleft, down, upright, down, right, down, left. Then the hammer hits, turning the SOUL red. Gerson immediately slashes down the center of the bullet board, requiring moving to the side to dodge.
• Attack 7: Gerson fires a shell into the board, which leaves a trail of stars behind, bouncing vertically off the edges of the board. Once it leaves the board to the other side, it gets hits back into the board at a different angle. After a while, it gets hit above the board and gets slammed down the middle, causing a cloud of star projectiles to come up from the bottom on impact and rain down on the board.
• Attack 8: Gerson hits the bullet board to the side, orienting it diagonally. Then he throws hammer projectiles from the side which arc into and past the board. A volley of larger hammers gets thrown. Then, a very large hammer falls down the center of the board.
• Attack 9: Returns to green. Normal speed arrows: 2 upleft, 2 up, 2 upright. Faster arrows: upleft, up, upright, up, up, upleft, up, upright. Then more normal speed arrows: down, downleft, down, downright.
• Attack 10: Arrows: 3 left, 3 right, up, upleft, down, downright, 3 right, 3 left, down, downright, up, with varying spacing. Then, a green shell appears from the top which bounces back and must be hit a second time a couple seconds later. This is followed by two shells coming in close succession left then right.
• Attack 11: 4 fast shells arrive up, left, right, down, which all must hit before the first one hits the second time. Then, there is a shell from the top followed by 5 arrows going counterclockwise from left to right, which hit before the shell's second hit. Then, this repeats but vertically reflected. Then arrows: right, left, down, upleft, downleft, when the slow-moving arrows downright, downright, up hit.
• Attack 12: 3 shells up, left, down. Right after the second hit of the last shell, a hammer comes flying from the right, slamming the (now red) SOUL to the left of the board. Gerson slashes the middle, right, left, middle, left, right, left sides of the board. Then two Gersons appear as if both sides will be slashed, but it is a fakeout and an extra Gerson appears and slashes from the right to left at the SOUL.
• Attack 13: Gerson squishes the bullet board to be thin but wide, then produces a large sequence of slashes from the left side going to the right, stopping before they hit the edge. Then they go from right to left. Then there are a sequence of slashes that hit a large portion of the bullet board, keeping only a small area safe. At one point in the attack, a small, likely unintended safe area is present on the far right of the attack.
• Attack 14: A repeat of attack 8.
• Attack 15: Returns to green. From now on, shells that start as cyan shells will bounce 90 degrees counterclockwise for their next hit. Starts with a cyan shell from the top, which takes 3 hits. Then there is a cyan shell from the topright, then both left and upright along with an arrow from the top before the first shell hits the second time and one from the bottom before the third hit. Then arrows: left, right, downright, right, upleft, left, upright, downleft, up (with the last three arrows being very fast).
• Attack 16: Green shell left, arrows down, downright, green shell right. After the first shell hits again, arrows up, down. After the second shell hits again, arrows down, up. Then three cyan shells right, upright, up. After those are done, arrow upleft, then cyan shells downright, right, upright. After that, 4 fast arrows and a hammer come from the top.
• Attack 17: Turn green again. 5 arrows clockwise from right to left, then counterclockwise from down to up, then 11 arrows clockwise from right to down, then 30 arrows counterclockwise from down to upleft.
• Attack 18: 32 arrows that randomly come from all directions, starting off slow but gradually getting faster as the attack progresses.
• Attack 19: 48 arrows that randomly appear from all directions; they are all quite slow, but are extremely consolidated to make up for it.
• Attack 20: Cyan shell from the top, then arrows right, downright, down, (second shell hit), upright, right, upright, (third shell hit), upleft. Cyan shell from the right, arrows right, upright, up, upright, (second shell hit), up, left, downleft, (third shell hit), then 4 cyan shells up, left, right, down, with an arrow upleft between the last shell and second hit of the first shell. After the last hit of the last shell, 3 cyan shells upright, upleft, downright, with an arrow up between the last shell and second hit of the first shell, and a right arrow in that gap between the next hit.
• Attack 21 (final): Cyan shell up, green shell left, cyan upright, and a faster red shell from the right (it takes 5 hits and goes at a different rhythm than the other shells). Between the last hit of the first and third shells, green shell up. Then a hammer from the left, and Gerson starts slashing the board in directions starting from the top right corner and going counterclockwise from there, such that movement in a circle near the center is required to avoid them.

• 
  Attack 1
• 
  Attack 2
• 
  Attack 3
• 
  Attack 4
• 
  Attack 5
• 
  Attack 6
• 
  Attack 7
• 
  Attack 8
• 
  Attack 9
• 
  Attack 10
• 
  Attack 11
• 
  Attack 12
• 
  Attack 13
• 
  Attack 15
• 
  Attack 16
• 
  Attack 17
• 
  Attack 18
• 
  Attack 19
• 
  Attack 20
• 
  Attack 21

Strategy

Gerson's fight can only be won after he uses his final attack on the 21st turn. However, this turn can be reached early if Susie manages to "impress" Gerson enough via specific performances. The effectiveness of these is communicated via stars that appear above Gerson's head, of which at least 84 are required to trigger the final attack:

• Using OKHeal creates 9 stars.
• Successfully counter-deflecting Rude Buster creates 8 stars.
  • Using Rude Buster but failing to counter-deflect it creates 6 stars.
• Attacking creates 4 stars.
• Surviving Attack 17 creates 30 stars.
• Surviving Attacks 18 and 19 creates 24 stars each.
• Surviving Attack 20 creates 20 stars. This is more than enough to ensure Attack 21 is triggered, even if Susie took no action to impress Gerson during the battle.

Susie's damage taken decreases proportionately to her current HP; she will take roughly (but not exactly) a third of her remaining health, before any damage reduction from DF, defending, or having the Shadow Mantle equipped against the star trail of Attack 7, with a minimum base damage taken of 12 before reductions (always reduced to at least 10 by Susie's base 2DF). Additionally, final damage taken after any source of damage reduction cannot be below 5. The exact formula for damage taken before damage reductions are applied is where HP is Susie's current remaining health.

As Susie is the only party member available, having her HP depleted will always result in a loss. However, losing against Gerson will never result in a proper Game Over, as this will instead send the player back to the overworld, resetting his "impression" statistic and Susie's HP to their defaults (0 and full respectively).

All items attempted to be used will be taken away by Gerson, therefore rendering OKHeal as the only means to receive considerable healing. After each use of OKHeal, the amount of HP healed increases by 2, reaching a maximum increase of after 15 uses. This healing does not scale with the damage Gerson deals, therefore rendering it strategically most effective when Gerson's attacks are dealing lower counts of damage. The TP cost too decreases by 1% per every third use, down to a minimum of 80%. This improvement is not reset by losses, so anyone struggling with the battle will have a slightly easier time by relying on their improved OKHeal performance.

Defending gives only the usual 16% TP, whereas attacking provides 24% TP and impresses Gerson. For the latter's greater benefits, it is typically best to only defend if one is anticipating considerable damage, otherwise using attacks to gain TP.

Using Rude Buster does not provide any TP, and Susie will take damage if she fails to counter-deflect the spell. However, Rude Buster costs less TP than OKHeal to use, while impressing Gerson only slightly less. Therefore, successful usage of Rude Buster can provide a faster means of reaching Gerson's final attack.

Given the described factors, it is best to provide Susie with the best defense and magic bonuses possible. The Dealmaker - given its +5DF and +5 Magic effects, the Shadow Mantle - given its +4DF and being able to reduce the damage from attacks using the Star Element - and the Devilsknife - given its +5AT +4Magic and reduced TP cost for Rude Buster - are the best but can only be used if brought from other Chapters. The Waferguard, MysticBand, and AbsorbAx can be found in the Dark Sanctuary as an alternative (but the AbsorbAx only gives +2HP in this fight instead of giving +10% of the user's max HP).

S-Action is not in the ACT menu during this battle.

Quotes

Pre-battle

• [First attempt]
  • [Susie]
    • Damn... so this is the Magic Axe, huh. [If learned about the axe]
    • Damn... I dunno what this axe is, but it looks awesome! [Otherwise]
  • [Narrator] (You got the
  • Wait a tick! You gotta pay for that!
  • [Susie] ... Pay!? The heck are you talking about?
  • This is still the inside of my study, ain't it?
  • Nothin' else was free, so why'd ya think we'd start here?
  • [Susie] Haha, good one. I'm taking the axe now.
  • ... don't think I'm serious? Check the price tag!
  • [Susie] Huh...? Price... what?
  • [Susie] ... it says it costs... uh...
  • [Susie] $999,999,999!?
  • Geh heh heh, didn't realize it was still on discount!
  • ... But I know. You worked real hard to get here. So how 'bout a trade?
  • If you, and you alone, can best my challenge... I give it to ya. For free.
  • [Susie] Heh, knew you'd say that. What do you want?
  • Hmm... how about...
  • ... a haircut?
  • [Susie] ... a HAIRCUT?
  • [Susie] Alright, sure. Which hair you want me to cut?
  • Oh, any of 'em.
  • They're all too long, see! Just get one, and I'll give it to ya.
  • [Susie] Alright, I'll start with your beard...
  • [Susie] H... huh?
  • [Susie] STAY STILL!!!
  • [Susie] ... Heheheh... I get it.
  • [Susie] You think I'm gonna go easy on you, huh?
  • [Susie] What the...
  • Ah, so you wanna get serious, do ya...?
  • Then tell me first, can you hear it?
  • Can you hear its song, singing from the deep...?
  • That... is the ringing...
  • ... of the Hammer of Justice!
• [Rematch]
  • What, ready to fight again!?
  • [Susie] Whaddya say, Kris?
  • [Go Susie! Go Susie!]
    • [Susie] Get ready, 'cause I'm not gonna hold anything back!
  • [Sorry, not enough time.]
    • [Susie] Sorry. We'll kick your ass later, old man.

Battle

• [Turn 1; Skipped in rematches]
  • [Susie] So you got moves, so what?
  • [Susie] You're facing a hero. There isn't anything that's gonna stand in our way!
  • So the story goes, so the story goes.
  • But ain't every story better with a little twist?
  • [Susie] H... huh? Something feels... off...
  • You won't learn anything runnin' away, y'know!
  • If you've got guts, let's see how you deal facing everything head-on!!
  • [Susie] (Kris, help me out!)
• [Turn 2; skips to turn 3 if no damage was taken on turn 1]
  • You gotta BLOCK, you understand?!
  • [Susie] (Kris, don't mess this up)
• [Turn 3]
  • As long as you're GREEN, you can't run away!
  • Unless you FACE DANGER HEAD ON... These bullets will do you in!
• [Turn 4]
  • Did you ever hear that old tale?
  • Yes, the old tale, based upon the prophecy...
  • Lord of the Hammer.
  • [Susie] Think I heard about it. What happens?
• [Turn 5]
  • Chapter 1 The March of the Dark King.
  • The heroes defeat the king and stop the dragon.
• [Turn 6]
  • Chapter 2 The City of the Shining.
  • The heroes do battle in chariots to save the Queen.
• [Turn 7]
  • Chapter 3, The Isles of Northernlight.
  • The heroes travel among the islands and catch a glimpse of a lost land.
• [Turn 8]
  • Chapter 4, The Trials of the Holy Hammer.
  • A great smith gives the heroes a terrible weapon.
• [Turn 9]
  • Chapter 5, The Field of Pink and Gold.
  • The vast garden is charred in an inferno of jealousy.
• [Turn 10]
  • ...What happens next?
  • Geheheh! Who knows?
  • There was only one more chapter... After that,
  • It all stopped.
• [Turn 11]
  • That next book, it never did get written.
  • The story, it became so grand, so overwhelming,
  • Some say it swallowed up the author himself.
• [Turn 12]
  • The ones who could write the next, the youth, the pen was lying there for them to pick up.
  • To make the next page.
  • ...they never did.
• [Turn 13]
  • But you, my dear? I see a story lit up in your eyes...
  • Burnin' bright... Burnin' black. Burnin' up everything.
• [Turn 14]
  • The bell's ringin' now. Seems we've reached the final rounds.
  • So... how do you think it all ends?
  • No, how do you want it to end?
• [Turn 15]
  • [Susie] An ending, huh...
  • [Susie] ...If I could choose I guess...
  • [Susie] I wouldn't have an ending!
  • [Susie] It's just better if stuff just... goes on forever, right?
• [Turn 16]
  • Gah ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! Well ain't that somethin'.
  • At this late hour, with the bells ringing out their justice.
  • You choose eternity.
• [Turn 17]
  • Miss, hold on dearly to that thought.
  • For the tides of fate are drawing close.
  • And soon, an ocean of ink shall wash across the pages.
• [Turn 18]
  • Before, you said you fancied yourself a hero, didn't ya? Hmmm... That's real interesting.
• [Turn 19]
  • Now, I don't know much about "heroes"... ... But I know that whatever ya call 'em, there is someone.
  • Someone who'll never give up trying to do the right thing, no matter what.
• [Turn 20]
  • There's no prophecy or legend 'bout anyone like that.
  • It's just something I know is true.
  • Now, where's my haircut!? Geh ha ha!!
• [Turn 21]
  • But... there is one thing that can overwrite the dark.
  • A white pen, known as hope.
  • Miss! I believe... this is what you hold.
  • [Susie] Me? Nah, Kris has the pen.
  • [Susie] My weapon's like a hairbrush or something.
  • Geh-hahahahaha! Is that so? Is that SO???
  • [Susie] Yep. Now shut up and give me that axe!
• [After Turn 21]
  • [Susie] ... Alright, I figured it out.
  • [Susie] You wanna see what I got, then...
  • [Susie] Take THIS!!!
  • Ha, ya missed.
• [If Susie is hit by Rude Buster]
  • [Susie] Wh... what kind of cheap trick was that!?
  • Sorry, thought you'd hit it back! Geh heh heh!
  • [Susie] Oh yeah!? I'll show you!! Kris, let's use it again!!
• [Attempting to use any item]
  • Woah there! I ain't usin' items, so fair's fair, ain't it!?

Post-battle

• [First loss]
  • [Susie] ... damn... I... couldn't keep up...
  • Geheheh... well, you gave it your best shot!
  • Here.
  • [Susie] ... huh?
  • I saw the fire in your eyes... that's proof enough for me.
  • Take it. And this crystal, too.
  • [Susie] ...
  • [Susie] Nah. Keep it.
  • ... you don't want it?
  • [Susie] Of course I do. But...
  • [Susie] You're gonna need something to give me...
  • [Susie] ... after our rematch!
  • ... Wahahahaha!!!
  • You've got guts, kid! I like that!
• [Second loss]
  • [Susie] D... damnit!
  • You aren't giving up, are ya?
  • [Susie] Hell no! Kris, let's try again!
• [Third loss onward]
  • It's all right, it's all right.
  • How 'bout you give it another shot?
• [Victory]
  • [Susie] H... How's that, old man!?
  • Wahahahahaha!! That was the most fun I ever had!
  • [Susie] See how I used my healing just now!?
  • Geheheheh!
  • [Susie] Guess this is mine now, huh.
  • [Narrator] (JusticeAxe was added to your WEAPONS.)
  • [If inventory full]
    • [Narrator] (... but, there wasn't enough room.)
    • [Susie] Dammit Kris, the hell did you get so much stupid stuff?!
    • Geh ha ha ha! Well, that Axe ain't going anywhere...
    • ... So just pick it up later!
  • And... take this, too.
  • For some reason, I found this weird piece-a glass in my desk.
  • Felt like someone really wanted me to use this thing.
  • But it didn't interest me, so you can take it.
  • [Narrator] (ShadowCrystal was added to your KEY ITEMS.)
  • [If first attempt]
    • The truth is, I was gonna give you it all if you beat me or not.
    • But woomph, you actually put up quite a fight!
    • [Susie] Well, maybe you're losing your touch.
    • Oh, far from it!
    • ... You weren't truly fighting by yourself, were ya?
    • [Susie] ... huh?
    • [Susie] ... oh, you mean Kris. Yeah.
    • [Susie] Guess I kinda needed their help to win.
    • Well, don't sell your own skills short either.
    • You're something real special yourself...
    • [Susie] Heh. You weren't bad either.
    • Now go enjoy that Axe! Geh heh heh!
    • [Susie] Alright. Heh.
  • [Otherwise]
    • [Susie] Knew it was worth having a rematch! [Attempts 2-5]
    • [Attempt 6 onward]
      • [Susie] FINALLY!!
      • [Susie] Was starting to wonder if I'd ever win...
    • Perseverance. Each time, you get a little better.
    • ... that's all I wanted to see.
    • Can't think I'm gonna be the toughest thing you'll face.
    • But next time, you'll be ready.
    • Don't give up, and give 'em hell!
    • [Susie] Don't have to tell me that, old man!!
  • [On exiting room after victory]
    • Well, I'll be seeing you around now.
    • [Susie] ... yeah. I guess we will.
    • [Susie] Why'd you... help me so much?
    • [Susie] You didn't have to.
    • You remind me a bit of someone I used to know.
    • [Susie] ... Who?
    • Just a character from that old story...
    • [Susie] ... Lord of the Hammer, huh. Hell if I'm reading that.
    • [Susie] ... though, wait a sec.
    • [Susie] Isn't that... what Dragon Blazers was based on?
    • Yep, yep. And so they changed parts of the story.
    • Of course, the biggest fans got mad... but, isn't it interesting?
    • The book was already just an interpretation of something else.
    • Stories can be retold. They can be changed... That's what I believe.
    • [Susie] ... huh.
    • The words on a wall called you a hero.
    • ... Whatever you end up being, I'm sure it'll be tremendous.
    • [Susie] ...
    • [Susie] ... anyway, which Dragon Blazers character am I?
    • Gahahaha, right!
    • You are... the Dragon.
    • [Susie] Heheh. That's what I was hoping.

Flavor text

• (The bell of justice rings...) (ATTACK to show what you've got!) [Encounter]
• [Susie] (Hey Kris, if this guy wants a haircut, let's ATTACK...!) [3rd turn, if ATTACKS were not used]
• The air crackles green with freedom. [Neutral]
• The bells ring in justice... [Neutral]
• The bell of justice is ringing... it's for you. [Neutral, 7/101 (6.9%) chance]
• The bell of justice tolls... for a frog. No, a turtle! [Neutral, 2/101 (2.0%) chance]
• The white wind howls! [Neutral, 2/101 (2.0%) chance]
• Smells like steel and leather. [Neutral, 2/101 (2.0%) chance]
• It's one shell of a battle! [After turn 10, 10/101 (9.9%) chance]
• Susie rolls her head confidently. [Unused]
• Susie grits her teeth. [Unused]
• The opponent seems impressed with Susie's guts! [After Susie attacks twice]
• The opponent's seems very impressed with Susie's magic...! [After the first OKHeal]
• The opponent is reeling from the Rude Buster! [After the first Rude Buster]
• Susie used the [ITEM] ... but it was stolen!! [Attempting to use an item]
• Your ITEMs were taken! [After item]
• Things are finally starting to get serious! [25 mercy stars, first time]
• A bead of sweat forms on the old man's forehead... [50 mercy stars, first time]
• The opponent is finally slowing down! ... or speeding up!? [75 mercy stars, first time]

Gallery

• 
  Gerson holding his hammer
• 
  Gerson before battle
• 
  Gerson dodging Susie's attacks
• 
  Gerson laughing
• 
  Gerson deflecting Rude Buster
• 
  Gerson throwing his hammers
• 
  Gerson swinging his hammer
• 
  Gerson swinging his hammer downwards
• 
  Gerson teleporting
• 
  Gerson dizzy after Susie counter-deflects Rude Buster
• 
  Gerson stealing an item from Susie
• 
  Gerson shocked after Susie cuts his beard
• 
  Gerson as he appears near the climax of the Titan battle
• 
  Gerson launching DualBuster with Susie
• 
  Gerson healing Susie or Ralsei during the Titan battle

Trivia

• Correctly deflecting a Rude Buster should create a number of stars based on the amount of damage the Rude Buster would deal on hit. However, this number is calculated to be a constant 110.
• The chapters of Lord of the Hammer mentioned by Gerson during the battle mirror their corresponding Chapters in Deltarune.
• The stained glass in the background changes on certain turns:
  • At the start of the fight, the glass glows a light green.
  • The turn the first chapter is mentioned, the glass glows a bluish purple.
  • The turn the second chapter is mentioned, the glass glows a light blue and teal color.
  • The turn the third chapter is mentioned, the glass becomes clear and shows a night sky with bright stars.
  • The turn the fourth chapter is mentioned, the glass shows the hammer and glows a dark blue color. The hammer uses IMAGE_DEPTH as its background.
  • The turn the fifth chapter is mentioned, the glass becomes clear and glows a gradient of pink and yellow colors, with petals falling.
  • The turns from when that Gerson says "it all stopped" onward, the glass glows a light purple.
  • Finally, from the turn that Gerson says "The bell's ringing now", the glass glows green again, and a bell can be seen ringing behind it.
• Gerson's dialogue in turns 19 and 20 is directly lifted from his words to the protagonist in Undertale. The dialogue can be seen in the Genocide Route upon selecting "Hero" in Gerson's shop.
• Gerson's Hammer of Justice form parallels Undyne's Undertale counterpart in various ways:
  • His title parallels the title of Undyne's battle theme on a Neutral/Pacifist Route, Spear of Justice. Additionally, his battle theme contains leitmotifs from that song.
    • The name "Hammer of Justice" may also be a reference to the song "Japan Break Industries", which features the lyric "Hammer of justice, high up in the sky". In 2024, Toby Fox used the song on a Bluesky post.
  • Gerson's hair takes on the shape of a long flowing ponytail, similarly to Undyne's.
  • Both of their outfits take the form of full body armor; their helmets, however, are not seen during combat. The helmet of Undyne's armor is only seen in the overworld, and the helmet of Gerson's armor is only seen on the statues in his study.
  • Both primarily use the green SOUL mode in their fights. Their dialogues introducing said SOUL mode are remarkably similar as well.
    • The way they inflict the mode itself is also very similar, with both of them swinging their weapon to fire a green wave at the SOUL.
• Several of Gerson's attacks reference the Super Mario franchise:
  • His shell attacks resemble the shell of a Koopa Troopa, and can be reflected back just like a normal Koopa Shell. Just like in Super Mario games, these shells are most commonly colored green, but can also appear in yellow, blue, or red colors.
  • His eighth and fourteenth attacks resemble Hammer Bros' means of attacking, which is jumping in place while throwing several hammers in an arc.
  • His ability to reflect Rude Buster using his hammer is reminiscent of the Mario Bros. deflecting attacks with their hammers in the Mario & Luigi series.
• One of the battle's flavor texts, "The bell of justice tolls... for a frog. No, a turtle!", is likely a reference to The Frog For Whom the Bell Tolls, a Japan-exclusive RPG released on the Game Boy console by Nintendo.
• The battle flavor text "The bell of justice is ringing... it's for you", is likely a reference to Spamton NEO's first "A Call For You" attack, where a ringing phone drops from the top of the screen, to which Spamton responds, "... IT'S FOR YOU."
• The battle flavor text "The white wind howls!" is likely a reference to the prophecy foretold by Janus in Chrono Trigger: "The black wind howls... One among you... will shortly perish...", which refers to an impending death of one of the party members.
  • It may also be a reference to a similar line from Undyne's battles in Undertale, "The wind is howling..."
• The battle will end in Susie's victory if it is ended through unintended means, such as sparing, pacifying, or simply depleting Gerson's HP.

Version history

Game edition	Version tag	Changes
Deltarune Chapter 4	v1.03	Fixed an issue with a hitbox not working when Gerson dives from many different directions for his final attack.
	v1.05 Steam Beta Branch	The hitbox for Gerson's downward hammer swing attack now better aligns with the area shown by the preceding flash.