Knight

Begone! We have found fresh purpose.
For the KNIGHT has appeared.
The KNIGHT that pulls the Fountains from the Earth.
Holy Fountains, whose shadows are creating a new world...
OUR world.

King, during his battle in Chapter 1

The Roaring Knight (JP: 咆哮の騎士) is the main antagonist of Deltarune. It serves as the final boss and Shadow Crystal boss of Chapter 3, as well as the main antagonist of Chapter 4.

While it does not physically appear in Chapter 1 or Chapter 2, King and Queen both align themselves with the Knight after the Dark Fountains that it made gave form to Card Kingdom and the Cyber World. In Chapter 3, it works with Tenna to divert the heroes.

As demonstrated throughout its appearances, the Knight boasts tremendous power, and, like all Lightners, has the ability to create Dark Worlds via the Dark Fountains.

Profile

Appearance

The Knight transforming into an avian creature

The Knight is a tall, slender, sharply emaciated pitch-black silhouette with a white outline. Its helmet is diamond-shaped, with its opening resembling the visor of a frog-mouth helm. It can contort the shape to primarily resemble a visor, occasionally as a mouth, and rarely as a dark eye. Two long protrusions extend from the sides of the helmet, which resemble sharp three-pointed horns or antlers.

The Knight's body is slim and angular, with large triangular pauldrons, an extremely thin waist, jagged and jutting hipbones, and pointy legs with no discernible feet. Each hand appears to have a large white hole through the palm. These can emit a mauve starry beam that can drag things in the vicinity toward itself. Its overall appearance resembles two Titans shown in Ralsei's explanation of the Roaring in Chapter 2.

Overall, the Knight's body can shift in shape. Its helmet's opening can morph and shift around its face, and can have sharp, visible teeth. It can contort into a small rotating ball to swiftly dodge attacks, or transform into a ragged avian creature that can fly at high speeds. When it takes enough damage, its body becomes distorted, resembling video noise or the oscillation of a seismometer. It can also manifest an endless number of knife-shaped bullets and a sword whose form seems indistinguishable from its body.

The Knight producing a trail of afterimages

When roaring, the Knight's appearance becomes more monstrous. It has two white eyes and a mouth with sharp teeth, and its chest opens up with skeletal ribs splaying outwards to reveal a large white eye with a slit pupil at its center.

The Knight always levitates in the air and produces a trail of afterimages to the opposite of whatever direction it is facing, even when stationary. When laughing, these afterimages move outwards randomly, and when roaring, the afterimages expand as they move away.

Personality

While the Knight's motives are unknown, it is shown to be ruthlessly aggressive towards its enemies and even its servants when disappointed by them, as it attacks Tenna the moment he frees Toriel from her capsule. It often roars, emitting a torrent of reddish light which physically impacts those in the area, with no indication whether the roar is meant in fury, triumph, agony, or simply a taunt.

The Knight stares down at Susie with its arms crossed

Occasionally, there are moments in which the Knight displays arrogance, often in response to Susie. When Susie chases the Knight up a staircase, it simply leans back and drifts away with its arms crossed. It also laughs in response at Susie's proclamation that it is powerless in the Light World at the end of Chapter 4, which indicates that it is not a simpleminded life form like the Titan.

After defeating Tenna and right before trying to grab Toriel in front of Kris and the others, the Knight slouches down, dripping some sort of liquid, as its "eye" turns black. Whether this action corresponds to crying, drooling, or something else is uncertain.

Despite the Knight's generally violent and ruthless demeanor, it seems to be more tolerant of Kris. The Knight simply DOWNs Kris during their fight in Chapter 3, instead of SWOONing them like the other party members. Should the party survive the fight for long enough, the Knight strikes down Susie and Ralsei afterwards. It then slowly places its sword on Kris's shoulder, mimicking the act of knighting, before the scene cuts to Kris in their DOWNed pose.

Etymology

The origin of the term "Roaring Knight" is unknown. Both Queen and Tenna use the term, but they do not seem to be aware of any implications of it. Queen uses the name despite never having communicated with the Knight.

It is possible that the Knight is referred to as the Roaring Knight due to its appearance and behavior, as it roars loudly before fighting the party in Chapter 3, and resembles a person with a sword and armor. The word "Roaring" references the apocalyptic event detailed in the prophecy (i.e. Knight of the Roaring), which is a possible result of the Knight making Dark Fountains.

Main story

History

The Knight is a significant figure in the prophecy, which preordains its duel with the heroes. It is unknown whether the passages detailing its involvement are among Hometown's religious scriptures.

Chapter 1

Before the Knight appeared, the Card Kingdom was ruled by the four kings of Card Castle. However, this changed when King, who harbored a strong hatred for Lightners after being abandoned and forgotten in the unused classroom, was told by his court jester Jevil of the Knight's "brilliance" and of a way to rise to power.

The Knight does not appear during Chapter 1, and its whereabouts during that time are unknown. Instead, the party learns of it from stories primarily told by King and Seam. Seam refers to the Knight as a "strange knight" who appeared before King usurped the other three Kings and caused chaos, and King himself refers to it as "My KNIGHT" in the same way a subject might refer to their ruler as "my King".

The three Former Kings recall the appearance of the Knight as a turning point in Card Kingdom's history. King himself describes it as pulling "holy Fountains" from the earth in order to blanket the world in darkness.

If Jevil is defeated, he alludes to the Knight's involvement in slightly different contexts depending on how he was defeated.

Chapter 2

The Knight does not make a physical appearance in Chapter 2, though its involvement is occasionally mentioned.

The day after Chapter 1's events, the Knight created the library Fountain, forming a Dark World within the library. A video of this event plays in one of the rooms at Queen's Mansion, but there is too much smoke to identify the person creating the Fountain.

In Cyber City, Spamton implies that the Knight is related to "[[Communion]]", and starts to tell Kris something about the Knight, before cutting himself off by plunging into an apology and a nonsensical tangent. During the party's battle with Queen, she explains that any Lightner with enough determination can make Dark Fountains, and she was planning on using Noelle to make new Fountains in place of the Knight.

After the fight against GIGA Queen, Berdly attempts to make a Dark Fountain but is stopped by Ralsei, who explains that Dark Fountains, if gone unchecked, would eventually consume the Light World, turning all Darkners to stone and leaving Lightners in eternal darkness. Queen was unaware of the Roaring's consequences, nor was she aware of the concept itself. Thus, Queen does not seem to align with the Knight's goals, as she previously stated she wanted to "Make Everyone Smile".

If Kris has acquired two Shadow Crystals, Seam acknowledges their progress and offers them the Shadow Mantle, before realizing that it has gone missing. Without it, Seam claims that fate is not in the party's favor, referencing the imminent confrontation with the Knight.

Chapter 3

Kris, Susie, and Ralsei battling the Knight

After several failed attempts to keep the party occupied within TV World, Tenna explains that at some point after falling into obsolescence, he came into contact with the Knight, who promised that he could have as many viewers as he wanted if he kept the party distracted. During the Sword Route, Tenna's NPC dialogue in the Original Game raises the possibility that these instructions were part of the secret deal that Kris made with Tenna earlier, indicating that Tenna, like the main antagonists of the previous Dark Worlds, might not have interacted with the Knight directly and could have been misled about its intentions.

Following an intense battle in the Cold Place, Tenna allows the party to leave along with Toriel, even though it goes against the Knight's wishes. After giving back Toriel, he is suddenly struck down from behind, severely injured with both of his arms severed from his body. The party confronts the attacker, who is revealed to be the Knight. It attempts to abduct Toriel, but after Susie halts it, it engages the party in battle.

If the Knight is defeated, its form starts destabilizing, and Susie tries to attack it with her axe. The Knight recovers and parries her, but a shard gets knocked off its sword, the Black Knife. Susie taunts the Knight and laughs, at which point the screen turns black and Susie is SWOONed in a huge slash, with Ralsei being similarly SWOONed right after. The Knight reappears, making Kris kneel at swordpoint in a motion reminiscent of a ruler "knighting" their servant. The cutscene then continues as if the party lost.

The Knight captures Undyne and flees

After the battle, the Knight resumes abducting Toriel again, but is interrupted by the appearance of Undyne, who throws spears at it. It then kidnaps Undyne instead, taking her through the Great Door of the Dark World, with Susie and Kris giving chase. Spotting a figure running away, Susie grabs Kris's hand and chases it into the open shelter, but the doors slam shut before they can enter. Realizing they cannot get through for now, Susie goes back to the Fountain, and the shelter doors open slightly in front of Kris as the Chapter ends.

Chapter 4

When Susie tells Ralsei about the Knight's abduction of Undyne, he reassures her by claiming that he can sense that Undyne is not in immediate danger, and that the Knight must have a goal beyond simply hurting people, as it would have "acted sooner" otherwise.

At some point after church service had ended, the Knight made two Dark Fountains there: one in the church's lobby, corresponding to the Dark Sanctuary, and one in the main hall of the church proper, corresponding to the 3rd Sanctuary.

Kris confronts the Knight on the way to the Dark Sanctuary Fountain

Shortly after the party arrives in the Dark Sanctuary, the Knight appears at the later end of the Atrium, blocking the path to the Fountain. It knocks Susie away with a sword and destroys the ground between her and Kris, then fires a barrage of swords at Kris as they approach. If Kris reaches the Knight, Susie yells at them to attack it, but they do nothing, and the Knight fires an unavoidable line of swords at them. Either way, the duo is thrown off and sent tumbling deeper into the Dark World.

If asked about the Knight, the Old Man mentions that it flew through a locked door inscribed with the Delta Rune on the Study's second floor. He can later ask about the Knight after it has been unlocked.

As the party explores the Sanctuaries, they find the Knight is referred to by title in the prophecy's glass tapestries. A reference to Tenna's defeat, which took place at the Knight's hands, can be found later in the 2nd Sanctuary.

While searching for the solution to the organ piano puzzle, Susie is separated from the party, and Ralsei suggests Kris close their eyes and think about what Susie is doing. If the player refuses twice, Ralsei suggests that Kris closes their eyes in general, and the player is given the option to think of the Knight instead. This causes Kris to visualize the Knight taking off its helmet. However, Kris immediately begins thinking of Jockington instead before opening their eyes, preventing the player from learning the Knight's identity.

As the party approaches the Dark Sanctuary Fountain a second time, the Knight appears again. It fails to prevent the party from reaching the Fountain, and subsequently retreats through the Great Door leading to the 3rd Sanctuary before Susie can reach it.

Susie challenges the Knight before it creates a Titan

In the 3rd Sanctuary, the Knight attempts once again to prevent the party from reaching the Fountain, destroying a pillar they would have climbed to and pushing them away with wind and swords. However, it is once again unable to stop them, in part thanks to the aid of either all the Darkners recruited by the party during their time in the Dark Sanctuaries, or, if none were recruited, Jackenstein's apparent sacrifice.

Once the party corners the Knight near the Fountain, Susie jeers that the Knight has never appeared in the Light World and relies on the Dark World to pose a threat; if the party can get past it and seal the Fountain, it might be powerless against them. The Knight laughs at Susie, and to Ralsei's protest, makes another Fountain within the 3rd Sanctuary, which petrifies and hatches into a Titan. The Knight is not seen again afterwards, and does not attempt to stop the party from defeating the Titan and sealing the Fountain.

Chapter 5

Flowery attempts to stop the Knight from taking Asgore

Throughout Flower Castle, the party comes across documents written by Asgore detailing the Knight's prior actions. In these documents, Asgore mentions "black shards", chipped pieces of the Black Knife, being left behind in the aftermath of the formations of Cyber World and a Dark World from "a long time ago". The documents suggest that the Knight has been active and making Dark Fountains long before the party first encountered it. In addition, Ralsei repeatedly warns Flowery that the Knight will arrive and capture Asgore if Flower Kingdom stays active.

When Kris seals Flower Kingdom's Dark Fountain, the Dark World remains active, as a new Fountain has taken its place. The Knight soon arrives and captures Asgore. Flowery gives chase and engages the Knight in battle, but fails to inflict any meaningful damage due to his fabricated statistics. The Knight fatally wounds Flowery and leaves the Dark World with Asgore.

Creation and development

Creation

The Knight's attacks in Chapter 3 were created by separate programmers. Taxiderby worked on the Stars and Box Splitter, and AlexMdle had created the Knight's Rotating Slash and final attacks.

Development

The Knight has multiple unused attacks of ranging complexity, some being variants of current attacks and others being completely new attacks with unique assets.

In battle

The Knight's encounter is more complex than any other before it, as its aggression forces maximizing defensive play. It can only be defeated through violence, as other commands have no effect on it. The only way to win the battle is to lower the Knight's health until it lowers its guard; hitting it while its guard is down will automatically end the battle.

Mechanics

The Knight's battle can be lost without triggering a Game Over. This is unlike the other Shadow Crystal bosses, whose encounters are entirely optional; instead, encountering the Knight is mandatory, but actually engaging it is optional. If the player has a Chapter 3 Completion FILE, they can immediately retry the battle upon losing, after some dialogue from the voice. If not, the ensuing cutscene triggers automatically.

Unlike other encounters, passive healing between turns is disabled. If Susie's or Ralsei's HP are depleted, a unique effect called SWOON sets their HP to -999. Kris is immune to SWOON. Additionally, their damage dealt to the Knight is reduced to 50% by default, although it is doubled for each SWOONed party member.

Standard attacks from other party members have a base damage multiplier of 20%, increasing by 1% every turn up to a maximum of 35%. Rude Buster's damage multiplier is as follows:

Defeating the Knight will set Kris's HP to 1 after the cutscene ends, regardless of their HP at the end of the fight.

The Shadow Mantle is uniquely designed to counter the Knight's attacks, due to providing elemental resistance to its Dark/Star-element attacks. It additionally has several unique interactions with some of the Knight's attacks:

• All attacks other than the final attack and the slashing part of the Box Splitter have their damage reduced by 67% instead of 66%.
• The Box Splitter slash has its damage halved, dealing 33% of the target's max health rather than 66%.
• If equipped in the first armor slot, Box Splitter and Tracking Swords attacks are redirected. The mantle's wearer is always targeted by at least two hits before targeting becomes random. Once a party member not wearing the mantle is hit, this cycle resets, guaranteeing the wearer to be hit at least 2 times out of 3 during those attacks.
• If equipped in the second armor slot, Box Splitter and Tracking Swords attacks are redirected. The first two hits target the wearer, then all other hits target random characters for the rest of the battle.

Strategy

After defeating Tenna, the player can backtrack at the nearby SAVE point to SAVE their game before fighting the Knight, allowing them to get more items and change equipment.

If multiple Completion FILEs are utilized, the 12 inventory slots can be filled with any of the following:

• 1 Top Cake/SpinCake and 1 ExecBuffet, for high team healing. 2 ClubsSandwiches are also usable, but less effective.
• 6 ReviveMints, and 1 ReviveDust, to counteract the SWOON status. If an A or B-rank is earned for the Desert Board's Evaluation, a 7th ReviveMint is possible.
• 1 TensionGem and 1 TensionMax, TP-raising items to cast Susie's Rude Buster more often. If an A or B-rank is earned for the Island Board, a 2nd TensionGem is possible.
• Any remaining slots can be filled with DeluxeDinners, a high-healing single-target consumable that can be infinitely purchased from the Green Room.

If a Chapter 3 default file is used, the 12 inventory slots can instead be filled with any of the following:

• 1 ExecBuffet, for high team healing.
• 2 ReviveMints, to counteract the SWOON status. If an A or B-rank is earned for the Desert Board, a 3rd ReviveMint is possible.
• 1 TensionMax, to cast Susie's Rude Buster more quickly. If an A or B-rank is earned for the Island Board, 1 TensionGem is also possible.
• Any remaining slots can be filled with DeluxeDinners, a high-healing single-target consumable that can be infinitely purchased from the Green Room.

ReviveMints and ReviveDust can still revive SWOONed party members, and if using ReviveDust by a member with BlueRibbon, a SWOONed member can be revived to full or almost-full HP, since the BlueRibbon amplifies the >999 HP heal by 12.5%.

In terms of armor, healing can be improved with BlueRibbon, Magic can be improved with Dealmaker, Jevilstail, or RoyalPin, defense can be improved with TennaTie or GingerGuard, and TP gain can be improved with TensionBow, LodeStone, or TwinRibbon.

If the Shadow Mantle was obtained, it can be equipped to Susie or Kris. While equipping it to Susie makes her take less damage, if its damage redirection effect is being used, it simultaneously makes her more likely to be SWOONed. Due to her being the party's main damage dealer and SWOONed party members being incredibly difficult to revive, it may be preferable to equip it to Kris, whose low damage during the fight, similar durability to Susie, and being DOWNed instead of SWOONed when defeated, means they can more reliably utilize the damage redirection.

For weapons, BounceBlade or Saber10, ToxicAxe or Devilsknife, and Ragger2, FiberScarf, PuppetScarf, or FlexScarf can be equipped.

Damage can be maximized with perfectly-timed Rude Busters, which occur when the [CONFIRM] button is pressed right before the projectile hits the Knight. To gain more TP for consistent use, Kris and Ralsei can be set to DEFEND whenever possible. Items can be used by Kris to heal, and Ralsei can also cast Heal Prayer if the inventory slots are empty. The slow SOUL can also be toggled in tandem with the ACT's effect.

Available ACTs

Speeds up the SOUL's movement for the entirety of the battle. Subsequent uses of this ACT have no effect.

Susie attempts to talk to the Knight, which has no effect. This ACT is removed after its usage, which persists throughout the rest of the battle.

Ralsei attempts to talk to the Knight, which has no effect.

Attacks

The Knight has a set order of attacks, and it is possible to predict which attack it is going to use based on how many turns have passed. For the first three phases, it uses a cycle of 5 attacks, progressing to the next phase after all 5 are exhausted. Then, it repeats phase 3 until its HP is lowered below 80% (5840/7300 HP, thus when receiving 1460 damage), when the fight progresses to phase 4. See #Attack sequence.

The text box dialogue correlates to the Knight's next attack, unless a party member is downed for the first time in the current attempt, in which case it describes their injured state.

Stars

Phase 1

The Stars damages the entire party.

Phase 1 / Base: "The Roaring Knight appeared." The Knight emits a purple cone from its palm, firing several six-pointed stars that grow over time. After a short while, it stops, and the stars reverse direction for about a second before each explodes into six shards that travel a short distance at a slow speed. Three of six shards travel and last shorter.

Phase 2: "You felt lightheaded. You saw golden stars..." Some stars explode later, and all shards last the same distance and duration.

Finisher used during the phase 3 variant

Phase 3: "You felt lightheaded. You felt a migraine coming on..." Each star only explodes into two shards; which after a short while, turn red and shoot toward the SOUL one at a time.

Holding the CANCEL button while moving enables slow SOUL, which is at 50% speed and allows precise movement. Staying in larger gaps between the stars can make not getting hit much easier; in the first variation, the SOUL may not even need to move at all to dodge explosion shards if the gap is big enough.

The direction the shards will explode towards can be telegraphed by the light beams the stars emit before exploding. The shards have fairly forgiving hitboxes as they fade, and the stars themselves only have a hitbox at the center dot.

To build up TP, it is recommended to stay close to the right edge of the box as the stars are coming out to graze more of them before they enlarge and spread out further. On the first turn, depending on loadout and Defend status, one can even reach the 50% TP required for a Rude Buster for the second turn.

Tracking Swords

Phase 1 attack

Phase 2 attack

Phase 1 / Base: "You felt something hovering close behind your head..." A sword appears from a cardinal or intercardinal direction centered on the SOUL and moves with it. After a short period (initially about 1 second, but shortening as the attack progresses), it turns red, freezes, disappears, and creates a white slash across the bullet board. This repeats 10 times, with the swords progressively increasing in speed.

Phase 2: "You feel surrounded." A large circle of swords contracts and expands while moving around the bullet board, allowing for much less space to dodge the octodirectional swords.

Phase 3: "Your vision narrows. ... The world revolves around you." Same as the base, but the swords appear and fire at a much faster rate.

The Tracking Swords fire in the order they appear, making it possible to remember the order they appear in and dodge accordingly. Additionally, using HoldBreath can significantly reduce the reaction time required to dodge. Diagonal swords can be dodged in any cardinal direction, provided the SOUL is not too close to them, but the circling swords may force the SOUL much closer to the edge of the bullet board and hence some diagonal swords.

Box Splitter

Phase 1 of Box Splitter

Diagonal slash seen during phase 3

Phase 1 / Base: "Suddenly, the north wind blew fiercely." The Knight cleaves the bullet board in two in an orthogonal direction (deviating by a few degrees), splitting it in half, pushing both halves away, and causing fast and slow diamond-like projectiles to emit from the cut. The projectiles come at two different speeds, and no more than two adjacent projectiles can have the same speed. The bullet board then fuses back together before the Knight cleaves it again. This repeats 7-8 times, choosing the same orthogonal direction (with different deviations).

Getting hit by the cleave briefly freezes the SOUL in place before knocking it away and dealing 66% of the target's max HP in damage (reduced to 33% if the target has the Shadow Mantle equipped), down to a minimum of 1 HP. The cleave deals no damage if the selected target is already at 1 HP, but the SOUL will still be briefly frozen and flung away, and it can still be hurt by the projectiles.

Phase 2: "Suddenly, the north and east winds blew fiercely." The Knight can switch the direction it cleaves each time it does so.

Phase 3: "Suddenly, a tempest." The Knight can switch the direction it cleaves each time it does so and can also cleave in a diagonal direction. If it chooses to cleave diagonally, projectiles emit from the center and radiate outward.

Staying close to a corner (but preferably not right inside) in the second version of the attack prevents the SOUL from being slashed by the board cut, though in the third version, diagonal slashes need to be watched for. The diamonds are fast, but the SOUL is quite capable of going past two diamonds in time (given HoldBreath was used), and almost never has to rush past more than one diamond if the optimal dodging direction is chosen. The slash in the middle of the box grants more TP than the diamonds if grazed.

Sword Tunnel

Phase 1 attack

The main portion of the phase 2 attack

Finisher

Sword Tunnel has reduced invincibility frames.

Phase 1 / Base: "Your vision narrows." Swords from the top and bottom sides quickly slide across the screen and shift up or down in tandem, turning red when the SOUL is too close to them. At the end of the attack, the swords stop and rotate towards the bullet board, projecting red warning lines showing their trajectory before flying across.

Phase 2: "Your vision narrows. ...Your head is spinning." Instead of appearing in a straight line, the swords change the angle they come from in a counterclockwise manner.

Phase 3: "You feel cornered." Same as the base version, but the gap between the swords is smaller.

This attack is very deadly, as it has very few invincibility frames. However, paying attention to the gap between the swords can be more helpful than paying attention to the swords themselves. The swords change height relatively slowly, so small movements can prevent overshooting and enduring multiple hits while trying to fix it. A good way to withstand the attack would be focusing on the right side of the box, and moving the SOUL accordingly to the gap's position at this time.

For the final portion of the attack, note that unlike the tracking swords attack, the swords themselves fly across the board instead of creating a simple slash.

Rotating Slash

Phase 1 attack

Finisher used during the phase 3 attack

Rotating Slash damages the entire party.

Phase 1 / Base: "Your chest feels tight." The Knight slashes six times, creating rotating red lines that quickly freeze and create white slashes. Each individual slash typically increases the number of red lines, starting at one and ending at four.

Phase 2: "You felt your chest twisting." The Knight starts at three lines and switches to four after two slashes.

Phase 3: "Your heartbeat becomes twisted." The Knight starts at three lines and switches to four after one slash. After its initial six slashes, it makes several rotating slashes centered at the center of the bullet board, slashing much faster and having most of the front of its body covered in the trail from its sword slashing.

The center of the slash lines depends on the player's location when the attack starts. Since the slashes continue to rotate until shortly before the attack lands, it is best to move in one direction and minorly adjust close to the end if the SOUL is going to get hit. It is generally unlikely for the final position of the slashes to be perfectly parallel to the bullet board (i.e., a single direction of movement) and the hitbox is quite forgiving. Be careful to go back closer to the center before the rotating slashes begin, as dodging those is more difficult if the SOUL is far from the center. To gain more TP, it is recommended to stay closer to the center of the slashes in order to graze 2 or more lines, although this is dangerous.

Attack sequence

The Knight always follows the same sequence of attacks, according to the table below.

Turn no.	Flavor text	Attack type	Pattern	Target	Base damage	Invincible time (s)
1	The Roaring Knight appeared.	Stars 1	Stars explode into three projectiles each.	All	75	1
2	You felt something hovering close behind your head...	Tracking Swords 1	One blade is launched at a time.	Random with special rules	206	0.4
3	Suddenly, the north wind blew fiercely.	Box Splitter 1	Split the battle box with bullets spread vertical to the crack; bisection may either be vertical or horizontal (random).	Random with special rules	Bullet: 206 Slash: 66% of max HP (33% for Shadow Mantle wearer); DF is disregarded. It cannot bring party members below 1 HP.	0.4
4	Your vision narrows.	Sword Tunnel 1	Swords approach rapidly from the right.	Avoid Kris	Tunnel swords: 62 Finisher: 160	0.14
5	Your chest feels tight.	Rotating Slash 1	Number of cuts goes 1-2-2-3-3-4.	All	75	1
6	You felt lightheaded. You saw golden stars...	Stars 2	Stars explode into six projectiles each.	All	75	1
7	Suddenly, the north and east winds blew fiercely.	Box Splitter 2	Split the battle box with bullets spread vertical to the crack; bisection switches between vertical and horizontal at random.	Random with special rules	Bullet: 206; multiplied by 0.66 after all damage calculations Slash: 66% of max HP (33% for Shadow Mantle wearer); DF is disregarded. It cannot bring party members below 1 HP.	0.4
8	Your vision narrows. ... Your head is spinning.	Sword Tunnel 2	Swords quickly rotate their angle of approach.	Avoid Kris	Tunnel swords: 62 Finisher: 160	0.14
9	You feel surrounded.	Tracking Swords 2	A circle of blades appears around the soul.	Random with special rules	206	0.4
10	You felt your chest twisting.	Rotating Slash 2	Number of cuts goes 3-3-4-4-4-4.	All	75	1
11	You felt lightheaded. You felt a migraine coming on...	Stars 3	Stars explode into two projectiles each, which then turn red and fire towards the soul.	All	75	1
12	Suddenly, a tempest.	Box Splitter 3	Each instance is randomly vertical, horizontal, or a diagonal burst.	Random with special rules	Bullet: 206; multiplied by 0.66 after all damage calculations Slash: 66% of max HP (33% for Shadow Mantle wearer); DF is disregarded. It cannot bring party members below 1 HP.	0.4
13	Your vision narrows. ... The world revolves around you.	Tracking Swords 3	Blades fire faster than the ones on turn 2. Unlike turn 9, there is no circle around the soul.	Random with special rules	206	0.4
14	You feel cornered.	Sword Tunnel 3	Gap is narrower than turn 4. Unlike turn 8, it does not rotate.	Avoid Kris	Tunnel swords: 62 Finisher: 160	0.14
15	Your heartbeat becomes twisted.	Rotating Slash 3	Number of cuts goes 3-4-4-4-4-4. At the end of the attack, a set of line cuts appear that go in a spiral.	All	75	1
16 onwards	Loops from turn 11

• "Random with special rules" means the following:
  • If the Shadow Mantle is equipped in the first armor slot, the mantle's wearer will always be hit by at least two attacks before targeting becomes random. Once a party member not wearing the mantle is hit, the wearer will be focused for the next two hits again. This cycle carries over across all attacks with the same targeting rule, thus guaranteeing the wearer to be hit at least 2 times out of 3 in them.
  • If the Shadow Mantle is equipped in the second armor slot, the mantle's wearer will always be targeted for the first two hits, then all subsequent hits will be randomized for the rest of the fight.
  • If the Shadow Mantle is not equipped, the attacks will simply avoid Kris instead.

Phase 4

Once the Knight's HP drops below 80% (5840/7300HP, thus when receiving 1460 damage), at the end of its next attack, it enters phase 4, lasting 2-3 turns depending on whether turn 15 has passed. It is required for the full-screen "Roaring" attack to happen before the player can end the fight.

Turn no.	Flavor text	Attack type	Information	Target	Base damage	Invincible time (s)
1	Your heartbeat becomes twisted.	Rotating Slash 3	Turn 15 variant. Skipped if already encountered as part of phase 3, meaning that this attack will always appear no matter how quickly the Knight's HP is lowered.	All	75	1
2	Susie grew pale. [If Susie is up, and turn 1 was not skipped] Susie struggled to give some kind of warning. [If Susie is swooned, and turn 1 was not skipped] Your heartbeat becomes twisted. [If turn 1 was skipped]	Charge-up	The Knight does not attack and starts glowing. This turn can be used to heal. Defending is useless as described below.	-	-	-
3	The Knight's hands glow a strange color...	Roaring	The battle box expands to cover the full screen, as the Knight appears in the center, glowing. A pattern of stars spawns, first flying toward the Knight, before firing away in a spiral formation. Then, they slow and float toward the Knight once more, and explode in six directions. The attack ends with a slash down the middle of the screen.	All	Bullets: 40. If a party member's HP is between 1 and 41, it brings them down to 1 HP, and an additional hit will knock them down. Slash: 75 DF, DEFENDing, and element resistance is disregarded.	1

After the final attack, the narration displays "The enemy suddenly let down its guard!" Following this, the Knight cycles through its phase 3 attacks indefinitely until it is attacked again, which ends the battle. If not a single hit was taken before the final attack, the narration instead reads "Kris coughed. The enemy slowly tilted its head..." The text is set during the previous attack, thus it is possible to be hit during the Knight's final attack and still receive the message.

Quotes

Pre-battle

• [Tenna] Audience, would you please stand up and clap for our winners!!
• [Tenna] For outstanding kindness and bravery, the Lightners have won...
• [Tenna] THE  !!!
• [Tenna] Here you go!! She's all yours, folks!!
• [Tenna] How wonderful!! The family's all together again!!
• [Tenna] Now you can all finally
• [Susie] T- TENNA!?
• [Susie] Who... WHO the hell are you!?
• [Susie] If... if you don't tell us who you are, then...
• [Susie] Like hell we're letting you take her...!
• [Susie] Kris! Ralsei! C'mon!!

Battle

The Knight does not speak. Starting from turn 6, Susie begins speaking before the Knight attacks. If she is SWOONed, then she will continue her dialogue from where she left off the next turn, if revived.

• [Turn 6]
  • Heheh...
  • Didn't... think we'd still be standing, did you?
• [Turn 7]
  • Thing is, you actually...
  • You actually messed up, picking a fight with US!
• [Turn 8]
  • You? You're all damn alone...
  • Me? I got... Kris and Ralsei behind me.
• [Turn 9]
  • [If Kris is DOWNed and Ralsei is SWOONed]
    • Even... even if you knock them down...
    • As long as I'm here...
  • [If either Kris or Ralsei are up]
    • Even... even if you knock me down...
    • As long as Kris, Ralsei, are here...
• [Turn 10]
  • As long as I'm here to lift them back up... [If Kris is DOWNed and Ralsei is SWOONed]
  • As long as Kris has got a hand to lift me up with... [If either Kris or Ralsei are up]
  • Heh... you're never gonna win, you hear me?!
• [Turn 11]
  • So... give up.
• [Turn 12]
  • You know you can't win... so... give up!
• [Turn 13]
  • ... You won't even...
  • ... say a thing, huh...
• [Turn 14]
  • ... heh... heheheh...
  • Man, I'm done talking.
  • ... people like you... just piss me off.

Post-battle

If the Knight is defeated, an additional cutscene will start where Susie mocks it. After the party is defeated, the dialogue continues as normal.

• [If the Knight was defeated]
  • [Susie] We... we actually beat it?
  • [Susie] What, don't tell me you've had ENOUGH already?
  • [Susie] C'mon, we were just getting started!
  • [Susie] Heheh...
  • [Susie] Not so tough NOW, are you!?
  • [Ralsei] S-Susie!!!
  • [Ralsei] H... how could you...
• [Susie] No... you... you can't...
• [Susie] You can't... take her...
• [Undyne] Hey!! You!! Stop!! Police!!
• [Undyne] Wh... What the hell is going on here!!?
• [Undyne] You've got some explaining to do, punk!!
• [Undyne] Hey, what are you doing!?
• [Undyne] Put me... PUT ME DOWN!!!
• [Susie] Hey...
• [Susie] Hey, where the hell are you going?!

Game Over

If the party loses to the Knight after completing Chapter 3, the voice speaks to the player.

• [First time]
  • VERY INTERESTING.
  • YOUR LOSS HERE IS ALL BUT GUARANTEED.
  • AND YET YOU PERSIST...
  • IF YOU ARE SO DETERMINED TO TRY ONCE MORE
  • THEN SHALL WE HASTEN?
• [Second time, without Shadow Mantle]
  • VERY INTERESTING.
  • YOU ARE MISSING SOMETHING IMPORTANT.
  • YOU WON'T WIN LIKE THIS.
  • STILL... WILL YOU PERSIST?
• [Second time, with Shadow Mantle]
  • AND SO, YOU MEET WITH THE SAME FATE.
  • SHALL YOU TRY ONCE MORE?
• [Third time onward, the first time the Knight's HP is lowered below 80%]
  • INCREDIBLE.
  • I FELT IT THERE SHINING.
  • YOUR POWER.
  • A LITTLE FURTHER.

Flavor text

• [Check #1]
  • Kris analyzed the enemy!
  • But Kris couldn't learn anything.
• [Check #2+]
  • Kris points into the distance.
  • Nothing happened.
• The Roaring Knight appeared. [Encounter]
• You felt lightheaded. You saw silver stars... [Before Stars 1; unused]
• You felt something hovering close behind your head... [Before Tracking Swords 1]
• Suddenly, the north wind blew fiercely. [Before Box Splitter 1]
• Your vision narrows. [Before Sword Tunnel 1]
• Your chest feels tight. [Before Rotating Slash 1]
• You felt lightheaded. You saw golden stars... [Before Stars 2]
• Suddenly, the north and east winds blew fiercely. [Before Box Splitter 2]
• Your vision narrows. ... Your head is spinning. [Before Sword Tunnel 2]
• You feel surrounded. [Before Tracking Swords 2]
• You felt your chest twisting. [Before Rotating Slash 2]
• You felt lightheaded. You felt a migraine coming on... [Before Stars 3]
• Suddenly, a tempest. [Before Box Splitter 3]
• Your vision narrows. ... The world revolves around you. [Before Tracking Swords 3]
• You feel cornered. [Before Sword Tunnel 3]
• Your heartbeat becomes twisted. [Before Rotating Slash 3 or before Charge-up]
• Susie grew pale. [Before Charge-up]
• Susie struggled to give some kind of warning. [Before Charge-up, if Susie was SWOONed by the previous attack]
• The Knight's hands glow a strange color... [Before Roaring]
• The enemy suddenly let down its guard! [After using its final attack]
• Kris coughed. The enemy slowly tilted its head... [After using its final attack, if no hits were taken up to Charge-up and no one is DOWNed/SWOONed by the final attack]
• [S-Action]
  • [Narrator] Susie talked to the Knight!
  • [Susie] I don't know what the hell you are, but...
  • [Susie] Leave Toriel alone! You hear me!?
  • [Susie] ...
  • [Susie] ... Fine, you don't wanna listen?
  • [Susie] Then we'll just. Have to do things the hard way.
  • [Narrator] (Susie will not ACT any more.)
• [R-Action #1]
  • [Narrator] Ralsei tried talking...
  • [Ralsei] Please... please, don't do this...
  • [Ralsei] If the Roaring happens, then... then...
  • [Ralsei] Please... stop...!
  • [Narrator] (... but nothing happened.)
• [R-Action #2+]
  • [Narrator] Ralsei tried talking...
  • [Ralsei] Please, stop...
  • [Narrator] (... but nothing happened.)
• Kris kneeled in silence. [Kris DOWNed]
• Susie was hurt and beaten. [Susie SWOONed]
• Ralsei became a pile of fluff. [Ralsei SWOONed]
• Kris held their breath. Their heartbeat quickened. The SOUL now moves faster. [HoldBreath #1]
• Kris held their breath... Kris smiled. Nothing happened. [HoldBreath #2+]

Gallery

• 
  The Knight crossing its arms
• 
  The Knight taking a stance while teleporting
• 
  The Knight morphing its visor to look around
• 
  The Knight roaring with laughter
• 
  The Knight creating a Dark Fountain within the 3rd Sanctuary
• 
  The Knight revealing itself after striking Tenna down
• 
  The Knight's ball form
• 
  The Knight roaring before battle
• 
  The Knight readies itself to fight
• 
  The Knight in-battle
• 
  The Knight's hurt animation
• 
  The Knight unleashing its Stars attack
• 
  The Knight slashing with its sword
• 
  The Knight unleashing a flurry of slashes
• 
  The Knight preparing its final attack
• 
  The Knight unleashing its final attack
• 
  The Knight slashing during its final attack
• 
  The Knight's distortion post-battle
• 
  The Knight knighting Kris
• 
  The Knight flying

Trivia

A sword sprite resembling a bat

• An unused duplicate sprite of the Knight's sword is internally referred to as spr_sepia_knight_sword. The sepia prefix is generally used by assets relating to flashbacks (e.g. Tenna's recollection of Kris's childhood); notably, the Knight's sword is the only one of its assets to use this prefix.
  • In some of its sprites, the Knight's sword resembles a wiffle bat or baseball bat. The sprites with said resemblance are internally referred to as spr_roaringknight_beam_sword.
• The Knight's laughter appears to use the same sample as that of FRIEND.
• The stars seen throughout the Knight's attacks heavily resemble those from the animation of PK Starstorm as seen in MOTHER 2 / EarthBound and Mother 3.
  • In addition to this, the flavor text "Ralsei became a pile of fluff.", shown when Ralsei is SWOONed during the fight, directly references the teddy bear's KO message, "The Teddy Bear became a pile of fluff..."
  • Similarly, the flavor text "Susie was hurt and beaten." is a reference to the text shown upon a party member's defeat in Mother 1 / EarthBound Beginnings.
• The Knight's final attack is extremely similar to Asriel's Hyper Goner attack in Undertale, with both attacks having star-like objects fly towards the center of the screen and the SOUL being pulled towards it. However, the Knight uses more complex patterns in its attack and ends the attack by cutting the background in half, as opposed to Asriel's attack ending with the screen turning white.
• The SWOON status effect the Knight inflicts may be a reference to an early English translation quirk in Final Fantasy IV, where attacking an enemy with a weapon known as the "Black Sword", which has an insta-kill effect, will display the text "Swoon!".
  • Another potential reference to the same source is found in the Japanese translation of Deltarune, which replaces "SWOON" with "Fell". This replacement is most likely due to the fact that the literal translation of the Japanese text for the Black Sword's effect is "Fell into an unable-to-fight state!" and thus would be more recognizable as a reference by Japanese players than "SWOON" is.
• The flavor text "Your vision narrows. ... The world revolves around you." is a possible nod to the title of Jevil's battle theme, THE WORLD REVOLVING.

Version history

Game edition	Version tag	Changes
Deltarune Chapter 3	v1.03	The swords from the "Sword Tunnel" attack was patched to have a reduced hit box relative to the graphic, making it easier to dodge.