Honestly, nobody saw it coming. We all spent years staring at that grave in the Hometown cemetery, wondering if Toby Fox was really done with the old turtle. Then Chapter 4 drops. Suddenly, the "Hammer of Justice" isn't just a nostalgic Undertale reference or a dusty book title in the Librarby. It's a boss fight.
It's a conversation.
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And man, that hammer of justice deltarune dialogue hits different when you realize it’s basically Gerson Boom—or at least a Dark World manifestation of his legacy—staring Susie right in the face.
The Smith Who Became a Legend
If you played Chapter 2, you know Alvin (Gerson's son) was already getting emotional about the "Hammer." He's a priest, but he's haunted by his father's shadow. He even asks his dad's grave if it’s "right for the hammer to..." before trailing off. We thought he meant a literal hammer. We were wrong.
The Hammer of Justice isn't just an item. It's an optional secret boss in Chapter 4, tucked away after you solve the Golden Piano Puzzle. When you finally track down the Justice Axe, Gerson appears. He looks older, tougher, and he is absolutely not interested in just giving you the loot. He wants a haircut. When Susie’s axe can’t even chip a single hair off his head, the "Old Man" gets serious.
What Gerson actually says in battle
The dialogue here is wildly meta. Gerson spends the fight treating the party—specifically Susie—like students.
"If you've got guts, c'mon and let your axe do the talking!" he shouts during the first phase. It’s a throwback to the gritty, legendary hero he was in the war, but with that classic Gerson "geheh" laugh.
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But the real meat of the hammer of justice deltarune dialogue comes when he starts talking about his books. You remember Lord of the Hammer? The series everyone in Hometown says is just a "fairytale"? Gerson basically admits he used the Delta Rune prophecy as a template. He tells Susie:
"The book was already just an interpretation of something else. Stories can be retold. They can be changed... That's what I believe."
This is huge. He’s telling us—the players—that the "Prophecy" Ralsei keeps yapping about isn't set in stone. Gerson destroyed pieces of the prophecy earlier in the chapter for a reason. He calls it a "pretty little thing" but warns that a path so bright makes you blind to what’s between the lines.
Why the "Six Chapters" line is breaking the fandom
During the midpoint of the fight, the dialogue shifts. Gerson starts recounting the "Chapters" of his book series, which—surprise, surprise—perfectly parallel the Chapters of Deltarune.
- Chapter 1: The March of the Dark King (The heroes defeat the king).
- Chapter 2: The City of the Shining (Doing battle in chariots to save the Queen).
- Chapter 3: The TV's False Smile (This matches the Tenna/Mike arc perfectly).
Then he gets to the end. He says there were supposed to be seven books. But the seventh? It never got written.
"The story, it became so grand, so overwhelming... Some say it swallowed up the author himself."
If that doesn't scream W.D. Gaster or Toby Fox himself having a breakdown, I don't know what does. He tells Susie the "pen was lying there for the youth to pick up," but they never did. He then asks a question that determines some of your late-game stats: "How do you want it to end?"
The options you get:
- "Eternity": Gerson laughs and says that’s a long time to stay awake.
- "A New Story": He looks impressed and tells Susie she’s finally "wielding the white pen."
- "I Don't Know": He tells you that's the most honest answer a hero can give.
Mechanics of the Justice Battle
This isn't just a text dump. The hammer of justice deltarune dialogue is baked into the mechanics. Gerson turns your SOUL green. Yeah, the Undyne mechanic is back.
He pelts you with arrows that you have to block with Susie’s axe. It’s hard. Like, "I’ve died ten times and I’m only on turn five" hard.
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He also throws "Star Shells"—which are definitely not Koopa shells, please don't sue, Nintendo—that trail stars across the screen. If you pull off a "Perfect Block" (moving the axe just as the arrow hits), you get a unique sound and a TP boost. Gerson actually comments on this! He’ll say things like "Nice form, kid!" or "A bit rusty, eh?" depending on how many hits you take.
The Secret "Father Alvin" Connection
There is a super rare bit of dialogue if you talk to Alvin in the Light World after the fight. If you have the "Justice Scrap" in your inventory, Alvin’s dialogue changes. He doesn't recognize the scrap, but he says he feels a "strange warmth" from it.
It confirms what a lot of us suspected: the Hammer of Justice we fought in the Dark World is a manifestation of the town's collective memory of Gerson, specifically through the lens of his unfinished stories. It’s not "literally" his ghost, but it’s his will.
What to do next in Chapter 4
If you're struggling to trigger the full dialogue or beat the boss, here is the move:
- Get the Golden Piano right: The sequence is Middle, Right, Left, Middle, Down. If you mess it up, you have to leave the room and come back.
- Talk, don't just Fight: Even if you’re doing a violent run, using the "Listen" act during the book-summary phase reveals more lore about the "field of burning jealousy" in Chapter 5.
- Equip the Amber Card: Gerson’s star attacks deal elemental damage. The Amber Card (or the Iron Shackle) cuts that damage down significantly.
The most important takeaway? Stop believing everything Ralsei says about the prophecy. Gerson literally told us to "go between the lines." If the author of the prophecy's most famous adaptation says the ending can be changed, we should probably listen.
Next Step: Head back to the First Sanctuary and check the mural again; Gerson's dialogue suggests a new interaction might be available after the "Eternity" choice.