In a pos-undertale world i can understand why some people find it difficult to just dissociate from the characters and do bad things to them for the sake of the lore, especially in a medium that allows and incentivizes you to identify with a character in a story that has agency over other characters as if they’re real people. BUT The merciless route is almost a “what if” in its scope and it gives so much lore and character development it’s worth reminding yourself that Asterion is, for all intents and purposes, living the life with a good master one save slot away