The Brittle King is Tarot card number 13 in Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, and it is easy to miss. Most cards point you toward their boss. This one gives you a single clue, a sword stuck in stone, and a riddle that sounds like a stat check. It is not a stat check. The solution comes down to which Arcana Rose has equipped when she touches the sword.
Quick answer: In Notre-Dame’s Chapel, equip the Fist of Talos Arcana (the spell, not the weapon), then interact with the sword in the stone. Arthur appears. Defeat him to complete The Brittle King.
The Brittle King requirements
You can’t start this card until you reach Notre-Dame, which is part of Dracula’s Castle. By the time you can get there, you already have everything you need to solve the puzzle.
- Access to Notre-Dame, which opens after you complete The Builder, The Occultist, and The Artist.
- The Fist of Talos spell, earned by defeating Talos for The Builder card.
- No particular level, stat total, or number of sealed Arcanas.
Because Notre-Dame is gated behind The Builder, there is no way to arrive at the sword without Fist of Talos already unlocked. You won’t need to backtrack for it.
Where to find the sword in the stone in Notre-Dame
The Brittle King resides in the Chapel, on the right-hand side of the Notre-Dame map near the East Gallery Mirror of Life. A glowing sword is set in stone at the room’s center. Arthur is the Chapel’s boss, and two secret areas are also inside.
Interacting with the sword gives you the card’s only clue, Feat of Strength. The sword shines and shifts a little, but it won’t come free. The inscription reads:
“Only a titan of strength, a colossus of virtue, a giant of heart shall draw this sword and, anointed by the sword of dragons, be the savior of France.”
Watch your Tarot deck as you get close. If it glows yellow instead of red, you already have what the puzzle needs. This is the same Arcanic Resonance cue the game teaches you at Brauner’s painting of Notre-Dame. “Titan,” “colossus,” and “giant” all point to one character, which is Talos.
Brittle King puzzle solution: Equip Fist of Talos
The fight opens as soon as the cutscene ends. Save at the nearby Mirror of Life before you touch the sword.
How to beat Arthur, The Brittle King
Arthur only has a few moves, but how hard he hits depends on when you show up. If you take him on right after The Shadow or The Miser, one hit can take more than half of your maximum health. Arrive later, after a few health upgrades, levels, and better Relics, and the fight is much more forgiving. If you lose, the Mirror of Life is close, so getting back is quick.
His main defense is a shield that stops all damage, including hits to its edges. Whenever it goes up, move to his opposite side and attack from there. Luminous anchors above the arena let you whip across him fast.
Whips work well here. Arthur is huge, so you can stay out of range of his close attacks, and whips deal extra damage at the far end of their reach. The Vampire Killer, which Trevor Belmont gives you after defeating Death as The Shadow, is the better pick. The basic Whip from the Catacombs of Paris works too.
| Weapon | Attack power | Rarity | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
 Vampire Killer | 40 | Legendary | 4 |
 Whip | 24 | Ordinary | 1 |
To deal the most damage, attack upward to get into the air, then keep swinging downward. Each attack keeps Rose in the air a little longer, so you can land five or more hits before you drop. Repeat that, and switch sides whenever the shield comes up, until Arthur goes down.
Brittle King rewards: Stained-Glass Shield and Excalibur
Once Arthur falls, The Brittle King card is marked complete, and you unlock the Stained-Glass Shield spell. It’s a defensive spell that puts up a shield and blocks nearly every kind of damage. Excalibur also goes straight into your inventory. If you see both, the card is done.
| Excalibur stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Weapon type | Two-handed sword |
| Rarity / tier | Legendary / 4 |
| ATK | 100 |
| Attack power | 44 |
| Stagger power | 30 |
| Mana per hit | 5 |
| Combo finisher | Blade Dive |
Excalibur fires bolts of light when it attacks. Hold the attack button to charge it, then let go for a stronger strike.
The card also lists three Works of Mercy that you can chip away at later, once you have the shield equipped:
- Absorb an attack that would otherwise kill you using Arthur’s spell.
- Kill 25 Haunted Armor.
- Kill 3 enemies with a single attack.
