Pacifist challenge

[Perseus]

This is a challenge i came up with. Feel free to try it and maybe post your score in this thread.
This challenge basically consists in being as pacifist as possible. (glitches not allowed.)
Warning : Whatever the ending you choose to do, you are going to hate Deepnest even more.
Here are the rules :

You need to kill the minimum amount of enemies possible and to prevent some of them from dying.

If a creature dies, but is not registered anywhere in the Hunter's journal, it does not count.

If you vanquish that was already dead (Like the Watcher Knights and dream warriors/bosses, but not like the Broken Vessel, as the infection blob dies) or an enemy that doesn't die when you defeat it (Like Hornet), it doesn't count.

All not-boss enemies that register in the Hunter's journal counts, dead or alive or in the White Palace.

If you kill an enemy, you need to find a way to quit the game without letting it save.

The goal is to defeat the Hollow Knight with the minimum amount of deaths.

Yourself dying or your Shade does not count.


The Hunter's journal can be quite useful. Note : the crawlids are automatically filled as completed.

Here are the best possible score that i know of and the list of enemies for each ending :

Hollow Knight ending :

13 total

3 Aspid Hunters
1 Wandering Husk
1 Husk Hornhead
1 Husk Bully
1 Baldur
2 Elder Baldurs
1 Moss Knight
1 Uumuu
1 Great Husk Sentry
1 Hollow Knight

Dream no more ending :

31 total

3 Aspid Hunters
1 Wandering Husk
1 Husk Hornhead
1 Husk Bully
1 Baldur
2 Elder Baldurs
1 Moss Knight
1 Uumuu
1 Great Husk Sentry
1 Shadow Creeper
1 Broken Vessel
4 Spiny Husks
4 Mantis Petras
6 Mantis Traitors
1 Traitor Lord
1 Kingsmould
1 Radiance
If you have any questions regarding this challenge, feel free to ask.

[Darc Vader]

How did you get to Monomon? Is it possible without Isma’s Tear? Or am I just misremembering and you can avoid the cage match before you get the tear?

[Perseus]

it is possible without Isma's tear.
Instead, you have to use shade cloak to pass the black barrier that is on the right when you enter the Fog canyon from Greenpath, and then, once Uumuu defeated, use a crystal dash to reach Monomon.

[Darth Revan]

Are watcher knights not required to beat the game?

[Darc Vader]

Thay are, but

If you vanquish that was already dead (Like the Watcher Knights, but not like the Broken Vessel, as the infection blob dies) or an enemy that doesn't die when you defeat it (Like Hornet), it doesn't count.

[Perseus]

I have just finished the Dream no more ending with this challenge and i have updated the rules of the challenge accordingly.

[Perseus]

Apparently, there is an oversight in the false knight fight. When false knight falls down, left over enemies are killed by a powerful "hit".
The thing is, enemies cannot take more than 1 hit in a short amount of time, meaning that if you hit those enemies with the right timing, they would not take the insta-kill hit from false knight falling, and therefore survive. I am unsure whether it should be allowed or not, since it is an oversight.

[Questionable]

You could supplement a pacifist challenge maybe by making it all essential kills you have to do you do through indirect means or "pet" charms.