The Heavenly Demon of Terror

Chapter 341 - The Gauntlets of the Demon King

Samuel's POV

The wind in this twisted land howled like a dirge. Trees made of bone rattled in the wind, and the earth pulsed like something living—breathing in sync with my steps. Shadows moved unnaturally. I wasn't alone.

Figures began to rise from the obsidian soil. Creatures—twisted, malformed, some draped in chains, others stitched from the remains of things that should never have walked. Their eyes burned with a hatred older than time itself.

I smirked.

"Good," I muttered, cracking my knuckles. "I wanted to test my new powers anyway."

I raised my right hand and spread my fingers. The air around me ignited in a flare of black flames.

---

[System Notification]

Your Gauntlets of Hell have transformed.

New Item Acquired: Gauntlets of the Demon King

– Passive: Increases all Dark-type abilities by 50%

– Skill Unlocked: Demon King's Grasp – Pull enemies into a void of fear, reducing their defense and resistance

– Special Effect: Absorbs the soul fragments of defeated foes to temporarily boost Strength

---

They appeared with a snap of otherworldly pressure—sleek black-metal gauntlets, adorned with red demonic glyphs and clawed fingertips. They radiated heat and shadow in equal measure.

I clenched my fists and let out a low chuckle. "Well then..."

With a roar that tore across the field and cracked the silence of the realm, I shouted—

"All of you—COME AT ME!!"

The beasts responded. Screeching. Howling. Charging.

The first lunged—massive, bone spikes along its back, its jaw dislocating like a serpent's. I vanished in a flicker of Voidstep, appearing behind it mid-air, then slammed my gauntlet into its spine.

The impact cratered the earth and sent a shockwave that threw lesser fiends into the air. The monster howled before erupting into a mist of blackened ash.

+2 Soul Fragments Absorbed

Strength Boost: +5% (Temporary)

My smirk deepened. "Oh, these are fun."

The next wave came—fifteen at once. Blades, fangs, tendrils. I didn't dodge this time.

Instead, I activated Demon King's Grasp.

A pulse of darkness surged from my gauntlets. It wrapped around them like living chains, pulling them into a swirling vortex beneath my feet. Their eyes widened in primal fear.

"Beg," I growled. "It won't save you."

I spun into Blade Tempest – Chaos Variant, my gauntlet-augmented strikes ripping through the stunned creatures like paper. Every swing carried soul-burning weight, black energy bursting from each impact like solar flares inverted into night.

+11 Soul Fragments Absorbed

Strength Boost: +15% (Temporary)

"Despair" Status Inflicted

From the ash of the fallen, something massive stirred—a golem with runes etched in its skin, forged from iron and screaming souls. A mini-boss?

I grinned wide. "Alright, you're next."

It slammed the ground, unleashing a seismic shock. I skated over it, leaping into the air, gauntlets glowing with condensed voidfire.

"BLACK STAR DESCENT!"

The sky ruptured.

A dark comet—wreathed in void and flame—descended from the heavens, striking the battlefield with apocalyptic fury. The explosion eclipsed the land for a heartbeat. When the smoke cleared, only I stood, gauntlets smoking, the golem's core flickering in my hand.

---

Mini-Boss Defeated. Unique Core Acquired.

+25 Soul Fragments Absorbed

Darkness Attunement Increased: 19%

---

I looked at my hands. The Gauntlets of the Demon King pulsed with stolen power. My aura was like a tempest—unstoppable and growing.

"System," I said with a grin, "mark this area. I'll be turning this whole zone into a training ground."

I turned toward the looming mountains in the distance. Somewhere beyond them, more lay in wait—more monsters, more secrets... and more gods to break.

Let them come.

I had only just begun.

________________________________________

Samuel's POV

Ash still hung thick in the air, spiraling upward like the final breath of the fallen. My boots crunched over broken ground as I walked forward, each step echoing through the hollow, corrupted land. The wind had gone silent — as if the world itself feared what I had become.

> [System Notification]

You have entered a High-Density Anomaly Zone.

Difficulty: Cataclysmic

Hostility Level: 100%

Elite Entities Detected: 3

Boss Entity Detected: 1

Rewards for Survival: ???

Warning: Proceed only if prepared.

"Prepared?" I muttered under my breath with a crooked grin. "I was born for this."

Behind me, the land was scarred with my awakening — blackened craters, shattered bone-forests, and rivers of corrupted mana now boiling in my wake. The Dark Knight Class wasn't just a change — it was an ascension. It didn't replace my legacy. It refined it. Focused it. Perfected it.

And now the realm was responding.

Thunder cracked — no, not thunder. A sound like chains snapping in the distance.

Something ancient had felt my power. And it didn't like it.

I raised my gaze. Across the blasted plain, a colossal structure loomed — not built, but grown from the world's own agony. A cathedral of bone and starlight, shifting between dimensions, part fortress, part tomb. And at its summit... I saw the silhouette.

The boss entity.

> [Target Identified: Xavros, The Oathbreaker — Forsaken Paladin of the First Pantheon]

Rank: World-Class Cataclysmic

Status: Sealed at 89% Power

Class: Warden of the Lost Vow

Note: Engaging will trigger a Realm-Wide System Broadcast.

I grinned. "Perfect."

Suddenly, from all around, the elites appeared — phantoms in broken armor, eyes glowing with betrayal. Fallen knights, archers whose arrows burned with soulfire, and mages who'd gouged their eyes out to see the truth of the void.

They circled me like vultures.

"Come, then," I whispered, summoning the Gauntlets of the Demon King, darkness and fire blooming like a second skin. My voice dropped to a growl.

"Let's see if I still remember how to make gods beg."

They charged.

I moved.

One Voidstep took me behind the first. My gauntlet punched through its helm like glass, twisting as I activated Demon King's Grasp, pulling three others toward me mid-air.

WHAM. WHAM. SLASH.

A whirling combination of Astral Rend and Blade Tempest – Chaos Variant turned the battlefield into a hurricane of black steel and screaming echoes. My blows fractured time around them — slowing one, accelerating another, freezing the third in place as I shattered its spine.

They fell.

> [Elite Entity Destroyed — Soul Fragments: +9]

[Special Drop: Shattered Oathblade Acquired]

But the cathedral doors creaked open — and from them descended a presence.

A figure, nine feet tall, armored in broken relics and a cloak of faded light. A halo of rusted swords floated behind him.

Xavros. The Oathbreaker.

I could hear his voice before he spoke. It rattled in my skull like church bells drowning in screams.

> "You dare wear the gauntlets of the damned? You bear the scent of chaos... and yet you claim knighthood?"

"I claimed nothing," I said, stepping forward. "I earned it."

He raised one hand. The sky darkened.

And the fight began.

---

[System Alert — Realm Broadcast Active]

Attention: All Systems-Aligned Users. A Forbidden-Class Entity Battle Has Been Initiated.

Challenger: Samuel Gebb

Boss: Xavros, The Oathbreaker

Realm: Silent Judgment

Estimated Destruction Radius: 470km

Our weapons clashed like titans arguing through war. He swung with faith-bound fury — radiant strikes that could tear continents. I responded with chaos-born precision, each counter fueled by devoured power and honed instinct.

He struck down with a blade of forgotten promises.

I met it with my fist — and the ground exploded beneath us.

"YOU WERE NEVER WORTHY!" he bellowed.

"I never needed to be," I shouted, activating Crownbearer's Dominion.

Darkness surged behind me — the silhouette of a twisted throne, chains wrapping around my arms as power spiked.

I launched upward, gauntlets bursting with Soul Echo: Wrathforge. My strike cracked his halo — then followed with Reality Sever.

He stumbled.

I pressed in. Strike. Voidstep. Rend. Burn. Slam.

The final blow came as I activated Unbroken Form — my body glowing with awakened mythic energy. I caught his blade in one hand, tore it from him with the other, and rammed my gauntlet through his chest.

He looked at me, a flicker of humanity returning in his eyes.

"You... you walk the edge of gods and monsters..."

"I am the edge," I whispered, "and you're done."

He exploded into fractal shards of divine data.

---

[Boss Entity Xavros Defeated]

Class Signature Recognized: You have solidified your Class Title —

Dark Knight – Godslayer Variant (Unique)

New Skill Unlocked: Godbreaker's Verdict

Passive Gained: Divine Immunity (Tier 1)

Loot Acquired: Crown of Lost Faith · Blade of the Unseen King · Soulstone of Judgment

---

I stood still, smoke curling off my armor, the ground glowing with residual light.

I exhaled — a long, slow breath.

The system chimed again:

---

Would you like to declare Domain over this Realm?

Note: Declaring Domain will convert this broken dimension into your Personal Fortress.

Warning: Doing so will alert all Primordial Entities.

---

I looked around — this realm, twisted and broken, earned by trial and blood.

"Yeah," I said, clenching my fist. "Let them come."

"I claim this realm."