The Heavenly Demon of Terror-Chapter 323: The Forgotten Pantheon Quest – Objective: Skarnyx the Hollow Howl

Chapter 323 - The Forgotten Pantheon Quest – Objective: Skarnyx the Hollow Howl

Samuel's POV – Black Maw Crater

The landscape looked like someone took a god's rage and carved it into the earth.

Black Maw Crater stretched before me like a scar across the world — jagged cliffs, churning ash winds, and a sky that boiled with green lightning. It wasn't night, but the sun refused to shine here. It felt like reality itself turned its back on this place.

I stood at the edge, wind howling, voidflame flickering across my knuckles.

[System Alert: You are now entering a Divine Hostile Zone]

Warning: Magic is unstable. Sanity will erode upon prolonged exposure.

Estimated Threat Level: Catastrophic.

Perfect.

I grinned and muttered, "You know, for someone called 'The Hollow Howl,' he sure doesn't send a warm welcome."

As I stepped forward, my boots crunched on scorched gravel. The crater pulsed like it was alive — like the earth itself was breathing.

Then... it started.

A growl, distant at first, rolled up from the depths of the crater like a tidal wave of dread. It wasn't just sound. It was memory. I could feel things from my past clawing at my mind — pain, loss, fear.

But I shook it off.

"Nah, you're gonna have to scream louder than that."

A massive shadow burst from below — a serpentine form stitched from bones, smoke, and the echoes of dying gods. Its mouth opened like a vortex, not lined with teeth but broken sigils spinning in a spiral of devouring magic.

Skarnyx. The Hollow Howl.

"YOU TRESPASS," it boomed, voice like a collapsing cathedral. "YOU BLEED FAITH, YET CLING TO STRENGTH. I ATE THE STARS THAT NAMED ME — AND STILL, YOU WALK TO DIE?"

I cracked my neck and drew my blade, runes lighting along its edge. "You eat stars, huh? Guess I'm here to give you indigestion."

The monster roared — a sound that fractured the ground beneath my feet — and charged, tendrils of void-wrought energy lashing toward me.

I moved fast.

Sliding under the first strike, I planted my boot and launched upward, blade spinning in my hand. "Crimson Veil – Third Fang!" I roared, slashing across the beast's side.

It screeched, tendrils recoiling, but the wound healed instantly.

Skarnyx laughed. "BLEED FASTER. I DEVOUR STRONGER FOOLS THAN YOU."

"Yeah, well they didn't have my winning personality." I surged void energy into my limbs and punched the air, sending a shockwave across the crater floor.

He lunged again — faster this time.

One blow slammed me into a boulder, snapping it in two. My HUD flashed red. Bones creaked.

I spat blood and grinned. "Okay. You hit harder than Ezra. I like it."

The system pinged.

----

[Battle Alert – Hidden Mechanic Detected: GOD-EATER MODE UNLOCKED]

Requirement: Engage Skarnyx with 50% HP or less for 10 minutes.

Timer: 09:58...

---

I stood, breath shallow, but rage rising like a tide. "Ten minutes, huh? Let's make it fun."

What followed was chaos.

I dodged and countered, launching through the air with bursts of wind-step magic, carving sigils mid-sprint. Skarnyx shattered reality with his shrieks, bending the sky inward. Ash rains fell like knives. We tore the battlefield apart — cliff to cliff, crater to cloud.

At the six-minute mark, my sword broke.

I tossed it aside and dove bare-fisted into the maw of a Forgotten God.

"You want faith? Here's mine—I believe in breaking your face!"

[System Trigger – Overdrive Limit Broken]

New Title Gained: "Voidbound Brawler"

I pummeled through his spellcore, ripping sigil after sigil with my bare hands, until Skarnyx's form began to collapse, smoke and light bleeding from every wound.

"You... cannot... kill... dread," he hissed, imploding slowly.

I leaned in, voice low.

"No. But I can make it fear me."

And with a final punch, charged with everything — hatred, fire, laughter, blood — I shattered what was left of him.

The storm stopped.

The winds died.

The crater... fell silent.

Then the system chimed.

---

[System Notification – Quest Complete: "The Forgotten Pantheon"]

You have slain Skarnyx the Hollow Howl.

Reward: 1 Fragment of the Forsaken Crown (Inventory), +5 Stat Boost to all attributes, ??? unlocked

New Title Unlocked: "Devourer of Dread"

---

I stood in the silence, panting, blood running down my face. Then I grinned and looked up at the dark sky.

"One down..."

I tightened my fists.

"...how many more Forgotten Gods left to go?"