Chapter 976

After the mine tour ended, Schiler and Batman were not thrown back into that filthy, dark prison cell; instead, each was assigned a private dormitory, which surprised Batman even more—this dorm was a single room.

The mine they visited was the largest and most central one in the entire mining complex, and beside it stood a fortress resembling a medieval garrison castle.

The corridors here were narrow, but the rooms were large: the four floors above ground housed the guards, while the six levels below ground were occupied by miners working at the central mine.

Batman’s assigned dorm was on the second basement level; the entire room was only two to three square meters, enough for just a straw mat, with a torch burning via magical energy mounted on the wall.

Yet despite its small size, the room was not cold; Batman suspected there might be a layer of magma beneath the mine’s surface, making the entire structure warm and dry.

In the corner of the room stood a basin of water that never ran out, providing some moisture to the dry air and usable for cleaning.

If this dorm had one flaw, it was poor soundproofing—everyone lived in tiny cages with thin walls and close proximity; as Batman was about to sit down and rest, he heard muffled curses from the next room:

“Damn it, my ankle… it’s killing me! That damn magma demon did it on purpose—he wants me to fall into the lava while mining… oh, it hurts, it hurts so much…”

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Batman knocked on the adjacent wall. The creature on the other side seemed startled, let out a shriek, then fell silent for a long while; Batman then spoke:

“I’m a new miner, just arrived today—I don’t know this place. Can you tell me where I am?”

“I knew it…” The voice on the other side sighed. It was high-pitched but clear. “Another unlucky soul dragged here. Ha, let’s see how long you last—three days? Four?”

“Were you also captured by the sandworms?” Batman asked.

“Don’t be stupid. Those giant worms can only handle small creatures like you… cough… I’m a native here. Mining is my job. Cough… my foot…”

“Is your foot injured?” Batman feigned concern. “Do you need help?”

Suddenly, Batman saw a shadow appear along the door crack—a black tendril slipped inside.

At its tip was a crimson eye, which rolled around, sizing up Batman, then said: “Oh, a Daomei human. Judging by your appearance, you’re a follower of some Xieshen , right? What happened? Did your boss abandon you?”

“I don’t know what’s going on. Can you tell me? Where exactly is this? What am I supposed to do tomorrow?” Batman asked a string of questions, but the eye spun rapidly and replied: “Don’t try to trick me, you cunning human. To get answers from me, you must pay a price…”

“What do you want?” Batman asked.

“I heard human souls are delicious. How about giving me a portion of yours? Let me bite you once, and I’ll answer your questions…” The demon lowered its voice.

“That hardly seems fair,” Batman replied.

“Fair?! You want fairness in Hell?!” The voice on the other side laughed like he’d heard the most absurd joke in the world—a dry, rasping chuckle—then two more tendrils slithered in, advancing toward Batman.

Batman remained calm. He stood up. Since discovering demons could suffer physical harm, he felt no reverence for these magical creatures.

He turned, grabbed the torch from the wall, and swung it with lightning speed, letting the flame lick one of the tendrils. As expected, a scream echoed from the other side.

“Take it away! Take it away! Get it off!! You damned human!! I’ll swallow you whole!!!!” The tendril writhed wildly, trying to retreat through the door crack, but Batman moved swiftly, seizing its base before it could slip away.

He set the torch aside, gripped the tendril with both hands, and yanked hard inward. The demon shrieked in agony.

“Aaah! Aaah! Let go! My ankle! My ankle was already injured… let go!! Oh please, don’t do this!!”

Batman gave one final yank. A loud thud echoed against the dorm door—like the demon’s body had been slammed against it.

Seeing no more give, Batman tied a tight knot around the tendril’s base with his own arm, then returned the torch, letting the flame steadily burn into the tendril’s root, speaking in a cold tone: “Answer my questions. Where is this? How did you get here? What are you doing here?”

“Ooooh!! Let me go!!… Fine, fine, I’ll answer—but after I do, you let go of my foot… You damned human, you’re all cunning monsters!”

Batman paused his grip. He wasn’t sure whether being called a monster was an insult or a compliment, but then the demon began speaking haltingly:

“You and your master are clearly country bumpkins. Otherwise, you’d have recognized the sign on the gate—this is the Great Pitrex’s Seven Mountains Mine, the second-largest mine in Pitrex’s underground domain…”

“How did I get here? I already said—I’m a native. I’m a shadow wraith living in the mine. When Pitrex’s army arrived and seized the mine, I started working for him…”

“And what do I do here? What else could I do? Mine, of course. The Seven Mountains Mine produces nearly all major hellish ores—every weapon and armor worn by the guards is forged from these minerals…”

“What’s your name?” Batman asked again.

“I’m… I’m Hexagon. Hurry up and let go—I’m going to lose my foot… oh, it hurts…”

The voice on the other side was now tearful. Batman realized these demons were far simpler than he’d imagined. He loosened his grip on one tendril, letting it retract—but kept the other firmly in his hand. “I know guards patrol the dorms. So no matter what strange noises you hear from my room, stay silent. If you alert the guards, I’ll kill you before they get to me.”

Batman’s threat carried no bluff. After Hexagon retracted his last tendril, he groaned twice, then muttered: “You humans are all delusional, always dreaming of escape. I don’t care what you do in your room.”

There was no exaggeration in Batman's threat; after the six-horned shadow beast retracted its last leg, it grunted twice and said, "You humans, so presumptuous, always thinking of running away—I couldn't care less what you do in your room."

Hexagon seemed to be rubbing his injured foot. “What nonsense are you spouting? There are plenty of humans here. I’ve had five or six as neighbors—all trying to run away…”

The six-horned one seemed to be stroking his injured leg as he said, "What nonsense are you talking? There are plenty of humans here—I've had at least five or six as neighbors, and they all wanted to escape..."

“Most did. I’ll admit—your cunning race has some skill. But this is Hell. Even if you escape this mine, where will you go? You’ll just end up working for another demon…”

“Weak individuals like humans who come to Hell have only two fates: either hide in mines, barracks, or slave pens, working for demons—or get unlucky, encounter a powerful demon, and get swallowed whole…”

"Weak little humans who come to Hell have only two fates: either hide in mines, barracks, and slave pens, working for demons, or unluckily encounter a powerful demon and get swallowed whole..."

“Humans really do talk nonsense,” Hexagon sneered. “If I were powerful, would I be this humiliated by you?”

“Shadow wraiths are mere byproducts of shadow ore. Most lack reason, attacking demons who mine shadow ore by instinct. That’s why rational shadow wraiths are captured—we calm our kind during mining, preventing them from attacking workers. That’s my job…”

Batman silently recorded the information. After a pause, Hexagon spoke up: “You’re planning to escape too? You can dig a hole through the back wall tonight. My previous neighbor did it. You’d better leave quickly—I hate cunning humans.”

Hearing this, Batman turned to examine the crack in the wall behind him. In the torchlight’s shadow, he hadn’t noticed the corner beside the straw mat—but now he saw a small fissure.

When Batman placed his hand against the crack, he clearly felt air blowing out—indicating a large space beyond.

“Don’t the guards worry about people escaping?” Batman asked, genuinely puzzled. “The security here is unbelievably lax…”

“Let them run,” Hexagon shrugged. “Those giant worms bring back dozens, even hundreds daily. Even if they all escaped, they can just capture more tomorrow. Only humans are foolish enough to want out. For demons, work is work, no matter where.”

“Have you ever thought of rebelling or escaping?” Batman asked, still examining the crack.

“Why rebel or escape?” Hexagon sounded genuinely confused. “If I ran, I’d just be captured by another demon and sent to another mine to do the same work.”

“Besides, Pitrex is a decent demon lord—powerful, majestic, ancient. None of the neighboring demon lords dare challenge him. He holds his territory, and thus protects us.”

“If I ended up under a weak lord, constantly attacked by others, I might be dragged onto the battlefield. Shadow wraiths aren’t fighters—my legs would get chopped off.”

Batman’s hand paused. Then he asked: “Don’t you want to become a demon lord yourself? To lead?”

“Demon lord? Don’t joke,” Hexagon muttered. “I’m a shadow wraith. Have you ever seen a shadow wraith become a demon lord? We know no magic, have no strength. Though we’re the most abundant in every mine, it doesn’t matter…”

“We’re one of the weakest races in Hell, just like humans. Forget becoming a lord—even foremen aren’t chosen from us.”

“So because you’re weak, you don’t resist?” Batman murmured to himself.

“Every shadow wraith is like this—suddenly wakes up in a mine, gains awareness, is found by foremen, and put to work…” Hexagon’s tone was light. “I’ve been lucky. Sometimes, lower shadow wraiths go mad and tear us apart to eat us. But I’ve worked here a long time without such bad luck.”

“Still, yesterday that damn magma demon threw a fireball at my foot—he wanted to blast me into the lava. I knew he hated me. Tomorrow I’ll have to work with him again. By Satan, I’m sick of him…”

“Why don’t you fight back?” Batman asked again.

“Fight back? You mean attack him? Don’t be ridiculous! Magma demons are among the strongest demons—even among foremen, he’s top-tier. How could I possibly beat him?”

“You don’t need to beat him to defeat him…” Batman murmured. Then he said: “Your foot is injured, right? I know some medical techniques. Maybe I can help. Let me see your wound…”

"Retaliate? You mean go fight him? Don't make me laugh! Lava Demon is one of the strongest demons around—even among overseers, he's among the most powerful. How could I possibly beat him?"

“Can’t beat him, doesn’t mean you can’t deal with him…” Batman whispered, then said: “Your foot is injured, isn’t it? I know some medical techniques—I might be able to treat you. Let me see your wound…”

“What????”