The Astonished Director Pierce

Before the Rock Demon's consciousness sank completely into darkness, the last thing he saw was the human boy rolling over in the lava pool.

It was not a desperate thrashing. He turned from his left side to his right, as casually as if he were adjusting his position in bed.

Scalding lava churned beneath him. Molten rock splashed from bursting bubbles onto his cheek and ran down the contours of his skin, leaving a dark red trail.

Then the trail vanished, absorbed by his skin like a drop of water soaking into a sponge.

The Rock Demon's eyelids finally closed. Heavy breaths blew from his broad nostrils, spreading heat and the stench of sulfur through the air.

His several-ton body of stone armor lay beside the lava pool like an overturned statue. His head lolled to one side, and the flames in his eye sockets had gone out, leaving only two faint wisps of blue smoke.

The Ancient One stood less than ten meters from the lava pool, her yellow mage robes swaying gently in the heat. She waved her right hand, and orange light swallowed the dead Rock Demon.

"Though he was only a Level Four Demon, not even a Sub-Highfather, he can still make up for some of the energy I spent."

She looked away from the Rock Demon she had refined in an instant and turned her gaze on Russell at the center of the lava pool. There was no surprise in her eyes.

From the moment she had stepped into the Hell Dimension, she had known this so-called "trial" would not follow an ordinary person's script.

An ordinary person's first instinct upon entering Hell would be to defend themselves, resist, and struggle to survive.

But Russell was no ordinary person. He had entered Hell like someone