Hell has invaded, but my Hextech is invincible!

Inessa made the sign of the cross on her chest, her eyes filled with compassion.

Hextech didn't know what to say.

In those twelve hours, he saw more dead people than he had seen on television in the previous twenty-odd years.

The two walked silently toward the roof of the apartment building. The simple wooden door was swaying slightly, clearly a sign of a hasty escape.

Hex opened the door, and the hellhound, who was about to leave, rushed towards him.

The moment their eyes met, the beast's sharp mouth hadn't even had time to utter a roar.

Hextech's hand was already firmly clamped around its throat, the hellhound's frantically pawing paws were pinned down, its neck was being strangled until the veins bulged, and Inessa was on his back, the cross pressed against the hellhound's forehead.

Until the black dot above his head turned a blinding crimson, Hex twisted it, and after a crisp snap, there was no more movement.

"That was close." Hex released his grip and sighed.

Immediately, he felt the shapely body behind him and felt a little strange.

He quickly got up and helped Inessa to her feet: "Let's go inside and hide."

After the two entered the house, they locked the door behind their backs and then moved a heavy wardrobe and a solid wooden table to block the doorway.

The roar of the monster came from downstairs, and you could feel its savage ferocity even through the door, but a strange, ambiguous tranquility rose in the room.

Hex slumped on the sofa, and Inessa sat down next to him. Their shoulders brushed against each other, and the warm touch came through the tattered fabric.

She scrambled to the side, but then realized she shouldn't have; in this cramped apartment, there was nowhere to escape.

"Thank you so much, Hex," Inessa whispered, her voice revealing a vulnerability she had never shown before, a vulnerability that stirred something deep within one's heart.

"We're the best of partners," Hex chimed in, extending his hand to bump fists with Inessa.

Inessa felt the heat emanating from Hex. For more than a decade of her life, she had been in prayer, spiritual practice, and strict discipline. She had never had such close contact with a man, let alone such playful intimacy.

Hesitantly, she reached out and lightly touched his fist with her fingertips, as if touching a ball of scorching fire. The instant they touched, a tingling, electric-like sensation coursed through her body, making her breath catch in her throat.

"We're the best partners." Her voice was as light as a feather, and she didn't even realize that there was a hint of flirtation in the end of her voice.

Inessa looked down at their fists clashing, a surge of emotion she had never felt before welling up inside her.

She had always suppressed the desire for thrills and indulgence in her heart, feeling that it was an impure act against the divine.

But at this moment, being with this man she had only recently met, in the world of Hell's Gate, where monsters roamed, she found this sense of loss of control both novel and exciting.

Some even... became addicted.

The two looked at each other's disheveled and dirty appearance and suddenly burst into laughter.

"Inessa, if the believers outside saw you like this, they'd be shocked." Hex's teasing words concealed a hint of reluctance to look away.

Inesa looked up at him; his tattered clothes couldn't hide his strong jawline, and his dusty face revealed a clean smile.

She couldn't help but smile, her coldness instantly melting away, revealing a girlish charm.

But suddenly a monstrous, shrill laugh came from outside the building, piercing the moment of warmth like a sharp knife.

Their laughter abruptly stopped, and an awkward silence filled the air, tinged with an inexplicable strangeness.

"What should we do next?" Inessa hurriedly turned her face away, her fingertips twisting the hem of her clothes, trying to use the topic to cover up the panic in her heart.

"Eat first to replenish your energy."

Hex pulled a loaf of bread from his pocket and handed one to Inessa.

He chewed heartily, while Inessa took small bites of bread, her demeanor as elegant as if she were in a sunlit church courtyard, rather than in the apocalypse shrouded in a blood moon.

Inessa sipped her tea, but her eyes kept glancing at Hex. His ravenous eating was rough and vibrant, so different from the conventional life she remembered. A stirring of emotion welled up inside her.

"Hex, I want to take a shower." Her cheeks instantly burned, and her voice was barely audible.

Taking a shower? Hex nearly choked on his bread: "Are you a germaphobe?"

He has obsessive-compulsive disorder about cleanliness, but now there are monsters everywhere, so he really doesn't understand why this nun is so fixated on cleanliness.

Inessa lowered her eyes, her fingers twisting the strips of her nun's habit, her voice even softer.

"According to church doctrine, clergy must purify themselves."

"This is both a devotion to the gods and a purification of the unruly body."

"And I need to cleanse myself first before I can perform the ritual with clean water."

"Seriously? You guys bring bathtubs to the battlefield?" Hextech looked completely bewildered.

"Yes, we must be clean whenever conditions permit." Inessa's ears were so red they almost bled.

Hextech slapped his forehead and suddenly remembered that feature in the game that players were complaining about.

Clergy must bathe in order to cast holy spells; the cleaner they are, the more powerful the spells they cast.

This is actually a CG animation of a bath scene created by the game company to justify its perks.

But looking at Inessa's shy expression, I found that this absurd premise actually had some merit.

"I'll keep watch for you outside." He stood up, deliberately avoiding her gaze, but he didn't notice the hint of dependence and shyness that flashed in her eyes when she looked up at him.

"Thank you, Mr. Hex." Inessa bowed slightly.

After saying that, she turned and went into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Soon, the sound of running water filled the air, and one tattered piece of clothing after another was thrown out and draped over the bathroom door frame, along with her underwear, which floated lightly to the floor like a pink cloud.

Hextech's brain was burning, his throat was tight, and his body temperature was rising steadily. The sound of water in the bathroom, mixed with faint breathing, felt like a fine needle pricking his heart.

He couldn't help but listen intently; the sound of water fluctuated, sometimes soft, sometimes loud, occasionally punctuated by Inessa's suppressed gasps.

The sound was like a feather brushing against his heart, causing his heart to race and a certain part of him to stiffen and burn uncontrollably.

"What are you thinking about! At a life-or-death moment, you're still having these pointless thoughts!"

He slapped himself hard, turned around and walked to the window, forcing himself to look at the blood moon outside.

The blood moon in his sight was bright, but the distracting thoughts in his heart became increasingly rampant.

The sound of water in the bathroom continued, a soft, pattering sound that seemed to pound on his heart, making him restless.

He didn't notice that on the rooftop terrace just a wall away from him, a huge four-armed, snake-tailed demon was lying there.

Her long, jet-black hair fluttered in the wind, and pinkish-purple phosphorescence drifted down from the ends, like an ambiguous rain, slowly seeping into the cracks in the ceiling and penetrating every corner of the apartment.

The devil chuckled sweetly, his voice like the flicking tongue of a venomous snake, lingering and seductive.

"Please, have more, get closer..."

"A saintly woman who strictly adheres to the precepts, and a traveler filled with chaos."

"I haven't seen such an interesting combination in a long time..."