Patricia's earnest request went unheard by the rift-possessed body. But she had not expected to be heard in the first place.
She had only wanted to get rid of her brother's curse as fast as she could. And for that, she whistled. Her ability activated, and some monsters left trapped with her brother glowed white.
That indicated that they were under Patricia's control and attacked Patric's body.
But the rift-possessed human did not show any indication of action. He looked at the monsters heading toward him and waved his staff.
The monsters instantly disappeared into the smoke and back into the abyss. That left only Patric and Patricia in the sealed location.
"Ugh, I guess that my skills to control rift monsters would not work against someone who can control the rift. In that case, I shall turn to my other skills."
Patricia took out a gun from her inventory. She always kept weapons on her, and she shot at Patric.
Patric raised his staff and formed a defensive barrier around himself. The bullets bounced off the barrier and fell on the floor. Then, Patric raised his staff, and several balls of fire flew toward Patricia.
She quickly dodged them, but it increased the distance between herself and Patric.
All this time, Patricia could feel the alluring power of the abyss calling for her to fall. She would be able to achieve her goal if she accepted it. That was what Patricia's instincts told her.
"How horrible this rift is. The only way to get rid of the rift is to accept it. As if I would believe such a joke."
Patricia cursed the rift before she decided to bring out her trump card. It was a small syringe that had a golden liquid.
No one knew what this golden liquid was, but Patricia knew what it did. It increased the capabilities of those who drank it tenfold. But in return, it caused great harm to the body.
Patricia would not survive if she took this liquid now. But she did not care. She knew she would die in this battle.
Instead, she wanted to die in this battle and end her life peacefully. She wanted to save her brother, and this was her last shot. So, she did not think much about it and ingested the golden liquid.
Power surged through Patricia's body instantly, and she felt it bubble beneath her skin. It was threatening to tear her skin apart and leak out of her body. But that was fine.
"It's all fine. If I can get my revenge, nothing else matters."
Patricia had been unable to feel her brother's rift aura all this time. But now she could finally feel it and control it. She used this skill to control her brother and to rid him of the rift.
The rift was slowly getting swallowed inside Patricia, and her brother's body began to decay like a normal human being.
'Just a little bit more. Just a little bit more, and we can both die.'
Patricia could feel how close she was to her end. But just as she felt the end approaching, she realised something was wrong. Her power had been dormant until now, but it quickly grabbed her.
The abyss was rising inside her and forcefully taking hold of her body.
'No way! What is happening? This is not supposed to happen. At this rate, I might be consumed by the abyss. Lea, help me out. Kill me now-'
A spear made of lightning pierced Patricia's body, and she began to disappear into half-rift matter. Ultimately, her body did not have enough contamination to be swallowed in the rift, and Patricia died as a human.
Patric died in the explosion as well. His half-human body was in the same state as Patricia's. But if Lea paid attention to it, she could spot gratitude in his dead gaze.
"Thank you for your sacrifice and contribution to humanity all this time. Patricia Buzzwood, you shall be remembered as a great person."
That was all Lea could say for Patricia. But even as she said these words, Lea's voice lacked life or emotions. She was like an emotionless doll who could only do as she was told.
Once Patricia was dead, it was time to take care of other small fries. The rift's presence was increasing fast.
Lea used her powers and crushed the barriers she had made. Everything else inside those barriers got crushed, and the abyss's miasma began to seep out where these monsters had been.
With this, the battle with the rift was over, and a critical force had been lost for humanity's side.
...
"Excuse me, but who is going to be the new leader of you people? You need to tell us now because we will be reporting this to the headquarters."
Emily asked the people she had helped keep safe. They had arrived at the new secure location, and everything was unharmed for the most part.
"New leader? There will be no new leader for us. Sister Patricia was our leader, and she shall remain our leader."
"That's right. Sister Patricia will return soon and take charge of the situation for us. There is no need for us to panic."
People were confident that Patricia would come back alive. They were not even willing to listen to an alternative where Patricia was not alive.
It sucked, but neither Emily nor Sara could force these people to listen and believe the inevitable. They could only hope that Patricia would come back alive this time.
"Hello, everyone. I am back from my task. I am happy to tell you that all the rift beasts were exterminated, and this world is safe again."
Finally, Lea came back with her cheerful look and her cheerful voice. She looked unharmed and energetic after her fight.
The people of the settlement looked at her with expecting eyes. They looked behind Lea for a familiar face, but they did not find Patricia anywhere.
"How did the battle go? Are you hurt? Are there any injuries we need to be worried about? What about your rift levels? You are not about to be taken over, right?"
Sara asked these questions in quick succession. She looked at Lea, her eyes begging her for the truth. And Lea instantly looked Sara in the face.
"Hmm, the battle was relatively easy, and I won it quickly. This is our victory."
Lea's cheerful voice caused everyone to breathe a sigh of relief. But the people of the settlement could not help but notice something missing.
"Excuse me, miss, but where is sister Patricia? She went to help you, but I do not see her anywhere."
One of the kids asked Lea. The kid was small, barely eight years old, and her big eyes looked at Lea with a begging expression.
Emily felt a pang of guilt and sympathy for the child, and she suddenly wanted Lea to lie to this child about what happened to Patricia. If it were bad news, Emily would rather the children not hear it.
"Patricia? Well, she bit the dust this time. Man, it was tough for her to go against her brother's phantom, and the rift was getting hold of her. Ultimately, Patricia had no choice but to die a human…hey, what do you think you are doing?"
Lea looked at the man who rushed toward her with a knife. And he was not the only one in the settlement who looked angry at Lea's words.
The other settlers looked pissed and angry at Lea as well.
"Y-You! You said the battle was easy, and you had no trouble with the opponent? Then why? Why did you let Patricia die out there? You could have asked her not to participate in this battle."
"You are a monster who killed Patricia. Do you not feel any sympathy for her or us? Why would you do this to us?"
The people tried to make Lea feel guilty. But no matter what they tried, they could not make her feel guilty.
"You killed her because the rift was getting to her, right? But we could have saved her. We have the medicine and the technology…Hey, do you not feel any guilt toward Patricia?"
The child asked this question with tears in her eyes. She looked heartbroken to no longer have Patricia with her.
"Guilty? Why would I need to feel guilty? The one who chose this end was Patricia, and I fulfilled her wish to die human as well. As far as I know, I did what was right."
Lea informed the group before her, and they all bit their lips.
Objectively, Lea was right. This had been the correct thing to do. However, their emotions did not agree with them on this topic.
"You demon. You have known Patricia for over 40 years, which is how you repay her trust and reliance. Go away. Go away from our settlement and never show your face here again."
The people of the settlement were in grief. They needed to mourn for all they had lost.
Lea understood this, and she walked away. Emily moved to stop her and to speak back, but Sara shook her head.
The settlement had lost their leader, and they needed to grieve. As for Lea? She was likely not affected by these words. After all, she was not a human and had no emotions to hurt in the first place.