The monsters of the rift did not start their attack outright. It almost seemed as if they were waiting for something to happen. But Lea knew better than to give them time to prepare for their surprise.
She raised her staff and gathered mana at the tip. An enormous magic circle appeared on top of the opponent's army, and bolts of lightning stuck a lot of monsters.
As soon as that happened, the monsters who died disappeared into abyssal smoke.
The abyss was a strange thing, and it could not keep anything alive. Anything that touched the rift took on the properties of the abyss and returned to the abyss after its death.
This way, the rift could never run out of resources and would always have things to back itself up with.
[You will not win. You cannot outlast us. Give in and come to us. We shall take care of you like we always do.]
The rift called out to Lea, and she felt it strengthening her spells. It was giving her the illusion of power. A sweet temptation that could cause a lot of people to fall for its tricks.
But Lea had been dealing with the rift long enough. She knew how to ignore it.
She was also lucky that the monsters she was facing up against were low-level. They all ranged from lvl 2-5, making them easy targets.
And Lea's spell had made sure to eliminate quite many of them.
"Let's see. There are about 20 of these monsters left. I can take them out alone and without using my powers. But the real problem is the commander of this small army."
Patric's rift-controlled body was at lvl 50. And that would be a problem to take on without any magic.
Especially since any monster above lvl 40 could use the power of the rift. It was challenging to kill these monsters, and they could even corrupt you if you were too close to them.
"Alright, let's try it. If worse comes to worse, I can always end my current life and start anew."
Lea juggled her staff, and it changed into a double-edged sword. It was one of her favourite weapons to use.
The world was heading toward mechanical weapons, using guns and advanced technology to fight the rift. But Lea still preferred traditional weapons because they channel one's energy.
And her staff was a relic of the past that had been born when Lea discovered her powers. There was no better weapon for her.
"Now, here I come."
The rift between Lea and her enemy was wide. A fall this height would kill anyone. But Lea jumped across it with ease. Her magic allowed her to step into the air and cross the rift. Her double-edged sword was held at ready.
Finally, she reached the sensitive range of her opponent, and they noticed her. Lea could feel the burden of the rift beginning to seep into her bones.
The spell she had used before had not even been that strong, but it still caused the rift's energy to affect her.
'Tsk, my protection is weakening. I will need to head toward the old labs and recharge myself soon. Otherwise, I will soon be overtaken by the abyss.'
Despite the situation being tense, Lea was not worried. She felt calm and even a little happy battling a strong opponent.
Patric's body raised his staff, and Lea felt the change in energy around her. She quickly side-stepped the attack but misjudged its range and type.
A blast occurred at Lea's side and pushed her body back. The heat caused her skin to burn, but Lea's fast healing caused her to recover quickly.
The commanding opponent did not stop there. It swirled its staff, causing small blasts around Lea's body.
She had to keep her shield up to avoid getting attacked constantly.
Lea could easily take care of these abyss monsters on her own. But she was a little hesitant to do so with other people around. She did not have a concept of holding back, and she could not hold back in her current state.
The main reason she had someone to keep an eye on her was to teach her restraint. And Lea humoured the government by going along with their plan.
"Ugh, this is annoying. I cannot blast my opponents because it might cause other people to get involved. Maybe I can create a barrier and then nuke my opponents inside? But the abyss residue will be too great, and this will become an explosive zone for the next few years. Not that I care, but…ugh, this is annoying."
Lea was worried now, not because she had nothing to do but because she had far too many options.
She did not know what the best way to deal with these monsters was.
Just when she decided to fuck it all and explode everything, including Patric's dead body, Patricia arrived at the scene.
"Lea, I am here to help. Our opponent is…."
Patricia went quiet as soon as her eyes fell on her opponent. Her brother's dead eyes looked back at her without blinking.
"Patricia, if this is too hard for you, head back. I have things under control. I need you to help everyone else escape and put a restriction on this zone."
Lea's orders were clear and crisp. She was letting Patricia know what would happen next. But Patricia was extremely quiet as she looked at her brother.
This was not the first time she had faced her brother's dead body. The abyss was a zone that forever recycled its energy. If it had an imprint of someone, it could use that form repeatedly.
"Lea, I have a favour to ask of you. Can you separate your barriers and take care of the smaller fries for me? I want to take care of my brother - I mean, the monster alone. Since I do not have enough time, I want to go out in a flashy way."
Patricia demanded this of Lea. Her voice sounded a little wet and emotional. This must be hard for Patricia to handle.
Lea wanted to say she understood Patricia's feelings, but that would be a lie. But since Patricia had asked this favour, Lea tried to grant it. Patricia had been a big help to her over the years.
"I see. If this is what you want, then I shall grant it for you. Do you have some final words to say to me?"
Lea asked, giving Patricia a last chance to get things off her chest. Humans were sentimental creatures, so Lea was sure that Patricia had a lot she wanted to tell her.
A blast hit Lea's barrier, informing them that they did not have much time. Lea's barrier was strong, but she preferred not to drag this fight out and use Rift's energy inside her.
"Lea, you are a horrible human being. I always knew that you would not stop me if I tried to kill myself. But then again, you were always that kind of human. You pretend to be all happy and understanding, but you are aloof and selfish."
"But I knew all that and still did what I had to. I understand you, but I don't want to understand you. I feel sympathy for you, but I don't want to. So, aren't I the actual fool here?"
Lea paused while dividing her barrier. This was not the first time she had been called as selfish, and this was also not the first time she had been confessed to by someone who was about to die.
And truthfully, Lea could not understand Patricia's feelings. These were the times that Lea realised that she was not a human but something else.
"The barrier is finished divining. I hope this is not the last time we meet Patricia Buzzword. There are things you need to achieve in this world."
It would be a huge blow to lose someone as precious as Patricia Buzzword. She was a good warrior with a lot of experience. Her death would be an experience for humans.
Lea did not voice it all out for Patricia to hear. But somehow, Patricia knew what Lea did not say to her. She had spent too long observing and obsessing over Lea during her youthful days.
"You are the worst, Lea. But you know, I still fell in love with you. I hope you get your heart broken one day to understand what it means to be a human."
Those were Patricia's last words before she stepped into the barrier and looked at her brother.
These were her last moments, and she felt liberated to get the confession off her chest. It made her feel lighter.
Patric's dead body looked at Patricia with dead eyes, and it attacked her. But Patricia knew what she had to do to get her brother's consciousness away from the rift.
She needed to absorb the rift inside her body and then die before it could take control of her. It would be excruciating but rewarding.
"Now, I genuinely don't care about anything else but saving you, brother. Let's go to heaven together."