[12] The Distress Call

It has been more than two months since the apocalypse fell upon South Korea.

Daegu was still a frozen wasteland, with the landscape barely changing since it got destroyed.

One of the only things that were still standing of what was left of the disaster is Minhyuk's settlement. The place was now even more fortified than before and is now bustling with a lot of people, thanks to Minhyuk and several of his men engaging in different rescue missions outside the settlement over the past few weeks.

Zeke and Jihyo on the other hand, were subjected to intense and consistent training sessions by Seojun to make them fit for combat. Zeke felt shy training with Jihyo at first, but Jihyo was supportive of him every step of the way, and soon enough, he was comfortable training with her.

The first two weeks were exercises focused on improving their overall health, strength, balance, perception, and stamina-- exercises that were not limited to pilates, yoga, lifting weights, scaling boxes of supplies, and sprinting.

The next two weeks were then focused on hand-to-hand combat. Seojun taught them several martial arts specializing in offensive and defensive techniques.

When the armed combat training came along after that, Jihyo practiced with the Seraphim in it's cane form, while Zeke chose his pipe wrench as a training weapon because he felt he was more efficient with a smaller weapon. Zeke struggled in this part of the training because he didn't have a Manifest to grant him boosted strength and reflexes. Fortunately, Jihyo was there to help him.

Following the armed combat training, Seojun taught Jihyo how to control her light manipulating abilities. So far, she has been able to use her powers to light up her surroundings, compress harmless light coming out of her hands into short-burst lasers, create crystallized light barriers, and infuse her Manifest with crystallized light to amplify the power of her slashes.

And through those powers, Jihyo was able to develop moves and techniques of her own.

Beyond training, Zeke and Jihyo's friendship grew. Initially, Zeke would hesitate on even approaching Jihyo for help, but now he was full-on exchanging jokes and laughs with her without any shyness. And Jihyo, being the friendly person that she naturally is, took this as a good sign of their growing friendship.

Their friendship with the other members of the settlement has grown too. They got to know Minji and Hyungwon better.

The four would often hang out a lot whenever Hyungwon wasn't busy, or when Zeke and Jihyo had a break from training.

That, along with other people in the settlement occasionally asking Jihyo for autographs and selfies. She was still an idol, after all.

Zeke even surprised Jihyo with a birthday party with the help of Minji and Hyungwon--- a birthday she won't forget.

March 12, 2023, 4:43 pm, Minhyuk's Settlement, Daegu, South Korea.

It was a cold afternoon. Zeke and Jihyo were now on their free time, but they've decided to spar with each other for fun.

Zeke went out of their makeshift apartment, stretching out his arms.

He sported a thick black jacket that has several pockets on the side. Underneath that is a plain bright orange shirt. His jeans were in a pleasant shade of dark blue, a little bit loose at the garters, but nonetheless, comfortable.

"Hey, Zeke!" Jihyo said as she comes outside after a few minutes. "You ready for our sparring sesh?"

"Yep!" Zeke looks at her. A maroon hoodie with the words "IT'S LIT." with a flashlight design in the middle covered her upper body. Her navy blue jeans completed the look. Overall, her outfit really suited her.

"Still can't believe you wore that outfit," Zeke said as he laughed.

"What? it compliments my powers, so when I saw this design, I just took it and wore it. It's now my fave outfit, honestly." Jihyo smiled. "Now, if you're done going head over heels over my hoodie, ready up. You still got a score to settle with me, right?"

"That was ONE win, Jihyo, it doesn't mean anything," Zeke replied as he frowned. "And you used your powers! I lost within, what, 5 seconds? Unfair."

"Alright, alright. I'll give you a handicap. I won't use my powers, and I'll only fight with Seraphim in cane form. Fair enough?" Jihyo smirked.

"Fine," Zeke replied as they walked toward the open area of the settlement.

Seojun, Minji, Hyungwon, and some other people watched them from the sidewalks.

"Look at them go again," Minji said as she sat down. "They look like they're going to have fun yet again. I wish I could do the same.."

"You can always join us on our training so you can spar with them," Seojun said as he smiled at Minji.

"Nah, Seojun-nim.. with the amount of intense training I've seen you give them, I think I'm good with just whacking things with a pointy stick." Minji chuckled.

Zeke and Jihyo stood in front of each other. Jihyo draws her Seraphim in cane form, while Zeke draws his ever-trusty pipe wrench.

"Zeke, on three! Hana.." Jihyo began the count.

"Dul.." Zeke said.

"..Ses!" They both exclaim as they charged towards each other.

As the two closed in on each other, Jihyo immediately slashed downward with the cane. Zeke sidestepped to the left, dodging the attack. He then spun his whole body, swinging his pipe wrench with great force. Jihyo then blocked the attack.

"Oh, no, Jihyo. Not this again!" Zeke said as he struggled with his pipe wrench.

"I'm still handicapped, y'know." Jihyo smiled. "Now let's see if you can handle this move even if it's weakened. Crystalline Blanket!"

The cane glows in prismatic light as Jihyo slammed Zeke with a barrage of graceful slashes. These slashes create a seemingly smooth, crystal sheets of light that leaves no opening for Zeke to strike into. The attack forces Zeke into a defensive position for a good while.

As the barrage went on, Zeke immediately knew that he was overwhelmed. He surely can't match Jihyo's reaction time and strength because she was a wielder, and he wasn't.

However, he knew he didn't need to match her speed and strength to win. He had to fight smart.

Zeke dodged another slash from Jihyo as he jumps back a few feet. He then throws his pipe wrench, much to Jihyo's surprise.

"What is he doing? He's going to have no weapon!" Jihyo thought as she swatted the pipe wrench away using her cane. She was then immediately met by a flurry of snowballs to the face, rendering her blind.

"Y-yah!" Jihyo yelped as she tried to remove the snow from her face. Zeke immediately ran toward his pipe wrench behind Jihyo, grabs it, and dashes toward her.

Jihyo barely wiped the snow off her face when she feels Zeke coming. Before she could even react, he disarms her, sending the Manifest off her hands. He then points his pipe wrench at her.

Jihyo pants then pouts. "Unfair. You cheated."

"That wasn't a power, so it's valid," Zeke said, letting down his pipe wrench. "And besides. Even without using your powers, you still have improved strength. I can't top that, so I gotta improvise." Zeke chuckles as he grabs her cane and gives it to her. Jihyo takes it and smiles.

"A fine presentation, Mr. Zeke," Seojun said as he went towards them. "Using the environment to your advantage over a stronger enemy... Splendid."

Jihyo giggles. "Yeah. Didn't even thought of that. Good job!"

"Ehe... Thank you, guys." Zeke replied.

Just then, Hyungwon walks toward them.

"Zeke-nim, Jihyo-ssi, Seojun-nim. Minhyuk would like to see you immediately." He said.