Three strong individuals plan to carve out the path to victory --- no holds barred.
When Jihyo decided to decline General Khera's tempting offer of joining her and sparing all her friends, it wasn't an easy decision.
The thought of rest and recovery, the thought of her friends safe and spared of the Koul'in's cause in exchange for her loyalty... It was too good to be true. But then, Jihyo quickly realizes something.
She doesn't need any assistance or grant immunity from some enemy like Khera to protect her friends. She is capable of doing it on her own, and in fact, she's been doing it all her life.
In the many years Jihyo and Sana become friends and workmates as TWICE, Jihyo has always done so. Especially behind the spotlight, beyond the roaring fans and the guards, where there is absolutely no one but them and them alone.
God knows how many times that was. When Sana was sad and lonely, she was there to give her a little pick-me-up. When issues were arising, Jihyo was there, ready to protect her whatever it takes.
Along with the thought of protecting her friend, Jihyo was contemplating what would be the outcome of this battle. She was facing a true general alone, after all--- a being that was definitely an expert in combat.
Jihyo wasn't a born fighter too, so that makes this upcoming match a huge disadvantage.
Yet despite the obvious disparity in combat strength and experience, she knows she has to pull through. Seojun's team and Zeke's team are pouring their hearts out in their respective battles to save people, especially her friend, so she's going to do the same thing, too.
She has to.
April 19, 2023, 6:33 am, E-World Amusement Park, Daegu, South Korea.
[MAJOR EVENT: OPERATION SHIBA]
General Khera took an elegant but menacing battle stance. She knows this fight was inevitable, after all, and perhaps the only way for Jihyo to join her was to display her true abilities in combat and overwhelm her to submission.
"It's not too late to change your mind, wielder. You can always say yes." Khera began. "I'm feeling good today, so I'll give you time to decide... until you die. Which... is not very long, honestly."
Khera suddenly lunges at the superpowered TWICE member with a lot of agility, her extremely long hair flowing behind her as she darted like an arrow in the night.
"Blizzard Crossover!"
Khera then turns the tips of her hair into ivory-colored blades. She then extends her hair to reach Jihyo to unleash a mighty barrage of concentrated slashes towards the valiant TWICE member.
Jihyo immediately sprints toward Khera, ducking extremely low to evade the tendrils completely. As soon as she closes in on Khera, she sees her smug face, ready for battle.
The general immediately deals the first strike by swinging her fist towards the approaching TWICE member. Jihyo instinctively blocks with the Seraphim, readying herself to absorb Khera's full attack. The general's fist collides with her blade, and a shockwave levels the snowy ground. Jihyo doesn't get injured by the attack despite taking it at full force, but the shockwave drags her a few feet away from Khera.
"Ggh! This strength...!" Jihyo writhed in pain from the shockwave.
Khera smirks, relentlessly pursuing the stunned Jihyo. They immediately trade blows, and Khera was overpowering Jihyo.
But Jihyo was steadfast, graceful, and concentrated in attacking and blocking, which, she was able to do perfectly. The balance of her footwork and arm swings are consistently in perfect sync, giving off the illusion that she was gracefully dancing.
She also manages to land a few slashes to Khera, which was surprising enough since the general's movements were much, much faster.
Jihyo fairing well against Khera was a nice thought. However, she was getting tired. The general had a lot more stamina, and she knew that if she wanted to keep fighting, she had to take breaks in the middle of her movements---which meant she had to keep her distance from Khera now and then.
Jihyo backs and readies her katana for a full swing.
"Sunset Lumina...!"
The TWICE member suddenly spins her body a full 360 degrees and swings her blade in a crescent motion in an attempt to keep her distance against the Koul'in general.
Khera perceives her attack and wraps her whole body using her silken hair, effectively shielding herself as the crescent afterglow of Jihyo's slash drags her away from the TWICE member.
Her hair spreads behind her back once more, and Jihyo sees her clap slowly.
"I love your battle style and the way you handle your weapon, wielder." Khera complimented her. "Your movements look fluid like a smooth flowing river, but they strike with such explosive energy once they land. Such beautiful execution of technique for someone as beautiful as you, hmm?"
"If this is your way of convincing me to join you, then this isn't it." Jihyo scoffed.
"Don't you know how to take a compliment, wielder? Surely, you must feel all fuzzy inside being praised by some high authority such as me?" Khera added.
"I don't need your validation. I've had it all my life. From my family to my friends, to everyone else that knows me... and especially when I look at the mirror. I know I am beautiful. Strong. Powerful. Talented. You don't have to tell me things I already know from the start."
"Very well. In that case, I guess it's my turn to show you how strong, powerful, and talented I truly am as well. But first, I have to ready up." Khera said as her silken hair floats and glows in power.
She first scans the area, assessing the fallen soldiers around them that the team has taken out earlier.
Khera then strikes her hair tendrils down on the ground. They soon emerge from the ground near the fallen Koul'in soldiers around them, stabbing them as she begins she absorbs their life force. Jihyo watches in horror as the Koul'in footsoldiers withered slowly, their skin wrinkled as they turn into lifeless mummies.
"She's sacrificing her kin to gain more power... she truly has no remorse..." Jihyo thought as she backed further, gripping her Manifest ever so tightly.
"Ah... that feels better. Now... where were we?" Khera said, the power now coursing through all of her hair strands, and the air suddenly vibrates around her.
Jihyo suddenly shuddered at the sight of the powered-up general.
For a brief moment, she felt Khera's true power. It was immense. It was unreal, even. It was what she thought was unparalleled.
Something... she could never hope to beat.
Yet, she still gave herself a little bit of faith. She had come this far---surely, this shouldn't be the end of it all.
Jihyo holds her Manifest as if her life depended on it.
"Come!" Khera declared.
They both charged at each other. And this time, Jihyo couldn't keep up with the Koul'in general's attacks.
Khera suddenly swings all of her hair sideways towards Jihyo at a speed imperceptible to her eyes. The huge pillar of dark, silken hair slams right on Jihyo's torso before she could even register what was going on, and she is sent flying and crashing towards the Sky Drop ride nearby. The ride rumbles a bit as some of the rides' chairs and bars fall from above.
Jihyo writhes in excruciating pain as she held her torso. While she did not sustain any broken bones, it still hurt like crazy.
"God... damn it... I didn't.. even see her attack.."
She then opens her eyes a bit. She sees Sana just next to the sky-high ride's platform, still unconscious yet safe.
But not for long.
The whole Sky Drop ride suddenly started to rumble more. Jihyo looks as the circular ride above slowly collapses in half and most of its remains are about to fall right towards her and Sana.