Jihyo sees the Scraper's fingers fall off as it howls in pain, it's blood tainting the snow blue. She then looks at the cane.
A symbol appears on its hilt as it splits apart and then fades. The wooden cane suddenly seems to be imbued with light energy, forming a bladed essence at its tip as it materializes into a katana.
Jihyo's eyes widen.
She couldn't believe that she was now holding an actual weapon--- unbelievably, a regular wooden cane that turned into a katana--- and use it to easily slice a creature she previously thought was nigh indestructible.
"What is this..?!" Jihyo thought. "I don't unders---"
The Scraper soon wildly swings its other arm towards Jihyo. She tried to parry the attack, but she panicked and sloppily swung the katana in the wrong direction. She gets smacked into a metal pole, making it collapse.
Surprisingly, Jihyo didn't flinch, nor felt a lot of pain when her back landed on the metal pole. She stood up slowly, holding the katana tight on her hands as she gets lost in thought. None of these make sense to her.
The cube-like structure that attacked South Korea.
The icy wasteland that was once Daegu.
These horrible creatures.
This mystical cane.
But none of it mattered anymore. What matters is that they survive, find her family, her members, and figure out what the hell is going on.
The only good thing about this whole apocalypse was that this cane; this weapon, made their ordeal much, much easier.
Jihyo took a deep breath as the blade glistened.
She then wildly sprinted towards the fleshy Scraper. The creature seemed to perceive Jihyo's hostile approach as it charges toward her, swinging it's arm with speed. Jihyo quickly evades the golem's attacking arm instinctively, and with a lot of struggle and footwork, slices it off with the glowing blade. The Scraper then attempts to stomp Jihyo with it's foot, but once again, she manages to spin around it and slices one of its knees. The icy monstrosity falls on one knee as it roars in pain.
The creature was now incapacitated as Jihyo instinctively runs to it for the final blow. She quickly spun her whole body and swings the glowing blade upward, generating a pillar of light that slashes the Scraper's snowy face in two.
The Scraper's body falls on the ground with a loud thud.
Jihyo suddenly then drops the weapon as it returns into a regular wooden cane once more. She sits down in shock.
"Oh god.. oh god.. w-what the hell..?! h-how did I do those things?! That can't be me.. I-I.." Jihyo stuttered in disbelief.
Zeke watched the whole clash unfold before his eyes. He was in disbelief as well. He has seen strange things in his life, but he never expected to see one of his fave idols using a katana to kill a monster in an apocalyptic ice age.
"This is too bizarre for me... This must be a dream.." Zeke said to himself as he shook his head.
Jihyo sees the wooden cane as it's light energy fades. She picks it up and hurries back to Zeke and the old man.
"Zeke, d-did you see that? I.." Jihyo stuttered. Zeke looks at her for a while, still also trying to process what just happened.
"None of this makes sense. I mean.. How.. did you... cut through that? And how come you can use it so gracefully?" Zeke finally replied.
"RIGHT? I.. I'm not even good at handling weapons.. But it must be because of this weird cane.." She said, holding the cane in her hand.
Zeke looks at the cane, then at the old man.
"Let's worry about that later. We need to get this old man to safety first... Wherever that is." Zeke said.
"Right, right.. I'll find us a place to rest. I think I know one.." she said. She then scouts around the place for a while, finally spotting what she's been looking for: a market district not too far from their location.
"There's a market district nearby where we can treat his wounds. That market is famous for traditional medicine. We can carry and treat him there." Jihyo said.
"As long as it's safe," Zeke replied.
"Not sure about that, though... but I am sure it is. I'll scout ahead of us when we get there just to make sure." She smiled a bit as she helped Zeke carry the old man.
They prod along the street as Zeke and Jihyo remain vigilant of her surroundings. They soon arrive in front of the market district: the Seomun Market.
Suddenly, a man and a woman appeared from within the district and approached them, sporting huge bags and a thick coat with metal plates on them.
They both looked like they were in their mid-20s.
The woman had a short, black hair, with brown eyes seemingly curious of Zeke and Jihyo. The man had a long, black hair that was tied to a bun, and he looked like he was cautious of the two.
"Hey! More survivors! Do you need help..?" The woman said.
"Yes. This old man is in danger." Jihyo said. The woman takes a good look at Zeke, then the old man, then Jihyo. She then gasps.
"Hold on.. aren't you.. Park Jihyo?" She said, her face looking surprised.
"Well--"
"Oh my god! It is you! Hey, Hyung-won! It's Jihyo.. from TWICE!" She said with giddy. The man puts his hand on his face.
"Sorry about my sister.." The man replied, letting out an audible sigh. "My name is Lee Hyungwon, and this is my very energetic little sister, Lee Minji."
"You already know me..." Jihyo said as she chuckled. "This is my friend, Zeke."
Zeke was taken aback by what Jihyo said. This is the first time she called him a friend.
"Oh, hello, Zeke-nim!" Minji said, waving at him. "It must be nice to be a close friend of Jihyo, huh?"
"Ah, uhm.." Zeke was speechless as Jihyo gave a small smile.
"That's enough, Minji. They need help immediately, so we have to help them." Hyung-won said, assessing the injured old man."We have a base not too far from here where we settled after those icy bombs fell. There's a medic there, perhaps he can help."
"Survivors.." Jihyo thought.
"Alright. Please, lead the way." Jihyo said as they begun walking. They move along ever so slowly and quietly so that they won't accidentally come close to the gems on the ground or Scrapers that might possibly lurk within the place.
The huge place was a lost cause. Most of the buildings inside have either collapsed completely or frozen over. Most of the carts have fallen as well, with alot of food and other supplies scattered around.
As they continued to walk, Minji talked to them.
"Is this your first time on the district?" She asks.
"I think so." Jihyo replied. "But Zeke here, its probably his first time."
"Oh, really?" Minji replied as Zeke nodded.
Minji let out an audible sigh.
"Well, Zeke-nim... This place used to be bustling with energy. You would've loved it here. The transition is unreal.." She said. "You could watch the crowd build and grow, and watch them disappear. People living, having fun, buying things, enjoying themselves. You'd think they were preparing for a festival or something, constantly, too."
"I sure would've.." Zeke said as they slowly moved along. He looks at Jihyo, who was seemingly lost in thought.
"You alright?" Zeke asked her. She snaps out of her thoughts.
"Y...Yeah. It's just that... I keep discovering more and more weird stuff ever since that alien-like cube fell. It's kinda too much to handle. Blizzards, monsters.." She replied, chuckling. "Especially this cane. And this old man... Is this some sort of prophecy? Am I some sort of.. chosen one or something?"
"No idea about that.." Zeke replied. "But I think that thing was meant for you."
"Nope. I don't think so. It's owned by this old man." Jihyo replied.
The four then look at the heavily injured old man.
"We have to treat him fast, though," Jihyo said. "Some of his open wounds are freezing over."
"We're close. Just a few more--"
They suddenly hear growls, followed by clashing of metal, then a few gunshots.
Minji and Hyungwon's eyes widen.
"The base, it's under attack!" Minji exclaimed as they all hurried towards the noise.
At the near end of the district premises, just before the avenue, the four sees the base, with the barricades on it's entrance now broken. A clash between a massive number of snowmen and some survivors with guns, rakes, blades and long sticks is breaking out--- and it seems like the survivors were losing, as more men are starting to fall one by one, heavily injured by the icy claws of the cold creatures.
Jihyo knew to herself that she has to help them. She looks at Zeke, with his face seemingly having the same thought.
"Hey, um, Hyungwon, Minji. Can you hold this old man for us..?"
"S..sure, what are you going to do..?" Minji said, taking the old man's arm over her shoulder.
"We are going to help them." Jihyo said, holding the cane.
Minji looked surprised. "You're going to wha--"
"Zeke, you good?" Jihyo looked at Zeke with a small smile on her face. "I could use some assistance."
"Well.. After you, then!" Zeke said as they sprinted towards to ongoing clash.
A few snowmen notices their approach and begins to charge at them.
Despite still being tired and a bit nervous, Jihyo manages to dive through the snowmen as the symbol once again appears on the cane, glistening in prismatic light.
She swings downward with much force, and at least two snowmen get sliced in half. Zeke soon follows with his pipe wrench, slamming a snowman out of the way.
"Wow. You seem to know how to use it already. Did you actually take swordsmanship classes in secret?" Zeke said, evading an attack from one of the snowmen.
"No..?!" Jihyo replied.
"Then what's with the graceful moves?" Zeke asked.
"I don't know. This cane... It's strange, and it gives me goosebumps just by holding it! But... I feel more powerful! What the hell?" Jihyo said as they finally arrive at the area of the clash, swinging and whacking the snowmen off the base one by one.
The survivors inside kept on hitting and shooting the snowmen, but one of them notices Zeke and Jihyo fighting the snowmen from the outside.
"Keep shooting, keep attacking, but protect the two outside!" One of them screamed as the survivors started noticing Zeke and Jihyo fighting more of the frosty creatures.
Jihyo glows, and feels her surroundings slow down a bit as she keeps on fighting with agility. She notices the bullets pass through, percieves an attack from a snowman behind her, and retaliates. She figures this was the effect of holding the cane, and that it actually helps her defeat the raging snowmen easier.
Zeke, on the other hand, barely keeps up as he painfully struggles with two of them. He lands a good blow to the head on one snowman with his pipe wrench and uppercuts the other. He sees as Jihyo clash with at least two snowmen at once, blocking their icy claws swiftly with her blade.
The shooting survivors try their best not to hit the two.
"How are you holding up, Zeke?! Do you need help?!" Jihyo said, destroying one of the snowmen.
"No, no, I'm... good!" He replied, bonking another snowman to the head repeatedly with lots of effort, still ignoring the pain on his body from his previous fights.
With the combined efforts of Zeke, Jihyo, and the survivors inside the base, the snowmen's numbers soon dwindled, and within a few minutes, the clash was over, with broken and crushed snowmen scattered along the market road.
Jihyo takes a deep breath and looks at Zeke--- who is smashing an already destroyed snowman head repeatedly with his pipe wrench, letting out frustrated grunts. He then sits on the ground, panting heavily.
"You good?" She chuckles as she walks up to him.
"Yeah.. turns out it's a lot harder if you don't have a mystical weapon on your hands.." Zeke said, gasping for air.
"Hey, you did great!" She chuckled.
Zeke shook his head. "Nah." He chuckled as well. "You probably didn't even need my help.. You were great on your own."
"But you both are, and I'm impressed! Both of your fighting skills show promise." An old, raspy voice suddenly said from behind.
Zeke and Jihyo turned around as they see the old man walk up to them, looking perfectly well and able to walk. His bruises and deep wounds were nearly gone. Behind him was Minji and Hyungwon, looking equally confused on what's going on.
"H-he suddenly just stood up, and then his bruises started disappearing.." Hyungwon said.
The four of them just stood there in disbelief, trying to process what's going on. The old man that was heavily injured and knocked out cold just mere minutes ago was now standing right in front of them, alive and full of vigor.
The old man started speaking again.
"From the looks of it, I see you're still confused as to how I'm able to recover from those horrible wounds. I know I've got a lot of explaining to do, so we should talk." The old man said.
"Yes, sir.. First, this cane... then the way I beat those stupid monsters.. then you... what's going on..? What's happening? Things out there don't make sense. This doesn't make sense." Jihyo said, looking disturbed.
"I know you have a lot of questions. I don't know what's going on out there, but the very least I can explain to you what's with me and that cane. Would that suffice?" The old man replied.
The four looked at each other and just nodded as a survivor from inside the base comes to them. He looked like he was in his 30's, and was clad in a jacket covered with metal plates all over.
"Thank you for your assistance in today's clash." He said as he bows. "I'm the acting leader here, my name is Yoon Minhyuk. Anyone that aids us in this cruel apocalypse is automatically considered a friend. You are welcome to stay here, if you need to. Please, come in."
Jihyo looks at the old man and bows. "Um.. sir.. may I suggest you come in too? Just to make sure you're actually okay.."
"You are too kind, Ms. Jihyo. Oh, and call me Seojun. No need for formal greetings, young one." The old man said as he chuckled.
"Okay. Right this way, Seojun-nim." Jihyo said as they all went inside the intact, fortified district area.