Same Person... Right?
Through the *** , I caught sight of Jiha locked in battle with a massive bug boss.
...She was being pushed back. I desperately wanted to help, but my own situation was no better.
Kieeeek-!
"Ugh..."
A scorpion lunged at Seoyeon's throat with its pincers. She barely deflected it and unleashed a torrent of lightning.
ZZZAP-
She glanced ahead.
"...You crazy bastards."
An endless gray swarm. Behind her lay Taegeon, already collapsed from severe wounds. Trapped with no way to retreat or break through, she could only block the scorpions right in front of her. There wasn't even room to try anything clever—dealing with them was overwhelming enough.
"Get... the hell away from me, you disgusting freaks!"
Lightning surged wildly from her arm. It split open, blue light seeping through. She'd long abandoned any hope of coming out of this in one piece. All she could do now was hold back the scorpion wave.
Behind her was Taegeon. And far off, someone who hadn't given up, still facing the monster.
The overload pain barely registered anymore.
"Die—!"
ZZZCRACK-!
Kieeeek-!
The lightning arced through the scorpions. One, ten, twenty. In an instant, dozens collapsed, spewing acrid smoke and black fumes.
A final frenzy blending emotion, pain, and life itself.
Kieeeek-!
"Fuck... no end to them."
Through half-closed eyes, Seoyeon's vision filled as the gap left by the dead scorpions swiftly closed again. Hope shattered, desperation faltered, death approached.
And then.
WHOOSH-
BOOM-!
"Cough—!"
Even their final bastion lost its light.
But... no regrets.
They'd held as best they could, fought as hard as they could. Their one mistake? Growing complacent after hearing reports of anomalies outside the gate.
Seoyeon's crumbling fingertips reached out, pulling her toward the back. Blood trickled from her mouth as she took one step, two toward the unconscious Taegeon.
She lay down beside him, his expression forlorn.
"At least... I don't want to die resenting anyone."
Jiha. She'd done her utmost. Their shortcomings were just that—their own lack of skill and strength.
If Jiha had entered the gate alone instead of with them, she'd have slipped out unscathed even in this mess.
"Hic... What an idiotically kind smile, every time."
Whether he sensed her or just the warmth, Taegeon smiled faintly. Seoyeon's head settled beside his.
Quietly. Listening to the endless rustling of countless legs approaching.
Her fading hands pulled him close, and she closed her eyes.
"Still... not so bad."
That was when it happened.
FWOOOSH-!!!
"Warm..."
Taegeon's body heat, or something else—she didn't know. But in her final moments, it wasn't lonely or cold. A decent end.
And so Seoyeon's consciousness sank into the abyss...
But it didn't.
"What... the hell is this...?"
Sensation returned vividly to fingertips that shouldn't feel anything. Mana and stamina fully restored.
And beside her.
"What..."
Taegeon, riddled with mortal wounds moments ago, breathed easily, his body whole.
What had happened? Had reinforcements arrived?
Confused, Seoyeon's eyes scanned around.
And there she was.
"Jiha?"
A girl with rippling wings.
And.
"They're... gone."
The scorpions that had been closing in to kill them and Taegeon—vanished without a trace.
All that remained were shimmering white feathers scattered about.
But.
Kieeeek-!
Not completely. The ones right in front of her were gone, but from that forest, choking gray masses still crawled out.
"T-Taegeon, wake up!"
Seoyeon's grabbed his shoulders, shaking wildly. They had to regroup before the scorpions reached them.
"Ugh—what... what happened?"
"What happened is for later. Grab your shield first!"
As Taegeon staggered up, blinking back to awareness.
Kieeeek-!
ZZAP-!
She blocked the scorpions already nearly upon them. Taegeon snatched his nearby shield at the sight of the charging horde.
SWISH-
CLANG-!
"Ngh—!"
He batted away incoming tails and pincers.
ZZAP-
Seoyeon's lightning struck the gap without missing a beat.
"So what the hell's going on...!"
"Beats me. Eyes front!"
Taegeon had questioned during the brief lull, but the scorpions swarmed again.
Dozens of pincers and tails aimed at them.
Prioritizing the mad swarm over intel, Taegeon jammed his shield into the ground like a wall.
"Hoo—"
Long exhale, bracing for the impact.
But.
Thud-
SCREECH-
"...Huh?"
The shock was far milder than expected.
"What the...?"
Uneasy, Taegeon peered beyond the shield.
"Eh?!"
Seoyeon's startled voice from behind. He turned—and a thick indigo bolt of lightning streaked past his head.
ZZZCRACK-!
Kieeeek-!!!
It electrocuted and incinerated the scorpions beyond in a flash.
"Wh-what the hell."
Something was off. The depth of their scorpion-slaying had changed. He'd struggled against one earlier, yet now dozens' assaults felt trivial. Seoyeon's lightning, once toasting two or three, now blazed on another level.
Had they awakened while he was out? Like some comic-book trope happening for real?
As the thought crossed his mind.
"No way... Jiha?"
An unthinkable name slipped from Seoyeon's lips.
Jiha? Had she done something?
Taegeon whipped around toward where Jiha might be.
And there.
CLANG-!
KUUEEEEEK-!!!
An angel with rippling wings darted about, clashing with the boss.
"...That's really Jiha?"
The same person he'd just chatted with? As Taegeon tilted his head in doubt.
CLANG-!
"Ngh—!"
"J-Jiha?!"
The boss's front leg whipped back, flinging Jiha toward them. Thankfully, no crash or major wounds.
"Oh? You two okay?"
Seoyeon's voice drew Jiha's gaze their way.
"Ah, yeah. No idea what happened, but seems we're good for now."
"Really? That's a relief..."
Jiha smiled warmly at Seoyeon's words.
'...What the.'
Taegeon eyed her with a subtle frown. Same face, yet it felt like staring at a stranger. The Jiha in his memory didn't overlap with this one. Her demeanor and speech felt subtly off from before. And though he hadn't looked closely enough to remember clearly, her appearance seemed different too. Was Jiha always that white-haired?
Such thoughts, when.
KUEEEK-!
The boss roared again.
"...Haa—sorry, you two. Hold on just a bit longer. I'll wrap it up soon."
Her gaze turned coldly toward the roar.
With an apology, Jiha shot back into the fray.
"...Seoyeon's, that's the Jiha we know, right?"
"Huh? What're you on about all of a sudden."
Seizing the moment, Taegeon voiced his doubt.
But Seoyeon's gaze held only concern, like he'd lost it.
"Quit the weird talk and watch front—more coming."
If even she said that, maybe it was his imagination. He barely knew Jiha anyway.
Kieek-!
Snapped from his reverie by the swarm, Taegeon raised his shield.
* A short while later.
The scorpions noticeably thinned, letting the pair clean up swiftly.
"Hoo—definitely that light from before? A ton died."
Seoyeon's caught her breath, surveying. No more appeared.
Relief softened her tense expression.
"Light?"
Taegeon asked what she meant.
"That light Jiha emitted—it wiped out the scorpions."
"And as it spread, wounds vanished, body felt oddly light."
Seoyeon's recalled the enveloping glow. Blinding yet warmly comforting. Strengthening, healing effects matching tales of priests and buffers she'd heard online or from others.
"Yeah...?"
"Yeah. But should we even help her?"
Taegeon's expression was odd, but Seoyeon's brushed it off, pointing toward Jiha.
She zipped around the boss, slashing wounds everywhere. Too fast to track visually.
"Probably just get in the way if we butt in?"
Taegeon agreed. He'd lost track of her severing the boss's tail too.
"Man, so unfair. A buffer who's killer in a fight."
Seoyeon's teased, watching Jiha.
"Hmm, looks like it's wrapping up. Prep our stuff first?"
"Yeah, grab Jiha's bag too."
Taegeon and Seoyeon's gathered gear, waiting for the fight's end.
Jiha timed her finale perfectly.
Seoyeon's watched in awe as Jiha pulled distance, raising her sword high.
FWOOOSH-!!!
Click-!
Intense radiance poured from the blade.
The boss, drained of stamina and strength, didn't even twitch.
Jiha stared coldly. Her eyes held purity laced with subtle madness.
She said nothing.
Just raised the sword.
FWOOOSH-
Blinding light engulfed vision around the blade.
And.
The massive sword descended silently.
BOOOOM-
Space itself tore open.