A change of mind

Jack wasn't able to reply as he held back his urges of screaming in pain due to his arm being ripped off by Averill. Yet Jack was still smiling brightly whilst gritting his teeth.

"Wait a moment." Averill was sharply staring at Jack who was trying to hold back his screams and holding onto his shoulder which was gushing blood out like crazy. Averill hand which was still holding onto Jack's ripped off arm suddenly moved, he placed the ripped off arm on the stump.

And just like that, the excruciating pain Jack was feeling suddenly vanished like it had never been there. He didn't feel any phantom pain, not even an ache, even the blood he had lost seemed to return to his body… Jack gazed at his shoulder and saw that his arm was connected to it.

"Consider yourself lucky, Jack. If it were any other day, I would have ripped your limbs dozens of times before stopping." Averill said so in a soothing voice, and it couldn't be denied either that he was saying the truth. He had ripped Selina's limbs more than what he did to Jack right now.

The reason Averill wasn't proceeding with ripping Jack's limbs over and over again was due to his mind was preoccupied with other thoughts that were more important. From what he could tell, it wouldn't be too long before everything will unfold.

"Now Jack, aside from all of your jokes, why are you here?" Averill knew one thing for certain, that a person like Jack wouldn't come for no reason with his life on the line. Averill stood slowly up from his crouched position whilst staring down at Jack who was still on his knees.

Jack on the other hand didn't get up, sweat had ruined his make-up and it looked horrendous right now. He slowly raised his head and gazed at Averill who still had a bright smile on his face and his sharp eyes that seemed to be wanting to pierce his skull. "ahaha… You know why I am here. I want my promised reward. I have told you the reason why I am doing this, and you said that you will fix it as long as I join you." Jack spoke in a hoarse voice, his throat was hurting badly, but Jack was speaking in the clearest voice he possibly could.

"Indeed. I will do my part the moment you do yours." Averill didn't hesitate to reply without any moment to think about it. "You said that you will join me, but you haven't done that yet." Averill could tell that Jack was trying to use him for his own benefits without committing to it.

Jack went silent for a brief moment as he tried standing up. He only came halfway up before he felt a pressure pushing him down to his knees. His knees smashed on the ground and shattered. "Aaahahah!" Jack's scream turned into laughter.

"MORE!" Jack couldn't help but to roar as he felt Averill's arm on his shoulder which was pressing him down to the ground. Before Jack could even think clearly, his gaze went hazy before being sent flying away backwards.

'Am I flying…?' Jack's thoughts wondered before his body crashed into a wall. Jack felt his entire body being crushed "Uawg." Jack threw up a mouthful of blood, he could feel it, his lungs had been pierced by his ribcage. Yet there was still a smile on Jack's face as he gazed through his hazy eyes towards Averill who was standing in front of him.

"Now… I don't like wasting time. Tell me, do you want to die right now? Because if there are no options left, I will have to do everything by myself which means you will not be needed any longer." Averill didn't even need to hold onto Jack's body as his body was imprinted on the wall, not even allowing him to fall to the ground to relax.

"ahahahaha…" Jack continued to laugh in a broken voice, he could feel it, that he was going to die in not too long if nothing changed. 'Can even a doctor save me at this point?' Jack wondered to himself as he gazed at Averill who was still seemingly calm. "A-verill… you know… I actually think that you are a crazy person… ahahaha…!" Whenever Jack laughed he would cough up blood, but the pain didn't bother Jack, it made him feel alive.

Averill walked one step forward, he was merely half a meter away from Jack right now. "You knew it before we even met, Jack. And I knew it the moment I saw you too. You were able to sense it when I first appeared in this city, right? In other's eyes, we might be crazy. Yet, we call ourselves something else, don't we, Jack? We call ourselves smart, not hindered by community and others that want to control us." Averill's was speaking in a soothing yet low voice so that only Jack was able to hear it.

"But, are we crazy or smart in a society like this? What do you think, Jack?" Averill asked Jack who was barely able to keep his eyes open, but Averill was able to see a glint appearing in Jack's eyes.

"I-in such a society… we are crazy…" Jack replied in a weak voice, his voice was going slower and weaker for every word he spoke. "but… we are not crazy. We see things other people denies seeing and disregards…" Jack was finally in his lifetime letting out the words he always wanted to say. 'I am not crazy. People are blind to everything that is happening around themselves, I was the only one who saw it… I only wanted to fix it, they would appreciate it in the end, but it all fell apart… It doesn't even matter…'

A weird expression appeared on Jack's face, the bright grin on his face vanished before a malicious smile appeared instead of it. His hazy eyes were once again focused, and a fire was welling up inside of him.

"Do it…!" Jack spoke in a weak yet strong voice whilst staring at Averill. "I, will do any part which is required of me…!" 'If I can't accomplish anything myself, I will abandon such a goal. The world only sees me as a crazy guy, I will show them what crazy looks like!' Jack's thoughts were muddled with his thoughts of wanting revenge on those who saw him as someone crazy in the past which pretty sums up the entire world.

Averill was still smiling brightly; he knew since the start how things would go out with Jack. He flickered his finger which sent his Magical Power inside of Jack and repaired his entire body and allowing him slightly more strength, which would compare to a decent hero on this planet.