"I would what?" Arex felt utterly disappointed upon receiving that news.
He still couldn't quite absorb what was really going on now this mysterious woman was already claiming that he would soon eventually turn into a monster, just right after she repeatedly wants to take his soul.
"You heard me," the woman said in a dull tone. "I told you that the jinnx had already evolved while merged into your soul. It was absorbing the negative energy your body had been generating, and as a result, it was beginning to manifest, potentially transforming you into a fierce and uncontrollable creature—a berserker."
Despite how the woman was trying to explain things to Arex, he still found it hard to absorb it. There was a part of him that didn't want to accept such fate. He had been trying to grasp into the series of unexplainable events ever since earlier.
Arex's sanity would be pushed to its limits if he were to face the unimaginable reality of transforming into a monstrous creature.
"No! That's purely lies! I've been trying to make sense of this whole situation and your persistent desire to eliminate me, even though your weapon becomes ineffective the moment it touches me. But this—"Arex scoffed, wearing a sarcastic grin on his face, "—this is just way unbearable! I can't keep up with this foolishness anymore! It's just too much to handle, I can't handle this nonsense any longer!" he exclaimed, shouting in frustration.
Arex was expecting that the mysterious woman would eventually take back everything she said and just simply tell Arex that it was all just a prank she was just trying to pull on him. However, moments have passed and there was not even a single word that came from the mysterious woman to confirm what Arex was hoping for.
In the end, the woman simply walked closer to Arex and replied, "You seriously think I was messing up with you? oh, Humans indeed. You always need receipts to everything to proof its veracity, don't you?"
"And why won't we be? It is because someone like you keeps polluting my mind ever since a while ago!" Arex shot back. However, as he finished his response, Arex abruptly noticed a shift in his tone.
It was deeper and a lot terrifying to hear. Arex wondered if this was the thing that this mysterious woman had been telling him all these time?
Arex pondered in the depths of his thoughts if this could be the very thing he had dreaded since learning about the malevolent jinnx that had devoured his soul and was now emerging within him, poised to seize control of his body and transform him into a berserker.
It never really occurred to Arex how swiftly the shift could be, it was like just a moment ago when this mysterious woman was actually telling him about the jinnx and right now, it made Arex felt as though it has was quickly seizing his entire body as time passed by.
Arex swiftly diverted his gaze to the mysterious woman who scythe's blade rested on the ground. She was looking at Arex as though implying that she was right all along.
"Was this it? Am I really going to turn into a monster? What will happen to me if I become one?" Arex asked, sounding paranoid and helpless as his voice had completely turned more horrific.
Before the woman could even answer Arex, he immediately felt as though his muscles were having some cramps all over. It was giving him the discomfort, until that discomfort eventually turned into a pain that was tormenting and unbearable for Arex.
Then, as Arex was forced to lie down due to the excruciating pain he was enduring, the woman eventually walked a bit closer, "You asked me if this was it? When I know for sure you already realized the answer to your question. Well, to clarify that, yes, it is what you are thinking. And the current phase you're going through right now is your mutation. You'll eventually turn into a low grade Jinnx once the mutation completes. And after that, it would be a lot easier for me to kill you by then."
"There's no way left for me to survive out of this, huh?" Arex muttered through clenched teeth, his face contorted with the effort of bearing the agony. "Either way, you'd still kill me regardless if the mutation succeed or not because of the Jinnx inside me?"
"I'm surprised you actually have a small brain after all." the woman taunted Arex.
However, it didn't even bothered Arex at all. What concerns Arex more was the fact that there was no more option left to extract the jinnx out of him without the need to kill him.
In the end, Arex would only have to accept the fact that there are some things that he couldn't simply change and that includes his fate and destiny in life. Arex pondered that if it was indeed the end for him, then he might as well begin to accept the truth.
Out of nowhere, Arex found himself fighting to rise from his prone position, battling through the agony of the transformation. "Hey, I want you to answer me in all honesty." he called out, desperate for a response. "What would occur if you spared my life following the mutation?"
The woman was hesitant whether she would entertain Arex's queries. She was reluctant thinking it wouldn't even be necessary for Arex to know about it knowing in the end, she would still have to kill him anyway.
For some reason, the woman felt like it would be too illogical to tell Arex the horrific fate he would have to go through after the mutation, especially when he was already suffering so much to endure the current process of mutation happening to him.
But since the way Arex looked at the woman while waiting for an answer tells how eager Arex was to find out about it, the woman finally resolved into a heavy sigh as she replied, "You would eventually turn into a monster that would wreak havoc into this world. It's yet for us to know what abilities or powers you would gain after the mutation, however, you'll be unable to control yourself by then."
Arex let out a frustrated sigh as he struggled with the changes happening to his body. this time, it became even more heightened. It was overwhelming, almost enough to make him want to surrender and succumb to its power.
"Is that all there is?" "Arex inquired.
And the mysterious woman quickly replied, "Yes."
However, what Arex inquired after somehow caused the woman to become a bit shunned in silence as Arex asked, "Would it be possible then for you to let me stay alive in the next five minutes?"
The woman quickly got annoyed at the reckless and most stupid question or more like a favor asked from her.
"I'm not yet insane enough to let you go just like that especially after you turned into a jinnx." she shot back at Arex.
"I know. And I accept my fate, however, there's just one thing I have to do before I die from your blade."
"What?"
"I want to avenge my grandfather. He became a crippled man because of those delinquents who ambushed him on his way home and robbed him off with their money. I-I tried to beat their leader after cornering him at the arcade. And now they're all after me."
"What are you trying to employ?"
"I-I…I want to use the abilities that I would get after the mutation to kill those bastards and fully avenge my grandfather. In that way, if I die after today I won't have to worry about them getting their hands on my grandfather again."
"It's such a misfortune that has befallen your grandfather. However, I simply could not allow you to risk doing something like that. There hasn't been any record that a human was able to gain his consciousness after the mutation. Mostly went berserk and had cost wreckage, killing lives of unimaginable numbers in a day."
In the end, the mysterious woman failed to agree with Arex's request.
It was Arex's last resort after the mutation completes. However, given the risk that comes with it, he also understands why the mysterious woman couldn't possibly just let him do as he wishes.
The following minutes became a series of torturing madness for Arex. His painful screams were echoing across the open space of the long bridge. He was loosing his sanity while at the same time, his body was experiencing a rapid transformation.
His hands and legs had turned black and his veins were glowing in red and blue bright colors. It was rapidly climbing up into his head, covering his entire face and making his natural blue eyes become red and blue.
The mysterious woman observes the unfolding transformation of Arex, anticipating the moment when she will strike after his mutation is complete. With a firm grip on the extended handle of her scythe, she uttered the words, "Activating, Wisteria," desperately hoping that this time, it would not let her down.
A burst of light enveloped Arex, accompanied by a swirling haze of darkness. Unexpected consequences soon followed, catching the enigmatic woman off guard. She was forcefully propelled away from Arex by the force of the explosion.
"Shit!" exclaimed the enigmatic woman, as she desperately struggled against the powerful gust of wind, determined not to be swept away. With a swift motion, she drove the pointed tip of the scythe into the earth, creating a sturdy anchor to prevent herself from being swept away.
Following the sudden explosion, the mysterious woman quickly got back on her feet soon as the black mist had fully dispersed. She was fully prepared to kill the Jinnx beyond the dark mist, however, she was shocked to find that the Jinnx was not even there.
"Where on earth did that Jinnx disappear to?" the woman pondered, scanning her surroundings. Things didn't go according to her plan. She often finds Jinnx to be quite unintelligent after their transformation, making it easier for her to eliminate them immediately.
However, this particular Jinnx was rather a hybrid if it was able to make an escape after the mutation as though it knew that she was after its life.
The enigmatic woman carefully surveyed her surroundings, but was taken by surprise when, out of nowhere, the Jinnx pounced on her, causing her to unintentionally drop her scythe.
What the Jinnx did was totally for the mysterious woman's disadvantage as not only did her scythe slip from her grasp and land a short distance away, but she also found herself pinned to the ground with the Jinnx looming over her, seemingly intent on devouring her alive.