When the first ray of sunlight pierced through the tent's fabric and touched his face, Matt opened his eyes, which briefly glowed with a light blue hue before returning to normal.
Stepping out of the tent, Matt ignored the smell of charred corpses and headed toward Jason's cabin.
Looking at the cabin, Matt could sense Jason's presence. The creature was sitting in front of a groggy Whitney, who was bound with chains. Jason seemed to be in some kind of hibernation, completely motionless.
Matt chose not to hide. He wasn't afraid of the creature. In truth, Jason was more troublesome due to his peculiarities and pseudo-immortality than because of his raw strength. Of course, that was only true for Matt—Jason was a walking disaster for a normal human.
In fact, if it weren't for Jason's habit of always resurrecting, Matt wouldn't need such a nuanced and problematic plan. He could've simply stormed into Crystal Lake and decapitated him. But unless Matt wanted to remain in that cursed place, fighting a two-meter-tall zombie every month that would return angrier each time, that strategy was pointless.
He needed something more permanent—and Whitney was the key. Or rather, the connection Jason had forged with her was.
Matt decided not to enter the cabin. The overwhelming negative energy inside would weaken his powers.
He waited outside and shouted,
"Whitney! It's me, Matt!"
Whitney, caught between consciousness and unconsciousness, stirred at the sound of his voice. Hope flickered in her tone as she yelled back.
"Matt! I'm trapped in the bathroom! Hurry and get help—"
But before she could finish, Jason, now awakened by Matt's voice, struck her on the back of the neck, knocking her out cold.
Matt frowned as he turned his gaze to the cabin door. He could feel that thing moving closer until the door creaked open, and Jason stood there, staring at him. It was as if the creature recognized that Matt wasn't a normal human.
"Treating your mother like that? You're a very naughty boy," Matt mocked, testing to see if the creature had any reasoning beyond animalistic instincts.
All he got in response was a demonic growl, and then a furious Jason charged at him.
Matt felt no fear. In truth, few things in existence could scare him—not after staring into the Void for eternity and facing the Creator of all things.
Still, he had to admit, the sight of a deformed, two-meter-tall zombie wielding a blood-stained machete and coming straight at him was intimidating.
Shaking off unnecessary thoughts, Matt channeled his angelic energy, forming a glowing gladius in his hand.
As Jason closed in, preparing to deliver a fatal strike, a faint blue glow flickered in Matt's pupils. With a slight sidestep, he narrowly dodged the attack.
Caught off guard, Jason missed his target, and without hitting anything solid, his momentum carried him forward, causing him to stumble.
Seeing an opening, Matt struck at Jason's neck with the gladius. Unexpectedly, Jason managed to block the blow with his hand. Though he lost his hand in the process, he stopped the decapitation.
Jason staggered back a few meters, stoically observing the stump where his hand once was.
"Oh, so you do have some self-preservation instinct. Good. I was hoping to end this quickly, but you're not cooperating. Still, this ends now," Matt said, frowning as he glanced at the severed hand lying on the ground.
Channeling more energy into his gladius, causing it to emit a faint blue light, Matt rushed toward the monster. Jason responded with even more savagery, charging forward with his machete raised high.
As they closed the distance, Matt dodged to the side again, this time with a small leap. With precise aim, he drove the gladius into Jason's neck, causing the creature to drop to his knees, barely clinging to life.
Seeing this, Matt swung his weapon again, finally decapitating Jason.
Surveying his surroundings as he considered his next move, Matt stepped into the cabin.
The sight of a table covered with rotting food made him grimace in disgust.
"That bastard only thinks about killing. Can't even clean up his own house," Matt muttered under his breath.
He made his way to the bathroom and found Whitney unconscious. Grabbing a chair, he propped it against the bathroom door and sat down, waiting for her to wake up—and figuring out how to convince her to go along with his plan.