Waking up dazed and disoriented, Whitney tried to remember what had happened. When she finally managed to, she was about to scream Matt's name until she saw a figure sitting in a chair a few meters away from her.
At first, she thought it was Jason, and a feeling of despair and helplessness surged. But as her eyes strained, she realized it was Matt, sitting there, looking intently at her.
"Matt, is that really you?" Whitney was on the verge of tears. "He killed Mike, Matt. He killed him in front of me." Whitney started crying like a child. She thought she wouldn't make it out alive, but when she saw Matt there, her fear and hatred turned into hope and sadness.
Matt, who had been sitting, stood up and summoned a gladius into his hand, causing Whitney, still crying, to widen her eyes.
Matt stood in front of Whitney and, with a precise strike, cut the chain that bound her. "Can you walk?" Matt asked as he crouched to her level and wiped away the tears from her face with his fingers.
Whitney, still processing what she had seen, tried to stand up, but her legs wouldn't obey.
Seeing that, Matt scooped her up in a bridal carry, making Whitney let out a small, surprised gasp, and carried her away from that place.
"I'm sorry, Whitney. You shouldn't have gone through this. I should have come sooner." Seeing her condition, something inside Matt snapped—a small, but existing, trace of empathy.
"You couldn't have known this would happen, Matt. Let's just leave. I need to find my friends and tell them what happened." Whitney whispered.
Matt heard that and decided not to say anything. She had already suffered enough.
As they were leaving the house, Whitney saw Jason's headless body and looked at Matt, surprised. "You really killed him... I saw him break concrete with his hands, but you managed." Whitney said, shocked.
"He's not dead yet..." Matt looked at Jason's body with a grim expression.
"But how? Look at him, he's headless! Even a monster like him dies if he loses his head, right?" Matt didn't answer. Using his powers, he created a chair made of pure light and placed Whitney in it.
Whitney, astonished, looked at him and stammered, "How—how are you doing this?"
Matt stared at her for a while and spoke, "I'm a hunter. I hunt these things. It's my job, and with the job comes these abilities in the package."
"Are you a friend of my brother's? Is he also one of these hunters?" Whitney asked, still trying to understand.
"No, at least not in this universe." Matt said with a small laugh.
"What?"
"Nothing... Back to the point, he's not dead. His soul will restore his body in a month."
Whitney looked at the corpse horrified, thinking that the demon would return in a month. "Can't we do anything to stop this?" Whitney looked at Matt with hope in her eyes.
Matt, who had been beside her, sat on the ground and looked at the sky without responding.
After what seemed like minutes, Matt answered, "There is a way, but I can't do it alone."
"I'll help you, I'll do anything to see this monster die for good."
"It's going to be dangerous, Whitney. You might die in a horrible way." Matt turned and looked at her. "What do I need to do?" Whitney said, resolute.
"Jason's soul is in a chaotic dimension, parallel to ours. That's where he gathers dark energy to rebuild his body in this plane. There's a ritual, an ancient spell that will let me go to that dimension, to the location where his soul is, but it needs to be now. He's in his most fragile moment."
"What do we need to do?" Whitney, who had been listening attentively, quickly responded.
"Two things."
"A strong connection to him, a living connection." Matt answered, staring at Whitney.
"Me? How could that be?" Whitney responded, confused.
Matt took a photo from his pocket and showed it to her. "This is Jason's mother when she was younger. Does she remind you of anyone?"
When Whitney saw the photo, she was shocked. "She looks like me... so that's why he didn't kill me." Whitney finally solved the puzzle that had been tormenting her. "Alright, I'm the connection you need. What else do you need?"
"This is the dangerous part. I need energy, a lot of energy to fuel the spell."
"Don't tell me you're planning to use me as a giant battery, right?!" Whitney said, forcing a laugh. But when she saw Matt staring at her seriously, she was shocked. "Damn, you really plan to use me as a battery?"
"I don't have, not even close, the energy needed for the ritual. I'd probably die before completing half of it. But inside you, there's the most powerful source of energy known in the arcane world."
"And what is that energy?"
"Your soul."
Whitney nearly fell out of the chair when she heard that, trembling. She said carefully, "Are you going to steal my soul?"
"Just a touch is needed. With a touch, I'll be able to absorb enough energy for the ritual."
"Will I die?" Whitney asked, afraid.
"If everything goes right, you'll just feel tired for a few minutes."
"And if it doesn't?"
"Your body will explode into millions of pieces."
Whitney closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to fall. "Is this the only way?"
"The only way."
The two were silent. Whitney opened her eyes and looked at Jason's corpse, her expression hardening with resolve. "Alright, do it."