[Chapter 69: Even the Undead Must Die]
As Daniel shifted to the side, a blade of light sliced past him, crashing into the doorframe.
Wood chips flew instantly, and a huge gap was hacked into the frame.
Daniel backed away, increasing the distance between himself and the figure gripping the weapon.
He saw right away: a towering giant, over six and a half feet tall, radiating intense evil energy. The figure wore a hockey mask and wielded a rusty machete.
The immense height alone exuded a crushing pressure.
It was Jason.
Jason Voorhees, the Undead. There was no doubt.
When Daniel spotted the road sign reading "Crystal Lake," he had already suspected it was Jason.
And seeing the lake sparkling like a crystal only confirmed his suspicion.
Now, finally facing Jason in person, Daniel didn't feel surprised at all.
...
Missing the first strike, Jason swung the machete again with brutal force.
Though Daniel's chainsaw packed power, it would have been damaged by a direct hit. He had to rely on physical agility, dodging left and right within the cramped wooden cabin.
Fortunately, his Divine Empowerment gave him much greater speed than before.
Jason's relentless slashes were all evaded, but Daniel still felt the pressure mounting. Despite his Divine Empowerment, taking a hit would have been agonizing.
Suddenly, Daniel's eyes caught a rusty axe leaning against the cabin wall.
Quickly shutting down his chainsaw and storing it in his System space, he grabbed the axe.
Though awkward as a sword substitute, Daniel applied his Sanctum Blade Technique with it.
Coupled with his Divine Empowerment, the tide of the fight shifted immediately in his favor.
Jason relied solely on brute force, lacking any real skill in his swings.
If it weren't for the awkwardness of the weapon, Daniel would have already chopped him into chunks.
Boom!
As the axe sank deep, a bolt of lightning erupted, coursing through Jason's body.
His entire form convulsed, movement momentarily halted.
Seizing the moment, Daniel leaped up, gripping the axe with both hands and brought it down in a devastating strike.
Jason's head split cleanly in two, blood gushing everywhere.
Boom!
His massive body collapsed like a mountain of shattered glass, shaking the cabin's foundations.
Blood pooled across the floor.
It seemed Jason had been killed by that blow.
Yet Daniel heard no System notification.
That meant... Jason hadn't truly died.
Daniel wasn't surprised -- he was undead, after all. Normal attacks wouldn't finish him off.
If it had been that easy, Jason wasn't the terror he was made out to be.
Setting the axe aside, Daniel pulled out the chainsaw once more.
Whirr... The chainsaw roared as Daniel began hacking.
Blood splattered as he cut Jason's body into over a dozen pieces.
Covered in gore himself, Daniel looked like a butcher.
Still, no prompt came through his System.
"He's not dead... not even sliced to pieces?"
Daniel stared in disbelief.
Even dismembered, Jason refused death.
Though, even if revival was inevitable, it would take time.
Daniel quickly entered the inner room and collected Bella's corpse into his System space.
With her body secured, his mission was officially complete.
...
Returning to Jason's remains, Daniel watched as the severed limbs subtly began reassembling themselves. The blood once spilled went back into the wounds. The split flesh knit together slowly.
"What terrifying vitality... such monstrous regeneration."
Daniel was genuinely shocked Jason could still be considered undead after all that damage.
After contemplating, he set down the chainsaw and slammed his fist down hard.
Infused with crackling lightning power, the punch tore into a chunk of flesh, sending gore flying.
Simultaneously, lightning scorched the wound, charring it black.
Through his Spiritual Perception Technique, Daniel could sense the evil energy dispersing from the injured flesh.
"There's a way," Daniel's heart surged with hope.
As long as he kept applying concentrated lightning to disperse the evil energy inside Jason, he could end the undead's cycle of revival.
But Jason's massive frame held densely packed evil energy, rolling like a storm.
Daniel's single Divine Empowerment ability didn't generate enough power to disperse it fully.
Even using all the Evil-Breaking Seals stored in his System space wouldn't suffice.
After pondering, Daniel thought of another plan.
With a wave of his hand, he attempted to store a small chunk of Jason's body into his System space.
[Ding! This item possesses sentience. If collected into System space, its sentience will be erased. Do you wish to collect it?]
Daniel smiled. "Collect."
[Sentience too high. Collection failed!]
Startled, Daniel muttered, "Failed? Sentience too high?"
He paused before grabbing the chainsaw again and continuing to chop.
Soon, Jason's body, once cut into a dozen pieces, was shredded into hundreds.
Daniel tried collecting again.
[Ding! This item possesses sentience. If collected into System space, its sentience will be erased. Do you wish to collect it?]
"Collect!"
This time, the small flesh fragment vanished, successfully snapped into his System space.
Joy flooded Daniel.
"Let's keep going!"
He kept collecting each piece, ignoring the warning prompts.
As the flesh pieces disappeared, Daniel felt the evil energy inside Jason grow weaker with every fragment taken.
When the final piece was absorbed, the System chimed once more.
[Ding! Killed Undead Jason. Gained 50,000 Merit Points.]
[Ding! Killed Undead Jason. Gained 'Artifact Refining Art.']
[Note: Artifact Refining Art currently at First Tier; can be upgraded.]
Hearing this, Daniel finally exhaled in relief.
Jason was truly dead.
His combat skills had been mediocre -- on par with the Consecrated Thralls summoned by Tanusha and her husband.
His real threat came from his undead nature.
If he wasn't killed outright, Jason would revive given enough time.
Fortunately, Daniel ensured he had no chance this time.
..
Drained nearly dry of Divine Empowerment, Daniel's gaze shifted to the room of corpses.
After securing Bella's body, should he gather the other three companions as well?
He had seen their photos before, so recognized them.
Though that didn't matter -- Bella and her three companions were the only fresh corpses inside, two men and two women.
After weighing it, Daniel chose not to interfere.
He was tasked only with Bella.
Taking the others could only draw suspicion, linking him to all four deaths.
Besides, these young people seemed to be courting death one by one; there was no need for pity.
...
Stepping away from the cabin, Daniel inhaled several deep lungfuls of fresh air, finally feeling alive again.
The stench inside had been unbearable.
Darkness enveloped the night.
Daniel pulled out his flashlight and made his way through the forest back to the lake shore.
His car was still parked exactly where he left it, untouched.
Standing at the water's edge, the cool night breeze brushed his face, promising to wash away the day's fatigue.
Yet Daniel's mind wasn't on such comforts.
He stared out over the lake, contemplating something else.
In the films, Jason always woke up in Crystal Lake.
Was there something in this water that allowed him to keep coming back?
After a pause, Daniel stripped off his blood-soaked clothes and plunged headfirst into the chilling lake.
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.
https://discord.gg/HjHHhUXPn7.