Leon and I cautiously climbed back up the staircase, carefully avoiding the chunks of concrete still scattered everywhere after the Chunk's charge. The atmosphere felt heavier now, as if the entire complex was reacting to the fact that we were literally clearing out its infected inhabitants one by one.
The second-floor corridor where the abomination had come from was much wider than the previous ones, probably reserved for high-ranking medical staff. The pristine white walls contrasted violently with the deep claw marks and dried blood splatters covering the area. Several picture frames had fallen to the floor, their glass shattered by the vibrations caused by the monster's rampage.
We had barely advanced a few meters when three figures suddenly emerged from an open room to our left.
Two doctors.
Or rather… what remained of them.
Their long white lab coats were stained brown and red, their hollow faces twisted by infection, while their fingers twitched nervously around surgical instruments straight out of a horror movie.
Beside them shuffled a thin woman dressed in a torn medical gown.
The problem…
I immediately recognized her abnormally swollen throat.
"Shit, another singer," I muttered.
I saw her shoulders tense.
The exact same preparatory motion.
No time to let that scream loose again.
Without thinking, one of my back vines whipped through the air and grabbed the first heavy object within reach.
A large polished wooden office desk.
I literally hurled it across the hallway.
BOOOOM.
The furniture smashed directly into the woman before she could even open her mouth, crushing her against the wall with a thunderous impact.
Leon flinched slightly.
"You could warn me sometimes."
"Where would the fun be in that?"
While the two doctors clumsily lunged toward us, I instantly captured them since they were just ordinary zombies already catalogued in my Factory.
The singer was still trying to pull herself free from the wreckage of the shattered desk.
I calmly approached her.
"Sorry, ma'am. Concert canceled."
I placed my hand on her forehead, instantly capturing her since I had already obtained her counterpart back in the bar lounge.
"I'm seriously starting to hate screaming zombies," Leon grumbled while lowering his weapon slightly.
"The first thing I'm doing when I get back to Raccoon is handing these two over to Marcus and the others so they can work on strengthening Plagas resistance to sound. Otherwise, once I've fully recovered, I'll enhance my Queen by repeated exposure… same way I improved my physical resistance," I said casually.
We then backtracked to the previous intersection. My attention was drawn to a massive door on the right side of the corridor, slightly different from the others.
I frowned slightly before pushing it open.
We entered a small, elegantly furnished private lounge.
The atmosphere contrasted completely with the rest of the facility.
A brown leather couch occupied the center of the room, accompanied by a low table covered in administrative files. A wall-length bookshelf contained several leather-bound medical volumes, while a perfectly stocked minibar occupied one corner near a large window hidden behind thick curtains.
A dark red carpet covered the wooden floor.
Clearly…
Someone important used this place.
I quickly scanned the room.
"This has to be the director's private quarters."
Leon observed the place for a few seconds before pointing toward a second door at the back of the lounge.
"Let's go. If we capture Gideon, we'll find Elpis faster… and we can finally go home."
I turned slightly toward him with a small amused smile.
"You're just in a hurry to get back to Claire."
Leon simply shrugged.
"Obviously."
I let out a soft laugh.
"I get it. I already miss Jill, Lisa, and Sherry."
Without waiting any longer, I placed my hand on the handle and opened the second door.
The office beyond was spacious.
Luxurious.
A massive window overlooked the outside of the complex, now swallowed by the night. Several surveillance monitors displayed different sections of the medical center, while perfectly stacked files occupied multiple shelves around the room.
At the center of the room… a man sat behind a large dark mahogany desk, illuminated by the dim light of a suspended lamp hanging from the ceiling. At first glance, something about him immediately triggered a deep instinctive sense of unease. His appearance was nothing like that of an ordinary scientist. His face looked as though it had been reconstructed multiple times, crudely stitched together after numerous brutal surgeries. A long purplish scar ran from his neck up beneath his jawline, crossing unnaturally pale, parchment-like skin. His gray hair, greasy and poorly maintained, hung in messy strands around his hollow face, emphasizing his sickly appearance.
But what drew attention the most…
Was his strange ocular device.
A grotesque mechanical assembly composed of multiple metallic lenses surrounded his left eye, connected to a series of tiny cables directly implanted into his temple. The entire apparatus vibrated faintly, like some medical instrument permanently wired into his brain. His remaining natural eye, however, gleamed with cold and deeply unsettling intelligence. Despite his almost corpse-like appearance… the man radiated absolute calm.
As if he had been expecting us from the very beginning.
His right hand rested casually near a half-empty glass of whiskey, while several open files were scattered across the desk in front of him. No trace of panic. No rushed movement. Nothing.
His mechanical gaze immediately locked onto me.
Then slowly shifted toward Leon.
And this time…
His expression changed slightly.
Just for a fraction of a second. A tiny flicker across his otherwise frozen features.
Then a strange smile slowly stretched across his damaged lips.
"How… fascinating…" he said in a surprisingly composed voice, almost elegant despite the faint artificial hiss accompanying certain syllables. "I was expecting Grace Ashcroft to walk through that door… certainly not two anomalies like you."
His mechanical eye rotated slightly with a small sharp clicking sound before locking onto Leon.
His smile disappeared almost instantly.
"…You are not the same Mister Kennedy I encountered an hour ago," he murmured with disturbing clinical interest. "Same bone structure. Most likely identical DNA… but different posture, different musculature… and above all… no visible trace of Raccoon City Syndrome. Fascinating… absolutely fascinating…"
Silence abruptly settled over the office.
I slowly stepped forward without taking my eyes off the man.
Instinctively, my brain immediately analyzed the entire environment.
Bulletproof window behind him.
Reinforced walls.
Ventilation shafts far too narrow to serve as an escape route.
No secondary doors.
No visible hidden tunnel.
In other words…
No possible way out.
Perfect.
I turned my attention back to him and gave a faint smile that was almost cordial.
"Before you start analyzing my partner like some laboratory rat… maybe introductions would be appropriate."
The man slowly intertwined his deformed fingers in front of him, observing every single one of my movements with almost unhealthy curiosity. His mechanical eye produced several micro-adjustments, accompanied by tiny metallic clicks.
I continued in a calm tone.
"My name is Gerald King."
I then gestured toward Leon with a simple nod.
"And the gentleman accompanying me is indeed Leon Scott Kennedy…"
I deliberately allowed a few seconds to pass, letting a heavy silence settle throughout the room while carefully observing every micro-expression crossing the scientist's stitched-up face. His mechanical eye continued producing faint rhythmic clicks while he was probably analyzing everything he could observe about us.
Finally, I finished with a slightly more pronounced smile.
"…but not the one you know."
For a second, Victor Gideon remained perfectly still. Then, completely unexpectedly, he gave an oddly polite smile before slowly rising from his chair, adjusting the immaculate sleeves of his dark lab coat. His frail frame contrasted almost comically with the confidence he was trying to project. His strange ocular implant rotated slightly with a sharp metallic click before he calmly clasped his hands behind his back.
"Very well…" he said in a composed tone, as though we were simply in the middle of a professional meeting. "Allow me, then, to introduce myself properly. I am the director of this facility… Victor Gideon."
He gave a slight nod, his calm almost theatrical.
"And now, Mister King…" he continued smoothly, "I would very much appreciate it if you informed me of Miss Ashcroft's current location. I still… require her."
But the exact moment he finished speaking, his expression changed violently.
His arm shot forward with surprising speed, his hand aiming directly for Leon's armed wrist in an obvious attempt to disarm him.
Pathetic.
I didn't even bother using my vines.
My body reacted instinctively. I caught his arm mid-motion before sharply pivoting on my heel. His entire momentum was turned against him. I hooked his back leg and slammed him violently onto his own desk with a dull crack that rattled the files scattered around us. A second later, his arm was twisted behind his back while my forearm pressed firmly against the back of his neck, pinning his face against the polished wood.
Victor let out a pained grunt as he tried to struggle.
Pointlessly.
I barely needed to use any strength.
I tilted my head slightly as I looked down at him with immense disappointment.
"That's all you're capable of?" I asked, sounding almost insulted. "Seriously… not even a hidden mutation? Some monstrous transformation? An arm that suddenly explodes? A grotesque second form? Anything?"
I tightened my grip slightly, earning another muffled groan from the scientist.
"I was expecting at least a little effort."
Beside me, Leon watched the scene with a mixture of disbelief and amusement before casually beginning to inspect the office, as though everything had suddenly become incredibly underwhelming.
"He's actually really weak…" Leon commented while glancing around the room. "Is this some kind of hidden camera prank? I mean… everything we fought with Los Illuminados was more dangerous than this guy. And chronologically, that was over ten years ago."
I sighed softly without releasing Victor, who had finally stopped struggling after realizing just how absurd the gap between us really was.
"I know, Leon…" I answered calmly. "But don't forget one important thing. Unlike me and all the monstrous resources I've accumulated… people like him have to work in the shadows. No global army. No unrestricted access to the planet's best bioweapon research. No unlimited resources."
I turned my head slightly toward Victor, who was breathing heavily beneath my hold.
"Even this T-virus strain he unleashed inside this facility is honestly pathetic. Sure… the infected seem to retain part of their cognitive abilities. They use tools, adapt their behavior, show more complex reflexes than standard zombies…"
I shrugged dismissively.
"…but it's still infinitely inferior to Plagas."
At that remark, Victor suddenly lifted his head despite the pressure I was applying. His mechanical eye began twitching frantically while genuine anger finally twisted his already mutilated face.
"How dare you insult my creation?!" he spat furiously. "I studied directly under Oswell Spencer! I dedicated my entire life to perfecting his work!"
I remained silent for a second.
Then a particularly cruel smile slowly spread across my face.
"Very well…" I murmured softly. "I'll give you a little accelerated history lesson. You seem to be lacking some context."
I loosened my hold on his arm just enough to smack him sharply on the back of the head.
Not hard.
Just humiliating enough.
Leon looked away to hide a smile.
"The Progenitor Virus… yes. Spencer did discover it in Africa alongside Edward Ashford and James Marcus through the Stairway to the Sun flower. Up until that point, you're correct."
I leaned closer to his ear.
"But Spencer wasn't the genius you think he was."
I suddenly tightened my grip again.
"It was Marcus who successfully fused Progenitor with his leeches, creating the very first true T-Virus. Spencer simply stole the results… before ordering Marcus assassinated."
I let a few seconds pass before concluding coldly:
"At this exact stage… I'd say this is where you stand."
I delivered another small, contemptuous slap to the back of his head.
Victor trembled with pure rage.
I continued without giving him the chance to speak.
"Next comes William Birkin. The true biological prodigy. The man who created the G-Virus. An organic weapon capable of permanent evolution, constant adaptation, successive mutations, and theoretically limitless potential."
My gaze hardened.
"Personally… once the side effects were corrected… I still consider the G-Virus the greatest biological creation this planet has ever seen. And trust me… I've seen a lot of things."
Victor said nothing.
I could simply feel his muscles trembling beneath my grip.
"But Birkin was betrayed by Umbrella too. Attacked. Abandoned. Treated as disposable," I continued. "So when I look at your little laboratory, your unstable pseudo-mutations, your makeshift T-virus, and your second-rate experiments…"
I leaned my face very close to his and whispered with absolute contempt:
"…I don't see a scientific genius."
I paused.
Then I finished coldly:
"I see an assistant incapable of surpassing his teacher."
Silence fell heavily throughout the office.
Even Leon had stopped moving.
Victor Gideon, however… was no longer trembling from pain.
No.
He was trembling from pure rage.
And strangely enough…
I had the distinct feeling I had finally managed to strike his ego exactly where it hurt the most.
I kept Victor Gideon pinned against the desk for several more seconds, feeling his body still tense with frustration and humiliation. His strange ocular implant vibrated nervously, producing a chaotic series of metallic clicks as he visibly struggled to regain composure after my demonstration.
I allowed a brief silence to linger, long enough for him to fully understand just how abyssal the gap between us truly was.
Then I tilted my head slightly toward him, wearing a smile far colder than before.
"You know what's fascinating, Victor?" I murmured calmly. "Your dear Spencer… the great Oswell E. Spencer… the visionary you idolize so much… was himself nothing more than a student who abandoned his true master."
I immediately felt his body stiffen beneath my hold.
Leon slightly raised an eyebrow, already realizing I was about to shatter the scientist's ego even further.
I continued without allowing him time to react.
"Spencer studied under a woman named Miranda. Mother Miranda. A researcher who was already experimenting with fungal organisms capable of storing genetic memory and biological information long before Umbrella even existed on paper."
Victor clenched his teeth.
I moved my mouth closer to his ear.
"But Spencer's ego was far too large to remain under her authority. He left. He wanted to follow his own vision… create his own biological weapons… become a god through his own means."
I let out a humorless chuckle.
"The most ironic part of this entire story… is that when I personally went to confront Miranda, I discovered several letters written in Spencer's own hand."
I tightened my grip slightly around his arm.
"Apologies."
Victor stopped moving entirely.
"He openly admitted he had failed. He confessed that his youthful recklessness, arrogance, and obsession had driven him to abandon the path Miranda had shown him… and that in the end, he realized far too late that his former mentor had surpassed him in nearly every possible field."
I felt his breathing suddenly accelerate violently.
His mechanical eye emitted a strange electrical crackle.
My smile widened.
"But anyway… enough of that. I didn't come here just to give you a history lesson or completely destroy whatever little scientific pride you still have left."
Slowly, I loosened my grip slightly… just enough to free one of my hands.
Then I manifested a small living pale-white organism in my palm.
A modified Plaga.
The parasite writhed between my fingers like some damp insect, its thin appendages twitching nervously while a small organic maw opened and closed reflexively.
And this time…
Victor Gideon finally lost all composure.
His face instantly turned pale.
His gaze darted from the parasite to me… then immediately back to the parasite.
For the first time since our encounter, genuine visceral fear appeared in his eyes.
"W-What… what is that thing…?" he stammered, his voice stripped of every trace of confidence.
I slowly rotated the Plaga between my fingers so he could clearly observe the tiny bony hooks shifting lazily across its surface.
"Oh… this?" I answered almost cheerfully. "A biological marvel far superior to your little experimental virus. Intelligent parasite. Perfect host adaptation. Absolute neural control. Network communication. Physical enhancement. Adaptive mutation. Guaranteed obedience."
Victor immediately began struggling again.
Not from anger this time.
From pure instinct.
From fear.
Real, animalistic fear.
"No… no, wait… wait a second… we can negotiate…" he blurted out frantically, all traces of arrogance now completely gone. "You want Elpis, don't you? I can take you to Ark! I can explain the protocol! I can—"
I cut him off with an annoyed sigh.
"Victor…"
I raised the parasite slightly in front of his eyes.
Then tilted my head.
"You already chose your method of negotiation."
"No… no, wait… please… I can still be useful…" he babbled, his breathing growing faster and more erratic. "I can work for you… my research… my data… Spencer… Elpis… I can give you everything… but not that… not that thing…"
He was now staring at the parasite the way a condemned man would stare at a guillotine blade.
His mind understood perfectly what it meant.
Not death.
Worse.
The complete loss of free will.
The total erasure of individuality.
To become a living tool.
A conscious slave.
And for a man like him…
That was probably worse than a thousand deaths.
León, leaning casually against the wall, crossed his arms as he watched the scene with a faint satisfied smile.
"You know…" he commented calmly, "considering what he did to all the people in this place… I think this is the first time I've found your methods almost poetic."
I gave a small nod before locking eyes with Victor one final time.
"You're going to show me where Elpis is," I declared in a perfectly flat tone. "And you're going to do it willingly."
Victor shook his head violently, eyes wide with panic.
"No… NO! Wait… please… I can cooperate without that! I swear I'll—"
I didn't let him finish.
In one sharp motion, I forced his jaw open.
Then shoved the living Plaga directly down his throat.
The parasite writhed frantically for a second…
Then disappeared completely down his esophagus.
Victor was immediately seized by violent spasms.
Both hands clawed desperately against the floor as black veins began spreading beneath his skin, crawling up his neck. His mechanical implant emitted several unstable electric surges before beginning to spark dangerously.
A strangled gasp escaped his throat.
Then his body began to change.
His skin became healthier.
The countless scars covering his face vanished beneath the regeneration induced by my Plaga.
Victor slowly lifted his head.
But this time…
His eyes had changed.
All that arrogance.
All that scientific madness.
All that pretension.
Gone.
Replaced by cold, absolute obedience.
I straightened up, casually wiping my hands on my shirt.
"There we go," I said calmly. "Now… you're going to take me to Elpis."
Victor rose mechanically, standing perfectly upright.
His voice, which moments earlier had been trembling with panic, had become steady again.
But empty.
"Of course… Master Gerald. I will immediately guide you to Ark, but we will require Miss Ashcroft, as we are only permitted a single password attempt for Elpis."
León stared at the scene for several seconds before slowly shaking his head.
"You know…" he said while holstering his weapon, "the more I watch you do stuff like this… the more I understand why the other version of me called you a monster."
"I'll give him his free will back once we return to our world. After all, I gave all of you Plagas too, but I don't go around controlling any of you. I only wanted to make you stronger, that's all," I said before storing Victor inside my Factory to hide him after extracting all the useful information from his memories.
"We have two more places to visit here first," I continued as I stepped out of the office. "The mine… and a small laboratory just outside this complex. I also want to recover that female monster. According to Victor's memories, she's another Grace clone, just like Emily, so I should be able to capture her instantly since I've already healed Emily and copied her virus strain."
León followed behind me and raised an eyebrow.
"What's so interesting in the mine?"
I glanced at him without slowing down.
"Bodies."
"Lots of bodies."