I didn't waste a single second. The moment my eyes locked on the gargantuan, knotted base of the Megamycete, I ripped three mini-bombs from my tactical belt and hurled them with surgical precision. The experimental charges detonated in a deafening roar, shaking the earth and sending geysers of black spores and rotting flesh into the air. The impact was strong enough to rattle the mountains themselves.
But as the smoke cleared… thick layers of black stone, sculpted like scales, now covered the parasite's roots."Damn Duke… he armored it!"
I snapped my fingers in fury. Twenty of my Aquila erupted from the skies, massive winged beasts each carrying two Pascal clones. A storm of modified gunfire and plasma rained down immediately, all directed at the Duke who stood, solitary and immovable, between us and the monster's heart.
But the hooded colossus did not flinch. Calmly, he raised a hand, and walls of stone burst from the ground around him, absorbing the onslaught like a mere autumn breeze. A few shots pierced his defenses, but he dodged them with almost supernatural ease, his feet barely touching the ground as he danced between projectiles.
"You think to stop me with this, Gérald King?" his voice rumbled, deep and resonant. "The Megamycete makes me invincible. As long as I stand, you will never reach it."
I clenched my teeth."Then let's see how long you can keep breathing."
Hermes dove from the sky like a meteor, tearing me off the ground as I leapt toward him. At the same time, I opened my mouth wide and exhaled a vast cloud of irritant pollen. Green and yellow spores spread like a corrosive fog, gnawing at the air and clouding vision.
The Duke stepped back, annoyed, before launching a column of stone where I had stood a second earlier. But I was already airborne, gripping the massive talons of my winged ally."Damn it, he's fast… and far too stable to take down with brute force."
I whistled sharply, and one of my Bloods burst through the trees, carrying Winters—unconscious but alive. I signaled, and it shot straight toward the factory like a shadow of blood, out of reach.
I pulled out my reinforced phone, holding it high as I dodged another barrage of stone spikes."This is King. Alpha strike. Coordinates locked. I repeat: Alpha on my position.""Confirmed. Strike inbound in ten minutes."
I cut the line and slipped the phone away, a twisted smile creeping across my lips.
For the next ten minutes, war raged. My Aquila dodged the Duke's strikes with sharp agility, while Pascal's clones unleashed barrage after barrage of gunfire.The Duke, like an enraged mountain, tore them apart, all while continuing to mutter:"You thrash… you flail… but it is futile. This world is not yours. It was never Miranda's. It will never be yours."
"You sure talk a lot for a merchant!" I snarled, recalling my troops back into subspace one by one.
A distant rumble cut me off. A blinding light split the sky. A rain of fire descended at breakneck speed, screaming like comets. My smile widened."Game over."
I teleported straight into my factory, Hermes slamming down behind me, the metallic hangar floor shaking under his landing. My troops were already waiting—tired, but intact. Their masked faces betrayed nothing, but the red indicators on their weapons said it all.
"Out of ammo…" I growled. "Rearm. Reload everything you have. Until I call you."I repeated the order aloud before summoning Karl. Alexia followed, accompanied by one of my zombie-plants that had mutated after devouring the Cadou remnants from the cyborgs.
"Karl, I'll need you if the Duke is still standing. Mount one of my Aquila and harass him from range. I need him away from the Megamycete.""Feel like testing some old-school firepower? Count me in." He vaulted onto one of the giant eagles.
I turned to Alexia, noting the empty syringe in her hand, as though she'd just finished delicate surgery."Gérald, I extracted a blood sample from Rosemarie and some DNA from Ethan. I implanted a modified Plant 42 bulb into this specimen." She pointed to the creature at her side. "This thing's a wild card. It can fuse with the Megamycete… if things go south."
"I'll keep it as a last resort. First, I need to see if I've managed to rid us of our pest." I said, teleporting away with a Blood for better maneuverability.
The landscape was annihilated.The ground, transformed into a crust of black char, cracked under my boots. The air was scorching, thick with ash and burned spores. The upper roots of the Megamycete still smoked, vast open wounds oozing a black sap. Yet the heart still pulsed—slow, heavy, like the drumbeat of some ancient monster.
I swept the area with my gaze. The Duke was nowhere in sight… until I spotted him two kilometers away, already reshaping the ground, rebuilding his influence."Karl, now's the time. Distract him as much as you can."
Heisenberg and my aerial troops burst from the sky. Their precise gunfire forced the Duke to retreat, and Karl's ingenuity shone as he bent certain bullets mid-flight, making them impossible to predict. For the first time, the Duke was forced to dodge more than he blocked.
I approached the trunk of the Megamycete. A slow pulse rippled through my hand. I pressed my palm against the living bark, sending a mental message, an organic impulse."You know this world is tied to me now… If I die, or if I vanish, you'll be isolated. You'll cease to exist."
The Megamycete… reacted. Its movements froze. A near-religious silence filled the air.I didn't know if it truly understood me, but I could feel it listening.
I continued."You've seen the memories of Wesker's clone. You've seen what I've built. You know I won't back down. If I have to kill you, I will. But imagine seeing more than this rotten world and this festering valley. Imagine a future."
A fibrous tendril, nervous, almost hesitant, slowly emerged from the trunk and drifted toward me.I extended a dorsal vine, letting it coil around the outgrowth. A strange current surged through me.
Memories. Echoes. Ancient recollections. And… a decision.
The Megamycete suddenly severed its link with the Duke. Like a hand withdrawing from a puppet. I felt the echo snap. Then, with a scream of terror and disbelief, the Duke collapsed to the ground.
Bullets riddled him, tearing straight through. His control of the earth faltered instantly, his skin cracked, and the mineral armor protecting him crumbled like wet sand."No! NO! This isn't… this ISN'T HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO END!!"
"This went better than I thought…" I muttered, eyes fixed on the Duke's riddled corpse lying on the smoking ground. His once-luxurious clothes were shredded, his flesh unrecognizable, reduced to a mangled heap. The all-powerful merchant, the enigmatic chessmaster in the shadows… was nothing more than a puppet cut from its strings.
The Megamycete then let itself be absorbed, vanishing into my factory, and a system message appeared before me—one I hadn't seen in a long time.
The ancient god known as the Megamycete has now been completely subjugated to you. You have eliminated the last adversary capable of hindering you in this world. As a reward, you will receive full control over Raccoon City and 100 kilometers of surrounding land, as well as a 50-kilometer marine zone, for surviving the Infernal Tutorial Mode that only you endured. You have 4 months to gather as many resources as possible in Raccoon City for your next world. The factory will also vanish, replaced by the city of Raccoon City for your next stage. Good luck.
The message vanished in a flash.I stood frozen for a few seconds, the vines on my back twitching, my eyes blinking at the information."Oh… shit."
My gaze turned toward the horizon, where my factory had stood minutes ago. Already, I no longer felt the deep bond that tied me to it. The familiar energy, the roots of my empire… had dissolved.Or rather… they were being transplanted.
"No time to mess around. Four months is far too short." I clenched my fists. "We have to recover everything we can. Every cell, every gram, every blueprint."
I immediately recalled all my troops, Karl at the front, still perched on one of my eagles. He had recovered the Duke's mutilated corpse, sealed inside a cryogenic container."You planning to keep it?" he asked, setting the case at my feet."Study what's left of his structure. And make sure the bastard doesn't have one last trick hidden," I replied coldly.
"Regroup," I ordered, and my eagles began flying toward the base that had launched the missiles. I had already prepared my means of transport toward America. The Aquila and Hermes, I had dispatched on their own course toward Raccoon City.
Once back in Raccoon CityI found a building on the outskirts of the city that contained everything I once had in my factory. I released everyone, but Ethan quickly turned to Miranda, his voice breaking the fragile silence.
"Miranda…" he called in a calm tone, heavy with pain. He still held Rosemarie close, wrapped in a white blanket, her eyes wide open. "Tell me the truth. Mia… she was still there, wasn't she?"
Miranda stood motionless near the entrance. She looked more human than ever. Her wings, once majestic and terrifying, had vanished. Her silhouette was no longer divine or monstrous—just a broken woman.She didn't even turn her head, keeping her gaze fixed on the ruins beneath the night sky."She was in a cell in my laboratory. The bombing…" She drew a slow breath, her voice rough. "…destroyed everything. Absolutely everything."
I placed a hand on Ethan's shoulder, my expression grave."I'm sorry, Ethan. I didn't know your wife was still alive. If I had known…"
He nodded slowly, his eyes lowering to Rose, who cooed softly, blissfully unaware of the weight of the world."I suspected as much," he whispered. "It hurts… but what matters is that she's safe." He pulled his daughter closer, burying his face in her blonde hair.
Miranda finally turned toward him, her features torn by shame and exhaustion."I'm sorry, Mr. Winters. Power blinded me. I just wanted to see Eva again. I never thought about the consequences for others."
Before she could walk away, I gently caught her shoulder, turning her so she could see what only I had already sensed: behind the building, a massive black trunk was pulsing—the Megamycete had implanted itself there, vibrating with a strange, calm energy, as if waiting."I'll create for you a soulless clone of Rosemarie. Not a conscious copy… just a vessel, a memory. It will give you back your daughter, in a way," I said in a neutral, almost compassionate tone.
Then I turned toward Ethan, who was still gazing tenderly at Rose."And for you… I can try the same for Mia. It will be your choice. You can honor her this way… or find a new mother for Rose."
The baby reached out her arms toward me then, laughing innocently, as if she could feel the fragile balance between grief and hope. I took her tiny hand in mine, a faint smile on my lips.
Ethan looked at me, his eyes shining with gratitude mixed with sorrow."I would be forever grateful, Mr. King."
Miranda nodded, humble for the first time. No pompous words, no divine rage."I will do everything I can to repay you. I swear it."
And without waiting for an answer, she slowly walked toward the city, leaving behind a lighter atmosphere.
But before I could take another step, I was suddenly tackled to the ground by two whirlwinds of hair—one blonde, one brown."Dad!" Sherry and Lisa cried in unison, clinging to me with surprising strength.
I burst out laughing, overwhelmed by their warmth."Well, I missed you too, you little terrors."
Jill stood nearby, leaning against the Jeep she had driven here, arms crossed and a gentle smile on her lips. She watched us for a moment before stepping forward and literally diving into the pile."It's good to see you in one piece, Gérald."
The joy was contagious. Even Rose, in Ethan's arms, reached her little hands toward us, babbling happily."She's got quite a smile," Sherry said, tickling her lightly.
"I think Mia has suffered enough…" Ethan murmured. "She was rotting away inside. I hope she's found peace. As for me, I'll devote myself to Rose. That's all that matters now."
And for a few precious minutes, in the arms of my daughters and under the laughter of a baby, the world felt almost serene.
(Author's note: That's it for this fanfic. There will be one more chapter for Resident Evil, but after that I'll be moving on to the next world. I already have the future worlds planned, but since I ended this arc a bit earlier—skipping 5 and 6 because I already had global control—I plan to add an intermediate world to gather more resources.)
I'll let you choose between The Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings or Shadow of Mordor. I'll be spending a little over a year there, so depending on your choice, I'll either focus on the key film scenes (for Hobbit and LOTR) or pure grinding in Shadow of Mordor.
Personally, I lean toward The Lord of the Rings because of the sheer number of armies, but the choice is yours. You've got two weeks to decide, since the next chapter will still be set in the Resident Evil world.)