[Raccoon City: Clock Tower Plaza – NIGHT]
The moon hung over Raccoon City like a flickering boss health bar—bright, ominous, and promising nothing good. Arlo, Jill, and Link stepped into Clock Tower Plaza, boots crunching on broken tiles and charred debris. The air smelled like rusted metal, smoke, and city death. Gunfire echoed faintly in the distance.
"Alright, keep low," Arlo said, sweeping the plaza with his HUD. "We don't need to get any unwanted attention from any monster right now."
Jill slowed down beside him, breathing heavier than before but steady. "Can I ask you something, Arlo?"
"Shoot," he replied, eyes darting from a half-burnt newsstand to the shadowed arches above the plaza. His fingers itched near his threaded cane.
"What are you even doing here? In Raccoon City, I mean," Jill asked, glancing sideways with a raised brow.
Arlo didn't flinch. Bodily Control kicked in. His face held perfectly steady, voice flat. "Investigating Umbrella Corporation."
Inside, he winced. Biggest lie since Diablo Immortal's 'fully playable on mobile.' But his expression didn't betray a single tick.
"Investigating Umbrella?" Jill echoed with a hard squint. "You are investigating a powerful mega corporation?"
"Yeah," Arlo replied, poker-faced. "One of our informants tipped us off. Said Umbrella was doing illegal human experimentation. We thought it was small scale. Nothing... apocalyptic." He let the word sit, heavy like a Molotov in your inventory you forgot you had until it explodes.
Jill exhaled, bitter. "Well, look how that turned out. A full-blown fucking apocalypse. Streets crawling with undead. Bioweapons loose. People eating each other. All because some assholes in lab coats decided to play God."
"Yeah," Arlo said simply. "This is some fucked-up shit."
They kept moving through the plaza, stepping over corpses long since picked clean. Arlo glanced up at the Clock Tower's scorched face. It felt like something out of Bloodborne. Minus the dignity.
He stopped. "We need to leave Raccoon City. Soon. Like now." Jill turned to him. "Why?"
"Because," Arlo said, locking eyes with her, "the U.S. government is going to bomb this place. They'll nuke it clean off the map."
Jill blinked like he'd just clipped through her dialogue script. "What?"
"It's already in motion. They'll wipe out the infection by turning the whole city into dust," he said grimly.
That hit her like a gut punch. Jill grabbed his shoulder, voice tense. "Are you sure?"
"Yes." No hesitation. "We need to escape while there's still time."
Arlo didn't mention how he knew. Danger Intuition? A file he saw earlier? A whispered rumor in an old locker? Or maybe just that creeping narrative dread that told you you were nearing a game's no-return point.
But Jill pulled back, jaw set. "We can't leave. Not yet."
Arlo narrowed his eyes. "Why the hell not?", But Arlo already knew he is just playing along
"I overheard Carlos and Mikhail talking," she said. "They mentioned a name—Nathaniel Bard. Supposedly, he's got a cure for the virus."
That name clicked in Arlo's head, then he remember it was the guys that created the cure for the virus. "You're serious? The guy actually made a cure?"
"They think so," Jill said. "If that's true, it could save lives. Maybe not the city, but survivors. or any future outbreak."
Arlo paused. His instincts screamed to bail. His Clown's danger intuition flaring like a an ambulance they need to move.
"Alright," he said, nodding. "If Bard's got the cure, we need him." Jill let out a breath. "Thank you."
"But let's be clear," Arlo added, reloading his shotgun. "Once we have that cure, we are getting the hell out. No hero stunts. No one-liner sacrifices. Just gone."
"Agreed," Jill said. "Carlos mentioned Bard was holed up somewhere near Spencer Memorial Hospital. We might find a lead there." Arlo gave her a side glance. "That place sounds like the kind of set up for a horror movie where you find a monster and twenty wasted bullets."
They ducked behind a tipped-over delivery truck, Link growling low. Arlo used his [Observe] it did not pickup anything unusual. Danger Intuition stayed quiet but simmering.
"That's worse," Arlo muttered. "No noise means something's planning to say hello in the worst way possible."
Jill loaded a mine round into the MGL. "Then let's say hi first."
For a second, Arlo respected the hell out of her. No fear. No fluff. Just raw tenacity. It wasn't inspirational—it was tactical.
"So," Jill said while checking her ammo, "you're some kind of secret agent?"
Arlo shrugged. "Not exactly. I'm... a specialist."
"In what?" Jill asked curiously.
"Impossible things " he replied automatically, his voice neutral.
Jill tilted her head. "Like, supernatural?"
Arlo internally groaned. Smooth, dumbass. Yeah, because Raccoon City really needs a supernatural investigator right now.
"Yeah. undead, paranormal occurrences. That kind of thing." he calmly replied.
Jill gave him a skeptical glance. "You don't look like a investigator."
Arlo deadpanned, "That's the point."
...
They reached the fountain at the center of the plaza. Suddenly, Link barked sharply. Something moved near the tower steps. A shadow detached from the wall and began to shuffle toward them.
Arlo spun, shotgun raised. "Contact. Four o'clock." Jill dropped to one knee, lined up her shot with the MGL.
"No," Arlo said. "Too loud. We'll bring the whole block down."
He moved fast—threaded cane out, whip-form. Two clean strikes. One took the legs, the other cracked the skull. Zombie down.
"Silent kill," Arlo said, reloading.Jill smirked faintly. "Not bad, 'specialist.'"
They made it to the tower's back alley. It was narrower here, more cramped. Link sniffed ahead, then looked back with a low bark. All clear—for now.
Jill leaned against the wall, catching her breath. "You always calm under pressure?"
Arlo shrugged again. "Comes with the job. Or the trauma. Take your pick."Also, thank the System. And Clown bodily control. Because inside, I am screaming like a Twitch streamer stuck in a Dark Souls boss rush.
"I don't get you," Jill said after a pause. "You move like a fighter, talk like a ghost, and now you're risking your life for information."
"I'm good at surviving," Arlo replied bluntly. "And you're my ticket out."
She looked at him for a long second. "That supposed to be honest?"
"Would you rather I lie?" Arlo replied
She didn't answer.
They reached the rooftop access door and paused. Arlo listened carefully. No movement. Then he spoke.
"Once we get the cure," he said, "you find Carlos. I'll cover your retreat."
Jill tightened her grip on the MGL. "We get the cure together. No splitting up."
Arlo gave a half-smirk. "You say that now. Just wait until the monster shows up again."
"If it does," Jill said, "I'll blow its head off. Then we get out."
"Deal," Arlo replied.
They stepped into the stairwell.
...
[Clock Tower Plaza: Promenade]
The promenade was quiet in that "you're being watched" kind of way. Wind swept trash and dead leaves across cracked tiles as Arlo, Jill, and Link moved cautiously. Streetlights flickered like dying LEDs in a horror game. Every shadow looked suspect. Every echo dragged tension deeper.
Jill scanned the rooftops. "You'd think with all that fire and destruction, there'd be more noise."
"That's what worries me," Arlo muttered. His HUD was clean, but his Danger Intuition had started a slow boil in the back of his brain. The kind of feeling that told him his next checkpoint was about to come which mean a boss battle.
They reached the bridge—concrete, half-destroyed, graffiti-covered. The metal railings twisted inward like something had rammed through them at speed. Arlo's boots crunched glass as they passed a burnt-out Humvee.
Then they heard it. An explosion. Loud. Distant—but growing.
Something fiery burst from the far side of the promenade. A silhouette—massive, humanoid, and currently on fire—staggered forward in a molten crawl. Nemesis.The abomination roared, each breath crackling with wet, scorched rage. And then it lost balance—slammed into a support beam, broke through it, and tumbled off the side of the bridge into the dark river below.
Jill stared at the water, deadpan. "Bitch can't even swim." But Arlo didn't laugh. "Don't count on that being over. We move. Now."
They broke into a jog across the bridge, Link staying low and tight beside them. Arlo's eyes scanned every dark patch of water. That sense—the one just behind his left eye—kept climbing. Danger Intuition wasn't just a radar anymore. It was a blaring pre-boss warning.
Jill pulled her radio from her belt and clicked it. "Carlos, respond. Come in."
Static. Then Carlos's voice finally buzzed through, slightly distorted. "Yeah. What's up?"
Jill didn't slow her pace. "We didn't make it. The train derailed."
A beat. "Derailed? Was anyone hurt?"
Jill hesitated. "Some survivors escaped. But… Mikhail is dead."
"Shit…" Carlos exhaled, voice dropping low.
Arlo barely heard the rest. His eyes were locked on the river to their right. His gut twisted. He activated his [Spirit Vision] by tapping in his glabella, he saw it something as moving under the bridge. Something massive. Something wrong. Dark tendrils and oily movements beneath the surface, slithering like corrupted code in a glitched game render.That thing didn't drown. It's repositioning. Arlo thought
"Link," Arlo said, voice low. "Stay sharp. Eyes on the water."
The Rockruff growled, stance dropping into combat mode. His fur bristled, tail stiff. Whatever was coming, Link felt it too.
Arlo tightened his grip on his shotgun. "Jill—cut the call. He's coming."
"What?" Jill asked, still holding the radio. And then she saw it."What the fuck," Jill breathed.
The river erupted. Water exploded upward as Nemesis leapt—on fire, soaked, and full of fury. Its claws gleamed like knives. Its roar cut through the night like tearing steel.
"MOVE!" Arlo shouted. He tackled Jill sideways, shoving her out of Nemesis's strike zone a second before the claws would've carved into her chest. The beast's momentum carried it forward, skidding across the bridge in a blaze of sparks.
Arlo didn't check for damage. He yanked Jill up by her arm. "Run!"
The three of them sprinted full speed across the bridge. The ground vibrated with every thunderous footstep behind them. Nemesis was gaining. Arlo could feel it in his spine—the momentum, the terror, the inevitable pressure of a monster that refused to stay down.
Jill turned and fired once—mine round. It detonated behind them, causing the bridge to tremble and throw sparks, but it barely slowed the creature.
"Nice shot," Arlo muttered. "But didn't even make it flinch."
Then came the worst part. A gap. Part of the bridge had collapsed. A massive chunk—six, maybe eight feet wide—just gone. Blackness yawned beneath, cold water swirling below. On the other side, more broken asphalt and safety.
Jill skidded to a stop. "We're not making that with hesitation!"
"We're making it with momentum," Arlo snapped. "Jump or die."
Link didn't wait for either of them. He took off and leapt first—small, fast, perfect arc. He cleared it. Jill inhaled sharply, then ran. She jumped. Mid-air, her boot clipped a rebar spike. She twisted but caught herself hard on the other side, groaning but alive.
Arlo was already moving. Full sprint. He could hear Nemesis behind him, roaring, sprinting—each step like a countdown timer hitting zero. He jumped. Time slowed for half a second. Not literally—no bullet-time effect. Just raw adrenaline. Arlo's eyes locked forward. His heart pounded like a bad EDM loop. And behind him—Claws. Reaching. Almost close enough to grab his leg. He hit the other side, rolled hard, and popped up just in time to see Nemesis miss its grab and slam claws-first into the edge of the gap. It roared in frustration as it teetered, but somehow caught itself. Not falling. Not done.
"KEEP MOVING!" Arlo barked. "It's not over!"
They sprinted down the remaining stretch of bridge.
How the fuck! this situation turn in to a Temple Run, Arlo thought
Behind them, Nemesis roared again—louder. Closer. Arlo didn't turn around. He couldn't afford it.
...
The trio reached the end of the bridge just as Nemesis lunged again. Arlo shouted, "JUMP!" and without hesitation, all three of them launched forward—Jill gritted her teeth mid-air, Link soared with precision, and Arlo rolled mid-landing like he'd done this in a dozen before.
Nemesis's claw swiped the air behind them, missing by inches. It landed hard on the bridge edge, causing the stone to crumble under its mutated weight. It didn't follow. Not yet.
Arlo stood first, breathing heavy, then reached out a hand to Jill. "You good?"
Jill grabbed his arm and pulled herself up. "Yeah. Thanks. That thing's persistent."
Arlo turned to Link. "You alright, boy?"
Link barked once—short and firm.
Arlo nodded. "Good. Stay sharp." But then everything changed. A heavy thump echoed across the plaza. Dust scattered. Lightposts shook.
Arlo's eyes snapped to the center of the square. A grotesque silhouette rose, warped and quadrupedal. It looked like Nemesis had been forced through a meat grinder and reassembled into something far worse. Exposed muscle. Bone armor plating. Its arms had split into two more limbs, giving it the gait of a nightmare panther.
"It evolves to its 2nd form," Arlo muttered. "of course there's a new form, this monster constantly evolve to adapt."
He activated [Observe] and [Analysis] immediately. His vision flashed a Status Window.
---
Nemesis-T Type
Race: Undead (T-Virus)
Level: 30
HP: 225/225
MP: 0/0
Stats:
Strength: 32
Dexterity: 29
Intelligence: 6
Charisma: -10
Endurance: 35
Wisdom: 4
Luck: 0
Skills: T-Virus Mutation LV: 9/10, Mutated Abomination Physiology LV: 8/10, Infection LV: 9/10, Tendril Generation LV: 8/10, Regeneration LV: 8/10, Intimidation LV 7/10, Corpse Assimilation LV 8/10
Status: More aggressive and Actively hunting Jill Valentine
Remark:Nemesis-T Type evolved to its 2nd Form a more animalistic, quadrupedal creature with a large, muscular build and a mutated arm that can extend into a tentacle. This form is a result of the NE-α parasite's inability to maintain a humanoid shape, leading to a more monstrous and less intelligent beast.
Weakness: Uncontrolled Mutation / Exposed Head
Threat Level: Extreme
---
Arlo's heart sank. Great. It's faster, meaner, and regenerates like a boss in Bloodborne. He glanced at Jill. "Still has a weakness. But it's gonna take coordination and heavy firepower."
"How weak?" Jill asked, eyes locked on the beast.
"The head is more exposed and less durable part of its body" Arlo explained.
Jill groaned. "Oh, come on." She cocked her grenade launcher with a sharp clack. "Alright. Big bastard wants some of this—let's give him one."
Arlo sighed, pulling his shotgun. "This is some next-level bullshit."
Nemesis roared, the kind of roar that made the ground vibrate. Arlo didn't wait—he raised his shotgun and fired first. The slug slammed into Nemesis's hide, staggering it just slightly.
In Arlo's HUD a notification appeared: [12 Damage]
What the Fuck? why is the damage to small, it must be the enhanced durability and combine that to its high level regenerative skill. It is basically a walking tank, Arlo thought.
"Link! Use Double Team! and keep it distracted" Arlo commanded.
Link howled, and suddenly four duplicates burst into view—five identical Rockruffs flanked the field, each mirroring the real one perfectly, darting in different directions.
Jill's eyes went wide. "What the hell is that dog!?"
"I will explain later!" Arlo shouted. "Monster first, questions after!"
The jig is up. So much for blending in. Welcome to the weird side of reality, Jill. Arlo thought.
Jill snapped out of it and launched a grenade straight into Nemesis's face. The explosion lit up the plaza and knocked the monster back, its face blackened, one eye half-blown. But tendrils twitched. Flesh started to knit back together, slowly but surely.
Arlo gritted his teeth. Regenerating or not, healing burns energy. Burn it faster than it can fix itself. He fired again—slug to the head. Blood splattered, but the beast barely reacted.
[Headshot - 34 Critical Damage]
"Focus fire on the wounds!" Arlo yelled. "Make it waste its regeneration!"
Nemesis let out another roar and charged—not at Arlo, but Jill.
"Oh Shit!" Arlo yelled, tracking it.
Jill dove, barely missing the crushing weight of the beast's claws. It skidded, turned, and prepared to lunge again.
"Link! Use Rock Throw, now!" Arlo barked.
From a distance, the real Link barked, and chunks of stone levitated into the air—glowing with ethereal energy. The rocks shot forward like missiles and slammed into Nemesis's exposed side, the already-damaged area pulping under impact.
Jill blinked, dumbfounded. "Did your dog just launch a bunch of rock at that monster!?"
"Yeah," Arlo replied flatly. "He's just built different."
Nemesis stumbled, visibly damaged now. Black ooze leaked from multiple gashes. Its regeneration had slowed, not stopped—but the delay mattered.
Arlo took the shot. Boom. Slug right into the beast's shoulder joint.
[17 Damage]
Another pulse of gore erupted. Jill followed with a grenade that blew off a chunk of its back.The monster staggered, limbs buckling. But it wasn't dead.
"Eyes on the head!" Arlo shouted. "Wait for the charge!"
Nemesis crouched low, limbs twitching. The skin at its neck shifted—thin membrane pulsing faintly. That was the core. That was the kill shot.It charged.Time slowed again—not system-assisted, his danger intuition activated and allows him to predict its next action. Arlo lined his shot. Jill lined hers.
"Now!" Arlo shouted.They fired in unison.Shotgun slug and grenade collided with the exposed head.
[Headshot - 64 Critical Damage]
The explosion lit up the plaza like a warzone. Nemesis howled—this time in pain, not rage.It collapsed briefly, twitching, seizing. Smoke rose from its chest, its jaw slack. It wasn't dead. But it was wounded. Bleeding badly. And now—it hesitated. But Arlo didn't.
"Keep up the pressure!" he barked, reloading. They stood together, Link growling beside them, clones darting and dodging around the plaza. Nemesis slowly rose again—grotesque, hunched, and steaming with hate.
The second round of the boss fight was about to start. And Arlo's mind only had one thought: This is some souls-like bullshit…