Note: 1 extra chapter per 35 power stone.
1 chapter per two or three days.
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Leon, on the other hand, chose a completely different approach.
Unlike Chris and Jill, he flew the helicopter directly toward the objective without attempting to hide his arrival.
The dark military helicopter descended slowly through the cold night sky before finally landing near the massive building hidden deep within the forest.
The sound of the rotating blades echoed across the isolated area loudly before gradually slowing down.
Leon remained seated silently for a few seconds after landing.
His sharp blue eyes stayed fixed on the building ahead of him.
The structure itself looked more like a heavily fortified military facility than an ordinary laboratory. Thick concrete walls surrounded the outer sections while dim security lights illuminated parts of the entrance area. Surveillance cameras moved slowly across different directions while tall communication towers extended high above the building.
The entire place screamed danger.
Leon slowly took a deep breath.
Then he finally stepped out of the helicopter.
Cold wind immediately brushed against his face while the loud noise of the helicopter blades continued behind him. His long dark coat moved slightly with the wind as his calm blue eyes carefully studied the structure ahead.
At first glance, Leon could have destroyed the entrance instantly.
One Hell Hound attack alone would have been enough to reduce most of the front section into molten ruins.
But he didn't move.
Because Emma was inside.
And Leon refused to risk her life by acting recklessly again.
The memory of Julia dying inside that burning building still haunted him deeply. Years ago, his rage pushed him into attacking blindly.
And someone important died because of it.
This time, he forced himself to remain calm.
Leon silently checked his watch.
Chris and Jill should already be getting close to the facility from the forest side by now.
Good.
That meant Emma still had a chance.
Leon slowly began walking toward the building alone.
Each step echoed quietly across the cold ground beneath him while the surrounding forest remained unnaturally silent.
No guards attacked him immediately.
No alarms activated.
It was almost as if Ramon was personally inviting him inside.
The closer Leon got, the more oppressive the atmosphere became.
Then—
Just as Leon reached the front entrance—
The massive metal doors suddenly opened by themselves with a loud mechanical sound.
Clang.
Leon's eyes narrowed slightly.
Several armed men slowly walked out from inside the building.
Each of them wore heavy black military armor reinforced with tactical equipment and protective plating. Their helmets completely covered their faces while advanced rifles remained aimed directly toward Leon.
Black Ops soldiers.
Not ordinary mercenaries.
Their movements alone revealed years of brutal training and discipline.
Cold.
Precise.
Professional.
Leon studied them silently for a moment.
By their formation, positioning, and trigger discipline alone, he immediately understood one thing—
These men were personally trained.
And only one person could have trained them for this exact moment.
Ramon.
The soldiers slowly spread out in front of the entrance, creating a defensive line while keeping their weapons aimed directly at Leon's chest.
The cold forest wind moved quietly between both sides.
Neither side spoke immediately.
Then finally, one of the armored soldiers stepped forward slightly before speaking through his helmet communicator.
"Mr. Ramon has been expecting you, Mr. Kennedy."
Leon's expression remained completely calm.
But beneath that calmness…
The magma inside him slowly began heating once again.
Leon looked calmly at the armored soldier standing in front of him before replying in a cold voice,
"Show the way."
The soldier gave a small nod immediately.
Without wasting another second, he turned around and slowly began walking back inside the facility.
Leon followed behind him calmly.
At the same time, the other Black Ops soldiers repositioned themselves around Leon while keeping their weapons ready at all times. Even though Leon wasn't resisting, none of them lowered their guard for even a second.
And honestly…
They had every reason not to.
The heavy metal doors slowly closed behind them with a loud mechanical sound.
Clang.
The atmosphere inside the facility felt cold and lifeless.
Long metallic hallways stretched endlessly ahead while dim white lights flickered occasionally above them. Security cameras rotated slowly from different corners while armed guards remained stationed throughout multiple checkpoints.
Everywhere Leon looked, he could see military discipline.
Ramon had clearly spent years building this place.
The group continued walking deeper into the facility.
Five minutes passed.
Then ten.
Eventually nearly twenty minutes had passed as they moved through endless hallways, security gates, elevators, and heavily reinforced passages.
Throughout the entire walk, Leon remained completely silent.
But his sharp blue eyes observed everything carefully.
Guard positions.
Escape routes.
Security systems.
Blind spots.
Even while appearing calm on the outside, Leon's mind was constantly calculating every possible scenario.
Finally, the group reached a massive reinforced door at the end of one final hallway.
The armored soldier stopped walking.
Then he slowly turned toward Leon.
"Go inside," the soldier said respectfully. "We will remain outside."
Leon narrowed his eyes slightly.
"It's not our place to interfere," the soldier continued calmly.
The atmosphere suddenly became even heavier.
Leon remained silent for a brief moment before finally nodding once.
Without saying another word, he walked forward alone.
The massive doors slowly opened automatically the moment he approached them.
Inside waited a gigantic hall large enough to resemble an aircraft hangar.
Darkness covered most of the room while only a few dim lights illuminated certain areas. Massive pillars extended toward the ceiling while the sound of Leon's footsteps echoed loudly throughout the empty hall.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Leon calmly walked deeper into the darkness.
Then suddenly—
A figure slowly emerged from the shadows ahead.
Leon's eyes narrowed immediately.
The man was enormous.
Nearly seven feet nine inches tall with an overwhelmingly powerful build that made him appear almost inhuman beneath the dim lighting.
A long white coat covered his body while a skull-shaped mask hid his face completely.
The moment Leon saw him clearly, he stopped walking.
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
Leon studied the man carefully for several seconds before finally speaking coldly,
"Who are you?"
The masked man tilted his head slightly before suddenly chuckling.
"Looks like you still haven't remembered me."
His voice sounded calmer now without the phone distortion, yet there was still madness hidden beneath it.
Then slowly, the giant man raised one hand beside his head, using his fingers to imitate the shape of a phone.
"Don't you remember?" he mocked. "We just spoke earlier."
He slowly moved his thumb and pinky finger slightly while staring directly at Leon through the skull mask.
"Remember?"
Leon's blue eyes narrowed dangerously.
The man's height.
The voice.
Doesn't match well.
Leon's blue eyes narrowed dangerously.
"…You're not Ramon."
The giant figure suddenly went silent.
Then slowly—
The man began laughing.
A deep, distorted laughter echoed throughout the massive hall.
"Hehehehahahahaha…"
The sound felt unnatural.
Almost monstrous.
Leon remained completely still while carefully observing him. The closer he looked, the more wrong the figure appeared.
The massive height.
The unnaturally enlarged muscles.
The way parts of his exposed skin looked stretched and damaged beneath the white coat.
Even the skull mask itself barely managed to hide the deformities underneath.
Then suddenly, the giant man slowly reached toward the skull mask covering his face.
"You really still don't understand, Leon?" the man said mockingly.
Leon's expression remained cold.
The atmosphere inside the hall grew heavier with every passing second.
Then—
The giant figure slowly removed the skull mask.
The moment Leon saw his face, his eyes widened slightly for the first time that night.
Burn marks.
Mutated flesh.
Half of the man's head looked horribly damaged as if it had once been completely destroyed before being forcibly regenerated through something unnatural.
One side of his face still resembled the Ramon Leon remembered years ago.
But the other side…
Looked like a monster.
Veins pulsed unnaturally beneath damaged skin while one eye glowed faintly with an inhuman color.
Ramon smiled slowly.
Or at least—
The remaining normal side of his face did.
"Now do you remember me properly?" Ramon asked quietly.
Leon stared at him silently.
Then his gaze slowly shifted toward the destroyed side of Ramon's skull.
Memories resurfaced instantly.
The burning laboratory.
Leon's magma-covered fist.
Hell Hound.
And Ramon's head exploding apart from the impact before falling into the flames below.
Leon finally understood.
Ramon survived by mutating himself with the virus.
Using it to regenerate his destroyed body.
Ramon spread his arms slowly while grinning proudly.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" he said almost excitedly. "Human evolution surpassing death itself."
Leon's expression only became colder.
"You turned yourself into a monster," Leon replied quietly.
Ramon suddenly laughed again.
"Monster?" he mocked. "No, Leon."
He slowly pointed toward the destroyed side of his own face.
"You created this."
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
Ramon's massive body slowly stepped forward out of the darkness completely now, revealing his full mutated form.
Even his height no longer looked natural.
The virus had transformed him into something beyond ordinary humans.
"But thanks to you…" Ramon continued calmly. "I evolved."
Leon remained silent for several seconds before finally speaking again.
His voice sounded completely emotionless now.
"…Where's Emma?"
Ramon chuckled softly.
"Straight to the point as always."
Then suddenly—
His smile widened unnaturally.
"She's alive."
A brief pause followed.
"For now."
Leon's blue eyes instantly hardened.
The moment Ramon mentioned Emma being alive "for now," Leon's body tensed dangerously. Heat slowly began radiating from his clenched fists while the floor beneath his boots cracked faintly from the rising temperature.
He was barely controlling himself now.
"What did you do to her?" Leon asked coldly.
His voice sounded calm on the surface.
But the rage hidden underneath it was becoming harder to suppress with every passing second.
Ramon chuckled softly before turning around.
"Relax," he replied casually. "She's perfectly fine… for now."
Leon's eyes narrowed sharply.
The massive mutated man slowly began walking deeper into the hall toward something hidden within the darkness ahead.
Leon followed carefully behind him while remaining alert.
Then finally—
A gigantic glass cylinder came into view.
The moment Leon saw it, his expression darkened.
Inside the massive cylindrical container floated a giant humanoid creature connected to countless machines, cables, and monitoring systems. Thick liquid filled the chamber while strange tubes pumped unknown substances directly into the creature's body.
The thing barely looked human anymore.
Its body was enormous, covered in black hardened flesh with unnaturally large muscles and distorted limbs. Sharp bone-like structures extended from parts of its shoulders and spine while its chest rose slowly with deep monstrous breaths.
Computer monitors surrounding the cylinder displayed unstable biological readings constantly.
Leon stared at the creature for several silent seconds before finally asking,
"…What the hell is that?"
Ramon stopped walking.
Then slowly, he looked back over his shoulder.
A twisted smile spread across the damaged side of his face.
"My masterpiece," he answered proudly.
Leon's eyes narrowed.
"My perfect creation designed specifically to counter your abilities."
For the first time since entering the facility, Leon looked genuinely surprised.
"…Counter me?"
Ramon chuckled again.
"Hehehehahahahaha…"
Then slowly, he approached the nearby computer systems attached to the cylinder.
"Let me tell you a story first, Leon."
Leon remained silent while carefully watching both Ramon and the creature inside the tank.
Ramon placed one mutated hand across the control panel while speaking calmly.
"Back on the island… after you used that magma attack and destroyed half my head…"
His smile widened unnaturally.
"…do you know what happened next?"
Leon's expression remained cold.
"Before you reached the building that day," Ramon continued, "I had already completed my own virus."
He slowly began typing commands into the computer.
"You probably don't know this, but my former teacher was James Marcus… one of the founders of Umbrella."
Leon's eyes narrowed slightly at the name.
Ramon laughed softly.
"Yes… the same Marcus obsessed with immortality."
The machines surrounding the cylinder suddenly activated louder as data flashed rapidly across multiple monitors.
"I studied under him for years," Ramon continued. "I witnessed his work on the T-Virus personally."
He paused briefly before grinning.
"Everyone believed Marcus died long ago."
Then Ramon slowly looked directly into Leon's eyes.
"But before our final meeting ended… I stole part of his research."
Leon's expression darkened immediately.
Ramon spread his arms proudly.
"And using that research, I created something far superior."
He tapped the glass cylinder slowly.
"My own virus."
The creature floating inside twitched violently.
Ramon's smile widened further.
"Marcus used leech DNA as the foundation for his experiments…"
Then his tone became almost excited.
"But I chose something much better."
He slowly turned back toward Leon.
"Tardigrade DNA."
Leon stayed silent.
Ramon pressed another button on the console.
The liquid inside the tank began bubbling violently.
"You know what makes tardigrades special, Leon?" Ramon asked quietly.
"They survive extreme heat."
Another monitor lit up.
"Extreme cold."
More systems activated.
"Crushing pressure."
The giant creature inside the tank slowly opened one glowing eye.
"And there are even records suggesting they can survive the vacuum of space itself."
Leon's expression slowly became more serious.
Now he understood why Ramon survived the Hell Hound attack.
The virus mutated and regenerated him after his near death.
But Ramon wasn't finished speaking yet.
"When you blew apart half my head," Ramon continued proudly, "the virus inside my body activated automatically."
He slowly spread both arms outward.
"It gave me regeneration…"
Then his grin widened.
"And immunity."
The atmosphere instantly became heavier.
"Flames."
"Ice."
"Magma."
"Pressure."
Ramon slowly stepped closer toward Leon.
"Everything."
Leon's jaw tightened slightly.
Ramon stared directly into his eyes before speaking in a low menacing voice.
"Do you understand now?"
A dangerous silence filled the hall.
"You can't kill me anymore, Leon."
Then suddenly—
Ramon burst into laughter.
"Hehehehahahahaha!"
"I am immortal!"
The sound echoed violently throughout the massive chamber.
Leon had finally heard enough.
Heat exploded from his body instantly as magma slowly formed around his clenched fist.
He was ready to attack.
But the moment Leon moved slightly—
Ramon's expression changed.
"Stop."
Leon froze immediately.
Ramon's grin slowly returned.
"Don't move."
The atmosphere instantly became tense again.
Leon narrowed his eyes dangerously.
Then Ramon continued calmly,
"Even though I perfected my new virus using Tardigrade DNA and the Progenitor Virus…"
For the first time, Ramon's expression became serious.
"…there was still one problem."
Leon immediately sensed danger.
The creature inside the cylinder suddenly twitched violently again.
Leon's eyes narrowed.
"…What problem?"
Ramon slowly smiled after seeing the serious look appear on Leon's face.
"You finally understand," he said calmly.
Then he slowly turned back toward the giant cylinder.
"The problem was never survival."
His mutated fingers moved across the keyboard casually while the machines around the chamber continued humming loudly.
"The real problem…"
Ramon looked back over his shoulder.
"…was how to defeat you."
Leon's blue eyes narrowed dangerously.
Ramon chuckled softly.
"Immunity doesn't automatically mean strength, Leon."
The giant creature floating inside the cylinder twitched violently again as if reacting to their conversation.
"So I stayed patient," Ramon continued. "I observed you carefully from the shadows for years."
The atmosphere inside the hall became heavier.
Then Ramon's grin widened.
"And do you remember the first time the military successfully restrained you?"
Leon's expression changed slightly.
Ramon noticed it immediately.
"Oh yes," he mocked quietly. "They stopped you… restrained you… even managed to hurt you temporarily."
Leon's jaw tightened.
The memories resurfaced instantly.
That strange substance.
The burning pain spreading through his body.
His magma powers weakening.
Ramon slowly spread his arms proudly.
"Compound V," he said excitedly. "Am I right?"
Leon turned his face slightly without answering.
But that alone was enough confirmation for Ramon.
The mutated scientist laughed.
"Hehehehahahahaha!"
"I knew it."
Ramon slowly walked around the giant cylinder while staring proudly at the creature inside.
"So I asked myself one simple question…"
He tapped the glass lightly.
"What would happen if I fused my virus…"
A dangerous smile spread across his damaged face.
"…with Compound V?"
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
Leon's eyes widened slightly.
Now he understood everything.
The creature inside the tank wasn't just another bio-weapon.
It had been specifically designed to counter him.
A monster capable of resisting magma while also possessing the ability to weaken and restrain him directly.
Ramon slowly tilted his head.
"Now tell me, Leon…"
His voice became darker.
"What do you think happens when something immune to your powers…"
The creature inside the cylinder slowly opened both glowing eyes completely.
"…can also suppress them?"
Leon reacted instantly.
Without wasting another second, he disappeared forward using his magma propulsion technique at terrifying speed.
Boom!
The floor beneath him shattered instantly from the force.
In less than a second, Leon appeared directly in front of the giant glass cylinder.
Magma erupted violently around his entire arm.
The unbearable heat instantly melted nearby metal structures while the chamber temperature skyrocketed.
Leon raised his magma-covered fist.
"Hell Hound!"
His volcanic punch surged forward toward the glass with enough force to obliterate the entire chamber.
But suddenly—
Before Leon's attack could connect—
The glass cylinder exploded outward by itself.
Crash!
A massive wave of white mist burst out violently from inside the tank.
Leon's eyes widened slightly.
The mist engulfed him instantly.
The moment it touched his body—
Leon immediately recognized the feeling.
His magma slowed.
The heat around his arm weakened.
A familiar pressure spread throughout his body.
Compound V.
The same substance that once restrained him before.
Leon instantly jumped backward out of instinct while steam erupted violently around him.
Ramon's laughter echoed throughout the hall once again.
"Hehehehahahahaha!"
"You're too late, Leon!"
The white mist continued spreading rapidly across the chamber while warning alarms suddenly activated everywhere.
Inside the destroyed cylinder—
The giant humanoid creature slowly stepped forward for the first time.
Heavy footsteps echoed throughout the hall.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Its massive black body towered over Leon while glowing veins pulsed beneath hardened skin. White vapor escaped from its mouth with every breath while its glowing eyes locked directly onto Leon like a predator staring at prey.
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.
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Chapter End.
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