Javier looked at the sticky, unidentified fluid coating his fingers and the terrifying, jumping veins on Wesker's forehead. He could practically feel Wesker's pain—it must have been intensely satisfying. It seems the eyeball is the weakest point for any carbon-based life form.
He had to admit, the dirty tricks passed down by his predecessors, like eye-poking and groin-kicking, were incredibly effective. Ahem... No, one should not call martial arts moves "dirty tricks"; they should be called "Targeted Strikes," which sounds much more dignified and comfortable.
"Oof... Ho-ho—!!!"
Meanwhile, Wesker clutched his right eye in agony, gasping raggedly for air. Since he hadn't injected any anesthetics, the pain of having his eye exploded was unimaginable. Cold sweat poured down his forehead, and his whole body shook uncontrollably.
His gaze towards Javier was a torrent of unstoppable fury, threatening to shatter his back molars. In this moment, Wesker swore he would kill this bastard Javier. This seemingly harmless, smiling jerk was even more detestable than the hypocritical Chris.
On the other side, having successfully exploded Wesker's right eye with one move, Javier immediately raised the Desert Eagle, its cold, black muzzle pointed at Wesker's head, ready to end his life.
"..."
"First Blood is mine."
Javier didn't hesitate as he looked at Wesker's hateful expression and swiftly pulled the trigger. Javier knew he couldn't completely destroy Wesker; the power of the Progenitor Virus was immense, and as long as Wesker's hatred and rage were deep enough, the virus would revive him into some terrifying monster.
Therefore, Javier didn't intend to completely enrage Wesker. He only planned to kill him once. As for whether it was a real death or a false one, Javier didn't care, as long as he could trick his 'system' or 'golden finger.' Currently, his power was too weak, and eliminating a completely berserk Wesker was too risky. Having witnessed the examples of G-Birkin and the Nemesis, who kept reviving and relentlessly pursuing their targets, Javier only wanted to claim Wesker's First Blood.
"Click..."
"Boom—!!!"
A loud gunshot rang out. The .50 caliber Magnum bullet flew out instantly, followed by a visible shockwave. Just when Javier thought Wesker would be instantly killed...
"Die!"
A low roar came from Wesker's throat.
Ignoring the intense pain, Wesker's previously shattered hand—now nothing but exposed white bone—smashed violently towards Javier's face like a wooden club.
Pain erupted in both men. Javier's skin was broken and bleeding from the blow, and his head felt dizzy. Wesker, using his bone-exposed arm as a weapon, undoubtedly felt immense pain—like salt poured into a wound.
As for the Magnum bullet, due to Wesker's sudden eruption, it missed his head and instead hit his shoulder, causing another spray of blood and a gruesome hole. Wesker's shoulder looked terrifying, as if it had been severed halfway, but he seemed not to notice.
The now one-eyed Wesker grabbed Javier's collar and began relentlessly smashing his forehead against Javier's head. Both men were bleeding profusely from their heads.
"..."
"Now you see who gets the last laugh, huh? Recruit—!!!"
Wesker, mocking Javier and seizing the initiative, gave him no chance to breathe, continuously slamming his forehead into Javier's head like a relentless storm. The pain on Javier's face was almost numb, but the intensity of Wesker's struggle was undeniable.
"Bang!"
Another elbow slammed into Javier's face. The searing pain finally gave Javier a chance to breathe. He quickly raised the Desert Eagle again and frantically emptied the clip into Wesker's heart.
"Bang—Bang—Bang—Bang—Bang—!!!"
Five consecutive bullets were fired simultaneously.
The terrifying destructive power opened five bleeding holes in Wesker's chest. His heart, lungs, and other vital organs were instantly ripped apart by the cavitation effect. Wesker's maniacal smashing instantly stopped, and he collapsed onto the ground.
Was he dead...?
In a sense, yes. Given Wesker's current state, he was still within human limits; therefore, bullets through the heart meant instant death. However, he wasn't completely gone, thanks to the Progenitor Virus.
The virus would not allow its host to die, as that would mean their own demise. This symbiotic relationship meant the virus would frantically resurrect the host, regardless of the form the host took. The viruses only need a host that can be parasitized and survived in.
Therefore—
"Ho-ho..."
Just as Javier truly believed Wesker had entered a temporary death-like dormancy, a low growling sound emanated from Wesker's body. But this time, the sound wasn't human; it was a pure animalistic roar, the kind Javier had heard countless times from mutated zombies—a sound of insatiable hunger and desire to devour human flesh.
Could it be—
Realizing this, Javier desperately tried to crawl backward, but the intense fight had drained his stamina. He couldn't muster the strength to run. His face was covered in blood, blurring his vision, and worse, his Desert Eagle was empty.
At this moment, Javier was truly unarmed.
On the other side, Wesker's viral evolution was accelerating rapidly under the Progenitor Virus's assault. This was fueled by his primal will to survive and his deep hatred for Javier and S.T.A.R.S.
However, this was a vicious and incorrect path of evolution. Wesker was successfully absorbing the evolutionary power, but he couldn't control it because his death was forced, not voluntary, unlike the original timeline where he controlled the virus to enter a pseudo-death state to achieve perfect fusion. Now, the virus was acting purely on instinct to save its host.
Thus...
"Ho-ho-ho..."
Another low growl. To Javier's astonishment, Wesker's shattered hand began to grow new flesh, twisting into an ugly, festering beast claw. The severe, almost severed wound on his shoulder rapidly healed, congealing into a mass of tough, black muscle.
As for his blinded eye, a new orange-yellow eyeball grew in its place. But this eye wasn't Wesker's; it seemed to possess its own consciousness, surveying the environment freely. Sharp fangs grew from Wesker's mouth, making him look more monstrous than a regular zombie.
The self-awareness of Wesker was completely gone. He was entirely controlled by the Progenitor Virus. The new orange eye was the virus's consciousness, using Wesker's body to understand the world. Its gaze toward Javier became greedy. As a viral instinct, it wanted to infect any available host.
This was the consequence of being controlled by the Progenitor Virus. Wesker's cool appearance plummeted to rock bottom, now utterly hideous. This was a mistaken evolutionary path, likely unforeseen by Wesker himself.
The Progenitor Virus didn't care about appearance; it only needed the host to be stronger. With sharp fangs, giant claws, and hardened shoulder muscle, Wesker had perfectly overcome his previous defects!
"Ho-ho-ho—!!!"
With a low roar, the virus-controlled Wesker charged towards Javier. The Progenitor Virus intended to use Javier's body as part of its infectious replication.
Javier struggled to prop himself against the tunnel wall, wiping blood from his face. He felt panic seeing the monstrous Wesker, but quickly regained an eerie calm. The panic stemmed from his fear of death, realizing he had made a fatal miscalculation—he hadn't accounted for the virus controlling Wesker and reviving him so quickly, which was beyond normal limits.
As for the calm, facing death for the second time, Javier felt strangely numb, as if he still viewed this Resident Evil world as a virtual one. Yet, the sharp, visceral pain on his face constantly reminded him that this world was real! This extreme contrast plunged Javier into confusion, leaving his face blank, as if silently waiting to die.
However, just as the virus-controlled Wesker prepared to bite Javier's neck, an eerie sound of chains rattled through the tunnel. It was as if something heavy was being dragged slowly.
"Clang-a-lang..."
"Clang-a-lang... Clang-a-lang..."
The sudden noise caught the attention of the Progenitor Virus. It twisted Wesker's head around, where a shadow was slowly emerging from the opposite end of the tunnel. The silhouette distorted under the dim lights, appearing bizarre and terrifying.
It radiated a strong sense of oppressive power. While Javier, as a human, couldn't perceive it, the Progenitor Virus clearly sensed an extreme, lethal danger. It could smell that this entity also carried a virus, but a new, highly evolved one, filled with tenacious vitality and madness.
This aura posed a strong threat to the ancient Progenitor Virus itself.
"Ho-ho-ho..."
The familiar low growl continued. The distorted shadow gradually materialized before the virus, Wesker, and Javier. It had messy, tangled flaxen hair that was matted and stained dark red from long immersion in blood. Parasitic tentacles wriggled menacingly from its back.
Slightly hunched, its body was slender and elongated. Heavy steel shackles were attached to its hands, though the center chain was broken, leaving lengths of iron dragging on the ground, creating the "clang-a-lang" sound with every step.
Beneath the wild hair were a pair of deep blood-red eyes, constantly radiating danger.
The newcomer was the monster girl, Lisa Trevor!