As I was about to leave the factory to begin the final preparations, a thought struck me, stopping me cold.Damn… the last fragment.
I immediately turned back and headed for Karl's station. I found him still with Alexia, finishing the task she had given him."Karl. A second."
He lifted his round goggles with the look of a man interrupted mid-concentration."Miss me already?" he grinned, just as Alexia left, carrying the Cadou specimen with her.
"No. Where's the Rosemarie fragment you were keeping?" I asked. He placed a hand on his chest in mock theatrics before unclipping a small titanium capsule from his belt. He tossed it to me nonchalantly."I've been carrying it since the start. I knew Miranda would come for it. Would've forced me into a direct fight with her. Luckily for me, you stopped me before I got myself killed," he said with a joking tone.
"Thanks."
I left the workshop, closing my fingers around the capsule, and headed for the Birkins' lab. The atmosphere was as frigid as ever—in every sense. Harsh white light, the hiss of autoclaves, glowing screens. And, as always, a faint background of classical music drifted through the metallic, chemical air.
I knocked on the glass door before entering. William was bent over a set of slides under the microscope. Annette, meanwhile, was annotating results. The moment her eyes met mine, she froze. Even after weeks here, the fear had never fully left her face.
"The Birkins. I need your help," I said, serious.
William raised his head, intrigued."What is it, Gérald?"
"Come with me."
I led them into an isolated chamber in the west wing, the one they themselves had converted into a biological stabilization center. At its center stood a medical pod surrounded by injector columns and holographic sensors. A soft green light pulsed from within.
I opened the central hatch, withdrew the four capsules I had recovered from Miranda's children… and slotted them one by one into the designated sockets. Each capsule opened with a sharp hiss."This baby's name is Rosemarie Winters."
The fragments began to assemble in an almost unreal organic ballet. Dark filaments stretched out, weaving together, pulsing with an inner violet glow. Then, with a strange contraction, they fused into a tiny, perfect body. A newborn. Floating peacefully in the nutrient solution, as though she had never been broken apart.
William froze, his mouth slightly open."This is… extraordinary. Her DNA has reassembled without a single rupture. And she isn't even breathing? No… she doesn't need oxygen. She's feeding differently…"
Annette typed rapidly at a keyboard."The energy output… it's a variant of the Winters Factor, but amplified. Almost… purified."
I stepped between them and the pod."You can run tests. Blood, urine, intracellular fluids. But hear me well: no scalpel touches her. No danger comes near her. If I discover you attempt anything destructive… I'll experiment on the two of you instead."
William raised his hands."Easy, Gérald. You have my word. I may still be obsessed with research… but I've learned. I won't repeat the same mistakes I made with Sherry."
I studied him a long moment, then nodded.
William turned to his wife."Dear, go see Marcus. Tell him I need a sample of his Winters serum. I want a baseline comparison."
Annette nodded quickly… almost too quickly, glad to get out of the room. William threw himself into his terminal, fingers racing across the keys.
As for me, I remained there, in front of the pod… watching Rosemarie. Sleeping peacefully.
I soon left the factory, heading back to Heisenberg's office before retrieving all my mini-bombs.
My plant-zombies, the ones I had released earlier, had finished their feast. Several of them had mutated spectacularly. Some now stood over four meters tall, their plant-trunks forming massive torsos covered in thorns and gnarled tendrils. Their branch-like arms were now lined with natural blades, barbed appendages, and carnivorous flowers ready to strike.
There were also a few plant-zombie corpses scattered here and there, and judging by their state, I could say with certainty it wasn't the cyborgs that had done it.
I gathered up all my plant monsters, since they had finished devouring every last piece of Cadou left in the factory.I only had to personally deal with one of the bigger cyborgs—the one with a literal drill mounted on each forearm. Its armor was blackened with soot, its red eyes flickering erratically. Somehow, it had survived my other troops.
But not for long.
I stepped aside, a tactical mine materializing in my hand before I tossed it directly into its path. Its lack of intelligence did the rest. The metal beast took a step—CLICK—then BOOM. The blast hurled it backwards, tearing off a leg and exposing raw circuitry. One of my plant-zombies leapt immediately, its roots boring into the still-warm cybernetic flesh."Thanks for the fertilizer, big guy."
Seconds later, nothing remained of the cyborg. My creature had absorbed every last filament of Cadou and the synthetic muscle fibers along with it.
I finally left the cyborg foundry, but I hadn't run into Ethan. Outside, the air was cooler, charged with static from the distant storms. I was about to summon Hermes to take off, ready to fly over the valley… when I heard a slow, sarcastic clap-clap-clap behind me.
I spun instantly.
There, in the shadow of a rusted crane, stood the evil Wesker clone. His black coat rippled in the wind, his red eyes gleaming with disturbing satisfaction. At his feet, I spotted Ethan—trussed up like a roast, mouth gagged with duct tape, struggling weakly under the effects of a mild sedative.
"Well done, Mr. King," the clone sneered, baring every tooth. "I see nothing can resist you. Did you kill them all, or recruit them?" he asked, before tensing.
I stepped forward, eyes locked on his. "You do realize the protection you once had in Raccoon City doesn't exist anymore, don't you? I can kill you now. Nothing—I mean nothing—can stop me."
He chuckled softly, but his eyes betrayed a flicker of unease. Then he raised one hand… holding a sawed-off shotgun, the barrel pressed against Ethan's temple.
"Easy, cowboy. You wouldn't want little Rose growing up an orphan, would you?"
I froze in place. His grin widened.
"Now… be a good boy. Hand over the real containers. The ones Winters carried were fakes. Convincing, yes, but I know you. You kept the authentic ones."
He thought he'd cornered me. Ethan, still on the ground, shook his head violently, sending me a mental pulse through the Plagas link—protect his daughter.
I drew in a slow breath."You forgot something, Albert. Someone else wants her. Someone you can't fool so easily."
His grin faltered slightly. My tone sharpened, louder, cutting."MIRANDA! Come now… or you'll never again have a chance at Rose!"
The clone paled. His arrogance cracked. And then… the earth trembled.
Three colossal black roots tore through the ground around us with a sinister roar, shattering the concrete slabs. The sky darkened, and an aura of fungal energy surged from the fissures. A freezing breath swept the area.
And at last… she appeared.
Mother Miranda, clad entirely in black, emerged slowly from the shadow cast by the Megamycete. Her four corrupted angel wings unfurled with a chilling rustle, each one pulsing with black-and-gold energy. Her golden mask glinted in the lightning flashing overhead. She hovered slightly above the ground, her cold eyes locked on the clone.
"You dare threaten my legacy?" she said, her ethereal voice slicing through the air like a funeral bell.
The Wesker clone took a step back. A shiver of pure fear crossed his face for the briefest instant. He had realized the truth. Despite his strength, his cunning, and his implants, he didn't stand a chance. Not against me. Not against her.
I smiled slowly, my palms glowing with a sinister radiance—green, pulsating, almost alive, coiling around my fingers like serpents of light."You're not the only predator here, Albert," I said, my tone calm and razor-sharp. "Welcome to the real game."
I stepped toward him, shoulders radiating dominance. Then I turned my head slightly toward Miranda's spectral silhouette, still hovering in her aura of spores and darkness.
"And as for you…" I added, a trace of irony in my voice, "it's not very polite to make me slaughter your whole menagerie just to get a meeting."
Miranda watched me closely, her golden mask tilted ever so slightly. For a brief instant, I felt her power weighing me, measuring me. Not out of challenge, but like one predator assessing the worth of another.
A faint psychic pressure brushed the air… then withdrew.
"What do you propose, King?" she hissed at last, her voice sharp as glass. A mix of curiosity, irritation… and opportunism.
I calmly pointed at the clone."I want Ethan back. And you want Rose. So let's get rid of this nuisance. Then we can talk… you and I."
Albert paled like a corpse. His grip on the shotgun tightened, his eyes darting between me, Miranda, and the exit. Panic flickered beneath the mask of control."One move, and Ethan dies!" he snarled, pressing the barrel harder against Ethan's temple in desperate rage.
Except…
His gaze shifted—and froze.
Ethan was gone.
"Wh… what?!" the clone stammered.
Too late.
A jagged spike of stone erupted from the ground, impaling him in an instant. The rock spear pierced his chest with a sickening crack, then retracted violently. His body burst apart in an internal detonation, hurling chunks of scorched flesh and twisted metal across the clearing like a grotesque firework display.
Silence returned. Miranda didn't say a word. She hadn't even moved. The ground itself seemed to sigh.
I wasted no time. Hermes swooped down with a thunder of wings, and I vaulted into the air, climbing ten meters in a sharp ascent.
From above, I scanned the clearing… and saw him.
At the edge of the mist, where the fog thickened again, the Duke stood—massive, immovable. He cradled Ethan in one hand, like a father carrying a sleeping child, and laid him gently on a stone platform.
The Duke's face was grim, carved from granite. No smile, no useless words. His heavy, implacable gaze met mine. Ethan dangled unconscious but alive, swaying slightly in the giant's palm.
"What are you doing here, Duke?" Miranda hissed, her voice quivering with restrained fury. Her black wings beat slowly behind her, predatory, like a raptor ready to strike.
The Duke raised an eyebrow, almost amused. "I'm only protecting a very good client."
Before she could retort, a spear of stone shot up from the ground, slashing toward her. Miranda reacted at the last instant, her wings thrusting her backward as the rock cleaved the air where she had stood a heartbeat earlier. A counterattack flashed from her fingers—a black lance of energy split the sky. But the Duke merely raised a hand. A wall of stone surged upward, swallowing the blast in a deafening crash.
I watched the exchange carefully, my mind racing. Finally, confirmation.
"So… your Eveline is tied to Ethan. The way you rushed to save him leaves no doubt," I said coolly.
The Duke's eyes sharpened, almost feral. "I hate clever men. They ruin business."
He snapped his fingers. The earth rumbled, mineral roots bursting everywhere around him.
"What are you talking about?!" Miranda shrieked, her features twisted with rage and confusion. "I just want to see Eva again!"
But her voice faltered. Her body swayed. Her aura weakened—fast. The Duke had severed her link to the Megamycete.
"You're of no further use, Miranda," he declared coldly.
A stone pike shot upward, aiming for her heart. I reacted on instinct, my dark wings propelling me forward. My body slammed into Miranda, knocking her clear of the fatal strike. We tumbled through the air, her ragged breath against my shoulder. One of my Bloods—an enhanced winged beast—swooped down, catching her and carrying her to safety as I righted myself.
My eyes locked on the Duke, standing immense and still, arms crossed."So you're the real final boss…" I muttered. "Considering how you humiliated me last time, I suppose that makes sense."
I signaled, and Hermes dived, lifting me higher as my vines spiraled tightly around my arms. In the distance, I spotted it: a colossal black trunk, twisting above the village canopy. It pulsed with unholy light, spores drifting around it like a fungal rain.
The heart of the Megamycete.
"That's where it all ends," I whispered to myself.
But I wasn't alone. The Duke was already there, waiting before the trunk—like an ancient god at the threshold of his temple. Ethan was gone from his arms.
I clenched my jaw and released one of my giant bats."Find Winters. Bring him back alive."
(Author's Note: That's it for this chapter. Don't forget to check out my YouTube channel, geomichi506!)