The heavy iron door of the Research Institute was opened.
Carrying the violent blizzard from the Antarctic Ice Fields, which was enough to freeze the Soul, six figures wearing black polar combat gear stepped into this Forbidden Land they were never meant to tread upon.
Noah was the first to step into the hall; he looked up and immediately scanned the entire grand yet empty space.
Everything here exuded an extremely unsettling sense of familiarity.
Umbrella's Hive beneath Raccoon City.
Everyone's nerves were strained to the limit at this moment, their dark muzzles pointed warily at every corner where danger might be lurking.
"Everyone, be careful..." Chris's voice was low, and the safety on his M4A1 Carbine had long been disengaged.
Jill's expression also became incredibly solemn as she instinctively tightened her grip on the ump9 submachine gun in her hands.
Just then, Noah suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He tilted his head slightly, as if listening for something.
"That was close..." he whispered, his voice carrying a hint of exhaustion and lingering fear that even he hadn't noticed.
That stretch of road just now was the closest any of them had ever been to death.
Only after stepping onto this ice field did they truly realize how terrifying nature's primal fury could be.
The blizzard, with visibility of less than three meters, could strip a person of their sense of direction almost instantly.
The extreme low temperatures, enough to make steel brittle, were constantly eroding the combat suits' thermal Systems, frantically draining the body heat from each of them.
To avoid being separated by the blizzard, they used high-strength climbing ropes to link the six of them together, trudging through this white purgatory with uneven, difficult steps.
A mere distance of two hundred meters felt as long as a century.
When the blurry silhouette of the Research Institute finally appeared in their sight, everyone felt a sense of exhaustion as if they had crawled back to the human world from Hell.
"It's lucky this place isn't far," Leon wiped the frost from his face and exhaled a large cloud of white mist.
"If we had walked for another half hour, we would probably have been left in this snow forever."
Everyone felt a lingering fear, but there was no time for sentiment.
Just as they had found their footing in the center of the hall and were about to plan their next route...
BANG—!!!!
An even more violent crash suddenly erupted from behind a closed door on the side of the hall!
That door was sent flying outward by an indescribable force from within!
The door panel tumbled through the air with a sharp whistle, slamming heavily onto the marble floor not far from the group and shattering into pieces!
A massive and twisted figure lunged out from the broken doorway with a low growl!
It was a humanoid monster over two meters tall, completely surpassing the limits of human potential!
Its skin was a rough, grayish-green, like that of a reptile.
Knotted muscles covered its entire body, containing explosive power.
Most terrifying of all, rows of hideous, sword-like bony protrusions grew from its spine, making its entire back look like a prehistoric Vicious Beast walking upright!
In its hand, it dragged a giant axe, even larger than a fire axe, which gleamed with a cold, sinister light!
ROAR—!!
The monster let out a subhuman roar, its cloudy eyes filled with tyranny and madness turning blood-red the moment it saw Noah's group in the center of the hall!
It took heavy steps and charged frantically toward the group!
It swung the giant axe, wildly destroying everything around it; tables, chairs, and computers were not spared by its violent power, and the entire hall became a mess in an instant!
However...
Just as it turned its target toward Noah's group and raised the giant axe—capable of splitting a person in two—high above its head to attack!
Its movements suddenly froze.
Those blood-red eyes, filled with madness and bloodlust, trembled violently the moment they scanned the group and finally fixed on Claire's face.
The muscles on its face began to twist frantically, as if two completely different wills were engaged in a tragic struggle within its mind.
"Ugh... Aaaaaargh—!!"
The monster dropped the giant axe, which hit the ground with a deafening thud.
It clutched its head and knelt on the ground in agony, its body twitching violently from the extreme pain.
"Go... just go..."
A broken and hoarse voice squeezed out with difficulty from deep within its throat.
"I... I don't want... to hurt you..."
Everyone was stunned.
This incredible scene before them filled everyone with heartfelt confusion and shock.
However, just as the monster was struggling in pain and its human will was about to gain the upper hand!
Hum—
A low hum, as if coming from the depths of Hell, suddenly echoed from above the ceiling!
"Watch out!!" Noah roared as a warning sign flashed in his mind!
But it was already too late!
Several massive, deep-green vines covered in twisted, vein-like patterns suddenly burst through the ceiling from behind the ornate crystal chandelier and smashed down fiercely!
Their target was the monster kneeling on the ground, struggling in pain!
Puchi—!!!!
The hair-raising sound of flesh being pierced rang out!
The thickest vine pierced through the monster's back and straight through its abdomen without resistance!
"Ugh—!!"
The monster let out a grunt of extreme pain, its massive body stiffening as all its struggling ceased instantly.
The vine suddenly retracted upward, lifting the massive two-meter-tall body high into the air before slamming it down onto the hard marble floor like a discarded rag doll!
THUD—!!!!
A dull thud that made one's heart tremble!
"Fire!!" Chris roared, his face twisted with anger, as he was the first to pull the trigger!
The M4A1 Carbine instantly spat out lethal tongues of fire!
Da-da-da-da-da—!!
A storm of bullets, like a rain of vengeance, instantly enveloped the strange vines!
Bang! Bang! The broken butterfly in Leon's hand also let out deafening roars at close range, blasting the tough skin of the vines and sending green sap flying everywhere!
Boom! Claire's Quad-Grenade Launcher unhesitatingly fired a high-explosive grenade, which detonated precisely at the base of the vines; the violent flames and shockwave caused the entire ceiling to shake violently!
Jill's UMP9 poured out all its firepower without reservation onto those eerie vines!
ROAR!!
The vines seemed to feel the pain as well; they let out an unwilling low growl and quickly retracted into the large hole in the ceiling, disappearing.
The battle came quickly and ended just as fast.
Silence returned to the hall once more.
Everyone's gaze fell upon the massive, motionless figure lying on the ground.
Under everyone's watch, the powerful body of the monster began to undergo a strange transformation.
The reptile-like grayish-green skin began to lose its color at a visible rate, turning pale.
The knotted muscles that were like intertwined tree roots began to shrink and soften rapidly.
The rows of hideous bony protrusions on its back also retracted under the skin bit by bit, like melting candles.
The monster's body was shrinking rapidly.
Finally, it returned completely to the form of an ordinary human.
A mess of short brown hair, a face twisted in pain yet still retaining the characteristic innocence of a youth.
His body was completely soaked in blood and green sap.
Steve Burnside.
Claire instinctively covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming.
Leon's eyes instantly turned red; he turned in silence and punched the wall behind him hard!
"Damn it!!" he gritted out through his teeth.
Jill and Chris's brows furrowed deeply as they looked at the dying youth on the ground, their eyes filled with complex emotions.
Ada just pursed her lips slightly, her eyes as deep as an ancient well, showing no ripples of emotion.
Noah quickly walked to Steve's side and knelt down, carefully propping up his broken body to sit against his leg.
Blood poured out like a flood from the hideous puncture wound in Steve's abdomen, quickly staining Noah's combat suit red.
"You didn't have to come here..."
Noah looked at his face, which was as pale as paper from blood loss, his voice low and raspy.
"That way... you could have at least lived..."
Steve struggled to open his eyes, his dilated pupils trying to focus on Noah's face.
The corner of his mouth twitched, forming a very weak smile.
"This... was my own... choice..."
His voice was as light as a breeze, liable to dissipate at any moment.
"To be able to... be partners with... strong people like you..."
His breathing became weaker and weaker, the light in his eyes fading rapidly.
"I... think it was... cool... and... happy..."
As the last syllable fell.
Steve's head slumped down powerlessly.
His breathing stopped completely.
Claire could no longer hold it in; she bit her lower lip as large tears slid silently down her cheeks.
Noah remained silent.
He reached out and gently closed Steve's eyes, which would never open again.
Then, he slowly picked up Steve's body, which was already starting to grow cold, and walked step by step to the wall of the hall.
He gently set him down against the cold wall, leaving him in a sitting position.
Having done this, Noah stood up without saying a word.
The entire hall fell into a heavy silence.
After a long time.
"Let's go."
Chris's voice broke the heavy, dead silence.
"We... must make his death meaningful."
Everyone nodded silently, composing their emotions and burying all their sadness and anger deep within their hearts.
They didn't stay any longer, silently stepping forward toward the only passage deep within the hall.
At the end of the passage.
A pair of massive double doors, grander and more ornate than any they had seen in the Rockfort Island castle, appeared before them.
The doors were carved with the intricate and eerie crest of the Ashford Family, emitting a chilling aura that made one shudder.
Noah walked up to the doors.
He didn't look for any mechanisms, nor did he try to push them open.
He just stood there quietly, slowly closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
In an instant, the aura around him underwent a world-shaking change.
The terrifying power, as deep and calm as a pool of water, which he had deliberately restrained after Fusion with the g-virus, was completely unleashed at this moment!
BOOM—!
A visible, solid wave of air erupted from his body as the center, even causing a circle of fine cracks to appear on the polished marble floor beneath his feet!
He took a sudden step forward, lowering his body and pulling back his right arm, concentrating all the power in his body into his right fist!
Charging, then exploding!
A straight punch concentrating all his current anger and killing intent!
It slammed heavily onto the ornate and sturdy massive door panel!