Now that Saddler was nothing more than a shredded memory, I could finally breathe. The island wasn't fully secured yet, but the heart of the evil had been ripped out. It was time to think of my own.
I returned to the factory carrying Lisa in my arms, the air still heavy with fear and exhaustion. She clung to me without a word, eyes closed, but I could feel her fingers trembling against my uniform.
As soon as we arrived, my medical team sprang into action. Sherry, Kevin, and Luis were already waiting in the treatment room, each in light medical gear, the traces of their recent procedures still visible — a few bandages, sensors still attached here and there.
They were alive. Freed from the parasite before it could attach to their spinal cords. Luis had ensured the process was quick and painless.
I gently placed Lisa onto a chair near the operating table."It's your turn, sweetheart. I'm staying right here, okay? I'm not going anywhere."She looked at me, a little hesitant, then slowly nodded. "Okay, daddy. But… you'll stay?""Until you're in good hands."
She squeezed my hand one last time before lying down. The team moved quickly and silently around her. The operation was swift. Smooth. Precise. Less than fifteen minutes later, the subordinate plagas inside her was extracted into a containment jar, still twitching.
She sat up suddenly, a tear in the corner of her eye, and jumped into my arms.I wrapped her up at once, holding her close as if I had waited years for this moment."It's over, sweetheart… it's over. You're free now.""I love you, daddy…""I love you too, more than anything."
After a few moments, I entrusted her to Kevin and Sherry, who welcomed her with kind smiles. She followed them into another wing of the factory, her gaze lingering on me until she disappeared down the hallway.
I let out a deep breath… and then my attention was drawn to a corner of the room.
Curled up against the wall sat the girl I had threatened earlier. Her arms wrapped around her knees, face hidden behind brown strands of hair, still trembling. Beside her, Alexia Ashford spoke softly, resting a hand on her shoulder in a rare gesture of tenderness.
I approached slowly.Kneeling before her, I set one knee on the ground. She flinched at first but didn't back away.
"I'm sorry about earlier," I said, my voice softer than ever. "The situation with Saddler… and the danger to my daughter pushed me over the edge. I reacted harshly. It's no excuse, but I'd like to start over."
I extended my hand."Gerald King. Nice to meet you."
She slowly raised her eyes. Green, wide, and deep, still red from too many tears. She glanced at Alexia, who nodded silently.After a short pause, she reached out and took my hand.
"My name is Maria… Maria Alvarez. My father was Carlos," she said in a low, fragile voice. "He injected me with a weakened clone of the Queen so I could resist Saddler… He was killed right after."
Her fingers tightened briefly around mine. There was sorrow… but also determination.
A movement behind me interrupted us.Luis Sera entered the room, arms crossed, a soft smile playing on his lips. At the sight of Maria, his features softened.
"Well, little Maria… You're still as pretty as ever."She blinked, incredulous. Then suddenly leapt up and ran to him."Uncle Sera! You're alive!"He hugged her gently, ruffling her hair."Of course I am. We've survived worse, haven't we? And now that you're in good hands, I'm not letting you go."
I stood slowly, watching them. That scene… contrasted so sharply with the blood and death I'd been surrounded by for days.
I walked briskly through the factory. I pushed open the door to the main lab and found Marcus, Wesker, and Birkin leaning over a reinforced cryogenic pod. Alexia Ashford, as imperious as ever, observed the secondary display. Luis joined them a few minutes later, after leaving Maria in Kevin and my daughters' care.
Marcus turned to me with an almost predatory smile."Ah, Gerald. Perfect. We were waiting for your green light.""So?" I asked bluntly, walking toward the center of the lab. "Does Saddler's queen have any use, or do we toss her out?"
Birkin tapped at the screen before straightening up, a scalpel still in hand."Major interest. After a manual — and I must say, very brutal — extraction, which unfortunately caused the host's death, we managed to force ovogenesis. She laid a successor before dying. A new queen — purged, stabilized, and far more compliant."
Wesker crossed his arms, smirking."And most importantly, without the rotten ideology. Now we've got a queen… without a doctrine. Ready for use."
Marcus tapped the side of the container."We've halted her cellular development. We were waiting for you for the next step: injecting a concentrated dose of the G-Virus into her system. After that, she'll be able to merge with your genetic code through your parasitic system."He looked at me, eyes gleaming with scientific curiosity."You'll then have absolute control over all active Plagas — even the ones still circulating. Without killing their hosts."
I raised an eyebrow."And Saddler never thought of this?"
Wesker Jr., leaning against the wall, let out a short laugh."That idiot only used two types of Plagas. The primary Queen for himself, and watered-down versions for his subordinates. It's like trying to command an entire army with a half-dead walkie-talkie."
Birkin slid a holographic diagram onto the main screen."With this new queen, you'll be able to create three distinct subcategories: generals, lieutenants, and soldiers. A more fluid, decentralized command structure with data relays. Each level can manage its own intel, which will reduce the strain on your mind."
I nodded slowly."Like a military structure. Saddler used the queen as HQ, Mendez and Salazar as generals… and everyone else as cannon fodder."
"Exactly," Marcus confirmed, pointing to the control pyramid. "You'll be able to set intelligent lieutenants between the levels. Interfaces. Relays. Like a neural network."
Luis, who had been silent until now, shrugged as he stepped forward."It's clean. Even I have to admit it's… elegant. But be careful with this queen. There are still original Plagas buried deep in Salazar's castle. Those won't respond to the new frequency."
Alexia turned to me, arms crossed, regal and cold."We can handle that. If you unify the queen under your control, we'll have a universal signal. But we'll need to purge the remnants of the old network."
I looked at the container. Inside, floating in amniotic solution, was the new Plagas Queen — still incomplete, but already impressive. A core of power waiting for a worthy host."All right, let's do it. Inject the G-Virus. We'll synchronize her growth with mine. Then we wipe out the remaining nests and take control of the entire network."
Wesker stared at me with a slow smile."You're about to become more than the enemy of Los Illuminados. You're going to become their god."
I smiled back, but corrected him."No. There's nothing left of them."
The new Plagas queen, once treated with the G-Virus, was injected directly into my body. The fusion wasn't painful — it was electrifying. Like an ancient machine suddenly activating inside my gut. I felt the queen trying to understand, to assert herself… But I crushed her swiftly, absorbing her like a new organ. She had no will of her own anymore, just a function — an extension of my will.
I could feel her pulsing in my mind like a second heart, a pure control center. And I fully intended to use it.
My first action was to return to the factory, where I had left Mendez and Salazar in stasis, recently extracted and stabilized. Their eyes lit up upon seeing me — or rather, darkened in worship."Come forward," I said simply.
They immediately knelt, like two ancient statues coming back to life. With a simple mental command, I activated the link.A pulse passed between us — me, the Queen, and them. In one second, their Plagas were synchronized, rewritten, and subordinated to my absolute control.
I immediately tested the connection, sending an impulse toward Mendez. His arm jerked, dragging across the floor like a limp puppet."Whoops. Sorry, still working on my aim, it seems," I joked, stifling a laugh."Thank you, Master," they said in unison, heads bowed.
I took the opportunity to inject them with a stabilized strain of the G-Virus as well, granting them a second rebirth. Their once monstrous and deformed bodies regained a more human appearance — but stronger, with densified muscles, reinforced bones, and superhuman vitality. The aura they exuded would chill any adversary to the bone.
Then I remotely took control of all the Ganados I had captured in the village, the ones I'd left under supervision at the factory. With a simple wave of my hand, I felt their minds connect to mine. It was like breathing — as natural as inhaling air. Hundreds of muffled voices synchronized. No pain. Just order.
Leaving the factory, I called my private command center, a mobile complex stationed in Eastern Europe."Prepare the heavy equipment transfer. The island is mine now. I want surveillance drones, a heliport, and a full-spectrum communication station within three days. Top priority.""Copy, Commander King. Operation New Dawn initiated."
I boarded an Aquila and flew over the domain. Salazar's castle loomed majestically on the horizon, its towers glowing in the setting sun. But what truly caught my eye was the tree.A few kilometers from the castle, a colossal plant rose into the sky. Blood-red, deformed, pulsing faintly. Plant 42 in its most grotesque form.
I contacted Wesker through a secure channel."Care to explain why there's a hundred-meter mutant tree in front of me?""Oh, right. Some lunatic named Mendez stormed in after you left. We managed to fight him off with Tintin's help, but he mutated into a giant. I had to use the seed you gave me to finish him off."
I groaned."Fantastic."
I slowly approached the tree. It seemed to react, its branches trembling like vegetal tentacles. But the moment I laid my hand on the trunk, everything changed.A shiver ran through the bark, my body resonating with the Plant's cells. The tree contracted, then began folding in on itself, shrinking, condensing its mass until it stood only fifty meters tall. Its bark turned black, almost metallic — stronger than steel, yet more stable.I smiled as fruit began growing on its branches. Looks like the village would get a good source of food after all.
Several days later, the transformation was complete.I had absorbed the fossilized Plagas beneath the castle, converted their strains, and eliminated the rogue remnants. The island and Salazar's estate were mine. But that wasn't all.
Thanks to Saddler's files and his network, I had gained complete control over the Spanish government. He had infiltrated two-thirds of the politicians and nearly 10% of the population. In two years, he could have toppled all of Europe.
I simply picked up where he left off… only better.
To establish my army, I created my own hierarchy, with generals and lieutenants.
Generals:
Lisa – the apple of my eye.
Wesker – my second-in-command.
Ada – my most useful field agent.
Neptune and Zeus – my sea giants.
Leo and Naya – my favorite beasts.
Hermes – my personal Aquila, twice as large and powerful as the others.
The President of Spain – now an executive relay.
The Spanish Army General – ensuring military control.
Lieutenants:
Every member of the STARS.
Ten Spanish ministers, carefully selected from various political parties.
Raptors of various species, each leading their own kind.
Aquatic units, led by evolved specimens.
Terrestrial units, primarily large mammals, each with a genetically optimized representative.
It's a shame, but leeches and other insects aren't compatible with the Plagas, and as for my mutated species like the Gunters or Lickers, they can't serve as lieutenants. So I gave them soldier-class Plagas instead and left command to humans.At least, they've gained a decent regeneration boost thanks to the experiments conducted with the Regenerators.
I began my world domination plan by allowing my hospitals to inoculate a soldier Plagas with each treatment given, letting me slowly but surely convert the population of countries that accepted the implantation of my medical centers.
Of course, I never gave a direct order, and people live their lives normally — or rather, even better, since the Plagas and the treatments make their bodies healthier and stronger, which makes conversion even easier.
(Author's note: And that wraps up the Plagas arc. Not sure about doing a RE5, but we'll see. As for RE7 — yeah, that's dead. I'm probably skipping straight to RE8, since Spencer would've mentioned Mother Miranda to Gérald ^^ I'm open to suggestions though, planning to write four more chapters before moving on to the next entry. So feel free to let me know!)