"But an accident occurred midway through the empire's development. Because of the sacred flower relics, more and more leaders emerged within the Dibaya Empire, and a civil war broke out due to the struggle for power and profit."
"Countless infected monsters swarmed out from the underground world. Amidst the empire's internal strife, the Dibaya Empire, which had flourished for less than a century, was instantly destroyed. This history was buried deep underground."
"The so-called sacred flower that grants extraordinary power is actually today's bio-virus. When Spencer was young, he discovered the sacred flower of the Dibaya Tribe and named it the Stairway of the Sun."
"Today's bio-virus was extracted from the strains contained within the Stairway of the Sun, and the Umbrella Corporation was born from this. This is the secret of the origin of everything, and it is very likely the future fate of humanity."
Leading the group slowly toward the depths of the ancient city ruins,
Javier explained everything to Chris, Jill, and the others as they walked. Finally, they reached the center of a flower bed surrounded by octagonal steps where light was plentiful.
Javier finally stopped. The brightly blooming red flowers before them were the so-called Stairway of the Suns, the origin of Resident Evil and the root of the final calamity!
Javier's faint words...
It was as if he were telling a legendary myth. Looking at the surrounding ancient city ruins, everyone's hearts fell silent.
They seemed to truly see the glorious history of the Dibaya Empire. Following Javier's lead, Chris and Jill arrived before the Stairway of the Suns.
Looking at the clusters of brightly colored red flowers,
Their eyes were filled with disbelief because they couldn't accept... that these plants before them were the origin of the bio-virus.
What was even more terrifying upon closer thought was,
The so-called bio-virus was not a product created by scientists, but a species that already existed on Earth.
This truth...
Made Chris, Jill, and the others think of the cruel reality Javier had just mentioned.
The bio-virus...
Was a species that already existed on Earth, and the fall of the Dibaya Empire... might very well be a true reflection of humanity's end.
After obtaining the power of the virus, they began trying to control it. Ultimately, due to civil wars over power and profit, humans broke out into a terrifying war against each other.
Eventually, the virus devoured all species in the world, the human population drastically decreased, and the world entered the apocalypse.
Humans then sought a new way out during the apocalypse.
Among them, humans might find new hope to restore their former glory, or they might be completely wiped out and replaced by a new race.
Thinking of this possibility, Chris, Jill, and the others couldn't help but feel a tightening in their chests. They couldn't accept... that the answer they had been searching for so long was presented in such a way!
"Decades ago,"
"The Umbrella Corporation discovered the Stairway of the Sun. The Umbrella Corporation's logo was also based on the pattern of the Stairway of the Sun. Rather than saying the Umbrella logo looks like an umbrella, it's more accurate to say it looks like a flower bed."
"Of course, after the Umbrella Corporation collapsed, Tricell took over this place. So... the evil of this world itself is not a certain thing. Viruses have no thoughts; their only instinct is infinite reproduction. Therefore, the bio-virus is not the culprit; the real culprit is human desire."
"Even if the Umbrella Corporation has collapsed, Tricell has now been born. And even if you destroy Tricell now,"
"A 'Protective Film Corporation' or a 'Quad-Cell Corporation' will be born in the future. It might sound harsh, but one thing must be admitted: once a bio-virus is released, it cannot be completely eliminated. I hope you, Chris and Jill, are mentally prepared for this."
Javier's words were not over.
Instead, he walked alone to the wall of the Stairway of the Sun bed and gently wiped the dust off the wall with his hand.
Revealing the buried logos of the Umbrella Corporation and Tricell. They had been there for some time, indicating that these two companies had been researching in these ruins for a long time.
At the same time,
Javier's cruel words,
Also shook the hearts of Chris, Jill, and Sheva, who were members of the BSAA. This was not Javier intentionally attacking their ideals,
But rather making them mentally prepared.
The bio-virus cannot be completely eliminated because the culprit is humans, not the virus itself.
So Javier intended for Chris, Jill, and the others to realize one thing: in a situation where the bio-virus cannot be wiped out, would they still persist in their path!
However,
Seeing that all three of them were preoccupied,
And their expressions were very grim,
Javier could only sigh helplessly. It was too cruel, but there was no other way; this was the truth, and the truth is often cruel.
And it was precisely because he knew this truth,
That Javier did not join the protagonists like Chris and Jill in pursuing ethereal things. He was going to pursue the more achievable goal of immortality. After all, that was much simpler than eliminating the bio-virus.
"Ahem, alright,"
"It doesn't matter if you can't accept it. I just wanted you to be prepared for your ideals. Follow me this way."
"We are about to enter the basement of this Institute base. There are likely a large number of bio-monsters inside. That will not be the time for you to be dazed or hesitant."
Finally,
Seeing the poor expressions on Chris, Jill, and the others, Javier quickly coughed to interrupt their thoughts. Doubts and confusion were one thing, but they couldn't joke with their lives.
Javier didn't want Chris, Jill, and the others to be in this state while clearing the dungeon later. That would be disastrous, so he hurried to remind them.
At this moment, everyone snapped back to reality.
Chris looked at the expressions of Jill and Sheva beside him and shook his head helplessly. The blow was too great.
But Chris would not give up on this goal, because it was his mission. If even he gave up, then no one would do it.
Because Chris already understood the meaning of a hero.
A hero does not wait for a hero to arrive, but takes action to become a hero. And the moment he became a hero,
Chris realized he couldn't give up this identity, because the most crucial point of a hero is to set an example. If he didn't lead the way,
Then no one would join the BSAA, and no one would stop the disasters caused by Resident Evil outbreaks. So Chris understood he couldn't fall; he had to keep moving forward!
"Whir..."
"Click!"
While they were talking,
Everyone had already arrived in front of an elevator door. It wasn't covered in dust, clearly indicating it was frequently used.
Knowing the elevator had no traps and was instead a direct path to the underground Institute, Javier didn't hesitate and led everyone into the elevator, heading deep into the Institute's basement.
But right at this moment,
A surprise quietly arrived.
"Zzz... zzz..."
"Psh... psh..."
The camera inside the elevator suddenly turned slowly. After some static, the equipment next to it immediately projected a familiar figure.
A black trench coat, golden slicked-back hair, and cold black sunglasses. It was undoubtedly Chris's long-time rival, Wesker.
"..."
"Welcome to my domain, Chris, Jill, and Javier..."
"All familiar faces. I've been waiting for you here for a long time. I assume you're here for my ouroboros virus? No matter, I'll be waiting for you at the deepest part of the Institute base."
"But as the host here, I plan to play a game with you. I've prepared many gifts in the Institute base waiting for you to uncover. I hope you have fun; after all, I don't want to be a stingy landlord."
"There are many gifts. I hope you don't die at the hands of those little cuties, otherwise, it would be such a pity!"
A familiar face appeared before everyone.
The moment they saw Wesker, Chris and Jill's expressions were full of rage, but Wesker didn't care much. Instead, he spoke in an extremely playful tone.
Confident as always.
Even though he had been beaten by Alexia and Lisa working together before, Wesker still appeared fearless at this moment, as if he still held some trump card.
And clearly,
Wesker had already prepared many traps in this Institute base, waiting for everyone to trigger them.
"Wesker!"
"Why do you want to destroy the world? What benefit does the plan to destroy the world with the ouroboros virus have for you? What's the point of wiping out most of humanity?"
"Have you never thought that humanity worldwide might perish because of this, and the world would fall into an apocalypse? At that time, it might not be humans who evolve, but other monsters. Can you accept such a result?"
Seeing Wesker's projection about to disappear,
Chris suddenly rushed forward and questioned him with an extremely angry expression. He couldn't understand Wesker's actions. What was the point of destroying the world?
But at this moment,
Wesker didn't bother to answer Chris's question, because he believed... foolish people couldn't understand his great ideas. Wasting words was meaningless.
"If six billion humans can't even withstand the ouroboros virus..."
"Then there's no need for them to exist. There's no harm in this world being destroyed. It's time for humans, who have dominated the Earth for so long, to change masters. Because no matter what species it is, I am the god of the new world. That's all!"
Turning his head,
Wesker, wearing his black sunglasses,
Glanced back coldly at Chris. After indifferently dropping this sentence, Wesker vanished instantly.
This arrogant and disdainful attitude made Chris unable to help but curse, "Madman!"
He could see that Wesker was no longer a normal person. Logic and persuasion had no effect on him; the only way was to kill him!
"We're almost at the deepest part of the Institute base. Get ready."
"Lisa, if there are troublesome enemies, I'll leave them to you. Also, activate your wide-range perception to alert us. Alexia... don't be so quick to refuse. Help us eliminate the bio-monsters. After this is over, I can expand your range of free movement."
The elevator numbers kept decreasing.
Javier spoke to remind everyone, while also giving instructions to Lisa and Alexia.
Next, he would need the help of his two trump cards.
Especially Alexia. Javier even promised freedom as a reward, which Alexia couldn't refuse.
She snorted and agreed. After all, killing Wesker was her goal, and getting more freedom would be even better.
"Whir...!"
"Click—!!!"
The elevator came to a steady stop.
The elevator doors slowly opened. Everyone observed the environment outside with apprehension, fearing a jump scare.
But unfortunately,
This was a research center, with only a long white corridor and bottomless abysses on both sides. The surroundings were filled with dense white experimental subjects.
They looked like thousands of space pods, but they weren't; they were cultivation tanks. Inside were experimental subjects captured by the Umbrella Corporation and Tricell. At a glance, there were probably around ten thousand people, showing the cruelty of their experiments.
"These..."
"Are all experimental subjects?"
Looking at the dense cultivation tanks outside the elevator door, everyone muttered in disbelief. Clearly, they hadn't expected the Umbrella Corporation and Tricell to have persecuted so many innocent civilians; it was truly a grave sin.
"Watch out."
"Something is approaching from the laboratory door opposite us. There are quite a few, looking like spider-type monsters."
At this moment,
Lisa, acting as the detection radar, was the first to speak. Her words pulled everyone back from their thoughts, and they quickly stood ready.
Sheva held her shotgun and stared intently at the laboratory door at the end of the long corridor, while Chris and Jill raised their assault rifles and barrett heavy sniper rifle, ready to deal with any sudden situation.
The next second,
"Click...!"
"Hiss hiss hiss—!!!!"
Along with the opening of the laboratory door,
A piercing hiss quickly came. Everyone frowned and quickly saw a large number of green and yellow spider monsters swarming in from outside the laboratory door.