And with that,
Ethan quickly pulled the trigger again. The gunshot rang out, and this time the Lycan couldn't block it; the bullet went straight through its throat and pierced its head.
Blood splattered instantly.
A bullet flew out from the Lycan's head in an instant.
The Lycan immediately lost all signs of life, its heavy body collapsing onto Ethan. Ethan pushed it off with a look of disgust.
"The first one, taken down..."
After dealing with the Lycan,
Ethan let out a slow breath. He didn't linger and immediately composed himself to continue forward.
He continued exploring upward through the underground passage. Soon, ten minutes later, Ethan successfully emerged from the underground passage onto the surface.
He saw a vast expanse of white snow again. The icy wind and snow blowing against him made Ethan frown slightly.
Because he could no longer see the previous village.
In its place stood a tall, black medieval castle.
It was the same towering medieval castle hidden in the clouds that Ethan had seen from the outskirts of the village.
"Rose..."
Looking at the towering medieval castle standing before him,
Ethan couldn't help but murmur his daughter's name. He didn't know if his daughter, Rose, would be inside.
But at the moment, he had no other choice.
Ethan could only continue exploring. Due to the butterfly effect,
Mother Miranda, playing the role of the old hag, had not guided Ethan within the village, nor had she used Rose's name to subtly lead him toward the residences of the four noble lords.
Thus, Ethan was currently quite lost, not knowing where to look for his daughter Rose, and could only forge ahead blindly.
Step, step, step...
However,
Ethan hadn't been walking toward the medieval castle for long when he spotted a black figure on the Pristine-clad road.
It wasn't a massive carriage with an obese Duke opening the door, but Javier, dressed in a black trench coat and hat like a demon hunter.
He had been waiting in the wind and snow for Ethan's arrival for a long time.
Originally, seeing no sign of Ethan on the small path leading to the castle had made Javier slightly worried.
But now, seeing the father in the green jacket with a resolute face slowly walking toward the castle, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that he had come.
As for why there was no Duke outside Castle Dimitrescu, the reason was simple.
Because Javier was the Duke, and the Duke was Javier.
In the game, the Duke was a Merchant who simply provided Ethan with weapons and ammunition while also providing information to guide him.
But in reality,
that was just a game.
A game needs a reasonable character to sell weapons and ammunition to the protagonist to make the plot logical.
But in reality...
Someone daring to sell weapons and ammunition right outside Lady Dimitrescu's castle, appearing and disappearing in every corner of the village—
Javier really didn't know what logical reason could explain the Duke's appearance; it was even more absurd than the Merchant in Resident Evil 4.
After all, appearing so casually right under their noses,
Mother Miranda would have killed him countless times already. Unless he were God, he couldn't wander around the village unscathed.
Therefore,
the role of the Duke
fell upon an outsider like Javier.
Javier was the Duke, and the Duke was Javier.
He could still provide Ethan with weapons and ammunition and guide the plot, so there was nothing illogical about it.
"..."
"Who are you?!"
Of course,
it wasn't just Javier who noticed Ethan; Ethan had also seen Javier. Knowing the strangeness within the village,
Ethan wouldn't foolishly approach to ask questions. Instead, he immediately raised the handgun in his hand, the black muzzle pointing directly at Javier, as he questioned him in a cold tone.
Unless he was certain Javier was a normal person,
it would be hard for Ethan to lower his guard.
After all, he had been knocked unconscious mysteriously several times already.
He didn't want to keep being tossed around. Ethan now only wanted to quickly find out the whereabouts of his daughter, Rose...!
Volume 10 Resident Evil Village, Vengeance: Chapter 19 The Angry Father
Looking at Ethan's wary eyes,
Javier wasn't angry; instead, he nodded with satisfaction.
It seemed our Ethan finally had a sense of vigilance and wasn't so foolish as to just walk up and talk to people. This was a good habit.
"..."
"Hello, Ethan Winters. No need to be so tense. Let me introduce myself formally: my name is the Duke. You can call me the Duke."
"Of course, that's just a code name. Do you want to know what this place is? Or rather... do you want to know why you've come here?"
Facing the wary Ethan,
the corner of Javier's mouth curled slightly into what he thought was a gentle smile. At the same time, he gave a proper gentlemanly bow as he answered.
Confronted with Javier's expression,
Ethan frowned deeply.
But inwardly, he breathed a small sigh of relief. Although the person in front of him was strange,
the only fortunate thing was that this was a living person, not one of those monsters. Compared to Lycans, Ethan felt that living people were easier to deal with.
"How do you know my name...?"
However,
even so,
Ethan didn't dare lower his guard.
Especially when Javier said his name, the gun in his hand remained pointed straight at Javier's head as he asked in return.
"..."
"You can continue to stay out in the snow, but if you want to know the answer, then follow me...!"
Ignoring Ethan's question,
Javier turned and walked straight back into Castle Dimitrescu, with only his previous words echoing in the wind and snow.
As the figure gradually disappeared into the castle gates, Ethan hesitated for a long time.
Looking at the medieval castle that resembled the gaping maw of a beast, Ethan eventually chose to holster his handgun and follow.
He had no other choice. To find his daughter Rose, he had to enter Castle Dimitrescu.
Step, step, step...
Footsteps echoed in the silent courtyard of the medieval castle as Ethan warily observed his surroundings.
Soon, he followed Javier's steps and reached the center of the main hall of Castle Dimitrescu. Without the vast white snow, the indoor temperature was much warmer, causing Ethan to let out a slow breath.
At the same time,
in the center of the massive castle hall, Ethan saw others besides the strange man Javier.
They were Lady Dimitrescu, who had been waiting for a long time, and her three Vampire daughters.
However, unlike the plot in the original work, this time the three Vampire daughters—Bela, Cassandra, and Daniela—did not immediately pin down this husband, Ethan.
Nor did they laugh sinisterly while using sickles to hook Ethan's ankles and drag him away. On the contrary, they were quite civil this time, though their eyes held a deep sense of scrutiny.
Because they simply couldn't see anything special about Ethan.
Compared to Javier's mystery, Ethan seemed more like an ordinary human, so their gazes were full of disdain...
"Father God, is this the pawn of Mother Miranda you spoke of?"
"A fragile ant. If it weren't for your instructions, the moment this man entered the castle, my three daughters would have taken him to be completely drained of his blood,"
Lady Dimitrescu asked, her deep gaze sizing up the Ethan before her.
Her tall frame gave Ethan no small amount of pressure; her height of 2.9 meters was more than several heads taller than Ethan.
Especially when Lady Dimitrescu slowly walked up, it made Ethan take a few steps back, hurriedly wanting to pull out his gun to be on guard.
Giggle, giggle, giggle...
And it wasn't just Lady Dimitrescu;
even the three Vampire daughters beside her burst into fits of laughter, their eyes staring intently at the Ethan before them.
The living villagers in the village were all dead.
Now there weren't many living people in the castle who could be used to drain blood for brewing the fine wine, sanguis virginis.
Therefore, at a single command from their mother, they really would want to extend their sickles and drag Ethan to the underground wine cellar for bloodletting.
"All right,"
"Lady, let me speak with him alone. Do not let arrogance affect your judgment."
"Ethan Winters, I know what you want to ask. I will answer those questions for you one by one. First... this is a remote village on the border of Romania. It is isolated from the world, and it's hard for outsiders to find this place."
"Additionally, as you suspect, the monsters in the village are similar to the supernatural events you've encountered before, such as the Dulvey Baker Farm incident you experienced."
"Finally, your daughter and wife are not actually dead. One is hidden somewhere in the village, and the other requires your own strength to find."
Seeing the three Vampire sisters watching like tigers eyeing their prey, Javier hurriedly waved his hand to interrupt.
He was actually a bit afraid that these three Vampire sisters would drain Ethan dry, so it was better to get straight to the point.
"What did you say—?!"
"Mia, Rose, where are they now? Tell me, please tell me...!!!"
To Javier's surprise,
as soon as his words left his mouth, Ethan's expression changed instantly, and his emotions became incredibly agitated.
He couldn't help but rush forward, his hands grabbing Javier's collar as he asked urgently, his tone even carrying a bit of humble pleading at the end.
There was no doubt
that Javier's words gave Ethan an indescribable hope.
He himself hadn't dared to believe that his beloved wife Mia and daughter Rose were still alive. In his quest to find them, Ethan's mind was on the verge of madness.
And now...
after finding that glimmer of hope, Ethan excitedly wanted to reach out and grab it, no matter what price he had to pay.
Looking at the agitated Ethan before him,
Javier also sighed slightly.
This father was indeed very pitiful.
Therefore, Javier didn't intend to keep him in suspense. Instead, he raised his eyes to look at Ethan and answered calmly, word by word:
"You were attacked in a small town in Romania. In that happy little home, you and your wife Mia were attacked by BSAA people, right?"
"But in reality, the Mia who died was not your real wife. You can think of her as an impostor. Your real wife has been kidnapped and hidden somewhere in this village, and you need to find her."