Leon watched the bodies around him as he was escorted by agents who took him underground again.

He had managed to survive. He managed to get the keys and take off that collar, only to learn that he was the only one to survive that training.

There were many bodies. Mostly men, but there were some women among the dead as well. Women who made him think of those creatures that had chased him, the creatures he had killed.

He knew that many people could not survive in that world. He knew the moment they said they wanted to make him an agent, but the reality was even worse than the world created in his mind.

And he couldn't help but feel sad. He didn't know the situation of those people, why they had agreed to participate in that training, but he felt for them and he imagined that those people were in a similar situation to him before they died.

Just like at the Raccoon police station, he wanted to know the names of those people. To remember them from time to time as proof that they really existed for someone.

He didn't know how long they walked, but he knew it was long enough to meet William.

The blond man knew that this man was not human. He was a monster in person's clothing. And it was precisely this lack of humanity, of empathy, that made Leon hate him.

Especially after what he saw.

"Mr. Kennedy, I congratulate you. You were the one who most..."

"Is that what you do with your agents?" Leon interrupted him, his cold gaze covering up a bluish flame of anger. His neutral expression resembled William's usual one, who stared at him with somewhat curious eyes.

Leon had always been quite expressive in his own righteous way. But unlike the other times, he was neutral. Angry, of course, but his expressions, once so warm, were cold.

"Do you turn them into monsters? Do you use their bodies for tests? I thought you were looking for the destruction of these viruses." The young man said, and William crossed his arms.

A somewhat unexpected reaction coming from the younger blond. It was almost a surprise. A pleasant surprise, for it was exactly that coldness that William needed.

The perfect soldier could not be expressive and "nice" like Leon, that was his biggest and, perhaps, only problem.

"You are correct, we seek only the destruction of such viruses. But Mr. Kennedy, if the use of such viruses helps us with that goal, I will not think twice about using them to our advantage." William replied, his cold voice being seared into Leon's mind, who for the first time since approaching, looked away, lowering his head and staring at the ground.

"So... if people have to die... innocent people so that-"

"I won't hesitate." William interrupted him, and Leon, for his part, took a few deep breaths as he closed his eyes thoughtfully.

Until he raised his head and, with an impassive gaze, his mouth in a straight line and his eyes burning in blue flames, he looked deep into the cold eyes of William, who, for the first time, could not tell exactly what Leon was feeling.

Hatred was present, an anger burning in his gaze. But there was something else he couldn't tell what it was.

And it puzzled him.

"I'm gonna kill you, William." Leon said, taking Wesker by surprise, though he didn't show it.

It wasn't the fact that he said he would kill him, no, he had expected something like that. But rather, the way in which Leon said it.

Unlike all the other times something similar had happened.

"One day, I will kill you." The young man continued, and William almost smiled in disdain.

"Was that a threat, Mr. Kennedy? How do you think Claire and Sherry would react to a visit from my agents?" He asked, and in response, Leon just started walking down the hall.

He was tired, hungry, and honestly, he could barely look at William's face without feeling his blood boil.

"I'm not a man for threats. Try threatening them all you want, it doesn't change the fact that I will kill you. You and Umbrella are the same. Now, if I may, sir, I still have training to do." Leon said, ignoring the glances in his direction and continuing on his way.

William watched him walk away. Well, for someone as strong-willed as Leon, that was easier than he had expected.

Perhaps it was for the best. That look in the young man's eyes would be a good source of fuel for him to get through this training.

And without anyone noticing, William let out a nasal laugh and smiled slightly as he walked away.

He was one step ahead of Leon. For the moment Albert dies, so does he.

A month passed like a blur for the young man. And honestly, he only remembered that month because of some information he received from the outside world.

He didn't know whether to be happy, or a little worried to hear that Claire, along with Rebecca Chambers, had joined Terrasafe.

Perhaps he should have expected something like this, since Claire's nature was just that. Helping others.

A protector, as he himself had said long ago.

The problem was that, although she was not going against Umbrella directly, Terrasafe could very well become a target, as they were going against Umbrella by helping the victims of such attacks and directly assisting USSTRATCOM, another relatively new organization against bio-terrorism.

But, like many things, there was nothing he could do but finish his training as soon as possible.

Those flames in his heart were not extinguished, and the more he saw, the more he wanted to go into the field. The more he wanted to fight.

A year passed. A year in which he had become an excellent fighter. A year in which he knew his human opponent like the back of his hand. A year in which he had become almost untouchable due to his incredible speed, and extremely lethal due to his almost superhuman precision.

His speed, that was what attracted William's attention the most. Not only his physical speed, but the learning speed he had.

Two years passed. Claire began to climb the Terrasafe, becoming a bit better known. Just as incidents of bio-terrorism began to become more intense, more noticeable, but were dealt with in the end.

With great difficulty, but dealt with.

Two years in which he became versatile in almost every kind of weapon. Two years in which he improved his combat tactics.

Three years passed. Three years, and now they were already discussing his missions in the field, planning the exact month and day when his training would end and he would be sent on his first mission.

And just like that, four years had passed.

Leon dried his face with a towel in his room, and as soon as he did, his eyes met in the reflection of the mirror in front of him.

Physically, he wouldn't say that he had changed much. Maybe he had become a little more mature, but essentially, he was the same.

If anything, that anxiety to get out of there only grew. The more he heard and read about incidents around the world, the more he pushed himself in training the next day, the more he struggled to improve.

The more he forced himself to feel and get used to the pain.

And finally that day had come.

He even felt a little strange. He had waited so long, of course he would be nervous. But his training was not in vain.

He didn't go through all that to freeze the way he did in that gas station years ago.

Today, he could save the people with whom he would surely cross paths. And he could save people all over the world, in short.

And that thought more than pleased the cop that still lived inside his chest, which became a challenge for him not to smile as he looked at himself.

He was eager... eager to make a difference and burning to act out there.

Setting the towel aside, he walks to his room and puts on his clothes. It was more of a uniform, similar to military uniform, but completely black.

He left his room with quick steps, even though he knew that his mission would only begin in a few hours. It wouldn't hurt to read the files again, to analyze in more detail what he had to do.

The creatures he had to kill. He would perhaps never get used to the things he saw, to the diverse and often bizarre creatures that appeared more and more.

He wasn't really afraid, incredible as it seemed. He was not nervous about facing such creatures.

He was just afraid that he wouldn't be able to save anyone.

After climbing the elevator, he walked down the dimly lit corridor until he reached a room not far from the helicopter landing area, where he found Jonah and William talking about something in the corner of the room.

He was used to their presence, as they were the ones he would always talk to before and after each mission.

"Good morning, Mister Leon. Looking forward to your first mission, I presume." William said with his typical neutral tone, and the blond just shrugged.

"What can I say? I had to come here to say hello to my two favorite sons of bitches." He said, half joking half telling the truth.

Jonah laughed lightly as he shook his head, and William... argh. Leon had already given up trying to get any reaction out of that guy.

"I know the instructions will be passed on to me again just before the mission, but it won't hurt to take a look at the file again." Leon said, taking a seat at a table in the center of the room and pulling a folder toward him.

"Are you already aware of the weapons you will use?" Jonah asked, and in response, the blond just shook his head as he pulled some papers from inside his folder.

His eyes soon began to run over the words written on the paper in his hand and the pictures of the destruction caused by the conflicts in the region.

"The statistics have changed." William's voice caught his attention, and Leon stared at him with an arched eyebrow. "It was good of you to come early. As you know, our undercover agent, Hunk, was the one who got the information we have. Things got worse over there."

Leon leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms as he watched William, listening to his words carefully.

"Has my objective also changed? Will I have to be the backup?" The blond asked.

"No. The objective remains the same, the elimination of the infected and complete destruction of this terrorist base. But apparently, although these terrorists have some level of contact with Umbrella, they are... disposable, and Umbrella decided to infect the surrounding area. We've managed to contain the infection, but some lives have already been lost."

Leon's expression became darker, and he picked up the other folder William had placed on the table in front of him.

"There are still survivors, among them, one of the ambassadors of this terrorist organization. Name, Emilio Maxence." He placed a photo on the table as well, and Leon observed the man with short brown hair and a beard of the same color, also short.

The man looked to be in his forties, although it was hard to know exactly. Behind him were what appeared to be skinless bodies lying on the ground.

"According to what Hunk has gotten, they are devising a plan to infect the oceans with a mixture of a virus found in fish at very low elevations along with the T-virus. Unfortunately, Hunk was unable to find out more about the plan, or get his hands on the virus samples, but, for better or worse, this project is still in its early stages, and the BSAA seems interested in another affiliation of this same bio-terrorist group." William said, and Leon observed the same pictures he had seen days ago.

Beings created from that said virus, not only animals like reptiles, but humans as well. Something more than bizarre.

"This area is less known by the other organizations, so there is not much attention directed there. It is in a small isolated area in northeast India, and a small town nearby, unfortunately, has been hit by this virus. A town near a river that flows into the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean. It was very close that this infection did not spread." He then showed a picture taken from a satellite, showing the exact location he was talking about.

"Your mission is, kill Emilio Maxence and destroy the lab along with the still developing creatures inside. We could bomb the area, but that would take away our whole concept of secrecy. Hunk will process the information obtained and we will send it via a mediator to the BSAA." William said, and Leon looked at him with a slightly arched eyebrow.

"Understood. But if I may, sir, aren't we a secret organization? Do you really trust the BSAA?"

"We are, and will remain a secret organization. We have everything organized, the BSAA won't even suspect us. And no, I don't trust them, but the information we have will help them deal with this bio-terrorist organization in the future. The destruction of said organization is a common goal we have." William replied, putting his arms behind his body as he watched a few men enter the room with some bags in their hands.

"And why don't we deal with this organization at once? If they manage to infect the oceans, well, I doubt we'll be able to do anything about it." Leon asked in a neutral, strictly professional tone, something he had learned in those years, as he ran his eyes quickly through the bags the men had left on the table.

Bags that contained specific weapons to aid in their mission due to some of the creatures around the infected area.

"Because we don't need to expose ourselves to the risk of being discovered when the BSAA is already planning to do so. And in case they are more incompetent than we think, then yes we will get involved." William replied, opening one of the pouches and pulling out a military rifle.

"This rifle is a few calibers heavier than the others, with piercing bullets that do great damage on impact, almost like compressed explosions, created exclusively here." William said as he placed the rifle on the table.

Leon picked up the rifle and stood up, aiming at the wall shortly after and analyzing the weight of the weapon. It was heavier than the rifles he was used to.

"Hunter Type A. A B.O.W. A lizard-like humanoid created from human embryos and reptile DNA, being administered T-virus as a binding agent. They have extremely tough scales, are fast, strong, and intelligent. Extremely lethal. This rifle was created with this creature and similar creatures in mind. The force of impact will penetrate their scales and the compact explosions will destroy the inside of their bodies. They shouldn't be too much of a problem for you." William said, watching Leon place the rifle on the table and look inside the pouches.

"Your matilda, also modified, its caliber a little higher and more powerful, but keeping the handling easy and fast, along with almost no weight modification. The special bullets we will deliver to you are capable of hitting the nerves inside the body of any infected, slowing them down. Great against faster and more agile infected. Since we know of your affection for this inanimate object, we had the displeasure of preparing it for you. Thank Jonah." William said, crossing his arms and ignoring Leon's eye roll.

The new Agent Kennedy, meanwhile, stared at the pistol in his hands. Boy, did he miss that pistol, and it was even an act of consideration on Jonah's part to modify it so that he could use it without him removing or changing the gun further.

A small smile broke out on his lips. Yes, he would certainly thank the doctor later. That, probably, was as close as he could get to his family.

"There are still a lot of creatures out there. But try not to waste any time. We can't get too close, Emilio is in a private facility near the lab, in the false hope that his group will rescue him. He still has access to cameras and reconnaissance areas, so he will see us if we get the helicopter too close. You will have to go through the city. There are still some soldiers with him, but they shouldn't be a problem." William said, watching Leon run his fingers down the side of the silver blade of the knife in his hands.

"Conclusion time?" Leon asked, already placing the knife in its sheath. There was something about that knife, something that attracted him and even made him more comfortable with it in his possession.

Perhaps it was because he considered himself more proficient with a knife than with any other weapon, despite his precise aim.

"Since the mission has changed for the worse, the time will be a little longer. You will have twenty-four hours to finish." William replied, and the two blondes looked each other in the eye, staring at each other with neutral expressions and cold eyes.

"Extraction point?" Leon asked.

"Two miles south of town. It will be marked on your map." William replied, and with a nod, Leon turned and walked out of the room.

He still had to get ready.

On the way, he passed Jonah, and although he didn't stop, he nodded with a small smile at the doctor.

"I appreciate what you did, doctor. Matilda is... well, it may sound silly, but I missed that gun." He said, and in response, Jonah just nodded, holding a pen in his hand and with the other in the pocket of his lab coat.

"No need to thank me, Leon. And good luck on your mission." Jonah said, watching the blond man walk away until he was out of his line of sight.

The doctor soon sighed. That way of behaving was Leon's problem. They couldn't act like that in that line of work.

But, that way of acting from the newest agent was why the doctor sympathized with him so much.

Shaking his head, he quickly turned and walked to the room where William was waiting.

Three hours later, Leon was already in his helicopter, listening to the last instructions on his communicator as his eyes raced to the forest below, where he caught sight of the quarantine line set up by his as yet unnamed organization.

It was somewhat amazing the things that money and power could do without anyone knowing.

Not far away, the small infected town. It wasn't really a town, more like a village.

But maybe it was the houses too close together that gave that impression. Anyway.

The helicopter landed and he left with his things.

He was wearing a tactical vest with several pockets filled with ammunition, as well as a small pouch on the back of his waist that carried extra ammo and two herbal mixtures.

There were also two bags of military rations, made by his organization.

The rifle was on his back, the strap encircled his torso.

"Don't forget, there is a dirt path after a large wooden gate that leads both to the entrance of the lab, which is located at the bottom of the river, and also to the facility that Emilio is in." The voice on his communicator said, but Leon didn't respond, he just ran his eyes around his surroundings as he felt the wind hit his back and heard the noise of the helicopter moving away.

Taking a few deep breaths, he picks up his matilda and checks his rounds, walking with quick but cautious steps towards the small town.

According to his information, the entire area was already infected, meaning he could run into some creature literally a few steps away.

He knew that these creatures, due to the virus with which they were created and the characteristics of their bodies, were more likely to stay in places near water. But that didn't mean that they didn't wander off in search of food.

Despite this, however, no creatures appeared or attacked him, and after some time of walking, he reached the said town.

There was nothing at the entrance. No bodies, no blood, nothing. The whole place was silent, and the smoke he had seen earlier was from a house that had caught fire but had already gone out.

"I'm at the entrance into town. No confrontation." He said into his communicator, hearing an "understood" from the male voice on the other end just before he continued on his way.

There was nothing there. It was as if any living soul had left there without a trace.

Leaning his back against the wall of the house next door, Leon ran his eyes down the small path he would have to follow. The organization knew where there were cameras hidden by the terrorists, and he memorized them all so he could avoid them.

Not to mention that around the corner to the left was the supposed place where the survivors had hidden, still waiting for rescue.

His own organization had intercepted the phones and radios coming from this location, and were currently listening for calls for help. Calls that Leon heard before he landed there, which motivated him to finish this mission as quickly as possible.

Leaning his body forward after walking to the corner, he heard a noise that could not be human coming from his right, and quickly backed away while pointing his gun in the direction of the noise.

From the corner of the house, a creature that looked more like a shapeless heap of flesh crawled slowly, undulating its body across the floor as it grunted bizarrely and moved its huge mouth slightly toward Leon.

The creature had no legs, no arms, no eyes, no nose, nothing. Just a huge mouth that could swallow a human being whole.

Leon lowered his gun and picked up his knife. He knew about these bizarre creatures. Globster, the name. An irregular mutant that on land was not very dangerous, although resistant to gunfire.

But in water, these things were extremely fast and their huge mouths could prove to be a danger to humans.

It was unknown how these things could know there was prey nearby, perhaps something to do with their rubbery skin.

Moving closer, Leon moves quickly to the creature's side and sticks his knife above the huge mouth. Those things had no brains, but if they received enough damage, they would die.

Or, of course, if they are hit in the heart, one of the only organs, if not the only organ still present in that mass of flesh.

With his knife, Leon leaps over the creature's body as he pulls it towards him, literally making the Globster upside down with its belly exposed upwards.

Holding his knife with both hands, Leon stares at the spot where the heart was and in one swift, strong motion, thrusts his blade into the creature's body.

The Globster squirmed and blood along with a greenish saliva began to spill from the creature's mouth, which seemed to choke on its own blood, until the monster remained motionless.

Leon withdrew his knife from the Globster's body and looked at his blood soiled blade. There was a small trigger just below the blade, just above the handle. When squeezed, the side of the knife opened small compartments that sucked with thin serrated blades the blood of any creature he stabbed.

Making it practical to obtain blood samples, for example.

Ignoring the body of the creature at his feet, he looks around again, and notices that the street ahead had some other Globsters.

One in particular was swallowing a fallen body further ahead, while another seemed to literally lick the blood that stained the ground.

Maybe that was why he hadn't found any marks nearby.

Looking to the side, he notes the hotel not far from there with the front entrance and the surrounding area barricaded with tables, vehicles, chairs, beds, everything, basically. The place where the refugees were.

The place was completely sealed off, without even an opening to see what was happening outside. At least, not any that Leon could see.

With quick steps, he continues on his way.

"Kennedy here. I found E-type creatures. Looks like they've been devouring the bodies and even licking the blood off the ground." He said into his communicator, making his way through the small town, ignoring those extremely slow creatures on the ground.

"Well, this is new. Report your location."

"Moving toward the exit. I see the wooden gate." Leon reported, observing the location as he approached.

The gate was destroyed, but what was most striking were the claw marks on some of the undestroyed parts of the gate.

Marks that were similar, but not the same, as the ones carved into his chest.

With his pistol in hand, he moves forward with cautious steps. There were several footprints, marks and tracks on the dirt road. Too mixed up to be distinguishable.

"The facility is at least a mile and a half from where you are now. The entrance to the lab is at the base of a radio tower two miles from the facility." The voice on the communicator said, and Leon kept that information in mind.

As he walked, he came across a small section of the dirt road submerged in a lake that had formed there.

It was not a very big lake, not very deep, but extremely dangerous. For in this lake there were infected fish similar to piranhas, but bigger, faster, and more lethal.

A few steps away, Leon watched those fish move through the water. A great school of killers.

There was one more interesting feature about these fish. A feature that was present when Leon stood up and took a step forward.

One of the fish approached the edge of the lake and, in one swift movement, literally jumped towards Leon.

The agent, in turn, quickly grabbed his knife, tilted his torso to the side while attacking the infected fish still in the air, ripping the side of the aquatic creature's body.

All at great speed. His reaction time was incredible.

He moved a few steps away from the lake and approached the fish lying on the ground. The name of that infected species was Ghiozzo. An Aruana fish that transformed within seconds upon contact with the virus.

A fish that, when infected, could grow even three times its original size.

A monster, quite literally.

And the worst part is that these things could survive for some time out of the water. It wasn't much, but it was enough that they could use leg-like fins to move on land towards their prey which they could sense by vibration.

The Ghiozzo on the ground, as it stood up and balanced itself with its fins, began to move toward Leon at considerable speed. It was faster than many people of advanced age, and this was more than dangerous.

Moving fast, Leon throws his knife into the center of Ghiozzo's head, and the fish grunts a bizarre noise and falls off balance.

The fish struggled, but couldn't move very well, especially on land, which gave Leon the perfect opportunity to pull out his knife and stab that monster a few more times.

Behind him, other Ghiozzos jumped out of the river and started moving towards him, and Leon, after making sure the one in front of him was dead, stood up and looked around.

He had to get to the other side, and the lake that had formed was large.

To save time, he looked up into the trees, and determined, he put his knife in its sheath and ran toward the next tree, which he soon began to climb until he reached a branch high enough for him to hang from.

Swaying with his arms holding onto the branch, he throws his body to the next tree, where he lands on his feet and jumps to the next one, which didn't have a branch on which he could lean, but which he soon propelled himself onto the flat surface of the tree trunk just the same and continued making his way to the other side.

Benefit of being in a forest, everything there could be used as an advantage.

After landing, he looks at the infested lake for a few moments, already preparing to continue on his way.

However, after moving a few meters away, something caught his attention.

Ahead, leaning against a tree, a body.

A body that wore torn clothes, had extremely pale and wet skin, even spongy if looked at more closely when approaching.

In fact, the skin, the flesh of that body seemed to be... soft.

Picking up his pistol, Leon continues on his way down the dirt road, but without taking his eyes off the body.

And just as he had feared, the moment he stood close, the body moved.

Leon moved away quickly and aimed his pistol at the standing creature.

The creature was tall, very tall. The face was deformed to the point that the eyes no longer existed. The nose was nothing but holes in its pale skin, and its mouth had grown exponentially, taking up at least 40% of its entire face where it sported very long sharp teeth.

The arms were long, and the forearms, as well as the hands, were larger, with exposed bones piercing the skin and becoming something like claws and stakes.

Ooze, that was the name they had given these creatures. There were more types, but the one in front of the blond was the most... "common".

What surprised the blond, however, was the fact that there was one of those creatures in that place. From the information Hunk had gathered, Oozes were transported on a large scale to a remote part of Europe. A part that was the attention of the BSAA at the time.

Leon wasted no time and fired. The bullets caused great damage and left exposed the inner part of the creature's flesh, which because of its physical mutation, was resistant to shots from weaker weapons such as pistols.

However, Matilda was modified, and the damage was greater, which caused the creature to roar and attack Leon with its huge arm, which as it moved at great speed, extended like a elastic band.

The agent, in reflex, dodged, and then shot the creature in both legs, knocking it to the ground.

Before Leon could do anything else, however, the creature opened its mouth, and from there, a large stake-shaped bone was thrown toward the agent, who again dodged, rolling his body to the side.

The creature, still on the ground, raised its huge arm and tried a vertical attack on Leon, trying to crush him with a spiky hand that resembled a medieval bone mace.

The agent again dodged, getting up quickly soon after and shooting the creature in the head a few more times,

The infected roared in a noise that didn't sound human at all, and with its arms on the ground, simply threw itself in Leon's direction, as a cut on its neck opened and a long, sharp tongue with what looked like small serrated teeth at the tip and a small hole that looked more like a tube showed through.

Almost like a syringe needle, much larger, and more dangerous.

Leon crouched down and leaped forward, rolling on the ground, getting up, turning around, and then shooting a few more times, until the creature's head simply exploded, and its body lay motionless on the ground.

Still staring at the body in front of him, Leon reloads his matilda, puts the empty clip in his vest pocket, and approaches the dead creature. He kicks the side of the infected's body a few times, until he lowers his weapon upon seeing that it was indeed dead.

"Kennedy here. I'm on my way to the facility, but on the way I encountered a C-1 type creature. Still with clothes on its body." Leon said into his communicator, looking around before starting to walk away.

"Roger that. It may be likely that Emilio has samples of the virus with him, be careful." The communicator switched off and Leon hastened his steps.

After walking for some time he arrived at what appeared to be the facility mentioned. It was nothing less than a mansion on what appeared to be a simple farm.

Crouching down beside some bushes, Leon takes his binoculars from one of his vest pockets and observes the area.

There were a few men patrolling upstairs while the downstairs was barricaded, with no movement. There were also some armed men at the back of the mansion, where there was a large flat area, suitable for a helicopter landing, for example.

There were several wires coming out of an area not too far away where some soldiers were crouched down working on some equipment.

If he cut the power, things would be easy.

The front of the mansion was marked with fallen bodies, both of people probably seeking shelter and parts of creatures no longer identifiable.

It would be difficult to enter without being seen.

Leon was not anxious to make his first human victims, but he was also trying not to think about it too much.

They were terrorists, and they were prepared to die from the moment they decided to go down that path.

That was what he was trying to convince himself.

"I see the mansion." Leon said into his communicator.

"Right. The mansion is just a facade. Emilio is underground. They have backup energy, the generator is also underground. You will have to force your way in. One of these soldiers must have the key. If not, use the explosives in your pouch." The man said, and Leon took a deep breath, before starting to approach using the forest as cover.

He would have to deal with the soldiers in the back, since the ones on the second floor had a view of the entire area around the front of the mansion.

Using the forest to move, he runs towards the fence that surrounded the mansion and as soon as one of the soldiers moved, he lay down on the ground, lying right next to some fallen bodies and camouflaging himself to the scene of carnage.

He came face to face with what appeared to be a slightly older man, dead from a gunshot wound to the head.

The man's eyes were still open and showed the terror he felt before he died.

Fucking bastards.

Despite everything, he tried not to look too much at that body, tried not to think too much about it. He had already seen and been affected by too many human deaths, he now had to prevent that from happening.

Raising his head above the body, he stood up and ran again when the soldiers were not looking.

Considering that all that protected the mansion was a fence and armed soldiers, Leon would say that they didn't suffer many attacks. Or, at certain times, they all retreated into the mansion and barricaded themselves there.

Maybe he would get some information if he listened to what they were saying.

Bracing his back against the side wall of the mansion, he pulls a few bodies close to him, just in case, and stands silently.

"Tie that up straight, that thing almost fell on one of our boys earlier." He heard a male voice, not far away. A tired voice, and from the intensity of the tone, he would say the man was bored, further to the right, near the door.

"Man, you know, for a man who's supposed to be an asshole, you're not too bad." Another male voice said, this time a little further away. From the intonation, a soldier who was just making sure nothing came near, not doing the manual labor that others were.

"What's that? Are you going to confess to me?" The voice from before said, drawing a slight half-ironic chuckle.

"Hm, you wish. I heard you were in the army. Soon after, a mercenary. Why did you take the job?"

"For the money, the same as all of you."

"Hm? Don't you have a kid?"

"Yes."

"And yet you took it?"

"I'm not fit to be a father. I show up sometimes, I love that girl, but it's not for me."

"Pff, if you say so."

"Done!" Another voice, this time more distant, made itself present. Probably from the center of the place, where he saw some men working on some equipment. "The system is back. They're not going to find this place any time soon."

He heard the footsteps of the men approaching and moving, just as he could see their shadows on the ground.

"Are you sure they haven't already discovered us?"

"If that were the case, those BSAA assholes would already be here. They're more concerned about containing this thing than our escape, I guarantee it." The man finished saying, and the moment he did, Leon heard more voices, more footsteps.

Footsteps that came closer, and quickly, he hid among the pile of bodies, placing limbs and body parts on top of him, and cloaking himself, ignoring the blood that stained his clothes and equipment.

In front of him, he saw a man, young by the face, short dark hair, throw a body near the pile in which he was hiding.

The body rolled a little on the ground, and Leon's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the body.

A kid... a girl. The skin was pale, with cuts spreading over her naked torso. The forearm and hands were deformed and the girl's mouth bizarrely enlarged.

"Another test gone wrong. So far, that boy was the only one to be completely mutated." The soldier said, turning to the others and walking away from there.

"Is that nutcase still doing tests? Wouldn't it be better if he did it out here than in there?"

"No, he said they have ways to control this thing. And well, we get paid not to say anything, so shut up." The soldier said, entering the mansion shortly after.

"Okay guys, coming in. Stay two up here, in a few hours we'll switch shifts." Another said, also entering the mansion and walking away.

Once the place was clear, Leon stepped out of the pile of corpses, still looking at the girl's body.

That explains why they had a class C-1. They were experimenting on children.

Regulating his breathing, Leon put his pistol in its holster and picked up his knife. His cold blue eyes left the girl's cold body, and his thoughts, that fear of killing a human, disappeared in the blink of an eye.

They were many, compared to him, but he was not afraid.

After all...

Nobody could catch a ghost.