[TWD x Resident Evil] — Chapter 749 - Just a Little Joke — Relax (Patreon)

Marcus stared at Leon's right arm, which was convulsing and churning violently. Fine cold sweat beaded across his forehead.

One swipe of those claws could gouge a hole in hardened steel. If they dug into a human skull instead...

Hiss. That was terrifying.

He quietly swallowed.

"William. Do you think the two of us just did something incredibly stupid?"

William turned his head. His eyes were completely bloodshot.

"What are you whining about now? Everything we needed to do, we already did."

Marcus pointed at the empty syringe on the operating console.

"The complete G-Virus vaccine, that was made for people who have never been injected with the G-Virus!"

"Leon is in a genuine G1 Form right now. His gene sequence has already been scrambled beyond recognition."

"Whether that thing we just injected will even work... that's really hard to say!"

Marcus's legs were shaking.

If it didn't work, what they'd be facing was a fully berserk creature fused with the complete G-Virus. An ultimate monster.

This Underground Laboratory would be torn to rubble in an instant.

And the two of them would become Leon's first meal.

William listened. His face gave a violent twitch.

He knew the risk.

But given the situation just now, do nothing, and Leon would have gone berserk for certain. Inject the vaccine, and at least there was a chance of recovering his sanity.

"Shut your crow mouth. We take it one step at a time!"

William gritted his teeth and kept his eyes locked on the operating table.

No other options. He had to gamble.

And yet, what you dread most is what comes for you.

BOOM!

The operating table let out a tremendous crack, as if it could no longer bear the weight.

Leon sat bolt upright.

The massive eyeball growing from his shoulder spun wildly. Its pupils, a swirl of deep blue and dark gold, locked instantly onto Marcus across the room.

A wave of murderous intent, almost physical in its weight, swept through the entire operating room.

Marcus went rigid. Even his breathing stopped.

The next second.

Leon's mutated claw shot out with a piercing shriek of displaced air and seized Marcus by the throat.

The force lifted him clean off the ground.

"Ugh—"

Marcus clawed desperately at those dark-red scales, legs kicking wildly in midair. He could smell it, the thick, raw stench of blood pouring off Leon's body.

That massive eyeball stared him down without blinking. A low, hungry growl rumbled from Leon's throat. The growl of a beast that had spotted its next meal.

He's actually going to eat me.

It's over.

That was the only thought left in Marcus's head. He was so terrified tears were practically spilling from his eyes.

"Leon! Stop!"

William bellowed.

Lisa jolted to her feet, staring at the scene helplessly, not knowing what to do.

Just as Marcus's eyes were beginning to roll back, convinced he was about to have his head bitten off,

The growling stopped.

The claw released him.

THUD!

Marcus hit the ground. His legs had turned to wet noodles. He crumpled completely onto the floor.

"Surprise?"

A familiar voice rang through the operating room, carrying a note of easy, teasing amusement.

Marcus jerked his head up.

Leon was idly scratching his chin with the tip of his mutated claw, looking utterly bored.

That massive eyeball was still rotating, but it was full of nothing but gleeful, prank-pulled-off satisfaction.

Marcus was dumbstruck.

William was equally stunned.

"You... you didn't go berserk?"

Marcus pointed at Leon, his voice flooded with disbelief.

Leon rolled his shoulders. His bones crackled like a string of popping firecrackers.

"I feel better than I ever have."

He clenched his normal left fist, then looked down at his mutated claw.

"That constant irritation, the feeling I could lose control at any moment, it's gone."

Leon swung his right arm in a sharp arc. The claw carved a gust of wind through the air.

"I think I could punch a Tank in half right now."

He gave a thoroughly satisfied nod.

William watched all of this and let out a long, slow breath, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"A blessing in disguise."

"The complete G-Virus neutralized those defective genes. Your reason is now fully suppressing the G-Virus's feral instincts."

He paused. "But can we agree on something, next time, could you maybe not scare us like that? Because that was genuinely terrifying."

Leon smiled.

"Just pulling a little joke on you two. Relax."

He turned his head and finally noticed Lisa, curled up small in her chair.

He knew. If not for Lisa's blood providing the neutralizing factor, he would never have made it through this. The trait of containing the virus, it had been everything.

Leon walked over to her. His expression shifted to something completely sincere.

"Thank you, Lisa."

"If it weren't for you, I'd probably be gone today."

Lisa lowered her head shyly, waving her hand in a flustered dismissal.

"Don't mention it."

Her voice carried a quality of pure, untouched innocence.

"I'm part of this camp too. It's only right that I do my part."

Leon nodded. No extra words. He turned and walked toward the operating room door.

Outside, Ashley and the others had to still be waiting.

"Wait!"

Marcus forced himself up off the floor.

Leon stopped and looked back.

"You're just going to walk out there looking like this and face your women?"

Marcus pointed at Leon's shoulder.

"That eyeball of yours is bigger than a basketball. Those claws look like an excavator bucket. You're not worried about giving Ashley such a fright it harms the baby?"

Leon looked down at himself.

Fair enough.

This was genuinely terrifying. If he walked out looking like this, probably half the camp would draw their guns on the spot.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

That massive eyeball began to shrivel rapidly, contracting, collapsing inward, until it receded completely into the flesh of his shoulder. The dark-red muscle tissue exposed along his arm pulled back. The jagged bone spurs retracted. The mutated claw shrank, fingers reforming, until five ordinary human fingers were all that remained.

Under 10 seconds.

Leon was back.

Bare from the waist up, traces of blood still on his skin, but nothing else. Nothing to suggest he'd been a monster 60 seconds ago. Not even a scar.

The lines of his muscles were smooth and full, radiating coiled, explosive power.

"A truly perfect evolution."

William watched and swallowed.

"Alright, stop staring."

Leon reached over and pulled a white lab coat from the nearby rack, draping it over his shoulders.

"Claire has a G-larva inside her too. Get over there and deal with her."

Marcus and William exchanged a glance and nodded immediately.

"Got it. Leave Claire to us."

Marcus picked up the remaining reagent from the console.

Leon pushed open the operating room door.

The moment it swung wide,

Arthur. Rick. Shawn Greene. Maggie. Lee Mi-joo.

Every single one of them had their eyes locked on that door.

When they saw Leon step through, wearing the white lab coat, completely unharmed, a wave of suppressed gasps burst through the crowd.

"Leon!"

Ashley reacted first.

Belly and all, she charged forward without a second thought. Arthur reached out to grab her and missed entirely.

Leon took two quick steps and caught her as she threw herself at him.

"Easy, easy — you're under special protection right now."

He held her close, his voice low and steady.

Ashley buried her face in his chest. Her tears broke all at once.

"You scared me to death..."

"They said you'd turned into a monster..."

Lee Mi-joo came running too, throwing her arms around Leon's waist from behind, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.

Beth and Dawn stood to the side, eyes red, wiping at their tears without stopping.

Maggie stepped forward. She looked at Leon.

She didn't cry. But the worry in the depths of her eyes was impossible to hide.

"You're back. That's what matters," she said quietly.

Leon looked at all of them, all these women gathered around him, and felt something move inside his chest.

He glanced over at Rick and Shawn Greene standing nearby.

Shawn Greene grinned wide.

"Knew you weren't going to die."

Rick let out a long exhale, the tension finally draining from his body.

Ada walked over then, stopping in front of Leon.

"Leon, there's something I need to tell you first..."

Watching her hesitate like that, Leon felt his curiosity catch.

"What is it. Go ahead."

Ada nodded.

"It's Alexia Ashford — she came back with us too."

➤ Next: Alexia Ashford's Redemption?