Library Haul 2019 (Nov 3 - 9)

Library Haul

Here's the list of books/manga/manhwa/yaoi manga I picked up this week at the library:

Hardcover:

1. Christmas Cocoa Murder - Carlene O'Connor
2. Peach Clobbered - Anna Gerard

Pan de Muertos (Mexican Bread of the Dead)

 

Ingredients 

1/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons anise seed
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons orange zest
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 tablespoons white sugar

Directions

1.  Heat the milk and the butter together in a medium saucepan, until the butter melts. Remove from the heat and add them warm water. The mixture should be around 110 degrees F (43 degrees C).

2.  In a large bowl combine 1 cup of the flour, yeast, salt, anise seed and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Beat in the warm milk mixture then add the eggs and orange zest and beat until well combined. Stir in 1/2 cup of flour and continue adding more flour until the dough is soft.

3.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.

4.  Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. This will take about 1 to 2 hours. Punch the dough down and shape it into a large round loaf with a round knob on top. Place dough onto a baking sheet, loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until just about doubled in size.

5.  Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven let cool slightly then brush with glaze.

6.  To make glaze: In a small saucepan combine the 1/4 cup sugar, orange juice and orange zest. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 2 minutes. Brush over top of bread while still warm. Sprinkle glazed bread with white sugar.

Footnotes

You may substitute 1/2 teaspoon anise extract for the anise seeds. 

Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico, in particular the Central and South regions, and by people of Mexican ancestry living in other places, especially the United States. It is acknowledged internationally in many other cultures. The multi-day holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and help support their spiritual journey. In 2008, the tradition was inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

The holiday is sometimes called Día de los Muertos in Anglophone countries, a back-translation of its original name, Día de Muertos. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico where the day is a public holiday. Prior to Spanish colonization in the 16th century, the celebration took place at the beginning of summer. Gradually, it was associated with October 31, November 1, and November 2 to coincide with the Western Christianity triduum of Allhallowtide: All Saints' Eve, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day. Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars called ofrendas, honoring the deceased using calaveras, aztec marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts. Visitors also leave possessions of the deceased at the graves.

Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. The holiday has spread throughout the world, being absorbed into other deep traditions in honor of the dead. It has become a national symbol and as such is taught (for educational purposes) in the nation's schools. Many families celebrate a traditional "All Saints' Day" associated with the Catholic Church.

Originally, the Day of the Dead as such was not celebrated in northern Mexico, where it was unknown until the 20th century because its indigenous people had different traditions. The people and the church rejected it as a day related to syncretizing pagan elements with Catholic Christianity. They held the traditional 'All Saints' Day' in the same way as other Christians in the world. There was limited Mesoamerican influence in this region, and relatively few indigenous inhabitants from the regions of Southern Mexico, where the holiday was celebrated. In the early 21st century in northern Mexico, Día de Muertos is observed because the Mexican government made it a national holiday based on educational policies from the 1960s; it has introduced this holiday as a unifying national tradition based on indigenous traditions.

The Mexican Day of the Dead celebration is similar to other societies' observances of a time to honor the dead. The Spanish tradition, for instance, includes festivals and parades, as well as gatherings of families at cemeteries to pray for their deceased loved ones at the end of the day.

Observance in Mexico 

Origins

The Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico developed from ancient traditions among its pre-Columbian cultures. Rituals celebrating the deaths of ancestors had been observed by these civilizations perhaps for as long as 2,500–3,000 years. The festival that developed into the modern Day of the Dead fell in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar, about the beginning of August, and was celebrated for an entire month. The festivities were dedicated to the goddess known as the "Lady of the Dead", corresponding to the modern La Calavera Catrina.

By the late 20th century in most regions of Mexico, practices had developed to honor dead children and infants on November 1, and to honor deceased adults on November 2. November 1 is generally referred to as Día de los Inocentes ("Day of the Innocents") but also as Día de los Angelitos ("Day of the Little Angels"); November 2 is referred to as Día de los Muertos or Día de los Difuntos ("Day of the Dead").


Food

During Day of the Dead festivities, food is both eaten by living people and given to the spirits of their departed ancestors as ofrendas ("offerings").  Tamales are one of the most common dishes prepared for this day for both purposes.

Pan de muerto and calaveras are associated specifically with Day of the Dead. Pan de muerto is a type of sweet roll shaped like a bun, topped with sugar, and often decorated with bone-shaped phalanges pieces.. Calaveras, or sugar skulls, display colorful designs to represent the vitality and individual personality of the departed.

In addition to food, drink is also important to the tradition of Day of the Dead. Historically, the main alcoholic drink was pulque while today families will commonly drink the favorite beverage of their deceased ancestors. Other drinks associated with the holiday are atole and champurrado, warm, thick, non-alcoholic masa drinks.

Jamaica iced tea is a popular herbal tea made of the flowers and leaves of the Jamaican hibiscus plant (Hibiscus sabdariffa), known as flor de Jamaica in Mexico. It is served cold and quite sweet with a lot of ice. The ruby-red beverage is called hibiscus tea in English-speaking countries and called agua de Jamaica (water of Jamaica) in Spanish.

November Releases

5th
Leopard's Wrath - Christine Feehan

25th
Criss Cross - James Patterson

26th
Where Winter Finds You - J.R. Ward
The Rise of Magicks - Nora Roberts
Lethal Redemption - April Hunt

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

 

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is a survival horror game developed and published by Capcom, released in January 2017 for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, and in May 2018 for the Nintendo Switch in Japan. Diverging from the more action-oriented Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6, Resident Evil 7 returns to the franchise's survival horror roots, emphasizing exploration. The player controls Ethan Winters as he searches for his wife in a derelict plantation occupied by a cannibal family, solving puzzles and fighting enemies. It is the first main series game to use a first-person view.

Plot

In June 2017, Ethan Winters is drawn to a derelict plantation in Dulvey, Louisiana, by a message from his wife, Mia, who has been presumed dead since going missing in 2014. He finds Mia imprisoned in the basement of a seemingly abandoned house, but she becomes violent and attacks him, forcing him to kill her. After receiving a call from a woman named Zoe offering assistance, Ethan is attacked by a revived Mia, who cuts his hand off. Jack, the patriarch of the Baker family, captures Ethan. After Zoe reattaches his hand, Ethan is held captive by Jack, his wife Marguerite, their son Lucas, and an elderly woman who is using a wheelchair and is in a catatonic state. Ethan escapes but is pursued around the house by Jack, who has powerful regenerative abilities. In the basement, Ethan discovers reanimated monsters known as Molded. Zoe reveals that she is Jack's daughter, and that the family and Mia are infected, but can be cured with a special serum. Ethan makes his way to an old house to retrieve the serum ingredients, kills Marguerite, and has visions of a young girl. Lucas captures Zoe and Mia and forces Ethan to navigate a booby-trapped barn to find them. Ethan chases away Lucas and frees Zoe and Mia. Zoe develops two serum doses, but they are attacked by Jack, now heavily mutated; Ethan kills him using one of the serums.

Ethan must choose to cure either Mia or Zoe. Choosing Zoe leaves Mia heartbroken, despite Ethan's promise to send help. As he and Zoe flee on a boat, Zoe reveals that the Bakers were infected after Mia arrived with a young girl named Eveline when the wreck of a tanker ship washed ashore. Eveline stops their escape by calcifying Zoe, killing her, and Ethan is knocked from the boat by a creature. If Ethan chooses Mia, Zoe gives a bitter farewell to him and Mia. As he and Mia flee on a boat, they come across the crashed tanker, where they are attacked by the creature and knocked from the boat.

Mia awakens after she was knocked off the boat and searches the wrecked ship for Ethan while experiencing visions of Eveline, who refers to Mia as her mother. Eventually, Mia's memory is restored, revealing that she was a covert operative for a corporation that developed Eveline as a bioweapon. Mia and agent Alan Droney were to escort Eveline as she was transported aboard the tanker; Eveline escaped containment, killed Alan, and sank the ship. She infected Mia in an effort to force her to be her mother. Mia finds Ethan and gives him a vial of Eveline's genetic material.


If Ethan cured Mia, she resists Eveline's control long enough to seal Ethan out of the ship; if he cured Zoe, Mia succumbs to Eveline's control and attacks Ethan, forcing him to kill her. Ethan discovers a hidden laboratory inside an abandoned salt mine. He learns that Eveline is a bio-organic weapon capable of infecting people with a psychotropic mold that gives her control over her victims' minds, resulting in insanity, mutation, and superhuman regenerative abilities. Eveline grew up obsessed with having a family, driving her to infect Mia and the Bakers and lure Ethan. Lucas was immunized against Eveline's control by her creators, The Connections, in exchange for providing observations on her. Using the lab equipment and Eveline's genetic material, Ethan synthesizes a toxin to kill her, and proceeds through tunnels that lead back to the Baker house. He overcomes Eveline's hallucinations, and injects Eveline with the toxin. She reverts to her other form, the elderly woman in a wheelchair; Eveline has been rapidly aging since escaping. Eveline mutates into a large monster and, aided by the arrival of a military squad led by Chris Redfield, Ethan kills her. The squad extracts Ethan (and Mia if she was cured) by helicopter branded with the Umbrella Corporation logo.

Not a Hero

BSAA agent Chris Redfield teams up with the now reformed Umbrella Corporation in order to apprehend Lucas Baker and uncover evidence on the mysterious group that created Eveline, called "The Connections". After rescuing Ethan Winters and sending him away on a helicopter, Chris proceeds into Lucas' lab in the salt mine, where he accidentally runs into one of Lucas' traps and has a bomb attached to his left wrist. Undeterred, Chris continues his pursuit. He tries to rescue several captured Umbrella soldiers, but they are killed by Lucas' traps. Eventually, Lucas decides to activate a timer on Chris' bomb. Chris is forced to freeze the bomb in liquid nitrogen, disabling it long enough for him to remove it.

With the bomb removed, Chris battles his way through more of Lucas' Molded and traps. He then finds his way into a secret Connections research lab, where Lucas had killed all of the Connections researchers and plans to betray the organization. Chris manages to corner and shoot Lucas, which triggers a mutation in his body. Chris battles and eventually kills the mutated Lucas, and also stops him from transferring all of his data on Eveline to an unknown party. With his mission done and Eveline's infection contained, Chris returns to the Umbrella base camp for an urgent call.

End of Zoe

Following the path in the main game in which Ethan cures Mia instead of Zoe, Zoe wanders into the swamp and is apparently killed by Eveline; however, a pair of Umbrella soldiers find her body and discover she is still alive. They are soon ambushed by Joe Baker, Zoe's uncle. Joe initially believes Umbrella is responsible for Zoe's condition, but a surviving Umbrella soldier claims they have a cure for Zoe stored in a nearby shack. Joe goes to the shack, finding a partial cure, and returns to find the Umbrella soldier killed by a Molded.

Joe initially flees with Zoe on a boat to find the Umbrella base but is soon forced to search for the base on foot. A powerful and seemingly unkillable Molded called the "Swamp Man" pursues them along the way. Joe and Zoe find the Umbrella base abandoned. They learn that the cure has been moved to a nearby paddle boat. Joe boards the boat and, after encountering the Swamp Man once again, uncovers a full dose of the cure. The Swamp Man captures Zoe before Joe can administer the cure. Joe gives chase into a heavily infected portion of the swamp and finds Zoe in an abandoned church. Inside, Joe is ambushed by the Swamp Man, who is revealed to be a heavily mutated Jack Baker. Jack knocks Joe unconscious and throws him into the swamp water to die.

Joe eventually washes up near the Baker mansion and finds himself in the midst of a battle between the Molded and Umbrella forces. He recovers an Umbrella power gauntlet and enters the mansion, where he successfully kills Jack and administers the cure to Zoe just as Umbrella reinforcements arrive, including Chris Redfield. Chris assures Joe and Zoe that they are there to help, and Zoe is fully cured of her infection. She then receives a phone call from Ethan, and thanks him for keeping his promise to send help for her.

Kiss from a Vampire Cookies

 

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
Additional seedless raspberry jam, optional

Directions 

1.  In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2.  On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-in. round cookie cutter.

3.  Place half of the circles on greased baking sheets. Place 1 teaspoon jam in the center of each circle; top with remaining circles and press edges lightly to seal. Use a toothpick to poke two small holes (resembling a vampire bite) in the top of each cookie.

4.  Bake at 325° for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are set. (Jam will escape from tops of cookies as they bake.) Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. If necessary, dip a toothpick in additional jam and drizzle from the small holes in the cookies to emphasize vampire bite as desired.

Favorite Halloween Anime, Manga, Movies, TV Shows and Videogames Suggestions

Anime

Black Butler
Vampire Knight
Vampire Knight Guilty

Manga

Black Butler
Cain
Godchild
Vampire Knight

Movies

Dracula Rising (1993)
The Evil Dead (1981)
Evil Dead II (1987)
Fright Night 1 and 2 (1985 and 1987)
Howling VI: The Freaks (1991)
Jack Be Nimble (1993)
Night of the Creeps (1986)
Sometimes They Come Back Again (1996)
To Die For: Dracula: The Love Story (1989)

PC Games

Gabriel Knight 1: Sins of the Fathers
Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within
Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned
Phantasmagoria
Phantasmagoria 2: A Puzzle of Flesh
Quest for Glory: Shadows of Darkness 

TV Shows

Blood Ties

Videogames

Clock Tower Series
Fatal Frame Series
Haunting Ground
Resident Evil Series
Rule of Rose
Silent Hill Series
Obscure Series
Until Dawn
Nightcry

Resident Evil 6

 

Resident Evil 6 is a third-person shooter survival horror game developed and published by Capcom. It was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in October 2012 and for Windows in March 2013. Players control several characters over 3 separate story campaigns, including long-time protagonists Leon S. Kennedy and Chris Redfield, alongside several newcomers such as Jake Muller, as they confront the force behind a worldwide bio-terrorist attack. Every campaign features a unique style in both tone and gameplay.

Plot

On 24 December 2012, Jake Muller, son of late bio-terrorist Albert Wesker, flees local authorities during a bio-terrorist attack in Edonia. He partners with Division of Security Operations (DSO) agent and Raccoon City survivor Sherry Birkin and learns that she is to extract him from the country to create a vaccine for the new C-virus. However, they are hunted by Ustanak, a hulking bio-weapon. Meanwhile, a Bio-terrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA) strike team led by Chris Redfield and Piers Nivans is deployed to combat the infected local populace. However, they are attacked by the leader of Neo-Umbrella, who refers to herself as Ada Wong; she kills most of the BSAA members, using a device that injects them with the C-virus, turning them into monsters, except Chris and Piers. Chris goes into a self-imposed exile, afflicted with post-traumatic amnesia. Meanwhile, Sherry and Jake's extraction by the BSAA is sabotaged, forcing them to crash into the mountains. They are captured by "Ada" for six months.

On 29 June 2013, US President Adam Benford attempts to publicly reveal the truth behind the 1998 Raccoon City incident and the government's dealings with Umbrella, to end further bio-terrorist activity. However, the venue in the American town of Tall Oaks is hit by another attack, infecting the President; the sole survivors, DSO agent and Raccoon City survivor Leon S. Kennedy and US Secret Service agent Helena Harper, are forced to kill him. The pair encounter the real Ada Wong, and Leon learns that National Security Advisor Derek Simmons is affiliated with Neo-Umbrella and was responsible for the attack. Leon and Helena pursue Simmons into Lanshiang, China, while faking their deaths. Meanwhile, Jake and Sherry escape captivity in Lanshiang.

Chris returns to duty in the BSAA with Piers and a new team, arriving in a besieged Lanshiang. Chris recovers from his amnesia and seeks revenge against Ada, resulting in casualties for his squad. Chris and Piers confront Ada, until Leon intervenes. After being informed by Leon, Chris and Piers pursue "Ada" to an aircraft carrier, destroying cruise missiles laden with the C-virus. Leon, Helena, Sherry, and Jake confront Simmons over his involvement with the outbreaks, where Sherry covertly hands Jake's medical data to Leon in case of their captivity. Leon and Helena corner Simmons, who has been infected by a J'avo, where he confesses to having killed the President to maintain national security. The two see off a mutated Simmons while Sherry and Jake are captured again. Attempting to leave the city, Leon and Helena are warned by Chris that a missile has been launched, but they are too late to stop it. Leon discloses Jake's real identity to Chris and has him rescue Jake and Sherry in a remote oil platform. With Ada's assistance, Leon and Helena kill Simmons.

On the oil platform, Chris and Piers head underground, freeing Jake and Sherry from captivity before preventing a large-scale attack by a gigantic bioweapon, Haos. Heavily wounded, and in a desperate attempt to save Chris, Piers injects himself with the C-virus to help turn the tide of the battle. He defeats Haos before evacuating. Aware that the mutation will worsen, Piers sacrifices himself by pushing Chris to an escape pod, using his abilities to destroy the base. Meanwhile, Jake and Sherry escape the facility and kill Ustanak as they ride a rocket-powered lift to the surface.

The imposter Ada was a scientist named Carla Radames, who was forced to transform into Ada by Simmons. The real Ada was aiding Leon and Sherry while destroying the Neo-Umbrella lab in Langshiang. Although presumed dead after being shot by one of Simmons' soldiers, Carla attempts a final attack against Ada, after having injected herself with a powerful dose of the C-virus, but is killed. After aiding Leon and Helena in their battle with Simmons, Ada destroys the lab where her clone was developed, and accepts a new assignment. Leon and Helena are cleared for duty; Chris remains with the BSAA in command of a new squad, overcoming his guilt; Sherry continues her duty as a DSO agent; and Jake starts a new life fighting zombies in an underdeveloped country with his identity covered up by the BSAA.

Resident Evil 5

 

Resident Evil 5 is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom and released in 2009. It is the seventh major installment in the Resident Evil series, and was announced in 2005 — the same year its predecessor Resident Evil 4 was released. Resident Evil 5 was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles in March 2009 and for Microsoft Windows in September that year. The plot involves an investigation of a terrorist threat by Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA) agents Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar in Kijuju, a fictional region of Africa. Chris soon learns that he must confront his past in the form of an old enemy, Albert Wesker, and his former partner, Jill Valentine.

Plot

Five years after the events of Resident Evil 4, Chris Redfield, now a member of the fictional Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance, is dispatched to Kijuju in Africa. He and his new partner Sheva Alomar are tasked with apprehending Ricardo Irving before he can sell a bio-organic weapon (BOW) on the black market. When they arrive, they discover that the locals have been infected by the parasites Las Plagas (those infected are called "Majini") and the BSAA Alpha Team have been killed. Chris and Sheva are rescued by BSAA's Delta Team, which includes Sheva's mentor Josh Stone. In Stone's data Chris sees a photograph of Jill Valentine, his old partner, who has been presumed dead after a confrontation with Albert Wesker. Chris, Sheva and Delta Team close in on Irving, but he escapes with the aid of a hooded figure. Irving leaves documents that lead Chris and Sheva to marshy oilfields. This is where Irving's deal is to occur, but they discover that the documents are a diversion. When Chris and Sheva try to regroup with Delta Team, they find the team slaughtered by a BOW; Sheva cannot find Stone among the dead. Determined to learn if Valentine is still alive, Chris does not report to headquarters.

Continuing through the marsh, they find Stone injured but safe and track down Irving's boat with his help. Irving injects himself with a variant of the Las Plagas parasite and mutates into a huge octopus-like beast. Chris and Sheva defeat him, and his dying words lead them to a nearby cave to learn more. The cave is the source of a flower used to create viruses previously used by the Umbrella Corporation, as well as a new strain named Uroboros. Chris and Sheva find evidence that Tricell, the company funding the BSAA, took over a former Umbrella underground laboratory and continued Umbrella's research. In the facility, they discover thousands of capsules holding human test subjects. Although Chris finds that one of the capsules is Valentine's, it is empty. When they leave, they discover that Tricell CEO Excella Gionne has been plotting with Wesker to launch missiles with the Uroboros virus across the globe; it is eventually revealed that Wesker hopes to take a chosen few from the chaos of infection and rule them, creating a new breed of humanity. Chris and Sheva pursue Gionne but are stopped by Wesker and the hooded figure, who is revealed to be a mind-controlled Valentine. Gionne and Wesker escape to a Tricell oil tanker; Chris and Sheva fight Valentine, subduing her and removing the mind-control device before she orders Chris to follow Wesker.

Chris and Sheva board the tanker and encounter Gionne, who escapes after dropping a case of syringes; Sheva keeps several. When Chris and Sheva reach the main deck, Wesker announces over the ship's intercom that he has betrayed Gionne and infected her with Uroboros. She mutates into a giant monster, which Chris and Sheva defeat. Valentine radios in, telling Chris and Sheva that Wesker must take precise, regular doses of a virus to maintain his strength and speed; a larger or smaller dose would poison him. Sheva realizes that Gionne's syringes are doses of the drug. Chris and Sheva follow Wesker to a bomber loaded with missiles containing the Uroboros virus, injecting him with the syringes Gionne dropped. Wesker tries to escape on the bomber; Chris and Sheva disable it, making him crash-land in a volcano. Furious‚ Wesker exposes himself to Uroboros and chases Chris and Sheva through the volcano. They fight him, and the weakened Wesker falls into the lava before Chris and Sheva are rescued by a helicopter, which is piloted by Valentine and Stone. As a dying Wesker attempts to drag the helicopter into the volcano, Chris and Sheva fire rocket-propelled grenades at Wesker, killing him. In the game's final cutscene, Chris wonders if the world is worth fighting for. Looking at Sheva and Valentine, he decides to live in a world without fear.

Resident Evil 4

 

Resident Evil 4 is a third-person shooter survival horror video game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom. The sixth major installment in the Resident Evil series, it was originally released for the GameCube in 2005. Players control U.S. government special agent Leon S. Kennedy, who is sent on a mission to rescue the U.S. president's daughter Ashley Graham, who has been kidnapped by a cult. In a rural part of Europe, Leon fights hordes of villagers infected by a mind-controlling parasite, and reunites with the spy Ada Wong.

Plot

Six years after the events of Resident Evil 2, former Raccoon City police officer turned US government agent Leon S. Kennedy (Paul Mercier) is sent on a mission to rescue Ashley Graham (Carolyn Lawrence), the U.S. President's daughter, who has been kidnapped by a mysterious cult. He travels to a nameless rural village in Spain, where he encounters a group of hostile villagers who pledge their lives to Los Illuminados ("The Enlightened Ones" in Spanish), the cult that kidnapped Ashley. The villagers were once simple farmers until becoming infected by a mind-controlling parasite known as Las Plagas ("The Plague" in Spanish).

While in the village, Leon is captured by its chief, Bitores Mendez, and injected with Las Plagas. He finds himself held captive with Luis Sera (Rino Romano), a former Los Illuminados researcher. The two work together to escape, but soon go their separate ways. Leon finds out Ashley is being held in a church and rescues her. They both escape from the church after Osmund Saddler (Michael Gough), leader of the Los Illuminados, reveals his plan to use the plaga they injected into Ashley to manipulate her into injecting the president of the United States with the "sample" (a Master Plaga) once she returns home, allowing Saddler to begin his conquest of the world. After killing Mendez, Leon and Ashley try to take refuge in a castle but are attacked by more Illuminados under the command of Ramon Salazar (Rene Mujica), another of Saddler's henchmen who owns the castle, and the two become separated by Salazar's traps. Meanwhile, Luis searches for pills that will slow Leon and Ashley's infection, as well as a sample of Las Plagas. He brings the two items to Leon but is killed by Saddler, who takes the sample, while the pills to suppress the infection remain in Leon's hands. While in the castle, Leon briefly encounters Ada Wong (Sally Cahill), a woman from his past who supports him during his mission. He then battles his way through the castle before finally killing Salazar.

Afterward, Leon travels to a nearby island research facility, where he continues the search for Ashley. He soon discovers that one of his former training comrades, Jack Krauser (Jim Ward), who was believed to have been killed in a helicopter crash two years prior, is responsible for her kidnapping. It is eventually revealed that both Ada and Krauser are working with Albert Wesker (Richard Waugh), for whom both intend to secure a Plagas sample. Suspicious of the mercenary's intentions, Saddler orders Krauser to kill Leon, believing that no matter which one dies, he will benefit. After Krauser's fatal defeat, Leon rescues Ashley, and they remove the Plagas from their bodies using a specialized radiotherapeutic device. Leon finally confronts Saddler, and with Ada's help, manages to kill him. However, Ada takes the sample from Leon at gunpoint before escaping in a helicopter, leaving Leon and Ashley to escape via her jet-ski as the island explodes.