The jungle canopy shudders as a deafening roar echoes through the valley. Jill Valentine barely flinches, her grip tightening around the handle of her switch axe, its blade still dripping with the luminescent ichor of the beast she faces. The creature—a Shara Gaan, a serpentine wyvern with jagged, obsidian scales—has been terrorizing the local tribe for weeks, its venomous fangs and crushing tail strikes leaving devastation in their wake.

Jill exhales, adjusting the fit of her Tempest Fang armor, its lightweight design allowing her to move with lethal precision. Beside her, Shadow—her Palico companion with sleek midnight-blue fur and sharp amber eyes—crouches low, his weapon primed.

The Shara Gaan lunges, its massive frame displacing earth and foliage as Jill rolls beneath its snapping jaws, flipping her switch axe into sword mode mid-movement. A calculated slash finds its mark, carving deep into the wyvern’s hide. The beast recoils, shrieking in agony.

It’s then, out of the corner of her eye, that she spots her.

A figure lingering at the tree line, half-hidden by the thick undergrowth. A woman, watching.

Jill narrows her eyes, stepping back just as Shadow leaps onto the wounded wyvern, keeping it occupied.

“You planning to stand there all day?” Jill calls out, her voice steady despite the chaos. “Or are you here to help?”