Ramon Salazar

**Ramon Salazar**is the tertiary antagonist of *Resident Evil 4.*He is the eighth castellan of the Salazar family castle near a small rural village in rural Spain governed by the Los Illuminados cult.

## History

### Background

Ramon Salazar, the eighth Castellan, lived alone with his butler and had no immediate family since childhood. This left him vulnerable to Osmund Saddler's influence, who succeeded in indoctrinating Salazar into becoming a fervent believer in Los Illuminados' teachings. Salazar convinced that he had to undo the seal of the Plaga in order to atone for the "sins" of his ancestor, the First Castellan. Once the excavation of the Plaga had begun, he was injected with one of the parasites. This would give him power over the Ganado, most of the Los Illuminados' cultists and two fearsome, mutated bodyguards known as the Vagos. Eventually, he was completely taken over by the power of the parasites. Salazar became a recluse in his castle, as he no longer cared for anything but the survival and domination of Los Illuminados, which led to his assistance in the kidnapping of the U.S. President's daughter, Ashley Graham. Only his butler knew the truth of his full spiritual incapacitation.

### Resident Evil 4

In 2004, American Government agent Leon S. Kennedy infiltrated the village and rescued the President's daughter, Ashley Graham. As the two attempted to escape from the Ganado, they found themselves within the castle, which was heavily guarded with a variety of creatures and death traps. Leon also has many conversations with Salazar over the radio, due to the latter's ability to intercept, block and transmit radio transmissions. Leon, after overcoming after all of Salazar's obstacles, fought and killed one of Salazar's Verdugo bodyguards. Soon after Leon escaped a giant, mechanized statue of Salazar, an altercation with Salazar and his other Verdugo began. Salazar informed Leon of his intent to transform Ashley into a Ganado. In the middle of his exposition, Leon threw his knife at Salazar's hand, pinning it to a wall. The remaining Verdugo threw it back at Leon with intent to kill him, but Leon easily avoided it.

Salazar then came face-to-face with Leon and merged with his remaining Verdugo and the Queen Plaga, mutating into a plant-like parasitic creature that took an entire second story wall, with two large and dangerous tentacles on each side. The Verdugo became a long thick neck with a large head, with a swollen eye on the left that served as a weak point and when damaged enough, exposed Salazar himself who was now fused with the neck. After a long, ardunous battle, Leon defeated Salazar; the hideous, mutated creature shriveled up and died, ending the reign of the eighth castallen and the Salazar bloodline. This leaves the castle officially leaderless. Saddler claims the death of Salazar was saddening, but will move on.

## Abilities

Ramon Salazar is able to control Ganados and other creatures with the Plaga parasites within them as a host of the Dominant Species Plaga. When he is fused with the Queen Plaga and a Verdugo, he gains large tentacles to attack with as well as the now mutated head of the Verdugo on a long neck. However Salazar himself serves as the weak point of the twisted creature but he can protect himself with a pair of mandible-like appendages that close around him.