Lycan (Resident Evil)

Lycans are a common type of creature encountered in the video game Resident Evil Village. These creatures are human beings that have been mutated after a combination of Mold infection and implantation of a Cadou parasite.

History
From 1919 to 2021, biologist Miranda had sought to resurrect her dead daughter Eva through her experimentation with the Mold. During this time, she subjected many of the residents of her village to experimentation in order to find an ideal host for her daughter's consciousness. These experiments ended in failure as the Mold and the Cadou rejected one another due to the host's low affinity, leading to the birth of the Lycans. In order to keep the village population alive for future experimentation, Miranda had the mutant Lycans cast out. The mutants made their den inside the ruins of a medieval fort, only occasionally venturing outside to feed on livestock.

In 2021, Miranda had finally found a suitable host for Eva in the form of Rose Winters. No longer needing the villagers, she released the Lycans upon the village who then massacred its population. When Rose's father Ethan came to the village to rescue his daughter, the Lycans attacked him, but Miranda called them off, believing that Ethan could potentially serve her purposes.

After Ethan had killed the Four Lords and Miranda disposed of him, both the BSAA and Chris Redfield's Hound Wolf unit entered the village in order to destroy Miranda and the Megamycete located underground. An army of Lycans spawned directly from the Mold attacked Chris, but he was able to fight his way through them and reach the fungal root, planting high explosives on it. After he and his troops were clear, the explosives were set off, destroying the entire village as well as the Megamycete and the creatures it had spawned. With the source of the Mold destroyed, the Lycans are considered to be extinct.

Biology
Altered by both the Mold and Cadou, the Lycans have taken on certain canine attributes such as heightened senses of smell and hearing and growing sharp teeth. Their musculature has increased in density, making them stronger and more durable than the average human. They are also faster, capable of running on all fours and have also developed an increased ability for climbing.

In terms of intelligence, Lycans are close to regular humans. While they do not talk, they are social creatures capable of working together and can solve basic problems. They are shown to be capable of building and wielding simple tools and weapons such as axes and even bows and arrows. They are even capable of riding on horseback, as shown when attacking Ethan Winters shortly after his arrival in the village.

Lastly, Lycans may or may not be capable of infecting others with the Mold. One villager, Leonardo Lupu, was shown to have been injured by a Lycan and then later turned into one inside Luiza's house. However, it is unknown if he had been contaminated by the Lycan or if Miranda had previously injected him with a Cadou.

Behaviour
Like wolves, Lycans are highly social creatures and adopt a pack mentality. They hunt in groups and appear to have a hierarchy, following an "alpha" in the form of the largest and strongest among them, Uriaș.

Lycans are shown to stalk their prey for a time before moving in for the kill. In combat, they move quickly around a victim as they close in, attacking by grabbing and biting a victim, or using whatever weapons they have on hand. Most Lycans are shown to use makeshift axes or bows, but some larger specimens are shown to wear armoured helmets to protect their heads and also sport bladed gauntlets to repeatedly stab victims.

Combat
Though more resilient than regular humans, Lycans can be killed in much the same ways. Their durability allows them to take more gunshots than a normal human would, but shots to the head are more likely to bring them down quicker. Like all Mold-based mutations, Lycans calcify and crumble to dust upon death.