Ramon Salazar

""Did you say old man, Mister Kennedy? It might come as a surprise, but I'm only 20 years old!""

- - Ramon Salazar

Ramon Salazar was the 8th castellan of a fortress known as Castle Salazar near an unnamed village in rural Spain, who was controlled by a religious cult known as "Los Illuminados" (english: "The Illuminated ones"). Although his diminutive stature resembles that of a ten-year old and his gray hair and wrinkled face give him the appearance of an old man, he was only 20 years old, which suggests that his premature aging is possibly a result of his long-term Plaga infestation.

Background
Centuries ago, the first Salazar castellan sealed off a breed of parasites known as "Las Plagas", which were used by the Los Illuminados cult to take control of victims and recruit new members. The Los Illuminados cult continued to suffer persecution at the hands of the castellans; this carried on for many years until Ramon Salazar came to power.

Ramon, 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 used Salazar's faith in the Los Illuminados' beliefs to his advantage. Salazar was convinced to undo the seal of the Las Plagas in order to atone for the "sins" of his ancestors. Once the excavation of the Las Plagas had begun, he was injected with one of the parasites. This would give him power over the Ganados, most of the Los Illuminados' cultists, and two fearsome, mutated bodyguards known as Verdugos. 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.

In 2004, American agent Leon S. Kennedy infiltrated the village and rescued the president's daughter, Ashley Graham. As the two attempted to escape from the Ganados, they found themselves within Salazar's castle, which was heavily guarded with all sorts of creatures and death-traps. Leon also has many conversations with Salazar on his radio because he "jacked the line". Leon, after overcoming all of Salazar's obstacles, battled and killed one of the Verdugos. Soon after Leon escapes the giant statue of Salazar. A cutscene with Salazar and his other Verdugo appears, Salazar explains to Leon the ritual that will make her become a Ganado, Leon then throws a knife in Salazar's hand. The player will then have to press the action buttons to avoid the knife that the Verdugo threw back at Leon. This will also be the last cutscene with Salazar before the one where Leon has to battle him.

Salazar then came face-to-face with Leon and merged with his remaining Verdugo, mutating into a plant-like parasitic creature that took the whole second story wall with two large and dangerous tentacles, one on each side. The Verdugo became a long thick neck with a large head, with a swollen eye on the left that serves as a weak point and when damaged enough, exposes the real weak point: Salazar himself, who is now fused with the neck. After a long, arduous battle, Leon defeated Salazar; the hideous, mutated creature shriveled up and died, ending the reign of the eighth castellan, as well as the Salazar bloodline. This leaves the castle officially leaderless.

Battle Hints

 * One Rocket Launcher shot can kill him when his head is exposed.
 * If you have the Handcannon upgraded to maximum, you need only expose him once then shoot him 3 times to kill him.
 * Stay at the side near his arms. Not in the middle. When he goes for the bite move just stay where you are and he will be unable to bite you. This is useful because his bite move will rip Leon apart, causing an instant death. If you stay to one side and shoot the tentacle, you cannot be hit by any of Salazar's attacks. He cannot reach you (until the tentacle comes back).
 * There is no need to get at the lower floor during the fight unless you run out of ammo. There are various spider-like Plagas down there, and no matter how many you kill, more will show up to take their place.
 * Shooting at the swollen (or large) eye will damage Salazar the most whilst he is concealed.
 * 3-4 direct hits to the eye with a stock Broken Butterfly will expose Salazar (even less if upgraded), which would mean that at least 40-45 damage points are needed to expose him.
 * Five shots to the head with a fully upgraded Broken Butterfly will kill Salazar.
 * The Mine Thrower and the Broken Butterfly can also be used to dispose of this boss. Be sure that these two weapons are well upgraded before using these tricks to beat him: Shoot the giant Verdugo head with the Mine Thrower. It should disapear after one shot, leaving the player the chance to attack Salazar with the magnum. If the player runs out of ammo, use the Semi-auto Rifle. It's a safe way to defeat this boss without using any medicines, to save some ammo and some money too.
 * It is possible to kill him within 10 seconds by shooting the Verdugo eye with one Mine Thrower shot, exposing his head, then firing a Rocket Launcher that can instantly kill him.
 * If you buy an infinite rocket launcher you can instantly take him out.

Trivia

 * He is the only boss to remain completely stationary during a battle in Resident Evil 4.
 * He is the only boss that requires you to use a ranged weapon against him; the knife is useless without the use of glitches.
 * He is ironically the largest boss to be fought in Resident Evil 4 (if one counts the entire structure that he's part of).
 * In many ways, Ricardo Irving is his spiritual successor in Resident Evil 5. Both were corrupted by external influences.Both were outright hated by the protagonists of their respective games. (Leon and Chris) Both eventually mutated (Salazar had the Plagas all along, Irving injected). Both would have their human bodies be a weak point on their Plagas Creatures (The Wall Plant versus The Sea Monster).
 * It seems he was inspired by Napoleon Boneparte: both sharing being short, wealthy, and clothes of similar fashion. Although they have no similarity in facial structure.
 * Salazar's overdramatic performances within the game, combined with Leon's smart aleck retorts can often humoroulsy break the serious mood the game tries to set. Almost every instance of taunting banter between the two is delightfully cheesy.
 * Salazar shares the same name with a villian from the television series 24. Ramon Salazar appeared in the 3rd series. It is presumed this is a coincidence