The end of Chapter 11 of Resident Evil 4 Remake marked the departure of a certain character—at least as far as we know. Come on, it is hard to imagine that he survived that. But now we appear to have a greater threat on our hands, one who could easily pass for the henchman in a James Bond film. We will settle the score with him later. At the far end is a lift that will take you back to the Castle, north of the Ballroom area.
Open the gate and accept the two requests beside the Merchant: Jewel Thief and The Disgrace of the Salazar Family. Before leaving the area, collect the Small Key, the last one in the Castle.
We are going to clear out the Castle before continuing. Start by heading to the Courtyard and completing Jewel Thief.
Head to the Audience Chamber and open the locked drawer containing a Gold Bar.
Now go to the easternmost end of the Castle, which you could not access earlier because you were dropped through a hole in the floor, and enter the Throne Room. Be careful when you reach the Antechamber, as there are Ganados with spider Plagas. Try to make them gather together, throw a Flash Grenade to kill all the parasites and then finish off the Ganados. Once you reach the Throne Room, complete The Disgrace of the Salazar Family and open Square Lock Box #05 to obtain a Golden Chicken Egg.
To continue, take the cable car beside the Merchant, north of the Ballroom.
Upon entering the tower, a cutscene will play and you will have to fight enemies as you make your way upwards. On the ground floor, before beginning the ascent, you will find a Gold Bar, as well as Clockwork Castellan #12 beneath the stairs in the northwestern section of the ground floor.
As you climb, watch out for the Salazar statues, as they breathe fire. When you see the first one, hide behind a pillar, wait for the flames to pass you and move to the right, then run towards the statue and climb the ladder on the left. Eliminate the enemy to your left and stand beneath the gap in the spiral staircase, where the flames cannot reach you and enemies cannot throw axes at you. Look for the dynamite attached to the statue's ponytail at the back of its head.
The statue will no longer pose a threat, so you can simply continue climbing while eliminating enemies—watch out for the spiked ball and take shelter on the balconies—and collect an Alexandrite (2). Once you reach the top, kill the enemy operating the lever and release several balls to crush your pursuers. Do not forget to collect their drops! Pick up the Mirror with Pearls & Rubies, then jump onto the lift platform. Collect the Extravagant Clock on the western side.
Now activate the lift and quickly locate the red-robed enemy who will appear at the platform's original level. Eliminate him to prevent the Plagas from emerging. For the remainder of the journey, your objective is to stop enemies from jumping onto the platform, as the lift will stop if even one of them lands on it. There will be red barrels on each balcony—or most of them—marking where you should shoot as the next group passes to prevent them from jumping aboard. Once you reach the top, follow the only available path, use the binoculars and eliminate the crossbow-wielding enemies.
You must now proceed carefully across the wooden planks: if you run, they will break and you will die. Along the way, you can collect another Yellow Diamond, which will be the final treasure in the Castle. Now that was one hell of a rhyme.
You will see the Merchant on the left after crossing the planks. You can buy supplies from him, collect a few resources and then continue towards your destination, where a cutscene will play before you face the area's boss. You must shoot whenever the creature opens its mouth and Salazar's body emerges from the centre, usually when it is about to spit.
The easiest strategy involves using the two thick pillars on either side of the room, directly between the staircases. The idea is to lure Salazar into attacking while you are beside one of them and then take cover behind the pillar when he prepares to spit or unleash his stream of acid. This gives you time to move out and fire with whichever weapon you prefer until he falls to the ground, allowing you to introduce his face to a few inches of steel. Once you have dealt enough damage, the stream of acid will be followed by a projectile, so do not immediately leave cover to start firing.
Otherwise, he will occasionally try to chase you down for a melee attack and will sometimes position himself above you to "bombard" the area with an attack that can be rather difficult to avoid. Towards the end, when he is almost dead, he will begin firing the stream from the ceiling while moving, so be extremely careful. Bear in mind that you can interrupt his attacks by shooting his weak point—Salazar's body. Once he falls, collect the Lip Rouge and follow the only available path to Chapter 13.
