Chapter 36: Save Snow

Day 20th of the twelfth month in the Vermilion Calendar, year 2015

Days had passed without another occurrence. The pain of what happened had started to fade in many. They had grieved their losses and screamed their hearts out. The Count had made moves to rehabilitate. He had brought the best of the best to research and secure the Pillar, but no one could get near.

The few people that dared to go close were shredded to pieces. Everyone knew it was not over. The Pillar of Death, as it was now referred to, was looming and watching, waiting for the right moment to strike again.

Even in this, some people found peace. They found where to lay their heads and sleep at night, but not Leon.

For the days that had passed since this had happened, Leon never got a wink of sleep. He was plagued with so many nightmares about what happened that he had started getting sick, and the best physicians were called to treat him. He did not know why. It was not the first time he had seen death or faced it, but the whole thing caused him so much pain.

Snow was no better. She had shut herself in for the days that passed, and at night, her groans filled with pain could be heard if you placed your ear close to the door. The Pillar kept calling to her in heartbeats, and the pain grew deeply. The only person that could reach out to her was Leon, and he was also in a pain of his own.

Leon’s mother was panicked, but whenever she stepped in to see him, Leon would put on a brave face and act like nothing was wrong with him. She hated this. She knew he was hurting, but he was not letting her in no matter how much she tried.

So today, she decided to try something else:

Knock knock.

She knocked twice and opened the door. She walked in calmly, seeing Leon sit by the window and stare outside.

"Leon," she called out, and Leon turned to look at her with his usual smile.

"Hey, Mom," he replied and got up.

"Snow has not come out in days." She cut right to the chase, standing there and looking at him, waiting for his reaction.

Leon stood up fast. He walked to his mother. "What do you mean, Mom?" He asked.

"Have you not wondered why she has not come to see you at all? She has been inside so much that no one hears from her. She barely eats or speaks to anyone. I have tried to help her as much as I have tried to help you.

"She is going through it as well, and she needs her friend, or else something terrible might happen."

Leon heard all that, and his face changed. A deep worry formed, and he immediately bolted past his mother, running down the hallway. When all of a sudden, a countdown appeared before him. It started counting from ten down to one, and the moment it hit one, everything started shaking terribly.

The ground beneath his feet shook so much that it started to crack. He grabbed onto the wall to keep his balance.

Outside, the Pillar had started reacting again. It created a far larger magical circle this time, three times the size of the last one. A shockwave spread through the entire town, and those that were close died instantly, their bodies losing life in seconds.

Hands began digging out of the ground like before. Skeleton undead, but at least four times more than before, started forming all around the town. But that was not all, as every grave that had been made for those that died was torn open, and from it came zombies of the people that were killed in the first wave.

Those that died now also rose again and started heading for the town. Finally, liches rose from the ground, hundreds of them with staffs and magical items in their hands. It was a complete army set to destroy everything. This was the greatest threat Belmont had ever seen in their history.

Leon, who was inside, could not focus on the fact that something was happening outside, because while he was busy grabbing onto the wall, the system sent him a message.

[Save Snow]

That was all. It held no more detail aside from him to save her, and in the next moment, he felt a massive spike of energy from her room up ahead.

"Wait for me, Snow. I’m coming," he said before using wind magic to move faster. The ground broke apart and tried to obstruct him, but he moved nimbly around it and got to her room in seconds.

He kicked down the door without hesitation, and immediately, an energy dangerous enough to kill slammed into him. He coughed up blood immediately but forced himself to keep standing.

On the ground, he saw Snow. She was on her knees, her hands covering her ears, tears pouring from her eyes and blood dripping from her lips as she bit hard on it.

"Snow," Leon called out to her in fear. He stretched his hand and tried to get in.

"Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" She let out a gut-wrenching scream. Her eyes turned black, and her pupils turned red. The heartbeat from the Pillar got louder and louder, and she could no longer fight it.

She looked up and saw Leon. Tears streamed down her eyes as she looked at him in a way that said it all. She was in pain, and she needed help.

"Leon, please save me," she muttered.

Leon gritted his teeth and stepped into the room, wading through the energy.

"Hang on, Snow. I’m here," he said and got close. He tried to wrap his hand around her and help her somehow, but the moment his hand touched her, she reacted faster than possible. Her fist slammed into his chest so hard he was sent flying out of the room and breaking through the hallway wall.