Code Cadou: 𝙵𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎 |Leon S. Kennedy X Reader|

chapter VII

p u z z l e s i n p a r a d i s e

♤♡◇♧

Tall Oaks, USA/Present Day

"There are stairs under this statue," Helena states, clearly distressed. She turns to meet your gaze, the gaze that hasn't trusted her since the two of you met. "It was open the last time I was here, shit, what do we do?"

Here doing what?

"We'll figure something out, let's take a look around," Leon utters, moving away from the statue, turning on his heel, eyes seemingly glazing the rundown cathedral. He was a veteran in this field, he was the reason you survived the chaos in Spain, the plaga, Saddler, all of it.

Cole turned to you, meeting your observant gaze as he lowered his voice, "I'm a bit nervous as to what she's hiding,"

"Don't worry, I am too," you reply. You couldn't imagine just what she was withholding, it made your stomach churn in knots at the thought of what was below your feet, and how it had anything to do with the undead knocking away at the door outside.

Cole steps near one of the small pillars beside the altar, a wooden idol of a woman clasping her hands together in prayer stood alone. He grasps onto it, holding it out for you to view.

"Madonna of Happiness, hm." You recognized the idol from stories your mother told you when you were little, possessing no idea as to why she would do such things, only listening to the singular words she would grace you with. The only stories she'd ever tell.

"This isn't just part of the decor," Leon says softly, tone suspicious. Helena turns, grabbing the idol from your fingers, taking a deep look at it, reading the inscription below.

"You're right, there's more here than meets the eye," she replies, reaching down and opening one of her small packs at her waist, placing the idol inside.

The four of you split off in twos, you and Leon, Helena, and Cole. Seemed to be the new normal as you saw Leon as your partner, hoping he saw you the same way, though it appeared that he did as he had no qualms for the teams that were unconsciously formed.

You made your way towards a ladder that hung just beside the altar, clearly leading to the wooded balcony wrapping around the entire cathedral. You turned your head, checking for Leon, noticing he was right behind you, a smirk crossing his lips as he met your eyes.

"Takes you back, doesn't it?" he asks. You nod softly, smirking back at him before latching onto the ladder and hauling yourself up. Once at the top, you noticed a gilded door, moving toward it and latching onto the knob, twisting it before pushing it open.

A chest. Great.

Your eyes scanned a lonely chest sitting in the room, you wondered what it held as you stepped toward it, leaning down on your knee and popping the lock before lifting the lid.

"It's a Madonna of Charity," a small, wooden religious statue of a woman holding her hands together in prayer, the inscription just at the feet of the Idol.

"Hm, It's identical to the other one, something tells me they're not just for show," you nodded at his words as you shoved it into the small pack hanging from your waist, mimicking Helena, as you assumed these Madonna's were connected somehow. You made your way to the next pillar that stood by the ladder, having the idea to place the statuette on top of it.

"Nothing, we must be missing something," you huffed, frustrated, but your thoughts were cut short as Leon began to speak.

"The two motherly saints will reveal the path," He read aloud an engraved sign just above the ladder. You took a glace to the opposite side of the balcony, spotting an identical pillar just on the other side. A lightbulb appears above your head.