---

Continued…

---

Blindingly bright as the portal, a giant glowing figure slowly walked up from the water. A beautiful woman, with long golden hair and glowing blue eyes like the other figures, emerged. She was dressed in a flowing white dress with gold lining around all the edges. It was the image of a pure and heavenly angel. But the feeling it brought with it was absolute terror. I couldn’t move. There was something too overpowering about this female figure. 

“Here she is” Lily mentioned to herself. 

Me, Belle, and Lily were the only ones free before the portal, and so the female figure calmly approached us. It was going to take us. I knew it deep inside. Belle squeezed my hand tightly. She knew it too. 

My love… I heard Julie’s voice so far away in the distance of my mind. 

“Lily!” Barber screamed. 

“Right…” Lily sighed. She then jumped forward. 

“Ridge!” Lily stuck her hand out before the female figure, then clicked her fingers. The floor in front of the female figure began to glow an ominous darkening red. It was like a giant hole on the floor glowing in red light. The female figure, completely emotionless and calm refused to walk forward anymore. Whatever Lily had summoned had stopped the figure from approaching. 

“Dallas” Barber called out. “Bring the Julietta in front of you. Lily, get ready to close the gate.” 

Bring the Julietta in front of me? 

Something inside me felt it would have been too cruel to let Belle get taken away. What was this figure, trying to approach us? It felt like absolute evil, no matter how beautiful it looked. I didn’t know how to explain it, but I could feel that whatever it was, it was only going to cause complete pain and suffering. I didn’t want anyone to suffer its wrath. Not even Belle, even if she was the Julietta. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. 

“I can’t hold it for much longer” Lily cried, a sudden exhaustion in her voice. “I can feel the gate keeper eating away at my life force. I’ll let her take them both!” 

“No!” Barber contested. 

“Your man is not listening. And I’m dying here!” 

“He is innocent, Lily!” 

“You opened this gate again, and you thought nothing was going to go wrong?” Lily spat. “Argh!” The red floor suddenly disappeared. 

The female figure then locked eyes with me and Belle. It made its slow walk to us. The end had finally come. 

Each step the female figure took, I felt peril overtake my entirety more and more. Why couldn’t I move? Was it Lily’s disabling spell from before, or was it the sheer sight of the figure approaching? I didn’t know. All I knew was that it was over for me and Belle. 

“It’s time you pay for what you’ve done!” Lily cried. She then grabbed Sir Barber and threw him in front of Belle and the giant female figure. 

“Sancto!” Lily reinforced Barber’s original wall. 

“Sancto!” Barber raised a new ring wall around the female figure. But the figure walked right through it, shattering the light wall to thousands of pieces. 

“Bulwark!” Barber raised a thick light wall. But the figure walked through it effortlessly. He was going to try another maneuver, but in an instant the female figure picked Barber up by the head. And then it walked back to the portal. 

“Sir Barber!” everybody cried out. 

Lily began chanting something. The glow of the portal began to dim. With that, the other giant figures began to slowly dissipate away. She was closing the portal. And it seemed that Sir Barber was disappearing along with the portal. 

Once all light had faded away from the portal, everybody turned on Lily. But as soon as they tried to capture her, she clicked her fingers, and all those around her flew away like an explosion had happened. 

“Lily!” the manager dashed for her as she made her escape. But with clicks of her finger or sudden spell chants, she was able to push away or disorient anybody who got too close to her. 

In the midst of all of that, I didn’t realize it, but I had let go of Belle’s hand. Belle was gone. It seemed she had disappeared. 

---

To be continued…

---

(Part 20-20) Hotel Mysteria 016 – Forgotten