Kamen Rider is playing the villain in Pretty Cure

At first he thought he had died again, but unlike the strange feeling of emptiness that comes with death, after a moment he remembered where he was.

"Dream? Am I dreaming? This is really rare. I haven't dreamed about anything in a long time. I thought I had lost the ability to dream."

When was the last time he had a dream? It seemed like it was when he was 12 years old and still sleeping at home before he started his journey.

"Ash—"

"who!"

He took out his closed-gear gun and pointed it in the direction of the sound. When he saw the person coming, he raised the gun but frowned.

Speak of the devil, he appears. I just thought about what happened when I was 12 years old. The person who appeared in front of Ash now was myself at 12 years old.

I have forgotten a lot of things, but at least I will not forget myself.

"system?"

He inexplicably felt that even if the person in front of him was not his past self, he was not a stranger. On the contrary, he had an extremely familiar feeling about him, so he tentatively asked his partner's name.

"Ash."

"Ah, it's you." The familiar tone made Ash look helpless. "I told you, you really have your own mind. After all, Hedgehog Cat's system isn't just a simple, inhumane task-issuing tool. Tell me, why didn't you tell me before?"

"I've told you this many times, but you always forget it, so unless it's a situation like this, I won't bother you."

"Well, that's a reasonable explanation."

Ash changed the subject directly. He didn't want to argue with his "old friend" about this matter.

"Then why did you come to me this time?"

"You understand this kind of thing, Ash. You've already remembered it and realized it."

What the system was referring to was the situation displayed on Ash's system panel at this moment: [Reserves are full, please deal with the dark echo in time].

Under normal circumstances, the maximum time Ash can exist in a world is one year. Even if he does not actively participate in the story of justice and evil during this year and just watches, the trace amount of dark echoes he absorbs will reach the maximum after a year of accumulation. Of course, it would be better to kill Ash than to let him just watch and not participate.

It is extremely rare for the place to be so packed that it is about to overflow as it is now.

"The progress of collecting Dark Echoes has changed because of that thing. Even if I let it go, it's already far beyond the expected situation!"

"You're almost unable to fight as you wish now, right?"

"That's really a problem."

Ash nodded somewhat depressed. In fact, as he absorbed the dark echoes, his strength would become stronger. But when the collection of dark echoes reached the upper limit of what his body could bear, this strength would slowly decrease over time.

"But Ash, it's not just that. If you stay in this world for too long with Dark Echoes fully charged, your memories of it will be eroded, and continuing to fight will only exacerbate the situation!"

Even if the past leaves a world, memories will slowly fade away, but that is at a normal speed, and occasionally you will remember the things you have forgotten.

The current situation might even make him completely forget everything in this world! That would be meaningless! It would be too cruel to you!

"If you continue to fight, your body will transform three or four more times... No, your spirit will give out before that!"

Ash from the past reached out to Ash from the present.

"Ash, it's my fault for taking you to the unplanned precure world, so stop now!"

"This is really troublesome."

When Ash heard this, he scratched his head and a headache appeared on his face. Just when he thought he was going to change his mind.

"Click."

Ash aimed the enclosed gear gun in his hand at his passing self.

"Actually, I don't think there's anything wrong with the world of Pretty Cure."

"I haven't had enough fun yet. Giving up now is too boring. You should know that I don't care about my own life, right?"

"Is the impact... so serious?"

"What are you talking about? Listen carefully, no one can sway my choice, including you!"

"That's all. See you later."

A long roar resounded throughout the world.

"Boom——"

“Bang bang bang bang bang bang——————!”

Chapter 121: Let the war begin, both of you!

"He fell asleep after all."

Ash wasn't lying, he fell asleep almost as soon as he lay down in his seat, his head resting on the armrest and his legs leaning against the backrest, he was just short of snoring and drooling.

Such an indecent sleeping posture made Liuhua feel extremely uneasy.

Although it would be a good opportunity to defeat the enemy while he's asleep, Rikka wasn't going to do that. Firstly, she didn't believe Ash had no means of defending against sneak attacks while sleeping, and secondly, as Pretty Cure girls, they couldn't possibly resort to such a despicable method.

"Really? Be careful not to catch a cold when you sleep."

Rika sighed, picked up a blanket and covered Ash with it. Just as she was smoothing out the last wrinkle and preparing to leave, a faint object next to Ash caught her attention.

Is this... a panel?

The transparent panel gradually solidified, making itself clearly visible to Rikka, allowing her to read the words on it.

“What, what is this!?”

Rikka's eyes widened as she stared at the words on the panel.

[See——Can you see it?]

"This, what is this?"

Ash has never shown this to them before. What is this thing that looks like a pop-up window on a computer? I've never heard of it!

Liuhua looked left and right and found that this thing was actually floating in the air out of thin air, and she felt even worse.

"Are you, someone communicating with me?"

Although I don't understand the situation, judging from the words that keep popping up above, it seems that someone is controlling it.

[Legendary warrior, I have a favor to ask of you]

[I want you to save this person.]

----------

Hishikawa Rikka's hands were shaking.

"Ash, is he going to die?"

The first reaction was disbelief.

That familiar Ash and Kamen Rider Ryuga, who had unknowingly walked into their lives and battles, were about to die?

Even now, they just want him to apologize, not to die.

The death of others is something that no Pretty Cure wants to see.

Besides, how could it be possible! He was always busy with his chores and complaining about how boring it was. He didn't look like someone who was about to die.

Suddenly, Rikka thought of what they had discussed before, that Ash had been acting strangely recently.

Yes, Ash’s current condition seems to be much worse than before.

But if I'm really going to die, why am I doing all this now? Even if it's an incurable disease like the ones you see on TV, why not just enjoy life instead of torturing myself here?

So I want to ask you a favor.

A sharp point slowly emerged from the panel, followed by the blade and handle, until the entire knife was spit out from the panel.

[I would like you to kill him now.]

"I reject!"

Without any hesitation, Liuhua immediately refused.

Fighting against selfish organizations and defeating selfish monsters are also ways of purification. Even if you are determined to defeat those cadres, those cadres born in darkness are not human beings after all. Defeating the enemy and killing are two completely different things.

Even if Ash is an enemy now, Rikka will never kill anyone, whether as a human or as a Pretty Cure!

"I can't do something like killing someone!"

Everyone's life is unique and precious.

Not to mention, it’s taking this person’s life!

Looking at Ash, who finally seemed peaceful in his sleep, Rikka's heart skipped a beat.

And to save him means killing him. Isn't that pure arrogance? There's no logic in doing that.

"But if you don't do anything, what will happen to Ash will be worse than death! Do you want him to suffer like that?"

"His life belongs to him, it shouldn't be decided by you or me!"

Liuhua began to hate the guy who was talking to her.

What if we compare it to this world?

"Eh?"

[The greatest enemy this world has ever faced: the King of Selfishness, or rather, the Originator of Selfishness, is now within him! This is the truth behind his transformation!]

The words that appeared on the tablet struck Rikka like a bolt from the blue.

[This was indeed my oversight, but it's pointless to shift the blame now.]

[The current situation is that if you don't do it, not only will all his efforts in this world be wasted, but the Selfish Ancestor will also return in a more powerful state!]

[Even if this darkness completely erupts, you will face an enemy you have never seen before, one that even miracles cannot defeat.]

The bold, large, and red text on the panel scared Rikka.

“This kind of thing!”

Please believe me, I won't lie.

It's strange, there is no sound, but text keeps popping up.

There seemed to be some magic in these words, which made Liuhua want to believe them involuntarily.

"Save...the world?"

The knife appeared in Rikka's hand at some point, and she slowly raised the knife until the reflective blade revealed the girl's slightly distorted expression.

That's right... He even stole my mana... This matter...

Rika stared at the knife in front of her in a daze, until her eyes met the sharp blade, and when she came to her senses, she threw it aside with force.

"No! I don't want to kill Mr. Ash, I can't-!"

Saving the world by sacrificing someone else is something you cannot do, no matter what!

Ash opened his eyes.

He saw Hishikawa Rikka sitting on the ground in a daze, with the knife dropped to the side, and seemed to understand something.

"Huh? Are you planning to kill me with a knife while I'm sleeping?"

"N-No, I-!"

Rika's feeble defense was interrupted by Ash just as she was halfway through. She thought she would be beaten up by Ash, but instead of being met with fists and kicks, she was met with a wanton hand that ruffled her hair.

"Isn't this wonderful? You still have a rebellious spirit. It's really amazing."

"Huh?" Rikka was stunned.

"It's okay to betray me. Rather, I welcome your betrayal at any time."

"Because it will be more interesting this way, hahahahahahahaha!"

Looking at Ash who was laughing, Rikka was stunned, and then burst into intense anger.

"That's not right. I'm also following the rules of the game. I'm not going to betray you just because of my feelings and desires. Who are you looking down on?"

The thought of how she almost "dirty" her hands made Liuhua feel nauseous.

"Ash-Mr. Ash, why, why are you so indifferent to such things?!"