Kamen Rider is playing the villain in Pretty Cure

"No," Yuuko muttered softly, looking at these puppets who were determined to stand in front of her even if they made mistakes. "This battle with the evil Phantom Empire... is completely different and wrong!"

"..."

Just when her companions were at a loss, Snow White noticed that the elastic cord hanging from the huge floor-length curtain beside her fell right next to her. This familiar scene reminded her of her time in the Blue Sky Kingdom.

"I still remember when I was a kid, I did this to sneak out of the castle and get rid of the bodyguards and pursuers—"

He did as he said and pulled the rope hard according to his past memory. The curtain that lost its support happened to cover the surprised doll's head like a dragnet.

--------

"Ash."

"benefit."

Looking at the black-striped knight leaning against his motorcycle, Hui felt a little complicated, considering that she had been worried about his departure for a while, and she couldn't open her mouth to express the thoughts she wanted to express.

Speaking of which, this was clearly his helping me at a crucial moment, right? I thought if it were me, I would definitely be surprised here, but why do I feel so... awkward right now?

Is it possible that I don't want him to help me? How strange.

"I...I didn't ask you to help me. You said you would protect us."

"Mei, do you know that saying one thing and doing another is not popular anymore? And I don't have a tsundere personality at all."

"sorry..."

What the hell! They're being so affectionate and flirtatious in front of me. She's obviously about my age, but I've never had a boyfriend!

As if sensing Tsumugi's angry mood as she stomped her feet behind them, several ragged rag doll beasts, having recovered their senses, pounced on them with even greater ferocity.

"coming soon!"

"Hmm, which one is better this time?" Even in front of the enemy, Ash calmly opened the Knight Card Box and selected the cards. "Two people... two people... double Typhoon."

"[KamenRide V3]"

Amidst the startling sound of a typhoon, Ash, who had kicked an evil beast on the chest with both feet, turned in mid-air and kicked down another one behind him, then spun around and landed on the reel at the top of the loom.

"Kamen Rider..." Looking at the knight leaping overhead, Tsumugi thought back to the special effects shows she and her friends had watched on TV as children, but couldn't find a corresponding character. "I can't remember... Could it be the Kamen Rider that Mom and Dad watched back then?"

"The glory of heroes will never fade despite the changing times."

Standing on top of the loom, the emerald green Knight of Wind raised his hand and slowly stroked it across the bulging muscles on his chest and the snow-white face in the shape of a dragonfly. The upright V-shaped gesture, coupled with the white wind scarf on his neck that moved without wind, declared his strong presence.

"V3's participation, V3's solution, people call him the immortal man!"

It's just one person anyway, so it's okay to mix up the lines!

"Kamen Rider V3——!"

The huge name of Knight was even projected from behind him, making it difficult to tell whether this was the Knight set or the Team set.

"Bad beast!"

His overly pretentious attitude completely annoyed the evil beasts below. These monsters roared and pounced on the knight above their heads, vowing to use their powerful power of unlimited resurrection to show this green and red little thing what a black hand is!

"Taku!"

Then he was cut off by the knight's simple Showa hook punch.

The two-door hand blades could easily repel monsters that were even bigger than himself. Even without the ability to fly, he could easily toy with the enemy with his jumping ability that far exceeded that of any gymnast on Earth. Between applause, he delivered a roundhouse kick in mid-air, sending two huge tattered puppets flying. The combat capability of Knight No. 3, who surpassed Knight No. 1 and Knight No. 2, was fully demonstrated at this moment.

"This level of challenge isn't really a challenge."

The knight who beat people like hanging paintings hammered another evil beast directly into the human-shaped crack on the wall, then stretched out his arms and jumped up, using the double typhoon on his waist to blow away several evil beasts that were rushing towards him. At the same time, he was actually carefully observing the two girls left on the ground with the corner of his eyes.

After all, the reason why he made such a high-profile appearance this time to draw all the attention to himself was not to give Hui, who was still worried, some time?

Although I almost know the whole story.

But for some things, it is better to let her understand them personally.

"Xiao Tsumugi."

"do not come!"

Finally, there was a chance for them to be together, but Tsumugi was strongly resisting her kindness. It was like... deliberately resisting herself?

However, I have experienced something similar once, so I won’t be defeated to the same extent a second time!

"Tsumugi, do you know why we want to be friends with you?"

As Hui expected, Tsumugi finally stopped her noisy resistance after hearing this.

"It's not just because we like your dancing. We also saw that when you were dancing, when you were in front of those puppets, that smile was definitely not a fake act!"

Conquering the sudden rage she had felt earlier, Hui tried to seriously relay to her what she was thinking.

"You're like this, so it's only natural for us to want to lend a helping hand. Maybe we sense this feeling from you!"

Finally regaining her confidence and smile, the girl looked up at the knight who was spinning and jumping in a reverse direction. "Yes, just like him! I want to help you too!"

This time, my sincerity will never fail again.

"Cure Lovely....Keki, can I call you that?" Tsumugi's eyes flashed with sadness after she changed her address. "Actually, I can't dance."

"Huh?" The sudden heavyweight news shook Hui's confidence. "How could that be! At the ball just now, Tsumugi's ballet was the best dance I've ever seen! Even better than anything I've seen on TV!"

"I used to be like this," Hui wanted to know, so Tsumugi used her ability to project a picture of her past. "I've loved dancing since I was a child, and I practiced diligently every day."

The young Tsumugi in the picture has already gone through training that even made Kei's scalp tingle, but the girl's smile has not diminished in the slightest during such high-intensity training.

"That's right! You must have worked incredibly hard to achieve this. How can you say you can't jump?"

"Yeah... Then one day, my legs suddenly became paralyzed and I couldn't dance anymore."

In the picture, Tsumugi abruptly sat down on the ground. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move her legs to take a step. The smile on her face disappeared from her stiff face.

"The specific reason is unknown. No matter how much money my parents spend on the hospital, no matter how hard I try, I can't move my legs. My classmates only came to visit me at the beginning, but gradually no one came. Now I don't even have any real friends."

The only things left are the dolls my parents bought for me as my lifelong friends.

"Keiko, do you know what's the most painful thing?" After pouring out the heavy memories of her past, Tsumugi's tone was surprisingly relaxed, but tears were already streaming down her face. "It's not just the loss of the happiness and joy that came from the goals I once worked so hard for... For me, it's been so long now that I've almost forgotten what it feels like to be able to stand up and walk on my own."

"W-what happened...?" Stunned, Hui shook her head blankly. Although she had encountered many difficulties both as a Pretty Cure and as a student, if she put herself in their shoes, Hui could not imagine what she would become if she lost her legs.

If that happens, I won’t be able to help others anymore... Then what else can I do, what will be left?

"I've learned the same thing. Some things just can't be done..." Wiping the tears from her face, Tsumugi finally put on a happy expression again. "But, things are different now."

"It was the people from the Phantom Empire you mentioned who saved me. Isn't it amazing that a bad guy can help others when doing good things? "

"But, Tsumugi, do you believe him? He is obviously a bad guy..." Hui, who felt the same way for some reason, spoke with a very unconfident tone at this moment, because... wasn't she also believing in the "bad guy" now?

"What does it matter if I believe it or not? No matter who he is, he has fulfilled my wish, hasn't he?"

Lifting up the hem of her ballet skirt and standing on tiptoe, Tsumugi transformed herself into a beautiful fairy again and danced alone on the spot.

"As long as I stay in this kingdom created for me, I can dance. I can walk freely on these legs and dance forever in front of everyone!"

This is my home!

"Or do you think it's more in line with your justice to defeat the enemy and let me continue to be a useless person without dreams?"

At about the same time, the evil beast that was knocked down by Ash just resurrected after reading the CD from the loom. This monster with extremely ferocious attack range naturally suppressed Hui Shi, who had lost her mind, and defeated her step by step.

"You said you were the Pretty Cure who protects everyone's happiness, right?"

Deliberately stopping her dance steps, Tsumugi kept her hands raised and squinted her eyes at the dejected Pretty Cure across from her.

Pretty Cure can become infinitely strong for the sake of their inner selves, and this strength also applies to them in reverse.

"Then, for my happiness, lose."

I can’t hold on...any more!

Cure Lovely fell to the ground as the wall behind her was blasted open. As the light faded away and she returned to being wrapped in the undergarment of light, she felt completely powerless.

"I...lost..."

The damage she had sustained wasn't enough to completely bring her down, but the girl knew that the reason she even touched the transformation was because she had... lost in her heart.

He lost, not to Tsumugi's reasons and causes, but to his own heart - the story she described was too devastating to him at that moment.

"Tsumugi... I want to help you, but can you really be happy like this?"

"Help me? Then let me ask you, can you be happy like this?"

"I..."

Faced with this rhetorical question, Hui, lying on the ground, was speechless.

"If it wasn't the Phantom Empire but Pretty Cure, would that heal my legs and allow me to stand up?"

"this..."

Seeing that Hui was still speechless, and thinking of how she had boasted so proudly when she first came here, Tsumugi felt extremely angry.

"If you can't do anything and know nothing, don't even bother saying you'll help me!"

The tattered rag doll Evil Beast walked up to Hui and raised his palm, condensing a miniature light that could turn humans into dolls.

"You're saying that hard work will bring you happiness, but you've already failed... If you don't even feel happy yourself!"

“How can we make everyone happy?”

In the end, I can't do anything?

"It's... no longer possible..."

The moment before the gathering dark light was about to engulf the girl.

The knight's kick, delivered straight down from the sky, turned the puppet's outstretched arms into flying cotton scraps.

"V3—"

The double typhoon at his waist was fully exerted, allowing Ash to transform from a falling position to a graceful double-footed reversal in mid-air with a movement that defied physics, then he made a big turn and kicked the evil beast again!

"Reverse Kick!"

Stepping on the monster that he had kicked into a pillow with a flower pattern, the Kamen Rider, with his arms folded in front of his chest, looked down at Tsumugi at his feet.

"You said that it was because the cadres of the Phantom Empire gave you freedom that you became his people?"

"Then what if I could heal your leg, too?"

"Eh?"

The girl, who was caught off guard by the answer, opened her mouth wide and stared blankly at the Kamen Rider standing among countless flying feathers.

Chapter 166 Guangmei is a good person, but Ash is not

"You said it gave you legs, so you stood on its side to help plot against Hui and the others."

The knight stood in front of Hui with his arms crossed. The white scarf around his neck was fluttering in the wind, and the Kamen Rider exuded an amazing aura from head to toe.

"What would you do if I told you I could give you a new life?"

The kind of people who use moral issues to force people whose moral standards are obviously higher than their own are the ones that Ash despises the most now... Well, if you think about it carefully, I used to be such a person too.

Alas...it's all because of the mistakes I made when I was young.

"Why, are you going to kneel down and lick my shoes? If so, I'm not afraid to forgive you."

Neither Kei nor Tsumugi were mentally prepared for Ash's aggressive remarks. Of course, in stark contrast to them, Ash stood tall and straight. Even through the red mask, they could feel Ash's confidence.

"You—don't make fun of me here so brazenly!"

Tsumugi, who was originally feeling guilty about her harsh words towards Kei, immediately turned her gun around and glared at Kia Xiu.

You're definitely good at fighting, but you can't be good at everything. You said you could heal my leg... My parents have tried so many doctors and nothing worked, so how could you possibly do it?

What was bound to disappoint Tsumugi was that even though her tragedy was enough to make the moral conscience of a righteous hero tangled, it was not so useful to the extremely flexible Ash.

"Because I'm Kamen Rider."

Ash could tell what the girl was thinking at a glance, and her deliberately firm tone made her even more furious.

The knight's open hand pointed toward the lone girl, clutching tightly as if grasping something invisible. "Power, wealth, desire, violence—these can all be quantified into a single 'force'."

"Although this is a very crude way of putting it, the fact is that any dilemma, any painful choice, any helpless separation or abandonment can be interpreted as a lack of strength on the part of the person involved."