Kamen Rider is playing the villain in Pretty Cure

However, to avoid a situation where a single sentence was lost and the Riddler was in trouble, Ash quickly added, "I'm sorry, Baomei. Anyway, a lot of things happened. That guy who looks like your father but a little older is lying to you. He's not a kind person!"

"Well, I know."

That’s great—after hearing this promise, Ash finally put the last stone down from his chest and immediately prepared to carry out the next plan.

"Don't worry, your father and I are very familiar with this place. I will find a way to get us out right away."

"No, why do you want to go out?"

"...Um?"

His right hand, which was placed on the driver, remained frozen there, and he ultimately did not take off the belt.

"Of course I know that the man named Kaler lied to me, but the world he created is real, the people in it are real, and the relationship we have is real too."

"If I, who originally had nothing, can now rebuild everything with my own hands, where is the falsehood?"

"Alright, alright!" Ash interrupted, extending his open hand toward her again. "I could spend an entire night explaining the definition and distinction between truth and falsehood, from physics to chemistry to philosophy."

"But now is not the time to talk about this, Baomei! Give your hand to Daddy, I will take you to see the real-"

"Why don't you just want to believe me!" The outstretched hand was slapped away. Baomei was completely enraged by Ash's attitude. "I'm not a child! I know what I'm doing. I can give our family everything we want! I can also save everyone!"

"I've decided what I want to do."

The light aimed at Ash was so close that it completely illuminated the area in front of him.

"Not even Dad can stop it!"

ps: Friendly recommendation "Bengtie, I'm Really Not a Villain"

Chapter 257 A Dream Everyone Desires

Judging from this level of stubbornness alone, even if she didn't say it directly, Ash himself would definitely feel that there is some kind of blood relationship between the two.

As expected of my daughter... I really want to say that, but now is obviously not the time to feel proud.

“…”

When the light dragged him into another world, there seemed to be a force that wanted him to admit it and to feel at ease.

But there was still something unfinished, so Ash chose to resist the temptation and opened his eyes as usual.

"Ash~Ash~"

A familiar voice came from his ears, so familiar that Ash knew that the owner of this voice would never call him in such a tone.

Facing my parents with incomparable tenderness and smiles, just like the good parents in the stories, holding my favorite food and about to serve it to me. Well, this is indeed one of the scenes I longed to see the most in the past.

"What's wrong~ Ash? Come here quickly, we made your favorite- Ash? Ash!"

And precisely because we know that this is an impossible fact, it is what we desire most in our hearts.

Because the scene was so fake and classic, Ash chose to ignore the calls from behind and walked straight outside.

From walking to running, Ash, who was running a marathon at the speed of a 100-meter sprint, ran wildly in his own city towards a fixed direction until a translucent wall like the boundary wall of the game blocked his way forward.

“Is this the limit?”

Flame Knight's mask had been put on at some point, and Ash clenched his burning flaming fist and used all his strength to punch it to smash it into pieces. He then stuck his head out of the cave and turned around to see that there were many places around him that were similar to where he was now. These places were the dreams of Hui, Haruka and the others who were still immersed in them.

Judging from the actual pictures inside, the collections inside are nothing more than various "final fantasies" related to their own beautiful lives. Well... although since I don't have a parallel individual, their objects are basically non-physical performances, which looks a bit awkward.

"For someone like Kaler, with the power of the entire team, creating these parallel worlds isn't a difficult feat. But is this ability, the ability to delve into people's hearts and find the most perfect dreams, actually something that belongs to Baomei?"

Ash also sensed Mana's earlier connection to Homi's abilities, and the memories that flowed through him revealed scenes that resolved past doubts. It turned out she had remained oblivious to everything along the way, observing only to discover which Pretty Cure best matched her mother's role.

Even the things that happened in the Heartbeat Group world were plots specially designed by Kaler so that he could make up for the gap between them caused by time and open his heart to them again to have a spiritual dialogue after not seeing them for a long time.

"So, when Haruka and the others' last bit of inner perseverance is worn away by the beauty and they choose to completely accept the beautiful dream, they will gradually appear in the world that loves her and truly return to my side, right?"

No wonder the explanation was that everyone was out for something and wouldn’t be back for a few days. They were right.

Whether it was actively cooperating with Kahler's actions, or using this method to "destroy" all the Pretty Cure girls in a dream, Baomei could be said to have "betrayed" them. And all of this was done to create the most perfect home and future... Well, now anyone can blame her, except herself, the beneficiary of all this.

"But, that's why." Putting his hand on the edge of his own blast, Ash leaned out and, with a push of his body, flipped outwards towards the ball of light at the centre of the dream world. "That's why I have to stop you before you make a truly irreparable mistake!"

When a child makes a mistake, it is the parent's responsibility to correct him or her - but just as he was about to take action, the heavy pressure erupting from the ball of light actually pressed Ash, the Fire Knight, to the ground!

"Is it an automatic defense mechanism?" If so, the true identity of this ball of light undoubtedly belongs to Baomei Meng!

“Ughhhhhhhh!!” The target was right before his eyes, there was no reason to give up halfway! Clenching his fists and pounding the ground, Ash managed to stand up despite the crushing pressure that was countless times his own weight. Even though the Flame Knight armor on his body was shattered to pieces under the pressure, Ash, despite the countless wounds on his body from the heavy pressure, still walked forward step by step.

"I can still save her—"

Under the heavy pressure, Ash almost turned into a bloody man, ignoring the pain in his body. With his bloodshot eyes, he raised his right hand, just to get closer to the light!

"How can you fall here?!"

"[Ash!]"

"Hey—?" Ash instantly realized his mistake and called out the real owner of the name. "Mana? Where are you!"

"[We can still save her, you can still save her!]"

Following the sound, Ash narrowed his bloodshot eyes, and seemed to be able to see the pink heart in the ball of light faintly flashing at him!

"[You're almost there, Ash! Focus, Sea——Don't let go of my hand!]"

When Ash wanted to grab the hand that seemed to be reaching out at the last moment, his raised fingers just reached into the ball of light, and then his whole body was sucked in.

--------

"dad..."

Ash felt like he was having a very short, small dream.

"Dad~!"

"Um, what? What happened....Baomi? -Baomi!"

Ash, who was startled awake and propped up himself from the table, saw that the person in front of him who was about to wake him up from his sleep but was frightened by the sudden reaction was none other than his beloved daughter Baomei.

The first thing Ash did upon waking up was to grab her shoulders. "He's completely deceiving you. I've used similar methods of kindness to deceive many people in the past, so—nothing will ever be as you imagine!"

"Hmm? Uh? Uh?"

Baomei was about to lecture him about sleeping in bed when she was completely bewildered. "Dad...what are you talking about? This is definitely not the way to be cheated! Today is Mom and Dad's anniversary. Who could possibly lie to me?"

"Baomei, wake up and don't do things that others make you think are right!"

The girl's only reaction to Ash's excitement was to tilt her head in confusion.

"Dad is so weird today."

Could it be that... in order to prepare a gift for my mother today, I specially prepared some new program effect that I don’t understand?

"Well, Dad, how you like to play is up to you and your wife." The girl, feeling she had figured out the reason, smirked and pushed Ash's hand away. "But don't scare Mom when you do."

"Beauty!"

"Wow~! Don't yell at me in such a harsh voice. Of course I remember. We have to prepare everything before mom comes back today. I won't forget something like this!"

ps: Friendly recommendation "It's a Phantom Thief, Not a Heart Arsonist"

Chapter 258: Destroyed by Ash!

"Gifts! Decorations! And we have to get everything done, including the table setting!"

Now Ash is no longer surprised why the room is arranged so according to his own wishes, because all of this is indeed done to satisfy him.

"Anyway, that's it. We have to hurry and get everything ready before mom comes back!"

The living room outside is still a mess. I can't let my mother Ai come back and see Cheng like this. How disappointed would she be then?

"And Dad, don't get caught by the other moms!"

Ash wanted to hold on to Baomei who was hurrying to leave and talk to her, but his hand slipped away from her body like a piece of driftwood in the water.

It's not wrong to do so. After all, this is her dream, a world where everything is dominated by her will. It would be foolish for me to want to stop her unilaterally.

"Beauty."

"Hurry up, we have to do it before mom comes back--"

Whenever he wanted to say something straightforward to stop her, he could only get fixed sentences from the smiling girl. It was like communicating with a machine.

"Can't we start from the front?"

When Ash came to the living room again, he saw those traces of love again. First, there were the intimate photos of himself and his lover, the pictures of the best day of his wedding, and the completely happy expressions on both sides' faces when they became mothers and fathers. At any time, the "self" in that period had a happier expression than he could feel now.

"No wonder she doesn't want to face it. We are so happy in here."

I have to admit that everything is so good that I couldn't even imagine it with my own imagination. It is a "future" that I really can't easily refuse.

Picking up the broom for the second time, Ash began to sweep the living room aimlessly while chatting with the girl in the kitchen across the way. "If you keep going like this, Baomei, won't you get bored?"

If Baomei can't stop herself, this might turn into a "never-ending wedding anniversary" plot, which is not acceptable for Ash who has people waiting for him outside.

"No, how could it be boring?" As if completely oblivious to Ash's implication, the girl, busy preparing the food, responded as usual. "With such a funny and capable father and a gentle and loving mother, I never feel bored, no matter what the day!"

"Is that so? Baomei, this is what you've always wanted." Combined with his own speculation about a possible bad ending in the future... it seems to be getting more and more accurate. "Are you willing to continue like this forever?"

"Of course~ There's nothing happier than this! A father who is loved forever by his beloved would also think so, right? Ah... although it's a bit strange that there are so many mothers."

"That last sentence is unnecessary." Ash, already accustomed to being dissed, casually waved his hand, shoveled the trash onto the ground, and then asked the key question. "So, what about you?"

"Me? Baomei, I'll just be my mom and dad's precious daughter~!"

"No, I mean," Yazheng asked calmly, sticking the broom in place after cleaning. "What about your own future?"

"I..." The girl seemed to pause for a moment, then responded with her usual cheerful smile from the kitchen. "I'll choose whatever Mom and Dad think is best!"

"I'm asking Baomei what she wants to be when she grows up and what she wants to do in the future."

"I'll talk about this kind of thing when I grow up."

No, Baomei, that's not what you really mean.

In such a world, as long as you want, you can really stay the same as you are now, just like what you said, being a precious daughter loved by your parents, forever and ever.

And then, the future will cease to exist, and tomorrow will vanish into thin air. Nothing can be done, nothing can be achieved... Such an ending would be unsatisfactory even for a novelist who can no longer write.

"So, after finally being able to let go of the past and get to where I am now, I absolutely don't want that."

“Knock knock—knock!”

When Baomei finished arranging the last dish she had carefully prepared, there was a knock on the door, almost as if it was planned.

"Oh no, my mother must have come back early!" The girl said this with a completely different expression on her face.

Wonderful! Let's quickly begin our happiest day! This is the perfect day crystallized from the union of your two loving souls and divine hearts! Could there be a better day than this?

Baomei doesn't think there will be any, nor does she feel that there will be any.

"Dad, the gifts are ready—" But when Baomei turned around to ask, she found the expressionless man standing behind her. "Dad? You scared me."

"Can you hear me, Baomei? This is your world. I know you know everything, but you just don't want to face it."

"Dad, what are you talking about?" The girl looked at the man looking up at the ceiling with a strange look on her face. "Baomei, I'm here, Dad, who are you talking to?"

"Still unwilling to face it?"

He recalled everything that had happened with them so far, from being a battle maniac who pursued brilliance with nothingness to being a guardian who was equally brilliant and fought for love with all her might.

Why would he take this step?

Because I am lonely, I fall in love with someone.

Dust says I have become timid now and start feeling scared.

Fear means that you care, and losing the will to fight is because there is no one left for me to protect, and even face doesn’t matter.

So now no matter whose it is for, I must succeed.

"In that respect, you are the same, Baomei."

When you finally have something, even if you know it's fake and deceptive, you still don't want to give it up, just pretend that nothing exists...

But is that enough?