Kamen Rider is playing the villain in Pretty Cure

"This... is a ring passed down from my mother. It's said to have been passed down for several generations. Just like your grandmother's wedding dress, I thought I should at least do as she said and give it personally to a girl who shares my feelings."

"Of course I know that proposing before a war with something like 'I'll go back home and get married after this war' is truly unlucky. But if she died before I even said that, I'd definitely be unhappy, so I thought..."

"...Um...Anyway...I am..."

Originally, as a proposal, he should have prepared a very solemn and reserved, affectionate line that would last forever. However, Ash always seemed quite clumsy at this point, and he had no intention of sharing his thoughts with anyone else. In the end, this was the only thing he could come up with that wouldn't go wrong.

"Love, I like you."

The girl's pupils lit up a wine-red as she watched the ring, which lacked a dazzling radiance, and she felt inexplicably dazed. It was as if she had suddenly stumbled into a fragment of a fairy tale called reality.

"I..."

The hair blown by the cold wind stuck to the girl's slightly open thin red lips, and her salt-stained fingertips unconsciously grabbed the hem of her skirt during the previous barbecue, leaving a few glaring oil stains on her favorite skirt.

But now she has no energy to care about these things.

"What...but..."

The half-spoken sound squeezed out of his throat was not spoken, but mixed with many words and finally turned into a question.

"But why is it mine?"

Even the cold wind around her made Ai Aida swallow her saliva with a clear sound as her breathing stopped. Even though her heart was so chaotic and burning that she didn't even know what was going on, she still managed to force her usual cheerful smile and asked actively.

"Although I'm a Pretty Cure, I'm just the daughter of an ordinary restaurant owner. I have some talents and I'm persistent in learning, but I'm not mature. I'm cheerful and helpful, but that's true for other Pretty Cure too! So this little advantage isn't really a highlight at all—"

But this time, "Lotte" doesn't look happy at all.

"Look, there are so many people who like you, Ash—cute and sensible ones, tall and beautiful ones, your favorite ones with strong hearts and big breasts; there's also the invincible Miss Prim and Ash, who was born just for you! If Ash wanted to choose someone else, everyone would be willing, right? But you..."

Admitting that you're inferior to others, that you're not the only protagonist but just a supporting character among the many characters in "Earth Online," is a difficult and cruel thing for most people. But after following Ash and meeting so many Pretty Cures like herself, Ai Aida has come to accept this quite frankly and has gradually become content with the status quo.

"..."

Seeing that Ash was stunned by this set of questions, Ai, who was tangled and uneasy in her heart, could only take a deep breath and ask the question that had been bothering her for a long time: "Ash, you value the hearts of everyone around you now, and you care about everyone's wishes equally. I believe I understand this better than anyone else.

So, why me?"

Why is it Cure Heart (Angel of Love)? Why did you think of giving the ring to Ai Aida?

Yeah, why?

After a long pause without an answer, Ash finally thought with relief. "Of course, my love for everyone won't change. But if you insist on asking me why..."

I don’t know, I never thought about it. It was just when I was looking at the ring and wondering who I should give it to.”

The worry when you were in danger, the reluctance on my face when I said goodbye to you, the wholehearted determination when I fought alongside you! And——

When I see your beautiful and pure smile, my soul starts to beat so fast that I can't help it.

Your name has appeared in the ring so naturally.

"Just think of it as a request from a man named 'Ash' hoping you will accept this ring without any reason or basis."

"Pure, selfish motives."

There is only one thing I cannot lie about, love...I can't live without you.

"..." Just as Ash was thinking this, the scene fell into a dead silence, making him so embarrassed that he didn't know what to do, at which point he felt a wet touch flowing down his fingertips.

It's raining?

Of course not. One drop, two drops... tears trickled down Ai's trembling face, landing on the silver ring engraved with her name. Ai, face, neck, and shoulders trembling uncontrollably, bit her lower lip with her white teeth, trying to hold it back, but the trembling sound from her throat betrayed the truth of her sobs.

"I just... I thought—"

She couldn't bear it at all. Sadness and joy burst out at the same time and she cried like a pear blossom in the rain under the infinitely beautiful moonlight.

"I thought...after you met so many people...you didn't love me as much anymore..."

I used to think that saving you was my mission as a Pretty Cure. But when we were separated...and I saw so many people around you, I realized how much you meant to me!

But I don't want to selfishly take away the happiness that belongs to you. I have already accepted this fact and want to continue to support you, the one I love, as myself! It's just that——

"You bastard! You clearly gave me that idea... and now you're saying this, and there's nothing false about it, it's all true... Ugh! You're so mean..."

The tears still flowed straight down.

"I'm sorry...Love."

At this point, Ash couldn't say anything.

"I'm fine!...I'm just so happy!" Pushing away Ash's comforting hand, the girl mumbled incoherently, wiping away her uncontrollable tears with her trembling hands. "Don't apologize at this moment! I told you you were bad!"

You made me so sad and troubled... and then made me so happy and shy, you're so bad!

"I'm sorry... I just hope that you can always stay by my side in the future..."

"Forgive you... I also want to stay by your side forever!"

When her tears finally subsided with sobbing, the red-haired lady, with her bright red eyes that showed unprecedented happiness, raised her trembling left hand towards the man again.

Ash, who had thought of something, smiled with his eyes slightly red.

Mana, you asked me before about some good ideas that can fill the loneliness, and there are indeed some.

"Let's get married, love."

I want to see the lovely Ai Aida wearing that pure white wedding dress again.

"I do, Ash."

Okay, but this time, you must not stand on the enemy's side.

The deft hands that could handle any transformation tool with ease trembled uncontrollably as they grasped the girl's delicate fingertips. Finally, after letting those same trembling fingertips brush against the ring engraved with her name three times, as if to confirm whether this was the silver ring from his dream, he finally placed it on the base of her finger.

Then the same thing happened, except that the ring was engraved with Ash's name, and the two of them switched roles and played the same thing again.

"Together until... death do us part."

Absolutely, don't think about who will make the first move!

"Well...with two of us, there's nothing we can't do."

Also, no matter who you become, please don't suffer alone anymore. Never be alone. We... I'm always here for you to lean on.

I guess you must be thinking the same thing, right?

"I love you, Ash."

After the deep affection, she was still a little uncomfortable rubbing the love between her fingers. Seeing Ash approaching with inexplicable cautious movements, her rosy cheeks couldn't help but make her tone angry.

"Hey, you're in a place like this with so many people around..." Her wandering eyes fell on the high-heeled glass beside her, and she immediately found an excuse and said, "It's all because of your weird taste. Now the kiss tastes weird, so I don't want to kiss you anymore..."

"Oh, didn't you notice? I didn't actually drink a single sip."

"Gu..."

The two rings intersected again, and this time she had no excuse to come closer.

"It's okay, we'll talk later."

"Now no one is watching except the moon."

------

In a world where even the moon has vanished, Duster, having triumphed over "himself" and fulfilled the ultimate desire of anger and hatred, sits casually on the ground.

"Is anyone still alive?"

Unfortunately, in this battlefield composed of countless worlds, [S·B·A] just ignored it because of the safe distance of releasing the "Destruction Waveguide".

But it doesn't matter anymore.

The basic structure of time and space has been destroyed, and everything has returned to its original chaos... Those who are still alive now, as well as me, will completely disappear, so nothing will make sense.

"Why didn't I think before that waiting to die would be so boring?"

When people are bored, they tend to look around. Then he took the opportunity to see the silver wedding ring on Ash's ring finger, which was something that Ash had inherited all the memories and powers but he did not have.

What happened next was even more surprising. A pair of hands wearing the same ring but obviously more slender overlapped and held his hands.

Holding the "ashes" that should have been burned out, Ash, with all his will and strength gone, rose from the ground again with tears and blood on his face.

With the help of an "unknown" power, Ash, who "came back to life" again, looked at the opponent in front of him with only one thought in his mind.

"D-St-!"

There is no place to go back to...but!

"It's not over yet! It's not over yet!!"

"I don't want to give up yet. If I give up here... Mana, Haruka, Prim, Ash, and so many others, what did they die for!?"

"Ash..."

"Please!" The voice seemed to have penetrating power, passing through the body of the Mechanical Devil and reaching the ears of the surviving people below. "Please help me one more time!"

"To defeat this sin, to save this world!!"

And...I have one last resort!

"If it were the other half of my power, if I still had room to burn, if I risked everything with the determination to make a final decision, and tore open the rift in time and space once again..."

In other words, it is self-destruction!

Maybe I've failed and can't save the world, but if I do this, at least I can defeat this guy! I can save a few people at the last moment...!

"It's pointless to struggle. The people and the world you want to protect are no longer here."

Dust was quite indifferent to Ash's attitude. Now that everything had come to fruition, he was quite happy to accept the outcome of mutual destruction. If Ash wanted to self-destruct, he would not only not stop him, but would welcome it with open arms.

"No...Ash."

But another voice, besides his, stopped Ash's increasingly agitated movements. A gentle, golden-haired girl, enveloped in light, emerged from a pair of ring-adorned hands. She quietly covered the man's palms and backs with her palms, gradually pressing the raised arm downwards.

"You can't just think about sacrificing yourself... Have you forgotten?

Didn't you tell me that we would be together until death? Was that just empty talk? Or is Ash going to break the promise between you and me?"

"I..."

"If you must die, I will follow you."

"Love, please tell me." In the void and chaos, the man called out his lover's name. "Who should I defeat... What can I do?"

Yaxiu, do you still remember what the last words Miss Yaxiu said to you were?

"Don't give up hope, don't forget the vows of love and peace..."

The girl, as thin as a misty gauze, smiled and pressed the built-in earphones of the Ash Helmet that had not been damaged. Amid the rustling interference sound, even Ash was surprised that the communication line could still be connected at this time.

"[Shasha...Finally connected, Ya---? Is this Mr. Ash?"

"...Eddie?" Even Ash took a long time to figure out who this belonged to. "You're here too? Yeah, you and the people from the Spacetime Administration can't just sit back and watch this kind of battlefield..."

"Eddie, listen to me..." Looking at the completely indifferent Dust across from him, Ash offered a final warning. "Take whoever is still able to move and run, as far away from here as possible..."

"No, listen to me first..." The heavily interfered communication gradually became clearer. "On your left?"

"?"

"[I mean...

Look outside.”

What happened?

After shutting down the communication, he looked out with his zombie-like eyes, his heart gradually filled with despair. When he saw things outside the world, all the haze covering his heart was swept away as he gradually opened his mouth.

“? What the hell…!”

When Duster couldn't help but follow and look, he was also stunned for a moment.

"Light...so much light..."

The world, which had been completely destroyed and left only chaos and nothingness, now seemed to be responding to something, and was constantly flashing with pure light like the universe.

But that wasn't the point. The point was that through the other ear, Ash could hear a voice coming from outside the chaos. However, this time, the voice didn't simply call out to him... No, the melody formed by these voices seemed to be...

"Song...?"

There is someone singing there.