The One Hundred Thirty-Fifth Sealed Mark Stolen
“Didn’t you do a great job?” Watching the “Dark Pretty Cure” leave with an obviously brighter expression, Kayin’s voice carried a hint of sarcasm after he had spied on her changing clothes. “I never expected it… So the fierce appearance was actually hiding a fox in the hen house? Choosing to be a villain who plots against others and manipulates everyone’s hearts is also done perfectly, as expected of one who always calls themselves the enemy… Huh?”
Kayin continued talking to himself as usual, but as he spoke, he no longer heard the usual rebuttals of his boss, so upon re-entering the room, he found Ash slumped against the corner, completely lying on the ground and staring at the ceiling.
“It’s only natural; I’m a genius, after all. Of course, I can achieve such things if I want. However…”
Gazing up at the dark ceiling, Ash felt just like the darkness in his recently collected Dark Echoes.
“I’m so tired…”
“Tired? Haven’t you never complained about being tired during such intense battles? Why bring this up now?”
“Surely, all we need to do is collect the Dark Echoes, we don’t need to worry about so much. We should do everything the way we like it.”
As before, he opened the System interface and confirmed that the collection had progressed significantly. A similar feeling descended over him.
“Normally, the point is to anger them first, then fight. Whether or not we can win is another matter.” Ash sighed heavily. “Why am I supposed to think now when this suits me so well?”
The reason? Without a doubt, it was from the previous world. After all, although most of his memories were erased, the change achieved through hard work cannot be taken away, unlike the useless loop where there’s no growth.
But if he could, he would prefer for his efforts to amount to nothing at this moment.
“Is it called CureHeart? You satisfied me, but you also took away my desired way of life. Truly…”
“Why didn’t you take my heart along with it?”
As though he had lost all strength, Ash flopped down on the ground, lifting his arm to shield his eyes from the dazzling red light projected by the ceiling.
Descending slowly from the air, Kayin walked beside the man and gently tapped his head with a cotton-like arm.
“But after meeting her, you’ve already decided to prepare what to do next, haven’t you?”
After a prolonged silence, the man sat up again, grabbing the guilty seal once more. The seal, already washed by Doon and corrupted by dark powers, emitted eerie, crimson light from the eyes of the spider carvings.
“I hear the voice of the times; she tells me to guide her.”
To prepare for the next battle, they need to strategize.
—
Since Tsukikage Lily, known as CureMoonlight, joined the team, Heartcatch Pretty Cure gained a decisive boost in power. As Erika put it, having Lily alone is like getting help from a hundred people.
Even the past few months, where the three officers worked overtime to regain their dignity from a simple coffee shop owner by corrupting the Heart Flowers and producing more Desert Beasts, very few Desert Beasts have stood a chance against these four Pretty Cure, reaching over a minute in combat.
Doctor Shabak is currently developing new equipment to enhance the power of officers, potentially even control the Desert Beasts directly. These efforts have caused him to lose some hair, but these are just trifles.
Today’s Pretty Cure faced their longtime nemesis — the returning Dark Pretty Cure and Kamen Rider Timmons.
“What’s your plan today!?”
Pointing angrily at the laughing Timmons in the center of the park, scaring the nearby passersby, and the Dark Pretty Cure’s dumbfounded gaze, the transformed CureMarine harshly accused them.
“However, regardless of your intentions, with the power of Moonlight, you’ve become no match for us!”
The accusation turned into smug boasting, which was natural since the three originally couldn’t stand up to the Dark Pretty Cure and had previously been defeated by Lily.
Thus, the naturally boastful Erika was naturally overflowing with self-confidence.
“This may not be that simple.”
Timmons stated suddenly, turning back, drawing out a sinuous guilt seal, its blazing dark power contrasting sharply with the bright surroundings.
“That is!”
“Yes, this is the ultimate evil artifact.” Displaying the sinuous seal ostentatiously, the girls’ eyes followed. “Once I use and unleash the ultimate power within it, even you four together won’t stand a chance!”
“You might find this unbelievable, but truly, it is that formidable. Hahaha—”
“Breach!”
At the height of Ash’s prideful boasting, a pink glow flashed through his nose, mingling with the faint scent of sakura blossoms. It turned out Rei took advantage of his openness as he boasted, kicking the sealed mark high into the sky.
“As expected of Rei! You strike at the perfect time! Get DAZE!” Erika leaped up, catching the seal midair. “No matter how powerful, it’s gone now. Hahaha— Ouch!”
Suddenly shrieking, Erika wasn’t making a joke; the instant she caught the seal, an unseen needle pricked her skin and withdrew before it could be discovered.
Licking her fingers where tiny blood beads had formed, treating the wound lightly as merely a prick, the girl remained unaware of what occurred.
“Oh no! It’s gone. There’s no hope. It’s over!”
The Dark Pretty Cure could only twitch at the corner of her eye, seeing Ash’s sincere reading, all emotions wasted.
“Do you think they’ll fall for it?”
“They will, because they’re too accustomed to winning. They’ve become desensitized to it,” the masked face curved into a sly smile. “This is just another victory. Would they care?”
Restoring his original tone, Ash screamed, “We’re losing! Retreat!”
“No will let you retreat so easily!”
Lily, harboring grievances against Timmons, didn’t allow him to leave. In an instant, a silver light fell, barely allowing Ash to raise his arm in time to deflect the attack before being knocked away.
“Ash—Timmons! You bastard!”
Quickly getting up, looking at his right hand, which showed messy flesh through torn armor, Ash shrugged indifferently and shouted to the Dark Pretty Cure who was about to charge again.
“Hey, it’s time to retreat!”
“Time to retreat!”
