Chapter 179: I Don’t Want to Lose Again
“Screech—”
The sound of clenched teeth, tinged with either anger or sorrow, escaped from the corners of Dark Pretty Cure’s fierce face.
Even before this genuine father and daughter had begun their conversation, her expression was already quite ugly. The long-awaited reunion with her ‘father’ Moonshadow Eimei drew his full attention to Lily, while Dark Pretty Cure’s feelings remained completely neglected.
Her increasingly poor expression led her to finally reach her limit. Hidden wings tore open from her back as she prepared to dash forward to the last place where Moonshadow Eimei had vanished, much like an arrow released from a bowstring.
However, a hand gently landed on her scapula where her wings connected.
Feeling a tickling sensation from her shoulder blades, obviously knowing who it was, she bit down hard, trying to break free but couldn’t escape.
“Let me go, Ash!”
Struggling even harder in her heart-wrenching agitation, all she received was a tighter grip.
“Let you go? And then what do you plan to do?”
“I need to bring Dr. Shabak back; he is her father… This can’t be real; there has to be a mistake. It must be a fake!”
“If we take Dr. Shabak back, Lord Doon may help us. Yes, if only that happens—”
Facing the self-deceptive words of Dark Pretty Cure, Ash’s grip tightened even more.
“Do you want to repeat what has happened again?!” Ash roared like a lion, his voice thunderous and startling the trembling Dark Pretty Cure. “Even after seeing the truth clearly, you still refuse to accept it? That’s disgraceful!”
“I don’t understand! I don’t understand!” For the first time since today, the black, vulnerable girl felt her body tremble intensely due to overwhelming emotion. She turned and gave Ash a furious look. “I don’t know what justice or evil is! All I want is for Dr. Shabak to come back! As long as this goal is achieved, everything else is fine too!”
Unlike others who viewed her similarly, though she was also the antagonist, Desert Apostle, despite being the greatest enemy to Pretty Cure, unlike others who followed Lord Doon’s ideology of wilting the Earth, she wasn’t evil, nor did she care about desertifying the Earth. For her, as long as Dr. Shabak’s orders were followed, anything went… Now, adding something concerning Ash made things more complicated.
Therefore, regardless of Pretty Cure matters, Desert Apostle matters, or even Heart Tree and Lord Doon matters, she simply didn’t possess common values. She just desperately wanted to hold onto “Timons” and “Shabak,” who both brought her benefits, without considering any broader implications.
And so, Ash, without hesitation, twisted her arms behind her back. Whether because of Qijiera or the girl’s excessive emotions, Little Dark couldn’t break free from his hold for now.
“Enough of this. I can’t bear another tragedy, Little Dark. We’re going back.”
Perhaps I should give her a slap to snap her out of it. With this thought, Ash activated the teleportation device in the hidden base. Their forms blurred instantly before everyone’s eyes.
“No, no!” In front of everyone, Little Dark stretched out her hands toward the departing man with tears streaming down her face.
“I don’t want to lose someone important again!”
Hearing her voice a bit, I could feel my own heart ache slightly.
“Hah—”
After going through countless battles, another unimaginably intense scene unfolded before her. Weak-kneed, Lei plopped to the ground, breathing heavily to calm herself.
“What is this…?”
Why did we end up like this? Why did Ash leave?
“Even if you asked me…?” Even Erika was confused, not knowing whether to chase Lily or Ash, losing both golden opportunities.
“I don’t know…”
Wuki shook her head, feeling something more complicated than a simple conclusion.
Although Dark Pretty Cure was beautiful and aloof, she was unpopular among child-oriented villainous characters like Desert Apostle.
As for the reasons, they were complex. Shabak, designated by Lord Doon, wouldn’t obey the commands of the three major officers. Instead, she followed Shabak’s orders, claiming she wouldn’t follow commands from those weaker than her.
Thus, when she returned to the base, no one greeted her. Or rather, the ones who would greet her were no longer present.
“Why, Ash—why?!” Dark Pretty Cure pulled at the man’s collar, sobbing again. “Why did you do this?! Dr. Shabak is my creator and my father!”
“It was Moonlight who took her away from me! It’s her fault!”
“But without her, you wouldn’t exist,” Ash simply put.
Understood by the intelligent girl, yet completely unable to accept it, as she knew she had always been a part of the villains. Accepting righteousness from villains was itself strange.
“A single lie can cover up the truth,” Ash raised his index finger. “But ten thousand lies can’t change reality, which lies waiting to be discovered, unchanging.”
“You will eventually know the truth. It’s only that I revealed it early.”
Leaning back into the sofa casually, Ash placed the toy that had fallen off into the girl’s hands. This toy, a Q-version of Shadowmoon, she cherished and kept well, gently stroked the patches sewn by Shabak during his spare time. Admittedly, they weren’t pretty.
Yet, touching those patches, thinking how similar Shabak was to a father figure for her, her eyes reddened, though she didn’t shed tears, she felt profound pain.
“But—Dr. Shabak has his real daughter… If it’s for that reason… I’ll be abandoned!”
Hugging the toy and folding her knees, she buried her head in deep fear.
“No, you won’t.”
She felt warm hands slip softly through her hair, carrying the warmth of that man.
“Didn’t I tell you? I need your strength to help me. In other words…”
“At least, I won’t leave your side.”
At least for now…
P.S.: The author recently finished watching “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners”.
After the one-time binge-watch, the author now feels:
CDPR Poland, you guys are killing me. But seriously, strong recommendation. It’s been ages since I watched such beautifully animated and well-plotted animation. Everyone who hasn’t seen it should watch it.
