Chapter 39

Extra Case File 39 Confession

Cure Yell had several visible injuries, and the dirt on her cheeks and on the once-beautiful battle suit which satisfied every little girl’s dream was as dark as soot. Her beautiful flowing pink hair had also lost its luster.

But she stood up.

She turned to look at the crowd filled with fear, then placed herself between them and Time Fire, standing firmly despite her trembling. She met his eyes with the kind of gaze only a strong person could muster.

In Ash’s eyes, right now, she looked even more romantic and beautiful than any fallen angel or tempting succubus, beautiful enough that he couldn’t tear his eyes away for even a second.

She did this faster than he anticipated. It seemed she was indeed the hard hitter he thought she was.

[Dark Echoes — Large numbers generated, ongoing transformation.]

‘I know,’ Ash answered silently in response to the System. He could see the intangible darkness welling up from deep within her bright appearance.

After all, he really had pushed her too far.

“Describing a woman as a tough guy isn’t entirely respectful,” said Precure, her pink hair messy but not disheveled. Ash moved closer. “But I get your meaning.”

“Stomp—”

Ash planted his feet at the boundary where their attacks might meet, precisely neither too close nor too far.

He glanced at her empty hands, lowered his defensive sword, and sent it flying upwards with a flick of his wrist.

“I don’t think you’re the type to beg after just one fall. Ready for round two?”

“Clap!”

DV Guardian, caught by gravity, landed perfectly inside the silver holster beside the man.

Flower remained silent, clenching her fists, ready for any attack, wiping blood off her nose with her thumb, the gold embroidery on her wrist staining crimson.

“Haha, Bruce Lee?” As gravity made him lean forward at a Michael Jackson angle, Ash shot toward Wild Flower like a red streak of an arrow.

“I’m really starting to like you more and more, Cure Yell!”

“Boom!”

Watching the intense fight restart underneath his feet, the disheveled man with a thick book scowled deeply.

He was dissatisfied. His expression revealed his displeasure. Everything happening now displeased him greatly.

As a witness to the cycles of time and tragic history, while at first the unusual “fire” and what followed caused some curiosity, he now found it all repulsive.

“You disruptor, what does your presence signify?” The man voiced his disdain for Ash below. “Are you here to change things, to save someone? You can’t save anyone. Only I can do that!”

“Yet, your continued existence here is a mistake! Your presence is redundant. Go back!”

Ash’s streamlined light brushed past burning lenses. Without pulling out his gun, he rotated the barrel 180 degrees inside the holster and fired without mercy.

The red streak pierced the rubble, but before he could react to his unease, a fist crashed into his cheek, snapping his attention back to the fight.

“You lose focus sometimes too?”

By now, Cure Yell had various wounds and bruises on her exposed body, half inflicted by Ash and half from her own fierce fighting style. Her agility and power kept him barely keeping up.

“A bit, yeah.” Ash swatted aside her straight punch, blocked her hook, and completed his counter-attack stance. His palm struck her slightly soft chest like a hunter taking down prey. “Let’s hope there won’t be a next time.”

Returning to the fray, Ash ignored the distant, aimless ramblings of the man who couldn’t make a difference and thus meant nothing to him.

If you have complaints, why don’t you actually do something about it?

After all, those who merely watch achieve nothing, and he was not such a person.

With the spoilsport gone, the tide began turning in Time Fire’s favor.

Although Precure’s system far surpassed any manufactured battle suit, including those from the future, the real determinant was always the heart behind the suit, not the suit itself.

Wild Flower initially suppressed Tomorrow Power, but as time wore on, Fatigue began to show. Healthy and skilled, Ash naturally took control of her.

Straightening her arms like snake heads, she deflected Precure’s straight punches, sparking against Precure’s helmet, her knife hand leaving red marks on her cute face, and finally striking the base of her neck.

“Checkmate.”

Precure’s eyes glazed over, and her body crumpled onto the ground.

“It seems I’ve won.” Seeing her attempt to rise again, Ash gently pressed his foot against her chest, “softly” pinning her down. “Stay down. That last hit was a good one.”

“Hmph—”

Feeling the weight bearing down on her chest and the pain throughout her body, Yell smiled, unsure whether in acknowledgment or mockery at her defeat.

Originally, she wanted to defeat him to make him listen to her, but now, recognizing her inferior skill, she had no choice but to accept his terms.

“If you hadn’t called that mechanical dinosaur, you would’ve won quicker.”

“No, no, no.” Ash shook his finger. “That wouldn’t work…”

Relocating his foot, Ash gently placed his knee on her smooth stomach, gradually pressing half of his weight onto it, lifting her chin up, meeting her gaze.

“Now, I only want you.”

“…