Chapter 484

Two hundred and nineteenth HEART GOES ON

Facing Sand King “Doon,” who was responsible for all the evil acts, Tsukikage Lily and Hanazaki Lei certainly understood that they should not trust him at all.

However, if one of the most important people to them was offered as a trade-off, anyone would hesitate, and even the love and conscience would make them feel an unimaginable torment.

Even the determined Tsukikage Lily, who had endured without succumbing to despair and hatred nor shedding tears, found herself nearly collapsing under the hope’s cost.

“Let me go…”

Jumping from the indicated opening, Lily happened to see that the link between the sandland and Aster City had become unstable due to the previous battle, yet as she was about to step forward, Lei hugged her from behind.

“Don’t!”

Lei’s sharp voice struck Lily like a hammer in the heart.

“Please don’t act with such emotions driven by anger and resentment… It’s too dangerous.”

Hanazaki Lei, even when being gentle, was lecturing her…

“The Ash has been fighting until now for us, for those he believes in, and now for this planet — isn’t he doing his best? Isn’t he giving it everything?”

Tears, which she had been holding back since the fight began, finally burst forth, trailing down her neck and staining the fallen lily petals on her chest.

Whether or not his vow to never retaliate was real, they had no way to verify it now. But Doon’s actions were akin to forcing both Ash and the entire Earth onto the tracks of a moving train, then handing the control stick to their hands.

Between the life of a single person and the life of every person on Earth, some might think sacrificing the former doesn’t matter. But Pretty Cure would never do that. Neither Ash’s life nor any other’s could be measured merely in numbers.

But they couldn’t stop the train now. Even the fantasy of one person stopping Doon while another saved Ash would only result in losing both, thus they must make a choice.

“Even though misunderstandings won’t easily fade, why should his heart, difficult to speak of lightly, be put on the same scale as Earth?”

And then Doon showed them benevolence and made guarantees?

If he was that kind of evil but promise-abiding character? Let alone how Pretty Cure can sometimes have dark thoughts, what if this villain had a good side?

Withholding her hate after thinking Ash was dead, Tsukikage Lily could no longer suppress her feelings when faced with this dilemma. What should she do? Who should she save? Who will tell her?

No one could give her an answer. Now, she was merely acting on instinct.

“Why should he, of all people, die for Earth in another world!”

It was then that Lily realized how similar she was to that Dark Pretty Cure before.

Dying for the world is certainly understandable and noble.

But, dying for life by putting the world at risk is undoubtedly wrong.

“Now, I want to believe this unworthy person, even if there is just 1% hope! Because—there’s no time left anymore…”

“I want him back! I want him to come back!”

Excitedly, Lei pulled at the front of Lily, while her tears sparkled as they flew out from the corners of her tightly shut eyes.

“Don’t say something so cowardly!”

Lei’s rebuke broke Lily’s dreamlike speech.

‘Lei, never trust the enemy easily.’ It was Ash who said this to her during their Christmas Eve date. ‘Because you are too kind, you’re easier to fool than others, so I’m saying this specifically.’

‘But, wasn’t Ash once our enemy? Is that advice you should ignore?’

‘HAHA, quite a rebuttal, Lei!’ At that moment, Ash laughed brightly. ‘Back then, ask your own heart.’

“After all, your intuition is always more accurate than my probing.”

If Lily could believe, even 1% of it.

Then Lei, who had felt the same, wouldn’t believe it at all, even at 1%.

Ash was a man of words, Doon wasn’t.

“The Lily I love would never say that!”

Using such emotions for a fight would surely lead to defeat… That is, making Ash’s wishes meaningless.

Through Lei’s intermittent sobs, Lily loosened her clenched jaw and let out fragmented tears.

“What are all these months as Pretty Cure amounting to?! What are these moments in Nasta’s cafe?”

“But—”

Lei knew this.

If sacrifices were necessary for victory, both she and Erika or Wuki hoped to be the ones to make them.

Perhaps, to avoid such tragedies, Ash would voluntarily sacrifice himself before anything else happened?

“Ash entrusted Earth to us…” A deeply pained heart produced tears, which soon dried up.

“If Tsukikage gave up here, what would our remaining six months mean?!”

“He definitely wanted to be with Tsukikage until the end, holding her tightly, unwilling to separate from everyone!” Lei’s voice became steady, no longer crying. “But he sacrificed himself for us, fighting alone against Doon to create an opportunity, with the fate of Earth and humanity resting on us as HeartcatchPrecure!”

“This is our six months, Tsukikage Lily!” For the first time, Lei directly called out her identity with passion. “What you want and what you should do, ask yourself!”

Lily, with her face full of agony, filled with sorrow, stopped trembling under Lei’s passionate words.

“Not just the manager, Wuki, Erika! Cifrey, Caffrey, Popuri, Qijiera, even your Kuron and his Kayin! Everyone’s future is now in our hands!”

“If we let Doon escape here, what are they struggling for until now?!”

“We—must win this!!”

The tears falling from the girls’ faces somehow dry up unknowingly.

“Please, CureMoonlight, Tsukikage Lily—fight!”

“Huff—”

Ash was lying in the direction just ahead, within reach if you looked around. But the wind and sand obscured everything, only revealing an endless sea of sand, the connection between this region and the main satellite teetering precariously. On the border, the girls seemed to catch the scent of a distant battle, its acrid smoke hinting at the last life’s bloodshed.

Tsukikage Lily closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Her last tears squeezed out from the corners and dropped onto her palm, onto her half-heart seed, one drop, then two.

“I understand, for love, for Earth, for Ash.”

A bloody wind blew past, filling the invisibly bright light with the missing half-heart mended.

“Lei, transform!”

“Yes————!”

(BGM: HEART GOES ON)

Radiant light instantly covered her entire body and the heart-seed flying into the transformation device turned into the flower of rebirth.

Spraying the pure sakura fragrance from the perfume bottle, the pretty, pink fighting suit adorned her once again, the hair on her head, rings on her wrists, and ultra-short skirt around the waist. The beautiful flowers and her resolute heart bloomed together in splendor.

Spinning the knob, the mirror reflected Lily’s spinning form, a layer after layer of silvery-purple garb covering her in moonlight. She flicked her forehead-long hair forward with a crescent moon smile.

“Doon—”

Seeing the two suddenly appearing before him, Doon’s pupils trembled violently, retreating step by step and stomping on the fallen driver with full force.

“You—give up? Are you ready to let your loved ones perish? That will be quite painful, won’t it?”

Damn it, almost there!

Only you—

In their individual glows, they shot toward Doon like two arrows, courage and sorrow, anger and determination clearly etched on their faces.

“I cannot forgive you!!!!”

As time passed, Doon, partially unsealed of his power, erupted in more red flames, which theoretically could shatter even the defenses of Pretty Cure.

Yet, in the blazing gaze focused on them, this was just an indomitable force that failed to break their resolve and courage.

“The blossom in the cold moonlight, [CureMoonlight] (Moon Flower Angel)!”

Her slender hands sliced through like razor rain, targeting the man’s body. As Doon raised his arms in defense, Tsukikage Lily shouted fiercely, her body twirling and blowing away the protective red light with the force of a whirlwind. Her feet kicked swiftly, left then right! The high-heeled long boots connected with Doon’s temples, producing a buzzing in his head.

Tsukikage Lily had never experienced such pain or such clarity.

I will fight every moment for these six months, for you…

This is the only way to live in the same world with you.

“The blossom across the vast land, [CureBlossom] (Blossom Flower Angel)!”

Stepping forward, Rei seamlessly filled Tsukikage’s gap, striking Doon with powerful punches that produced earth-shattering sounds, heavier and faster with each blow, unleashing everything she had learned over the past six months of resilience from softness to strength.

Enough—I won’t allow any insult to the achievements he reached! No more begging, and not for revenge…

Lei dodged a near-miss attack aimed at her neck and, coming back to Tsukikage, joined hands and hearts, generating an energy core aimed at Doon’s heart and pushing with a powerful surge.

The fight transcended the ground; they vaulted into infinite cosmic space. White, pink, and purple streaks of light disappeared and reappeared without notice, only the interlocking strikes and kicks creating shockwaves.

Tsukikage Lily swept down a furious Doon with an aggressive strike to his back, smashing him into the ground.

“Think you can defeat me?” Doon surged upward, his figure growing larger, a massive red energy ball aimed at them. “Could you two really defeat me?”

“It depends on luck!”

Explosions dispersed the smoke, revealing the radiant sunlight of the sunflower shield. Mingtangyuan Wuki stood proudly before them, blocking the fatal blast.

“Because we still have us!”

The Blue Girl accelerated like a missile, transforming into a blazing rocket headbutt aimed at Doon’s midsection, exploiting the moment to engage in rapid strikes and counter strikes.

Driven by a wild barrage, Erika hammered at the staggering Doon with relentless blows, drawing circles and firing countless water bead energy shots that enveloped Doon’s body.

“A blossoming flower amidst the sea breeze, [CureMarine] (Ocean Flower Angel)!.”

“You two—!”

Mingtangyuan Wuki, seizing the moment, gathered and unleashed a powerful punch fueled by the warmth of the sun’s rays, driving it straight into Doon’s once composed face, rotating his neck 180 degrees.

“A flower basking in sunlight, [CureSunshine] (Sunlight Flower Angel)!”

Four Pretty Cure heroines launched their onslaught with full power, their combined attacks enveloping Doon completely. He twisted and turned like a ragdoll under the heavy pressure, ultimately ejected by a united boot kick.

“Pretty Cure Heartcatch Orchestra! (Cure Heart’s撼心交响乐)”

Summoned by the heart mirror, a mighty shadow rose as a symbol of justice, a majestic pure white goddess standing behind the heroines. Her pure white dress fluttered in the cosmos.

“AHHHHHHHHH!!”

Heroines raised their hands, invoking their pure yet determined resolve. The white goddess clenched her fist, two crystalline tear drops rolling down her cheeks. Her enormous fist descended on the expanding Doon.

Both sides screamed in full exertion, stretching their hands wide to block the fall of an iron fist. His knees sank deeply, burying themselves under the earth as his strength, now barely controllable, twisted his facial expression in utter strain.

He still couldn’t comprehend it—why?

Why reject such strength and a steadfast heart?

“Pretty Cure Floral Power Fortissimo (Flower Power Super Intense)! ”

Utilizing the power of a goddess with a fist, the maidens simultaneously drew their sacred weapons from the light, reflecting their current resolve upon their crystal facets.

Transforming into rainbow-colored light, they collided head-on with the vulnerable target—the barefisted, descending blow of a giant fist.

With a crisp sound of crystals shattering, Doon stared down, a heart-shaped void torn into his chest, watching the heroines stand in a serene scene from the other side.

“HeartCatch!”

The plummeting goddess’ fist silently slammed Doon into the heart of the city.

Unbothered by Doon’s demise, Hanazaki Lei immediately turned to where Ash was, perhaps there’s still time! As she turned to the scene…

She froze.

That section, ravaged by the fight, had already detached from Aster City, enveloped in flames, falling towards Earth far below.

Not even a final farewell…

“Mmm…mmm…” Realizing this, Lei’s occasional crying morphed into incessant weeping, eyes open, fists relaxed, releasing crystal shards onto the Earth regaining its blue.

“I want to believe Doon… I wanted to believe.”

“Farewell, Ash… Farewell.”