Chapter 272

The first day everything officially started up.

That night, Hanazaki Lei had a strange dream—a far cry from the usual visions of battles and tragic endings that she had seen before she became a Pretty Cure. In this dream, an endless stretch of darkness was lit by sinister red eyes, staring down at her helplessly in solitude. She was trapped in a massive web that stuck to her as she tried to escape, each frantic move binding her even tighter.

As she struggled desperately, a dark red spider approached her from the other end of the web. Spiders were already terrifying for girls, but this one seemed large enough to swallow her whole with just one bite.

Lei was practically frozen in fear. The spider advanced towards her, casting a huge shadow over the frail girl, turning her into a prey in a trap, desperately struggling against fate’s cruel jest.

“No,… don’t…”

“Who… who wou—”

Who will save me?!

“Aaaaah—!”

She woke up abruptly, her hands gripping the edges of the blankets, trying to catch breath after the vivid nightmare.

“What’s wrong, Lei? You seem so restless…”

Lei wasn’t alone in bed. Cifrey, the fairy-like partner of Pretty Cure, also known as a pink and white carrot, fluttered towards Lei as soon as she heard the scream, wagging its petal tail.

Crouching and rubbing her round eyes, half-awake Cifrey was immediately shocked awake by the sight of Lei, with messy hair falling around her face like strands of cherry blossoms.

“G-Ghost!“

“Ghost,… Ghost!?” Hearing Cifrey’s voice, Lei was startled too. Nestled in her blanket, her soft feet tensed up instantly from the shock, and she rushed towards the light switch but ended up knocking into the bedside table instead.

“It hurts a lot!”

“Ha! So Lei got hit on the head because of this.”

The blue-haired girl walking beside Lei circled her once, inspecting the bump on her head out of curiosity with a mischievous hand.

“This is all you did, Lei… It really hurts, Erika. I mean, it really does!”

Embarrassed and trying to cover her bruise, Lei glared reproachfully at her friend, who had a habit of being too enthusiastic with her pranks.

Feeling Lei’s resentment, Erika, full of energy, apologized profusely while laughing it off.

“But that dream, Erika, you probably had it too,” Lei continued, seeing Erika’s panda-like black rings, similar to her own from their nightmare.

Erika’s guess was right; she shuddered at the memory and shook it off quickly, puffing up with bravado.

“Hmph, it was just a dream. I’m already a super-strong Pretty Cure. A mere spider? Or even that Desert Apostle officer, Scorpion Lena, can be easily defeated!”

“Bluffing again, huh?” Koppo, another fairy creature resembling a white-and-red carrot, mocked, emerging from a school bag.

“You remember when they caught your leg last time and spun you around?”

“Aa, what are you implying!” Erika scowled at her flailing the miscreant fairy’s ears. “Combat with Pretty Cure isn’t a form of losing! I resisted them despite the odds, and next time we’ll win!”

“Lemme go, you’re hurting!”

“Not gonna let you off that easy.”

Seeing these familiar scenes of playful bickering, Lei and Cifrey chuckled.

Indeed, Hanazaki Lei and Komura Erika, besides being students at Hope City Private Meidou Academy, held a secret identity unknown to their parents.

When the Desert Apostles attacked, intending to turn people’s Heart Flowers into Desert Beasts and destroy the world, they would transform under the help of their fairy partners into Pretty Cures, guarding the city!

The two friends, taking over the duties previously held by the fallen Cure Moonlight, were warriors and close companions.

“Hey, there someone else!”

Amidst playfulness, Koppo noticed others nearby and scuttled back into the backpack with another fairy. The girls saw a new shop appearing on the sidewalk after school, piquing their curiosity.

Entering a narrow alley seemingly erected overnight, Lei glanced at the colorful pinwheel at the shop entrance, then looked at the small signboard nearby.

“Colorful…”

“Lei, that’s not it!” cried Erika, patting Lei’s shoulder and pointing at a much larger sign hanging above the door. “It’s called Na… La… Na.”

“It’s Nascita Café. It means ‘birth’ in Italian.”

“Ugh, can’t believe how lacking our knowledge is.” Frustrated, Erika waved away Lei’s attempt at explaining. “I’m not as clever as you, Lei. So, they call it Nasta Cafe.”

“Poor translation…”

*Bell*

A man dressed in a server outfit exited through the café door. He directed his gaze towards Lei and Erika, who had been hiding behind a friend and now stood revealed.

“Buongiorno.” His gesture indicated no surprise. With impeccable etiquette, he addressed the young ladies with a slight bow.

“I’m Asu, the manager of this place named Nasta Café. Moved here recently, opened the place. Seeing your appearance, looks like you locals, yes? Looking forward to having you again.”

“Oh, hello, I’m Komura Erika.”

“Uh…” Lei’s attention was drawn by the man, realizing their conversation. She bowed repeatedly and hurriedly spoke, “My name is Hanazaki Lei. Moved to Hope City quite recently, studying in Meidou Academy’s Class Two, love flowers…”

“Lei—”

A friend whispered, nudging Lei’s side, snapping her out of her rambling.

“Two of you planning to eat something, or perhaps my special…?”

“No, we won’t, just passed by,” felt an odd threat, Erika pulled Lei along, waving goodbye towards Asu, heading away from the café.

“So welcome for your next visit.”

Observing the two as they left, Asu rubbed his chin, his lips curling into a smile.

“Precure… if I recall correctly, that will bring me joy.”

No sooner than this thought crossed, a lady walked from the alley’s far end. Receiving the apron from Asu, the lady responded:

“So Tsukikage Lily, it’s up to you. Going to search for joy for myself.”

Tsukikage Lily wrapped the apron around herself, noticing Asu’s unusually cheerful state.

“It’s odd, with a position of importance yet no interest in leisure, more in work should be prioritized.”

“That’s a mistake you make, Lily,” Asu turned, wagging his finger as a sign of disagreement. “Work is my passion, and my passion is work.”

“Do you swear?”

“Of course, have I ever lied to you?”

As Lei walked along with her gaze lifted to the sky, her distraction made her nearly stumble several times, and not reacting to Erika calling her name.

Noticing this, Erika’s expression softened with understanding.

“What’s wrong, Lei, so smitten talking with a stranger already planning life together, or maybe even naming kids?”

Startled from her fantasies, Lei blushed immediately after hearing Erika’s words.

A happy life with handsome guys—wait, what nonsense is this!

“Haven’t planned any of that, a dream only. And what’s this about naming kids, that’s too premature!”

Her face flushed as brightly as an apple and her reply sounded muffled, making her retort ineffective.

“Erika, what strange notions are you suggesting?”

“For Asu’s striking looks, he’s completely captivating.”

“Liar.”

“Lei loses all will against charming men. It’s called ‘infatuation’.”

Laughing, Erika teased Lei’s reddening face, continuing to poke and poke until Lei’s face turned rosy.

“Let’s fight, Erika, so cruel!”

“Help me!”

A massive sound echoed in a distance. At the same time, both girls stopped their playful fighting, noticing a looming figure descending from afar.

Enemies were approaching, and the moment had arrived for the Precure.

“We’ve won!”

With the purification of the Desert Beast, a heart flower returned to its normal form. Both Precure joined hands in celebration.

“Damn, another loss!”

Sashimi, one of the Desert Apostle’s female officers, was enraged.

They aimed to use Desert Beasts to wither inner hearts and cause desertification, ultimately to conquer Earth. After only a few battles, she was defeated by these newbie Precure—too embarrassing!

“We’re getting a heart seed!”

These seeds produced by fairy creatures were crucial Precure collectibles.

As they prepared to store it in the Soul Pot, a dark figure appeared, stealing Lei’s heart seed.

“Ah, it’s a thief!”

Lei exclaimed, realizing her seed had vanished.

The masked male standing before them, sporting a silver mask, didn’t bother revealing his identity, saying instead:

“Thief? Please call me Quick Thief.”

“That’s still a thief!”

Erika couldn’t help but retort, extending her hand to demand retrieval.

“Give us the heart seed. We fought hard to earn it!”

“What if I say no? What if it becomes mine?”

“What?”

The masked man, not responding, removed a crimson box from behind him and strapped it to his waist.

“[DEMONS’ DRIVER]!”

A voice emitted from the mysterious device sent a chill down their spines. An eye-shaped screen flickered with light, and another voice followed.

“Moon… Should we engage?”

“Huh? That belt spoke!” Erika’s face dropped.

“Obviously, timing is key.”

“[SPIDER]!”

Pressing a stamp onto a slot, dazzling lights illuminated from the belt.

“[DEAL]!”

“Henshin.”

Sealing the stamp on the screen, a metallic spider descended, spinning webs that wrapped around the masked man.

Like a captured prey encased in silk, the scene brought unease upon the Precure.

Their thoughts flashed back to the nightmare.

“[DECIDEUP! DEEP. DROP. DANGER.]”

The webs disintegrated, revealing a heated-armored knight.

Red muscle armor enveloped the knight, a spider-patterned cape draped across his upper torso, with eerie blue light emanating from his cybernetic eyes, matching spiders.

“[KAMEN RIDER DEMONS]!”

“Here!” Titans stretched his limbs and stepped forward.

“Dinner’s ready.”