Chapter 421

Chapter 156: QiJiera, Bloom

“What do you mean?”

Not only were the Pretty Cures puzzled by his ambiguous words, even the Dark Pretty Cures looked bewildered.

Isn’t today about completely defeating them?

“This means that.”

Pointing in a certain direction, Ash directed their attention. As they followed where his finger pointed, they immediately realized what was happening.

Could it be towards the Nasta Café!?

Before anyone could react, a tremor came from the ground as if some entity had broken through the Earth’s crust. In a loud crash, a thick, emerald green vine branch, so large that several people had to hug around it in a circle, emerged from the direction of Nasta Café, twisting and extending towards the falling “meteor” skywards.

“Nasta Café…!”

Kickingu, with sharp eyes, calculated the direction and noticed pieces of familiar wooden fragments embedded in the vine, which turned out to be part of Nasta’s storefront sign.

It looks like this strange plant may have grown up from inside Nasta Café—it means!

Kickingu’s jaw dropped in disbelief as she focused on the “manager”, who remained unperturbed.

This is yours—and not just yours, but also our cherished memories!

“Deep emotions don’t need寄托 on lifeless objects.” Snapping his fingers to snap the others back to reality, Ash said knowingly, “If you’re worried about this, I’ll take care of it for you now.”

“You—!”

The eyes of the four girls reddened with emotion. Although they knew Ash’s words made sense, it was still too overwhelming.

“What is that?”

The giant “meteor” and growing plants weren’t the only ones noticing this scene. The loud disturbance and flashy actions drew almost anyone with eyes in the Flower Market city.

“Is that a flower? So big, I’ve never seen such a huge flower.”

At Hanazaki Lei’s household, Lei’s parents run a flower shop with their family name. They were marveling over it when Lei’s father suddenly noticed something amiss behind the potted plants.

“Have we recently gotten this flower in the store?”

“No, it’s new. This flower…. I don’t have any memory of it.”

Curious about the small yellow flower added recently, yellow pollen erupted from the flower’s sac, covering Lei’s parents’ faces.

“Cough, cough, that pollen…”

Suddenly covered in pollen, they instinctively started coughing. But then, a delightful feeling washed over them, conjuring vivid scenes before their eyes.

They saw family members who, despite busy work schedules, were overcoming daily challenges and enjoying each other’s company.

The creased foreheads relaxed, worry and slight unease replaced by pure joy. The couple hugged, smiling happily and calling to each other.

“Honey~”

“Mate~”

Meanwhile, throughout the Flower Market, beautiful yellow flowers began blooming from familiar corners.

As curious individuals approached and sat down or leaned against the flowers, they wore contented, happy smiles.

Today, despite the two colossal entities displaying power, the city didn’t erupt in large scale astonishment, mostly due to this little flower.

More and more people fell asleep with serene expressions, the soft yellow pollen reflecting a beautiful glow in the air.

A meteor with a burning tail landed, and its spherical exterior cracked open, forming into a black, bull-like monster towering over the ground.

“—-!”

Standing on Earth, the monster brandished its sharp claws and issued an inhuman roar that made the girls instinctively cover their ears.

“That is Lord Doon’s…..”

This enormous monster, the Dark Pretty Cures recognized. It had evolved from the desert seeds launched by Lord Doon’s mobile base, Planet City. Its regenerative abilities and planetary dominance meant it could cause widespread desolation, enough to fully turn a world into a desert, similar to a specialized cleaning robot.

But if the desert demon can be launched, does that mean he’s already close to Earth?

“Ash, is this also part of your game?”

Holding his arms crossed, Ash shook his head when he heard Kickingu’s slightly angry voice.

“No, it looks like he’s impatient to join the game early.”

Looking up at the boastful desert demon above, Ash’s eyes narrowed behind his helmet. Behind him, giant vines intertwined, shaping into a massive flower bud rising above.

“QiJiera isn’t a foreigner but a creature native to another Earth, maybe even Earth’s prepared final gift to humanity.”

“When darkness of alien invasion nears Earth, QiJiera will bloom, hmpf, fitting right in.”

“W-wait, that!” Always showing courage under fear, Lei froze hearing Ash. She hurriedly ran to him and pointed her giant plant “monster” overhead.

“You mean that giant plant is…. the original cute little flower, QiJiera!?”

“sodayo.”

Seeing QiJiera, dragging roots deep in the ground while lashing its emerald vines toward the desert demon, Lei seemed to pinch her face as if doubting she was dreaming. Only feeling pain confirmed for her. With a cry, she held her cheeks, shocked.

“Ehh…. ehhh—!?”

Lei, your growth until now is astonishing, all thanks to your love.

Lacking intelligence, the sand demon, akin to a mere cleaning robot, instinctively wanted to start desertifying the planet. Just then, QiJiera’s voice caught its attention, as if taunting, striking the demon’s back with green vines, making loud cracks.

The battle began below, with girls staring in disbelief.