Chapter 442

Chapter 177 Clash, Shocking Revelation

“Why are you trying to manipulate us again, Ash!”

Do you want me to believe you? Then at least show some sincerity! You’re a twisted bastard who won’t even speak the truth!

Naturally, Lily did not believe him. How could she when they had already experienced betrayal once?

As she drew her gaze away from the sword spewing smoke, Lily’s expression visibly soured. She confronted Ash with renewed fury, but surprisingly, this time he did not dodge the questions. Instead, his reply shocked her.

“If you don’t want your reputation stained as an accomplice in parricide, I suggest you stop this.”

“What… what do you mean?”

Lily instinctively opened her mouth, looking bewildered, as did everyone else within earshot.

“Lily, Little Dark, Dr. Shabak,” Ash called, capturing their full attention. “Now’s the time to uncover secrets. I think you’ll be curious about the truth.”

What… does that mean?

None of them comprehended Ash’s message. Ignoring their confusion, Ash yanked the incomplete ‘Seal Destroyer’ from the wall, its barrel whirling twice before he aimed at Dr. Shabak. In stunned silence, he pulled the trigger.

**BANG—**

The sound reverberated endlessly.

“You, Ash!” Little Dark, who moments ago had been thanking him for saving Dr. Shabak, was on the verge of tearing her hair out in frustration. She grabbed Ash by the collar, veins surging visibly around her eyes as if they might spill blood.

“What the hell are you doing!?”

“Open your eyes and see!”

Ash ignored Little Dark’s grip, continuing to point the ‘Seal’ at Dr. Shabak, who knelt on the ground, trembling while covering his face with one hand.

To the Desert Apostle, that gunshot didn’t kill Shabak, but his mask — which had stayed on since the beginning — was destroyed with a *snap* onto the floor.

“Ahhh… I… What…”

Dr. Shabak, though unchanged physically, sounded drastically different. His voice now held a mixture of confusion and disorientation. The usually mechanical and cold figure now stood before them as a middle-aged man, gray-haired and uncertain. His memories seemed conflated, as if something stirred up within them; he raised his head confusedly, his eyes scanning the surroundings.

It was through this glance that Lily realized the true nature hidden under Dr. Shabak’s facade. Her bewildered expression abruptly tightened with horror, her hands trembling as they covered her gaping mouth.

In that instant, recognition hit like a jolt of electricity. Overwhelmed by her emotions, she found herself sitting down awkwardly, feeling weak-kneed.

That was a face she hadn’t seen in years, the one she saw only in dreams or in photographs from home. The man who had been warm and welcoming.

“Dad… Daddy?”

Tears, whether born of joy or sorrow, fell down her cheeks; she instinctively called out in the familiar way.

At this cry, all clamor ceased. Everyone except Ash seemed utterly incredulous.

Seeing Lily’s reaction, the still-dazed Dr. Shabak—now identified as Tsukikage Eimei—cast a puzzled look towards her. His expression swiftly shifted to realization.

“Lily… Is that you? You’ve grown so much…?”

He couldn’t link the weeping girl before him to his cherished child. Perhaps his thoughts were still mired in the past, the same as years before.

“T… The Desert Apostle’s Shabak… the father of Lily…”

“Father?”

Le and the others took a moment to absorb what was happening before finally comprehending the scene.

“Dr. Shabak…?”

Dark Pretty Cure, witnessing it for the first time, gazed in bafflement. Her hand hung mid-air, unsure where to put it.

They meant that Dr. Shabak was the father of CureMoonlight. But, shouldn’t she also have been created by him?

“Dr. Shabak! Dr. Shabak, what is going on here!?”

Faced with denial, Dark Pretty Cure cried out loudly, yet ‘Shabak’—the former entity—focused solely on Lily, offering no response.

Could it be that this is the reality?

If so, it means Tsukikage Lily is truly his daughter, then what am I?

Sensing the object Ash handed her, Lily unfolded the item and discovered it was a photograph, one showing that Dr. Shabak and her father, Tsukikage Eimei, were the same person.

“That’s right. I reviewed records from the Desert Apostle,” Ash explained to everyone’s shock, “Dr. Shabak appeared within the Desert Apostle several years ago and quickly became Duun’s proxy on Earth. He aligned himself shortly after your father disappeared.”

“In other words, your father wasn’t missing. He was brainwashed by the mask and turned into a Duun operative.”

Dark Pretty Cure stared in disbelief, her body shaking uncontrollably. Yet, Ash remained unapologetic when he said:

“So, what about me?”

Even with a vague understanding, Little Dark cast hopeful eyes toward Ash.

“In fact, Little Dark, you were created by Tsukikage Eimei after he turned into Dr. Shabak. You were created to defeat him as her daughter!”

Without holding back, Ash revealed everything.

Instantly, Dark Pretty Cure felt as if half her life’s memories fragmented like glass.

Understanding this, Ash began to despise Shabak openly, believing such ignorance is worse than deliberate deception.

“Right,” Ash continued facing their grimaces, “Little Dark, you’re Lily’s blood relative.”

Such impactful truths must indeed be so shocking.

“This can’t be…”

The revelation struck both Lily and Little Dark like lightning, their hopes fading. But in the face of irrefutable evidence, self-deception offered no solace.

Lily witnessed firsthand that her father had been transformed into an enemy officer through brainwashing, not simply lost during a plant expedition.

Her heart was thrown into turmoil, feelings conflicting, unable to form a coherent thought.

Dark Pretty Cure felt a similar despair; like Luke realizing Darth Vader was his father. Only here, roles were reversed.

Her most trusted creator had become deceived himself… If it started with deceit, then her own existence must be rooted in lies.

Is my very existence an error?

“This—”

“Sorry, even though it’s sad.”

Facing her own turmoil, Ash pressed his finger to his throbbing temple, acknowledging the harsh reality.

Better to break the illusion immediately rather than risk becoming an unwitting murderer down the road.