Chapter 514

The Twenty-Fifth Chapter – Mi-Yu-Ki

“Cough!”

As the pressure on her throat increased, the struggling girl who had been pulled from the ground waved her legs desperately. Her mouth wide open, she struggled for breath and could only cough out saliva in despair.

But this… This can’t be possible! How can someone frozen by my skills still move?!

“A level like this…” The man’s voice, even more gloomy and somber due to the ice barrier, reached her ears. Rihua shuddered as she failed to muster enough strength to do more than weakly hit the man’s arm. “I have to congratulate you.”

“If I hadn’t reacted early, perhaps I really would have lost.”

It turned out that when Ash sensed Rihua’s movements, he had already placed his hand on his belt. Even if his whole body was encased in ice, he had the ability to turn the pages of his Transformation Book.

“[Evil Dragon]!”

Amidst the violent tremors of the ice, the Evil Dragon shoulder plates on the Knight’s shoulders came to life, spitting deep purple flames within the ice that trapped the man. Under the intense heat of the steam, Rihua’s solid ice was broken apart by the opponent.

“Roar!”

An “Evil Dragon” with spikes on its back and a strikingly vivid appearance flew out from Ash, and despite the fierce growl, it crashed into Rihua, forcing her onto the ground before flying around Ash a few times and retreating back into the book.

Suffering another severe blow, an exhausted Rihua was flung upwards like a kite with a severed string, only to plummet down, tumble a few more times, before finally collapsing and closing her eyes powerlessly. As the light from her transformation dispersed, she reverted to her original appearance.

“How is this possible!” Yayoi couldn’t believe her eyes, and despair filled her heart. “Rihua lost too…!”

“See? This is the decision of darkness, my power.” With victory now secure, Ash was filled with satisfaction and confidence. “Your underdeveloped powers are completely inadequate.”

Picking up the black-and-pink Transformation Book from the ground, sensing its power, Ash could smile even as tragedy signals continued to pour in endlessly.

“Even the Pretty Cures aren’t my match; give up.” Seeing the heavily wounded Miyuki Hoshizora struggle to rise, Ash mercifully advised. “Young as you are, you still don’t know that sometimes deciding to give up is also wise.”

“Don’t underestimate us—” With dust falling from her hair as she stood up, Miyuki supported herself with her arms. Tears in her eyes, she glared back fiercely. “My fight isn’t over yet!”

“Miyuki—!” Akane and the others shouted her name, while Sugar, held in arms, cried out incoherently, “Enough! Miyuki has been hurt too much! Stop hitting her! Please, don’t hurt them, Kuro!”

“No, Sugar!” Though Miyuki was usually foolish, her eyes now held a determined resolve. “The Pretty Cures will never give up here!”

“To make Yayo and everyone else who’s been hurt by you laugh!” Again, the power from the Cure item inside the Smile Compact responded to Miyuki’s courageous heart. “I can’t give up!”

“You…. Smile?”

Thinking of the countless bad endings she’d seen repeatedly, and knowing Miyuki’s unwavering belief even in this situation, Ash felt truly enraged. “When you see your own descent into darkness, how can you still smile?!”

With Ash’s rage escalating, the mixed Transformation Book began to emit unstable energies, absorbing even more power from various sources like a whirlpool.

“What?!” The clock symbolizing the revival of the Evil Emperor Pierrot in the Tragic Kingdom, which required a certain amount of tragic energy, was observed, for the first time, moving backwards. “Who… Who stole the adult’s tragic energy?!”

Miyuki, with her fists crossed to shield her face and feet dug into the ground, was pushed back.

“Why always talk about giving up at bad ends?!” Blood trickled down her arm, mingling with her punches. Even as she gritted her teeth, she continued striking relentlessly, pushing her attacks more aggressively than ever. “This kind of irrationality is just like the stubborn kids next door!”

“Despair, or tragedy—why not try changing things if you don’t like them? Why hinder our future?!”

“Do you think you’re hindering us?” Losing himself to the rage against Miyuki, Ash’s strikes grew fiercer. A cut bled profusely on Miyuki’s arm, and countless blows left her struggling to survive.

“All of you speak of the same thing – ‘we are justice,’ ‘we have a future.’”

If only you possessed the power to eliminate tragedy and bring happiness to everyone—if you never stopped trying—

I meant to abandon this foolish plan!

With Ash’s increasingly agitated heart, the power of the Transformation Book grew uncontrollably, heating his hands drastically. Meanwhile, the influence of prophecies from the future upon him intensified.

“Do you understand?” Ash paused, his eyes piercing through his mask directly into the young girl’s heart. “You chose both your present selves and the worst possible futures for yourselves!”

I’ve seen the future, where you all claim unity can change the outcome, but—

[Bad!]

A moment that even the system was astonished by unfolded. Part of the activated dark resonance in Ash’s body merged with unexpected tragic energy, concentrating on the now unbalanced Ash. It poured into the sword in a flash, lifting the Dark Sword Moon Dark, casting a darkness darker than the abyss, toward the panting Miyuki.

“Hope leads to destruction!”

[Ash, stop! You’ll kill her!]

—

Silence ensued. Like the sunrise breaking the night, under Miyuki’s calm, pink eyes, the Dark Sword Moon Dark emitted a pitch-black glow, enveloping both figures.

Seeing this, her companions cried out in agony her name, and a bright light exploded from Sugar’s forehead.

“Miyuki—!”