Chapter 64

Extra Case File 64 On the Agony of Women

Ash did not speak; if he opened his mouth again, blood would spurt from his throat once more, so he could only fix his gaze on this elaborately dressed middle-aged woman with his eyes.

At the same time, he could feel the signature rumble of the earth coming from afar, surely it was close now.

“I won’t tell anyone, Mr. Fire, I swear on my honor,” fortunately, Lira Yakushiji, as an entertainment industry veteran, nodded, making an unremitting promise in front of the man’s weak threat.

As long as my daughter Saya can be saved, everything else doesn’t matter. This simple and straightforward sentiment was exactly what Ash needed.

Then, carrying her already unconscious daughter, she walked toward the distance—she had called an ambulance just now.

With this promise, Ash’s body, which had been struggling to keep standing, could no longer hold on. He stumbled a few steps, falling backward softly until he hit the cold metal.

V-rex arrived on its own best route, without calling for it. With advanced AI circuits, even though it wouldn’t express itself through clear language, it had self-thinking capabilities beyond ordinary machinery.

The giant mechanical dinosaur exhaled two clouds of cooling breath from its nostrils, wanting to grab Ash’s clothes and toss him onto the prepared slot on its back, but the man patted its nose to stop it.

His final sword strike indeed pierced her, but it didn’t hit vital areas. If it had that Tomorrow energy, as miraculous as Ultra Man’s light force, there wouldn’t be a threat to life.

But… what has happened to her then?

Thinking of this, Ash felt as though his chest was being gnawed by ants. Even the weakness and confusion deep within his heart were being gnawed away.

Ash finally turned his head, meeting the exhausted and disheveled Wild Flower who remained kneeling on the ground.

Incredible, hard to accept, a pale face showing how much Wild Flower must be struggling inside.

“Why…”

Facing the man’s tired and puzzled eyes, the eyes like bright pink diamonds but now dull, tears fell uncontrollably, while she covered her forehead with dirty hands, swaying her head frantically as if trying to escape. Her crazed actions seemed to negate the entire world.

Why, why does it have to be this kind of thing!

Why do I have to kill my best friend whom I never want to abandon!

Why, why must the one deeply loved who gives me pain have to be that inexplicable Timefire!

Why… why am I the one who has to bear this pain!

Why! Why, why, why!? Why can nobody answer me!

If it’s only a so-called “God” who decides everything and the fate, then why give me the energy of Tomorrow representing the “future”? Why must I become Pretty Cure? Why should I still fight until now.

If the result is this… merely to make me suffer more, isn’t it too cruel?

If this is the future… I would rather not have any so-called painful To morrow…

Wild Flower’s dormant Tomorrow energy gradually darkened into a black shell.

Ash wanted to get closer, hoping to comfort her, but at his current state, both physically and mentally, he couldn’t take another step forward.

“Pah.”

But he took that step nonetheless.

“Guh…”

Underneath the low-voiced demeanor, Wild Flower’s face emitted a sound like that of a small beast.

Her emotions matched those of Ash, yet as a woman, they were ten times more complex than Ash’s! But something was certain…

Wild Flower, who has been fighting as Cure Yell, just like Ash, was unsure what to make of facing someone who fights as Timefire.

This isn’t just about talking things out to laugh and be happy together; she, who has grown up, and Ash, who seems to never grow up, both have complex hearts.

“Chah.”

Ash approached her with unsteady steps, making Wild Flower’s trembling back move even more violently.

“Don’t come over!” Her voice trembled with sobs. “Please, don’t come any closer!”

“Chah.”

The man’s strides continued without pause, closer and closer.

“Don’t—” Looking down at the smashed cement floor in a low voice, Wild Flower almost covered her own face with her hands. “Don’t look at me like that!”

“—”

A breeze mixed with the stench of blood swept past; finally, Ash stopped moving.

“Ksch!”

That was the chilling sound of a blade piercing flesh. Wild Flower finally lifted her head, watching Ash pull out the Melody Holy Sword from his chest. Blood spurted with a horrid scream, staining her face as Ash remained silent.

“Clang!”

The weapon belonging to Pretty Cure was placed before Wild Flower.

Then, supporting himself against his nearly split torso, Ash walked around Wild Flower and limped away from there.

“Ash…”

Realizing it, Wild Flower wiped the blood off her face and quickly turned her head, seeing only Ash’s silhouette.

“Ash!”

She reached out, attempting to follow, but tripped over the rubble nearby, falling heavily once again.

What she heard was the sound of the ambulance, but this wasn’t what mattered to Wild Flower now.

“Ash—!”

Her cry was desperate, almost a sob, and despite feeling powerless, her hand stretched out, trying futilely to grab the last remnants of a flame.

Yet Ash kept walking, disappearing into the horizon far beyond the setting sun.

Throughout it all, he never said a word to her.

“Ding—”

This chime sounded from behind them, from the top of the iconic high-rise buildings that define the city of Hoiku.

But when the sound reached him and her ears, it had a different meaning.

“Dong—”

The resounding peace bell was ringing.

It was a regretful bell…

It was a sorrowful bell…

Perhaps, the ringing foretold someone’s future.