Chapter 72

Extra Case File 72 Ash: I am the Minotaur!

A man in police uniform and a beret was shoving the barrel of a gun into another young man’s mouth as he pressed his head harder against the crack in the wall behind him.

It seemed like a police arrest of a criminal, albeit with a touch of police brutality, but Ash was not a police officer, and the other man was far from being a criminal.

“Come on! Answer me! Can’t you open your mouth, you low-IQ idiot?!”

Ash had his pride as a villain and usually avoided resorting to vulgar trash talk. Generally, he would disdain such a crude way of expression.

But that remark didn’t matter to Ash right now; no man could remain calm in a situation like this, and Ash was definitely provoked.

“What do you think you are? You think you know better? Just because you know a little, you dare to act big in front of me? Huh?!”

Crack!

With a swift motion, Ash knocked out a molar from the man’s mouth, blood spilling as it rolled on the ground.

With Ash exerting more force, the man, unable to summon the raging energy within him, struggled desperately as his complexion shifted from blue to purple to the color of a pig’s liver.

Ash released him only when he was nearly suffocating, letting him fall to the ground, gasping for breath.

“Now, little loser.” Ash squatted in front of him, speaking each word clearly with a warm yet menacing tone. “If this were before, I might have enjoyed watching you entertain me; now, I don’t have the interest or time for that.”

He pulled out a clock from the rubble behind him, wound it up, and let it tick in front of the man.

“Who are you, where did you come from, what is your relationship with Wild Flower, and what useful information do you have? No riddles, just spit it out clearly, word for word.”

“Fail to explain, and your head rolls.”

“Cough, cough… cough!” The man glared at Ash with resentment until despair overtook all his emotions. “You really fooled Wild Flower, huh? Falling in love with you is her great misfortune.”

“Click!” The sound of the revolver’s hammer being pulled back echoed, the muzzle, mixed with blood, saliva, and gunpowder, pressed firmly against the man’s face as Ash expressionlessly tapped the ticking clock.

“Idle talk counts as time wasted.”

“My name is George Kulain, and I am Wild Flower’s husband.” Seeing Ash’s finger pressing down, the man quickened his pace. “I’m the husband of Wild Flower from the future world… the husband of another Wild Flower from a future time in another world.”

Ash picked up the clock and wound it again.

“So,” Ash pointed to the ultimate darkness that devoured the world behind him, “this is a predetermined event that will happen in the future world?”

The so-called time correction ability, perhaps?

“Not necessarily, but as Pretty Cure’s Wild Flower, she will die to protect humanity, and ultimately, the raging energy will consume the entire world and destroy everything, which is a predetermined event.”

“Even if different worlds may manifest differently, this outcome is an unchangeable fact.”

Different worlds? Ash raised an eyebrow, noting this key point, and continued to question.

“Do you know who I am?”

“I know, a traveler from another world.”

“What are you doing in this past time?”

“Finding a way to save Wild Flower.”

Though it seemed like useless information, naming a reason to come back to the past to find a method to save his wife seemed reasonable… wait.

Suddenly realizing something, Ash’s mind began to boil over, and uncontrollable anger emerged on his face.

From your tone, you were in this world before I arrived, then…

“You say you want to save her, so what have you done?”

Kulain lowered his head in silence, eyes filled with despair.

“…I’ve been observing, searching for ways to save her.”

“You mentioned different worlds… then tell me, you pathetic wretch.”

Ash lifted the man by his collar, pulling him up from the ground.

“In order to ‘save’ Wild Flower, how many times have you watched the woman you say is your wife die—?!”

“My flower told me once.” At this, the man’s eyes reflected his longing for the past. “I don’t need to do anything; she’s responsible for saving everything, so I… just watch, I watch for ways to keep her alive.”

Ash’s killing intent began to radiate, making him feel like a demon.

“As long as Wild Flower can live, I used to hope for you… but instead, you hurt her, leaving her in this state, so I finally understand.”

As he spoke, Ash’s grip on Kulain tightened, and he laughed.

“I need to find my mentor; through his technology, I can employ the raging energy, just like how the Wild Flower in this world is now.”

“And the only way for Wild Flower to survive is to put the entire world into absolute stasis using raging energy before she grows up, so no one will die… ultimately, the only person who can save her is me—”

“Stop with the theatrics about despairing for the world!”

Kulain was forcefully thrown by Ash, now beyond mere rage. He crashed through the wall behind him and landed hard inside the police car, only to be lifted up again by the approaching Ash.

“Let’s set aside your conclusions like a low-grade Kirael for now.”

“You stood by and watched your wife die right in front of you, and you gained the ability to traverse time and worlds, yet your method of saving her is to continuously watch different versions of her die while allowing the raging energy that once harmed her to become your strength, ultimately wanting to defeat her meaning of fighting completely, letting Pretty Cure utterly lose to the Final Monster.”

This was beyond what a surrenderer could describe.

“I must say, Kulain, your reasoning truly leaves me in awe.”

Ash wanted to curse but couldn’t find the right words due to his moral level.

He was in desperate need of more aggressive words than the usual “damn” and “newborn” or the wrathful comments online.

“Don’t just decide the fate of the world on your own; it’s the effort and lives of all those trying to live within it that truly matter, and not your high-handed ignorance watching from afar!”

Ash roared like a cannon, leaving the self-righteous Kulain dizzy, unable to utter a word.

“You’re always talking about saving her, but I see no one else in your eyes besides your poor wife from the start!”

You merely view other versions of Wild Flower as substitutes in your heart, watching them die to satisfy your twisted desires.

“No, the current her isn’t your wife anymore.” Ash sneered and punched him again, turning Kulain’s eyes into panda eyes. “She is now my woman!”

That’s right; even if it’s NTR, I will take Wild Flower from your pathetic hands.

“Now, tell me!” He lifted the battered man once more and slammed him against the dented car door. “About the raging energy, how do we save her?”

“Go to hell!”

Finally, with his dark raging energy coalesced into a fist, Kulain roared and launched it at this “thief” who had taken everything from him.