Kamen Rider is the Villain in Pretty Cure, Chapter 3

With a burst of strength from his legs, he leaped high into the air, easily dodging the monster's attack. He raised the Guardian Sword high above his head and brought it down with a powerful slash. The red warrior's figure seemed to stutter in the flow of time, the monster completely left behind. His incredible speed made his movements look as if they were being manually frame-skipped.

Continuous flashes of brilliant golden light, burning with energy streams, left several more massive gashes on the Doomsday Monster. Finally unable to support its enormous body, the monster's tattered form half-knelt on the ground.

Having lost even the strength to roar, the heavily wounded Doomsday Monster could only let out pained cries. Ash, standing firm with one hand on his hip, raised the communicator on his wrist. The command voice played out perfectly, arriving at just the right moment for Ash.

"Final Mode DV Re-Freezer Stand By."

"Now You Can Press Freezers."

"Compress and freeze? There's no need for that, but fine, I'll finish this. DV C—!"

"Wait!" Nono Hana, who had been watching the entire battle, interrupted Ash's voice command. Having recovered some of her strength and suppressed the intense pain still wracking her body, she summoned the Melody Holy Sword and slowly walked towards Ash, step by step.

"The Doomsday Monster needs to be defeated with the Melody Holy Sword..."

"Bang! Bang! Bang!!!"

Three gunshots suddenly rang out in response. Beams of light, creating smoke from friction with the air, appeared at her feet.

Ash ignored Nono Hana and switched his Guardian Sword back to the Vulcan Gun, firing three shots at her feet.

"Don't come any closer when you look this useless. If you do, I can't guarantee who the next shot will hit." He raised the muzzle of the Vulcan Gun to a level parallel to Nono Hana's head.

"But!!"

"There's no 'but.' I hate people telling me what to do, and tell those guys around you to get away. Don't get close to the excitement if you don't have the power. I don't have the time to collect their corpses."

All the cheers and shouts of encouragement instantly ceased.

The crowd fell silent, looking at Ash with confused and bewildered expressions.

They hadn't heard Ash and Nono Hana's conversation, but they saw Cure Yell say something to the mysterious red warrior as she approached, and then the red warrior fired three shots at Cure Yell's feet?

Was he trying to stop the battered Cure Yell from continuing the fight, or had some conflict arisen between them?

As confusion spread, they heard Ash speak.

Confusion turned to anger, and soon, someone started to speak up indignantly.

"Why are you calling Yell useless? She protected us!"

"That's right! She's been working hard to protect us! What do you know?"

"Bang!!" A shot fired at his feet, just like the others, was the only response. The man immediately fell to the ground in fright, crawling backward while looking at Ash with terrified and angry eyes.

This shot ignited the crowd's fury. Their voices grew louder, all of them railing against this person who dared to harm them.

Ash responded by pulling the trigger again and again.

Each shot landed precisely at their feet. Every time a gunshot rang out, someone was silenced by shock and fear.

After a volley of shots, the entire venue fell silent.

Seemingly satisfied that they had been silenced, Ash nodded.

"I really hate trouble."

However... heh, they actually defended their hero. That's better than the FW in other worlds who like to bite the hand that feeds them.

But looking at Cure Yell, who was stunned by his actions, and seeing her battered and miserable state, an intense feeling of disgust welled up within him.

Always protecting them, huh? Heh, what a pathetic thing. Don't they even look at what their protectors have become—! Never mind.

After all, for someone like me, it doesn't matter if it's good or bad.

"Alright, shut up like this, and get out of here in an orderly fashion. Run far away, and come back when you've recovered. Don't make a sound."

"Including you."

"Doomsday Monster!!!"

The Doomsday Monster, which Ash had previously knocked down, had now partially regained its ability to move. Its destructive instincts drove it to lunge at the nearest group of "onlookers."

"Ahhhhhh!!!" The screams of those who had been silenced by fear erupted again. The Doomsday Monster's dark arm swung towards the group. It seemed unstoppable. Everyone, even Nono Hana, cried out in alarm, instinctively closing their eyes, unwilling to witness the ensuing tragedy.

Gunshots rang out again.

Those who had resigned themselves to death did not meet their end. When they opened their eyes, they saw only the Doomsday Monster, missing an arm, struggling and howling in pain as it tried to get up.

"That's why I said I hate trouble."

Such useless idiots.

Ash blew on the smoking muzzle of his gun and switched the Vulcan Gun back to the Guardian Sword, issuing a command to the communicator on his left arm.

"DV Change, Final Mode!"

After pressing the red button on the gun, Ash forcefully swung the blade to his side. The swirling blade was imbued with a chilling blue light.

Both Nono Hana and the surrounding crowd felt an icy coldness emanating from the blue blade, as if it came from the underworld.

"It's quite useful." He casually struck a few poses, very satisfied with how the weapon in his hand felt.

Ash charged at the struggling Doomsday Monster with incredible speed. In an instant, a blue light flashed past, slicing through the Doomsday Monster's side.

"Doomsday Monster!!!" The monster's pain was evident even in its cry. Ash turned around again.

"DV Re-Freezer!!!"

The leaked energy ignited behind Ash, creating a flame-like background. As he shouted the name of his attack, Ash forcefully slashed his sword downwards, creating a perfect V-shaped trajectory.

Two more blue lights flashed. Ash raised his weapon, turned his back, and reinserted the converted Vulcan Gun into the holster on his right leg. The Doomsday Monster rose with several explosions and flashes of light, finally meeting its end amidst pained screams.

[Extra]Case File 5: Clashing Flames

Flames soared into the sky, and hot winds blew Nono Hana's bangs. The shockwaves from the explosion even reached the surrounding onlookers. Amidst their gasps, Nono Hana quickly plunged the Melody Holy Sword into the ground, channeling energy. Light overflowed in all directions, restoring the battle's destruction and dissipating the shockwaves from the explosion.

"Gurgle gurgle gurgle—"

The Pretty Cure's sensitive hearing picked up a strange freezing sound at a cellular level. Her sharp eyes spotted a small, dark object emitting coldness where the Doomsday Monster had stood, falling to the ground.

"Press Freeze Completed."

The feeling of her energy being drained caused the suppressed pain to resurface. Nono Hana gritted her teeth and endured until a warm light calmed everything from the battle.

It's over. So, what's next?

Nono Hana casually wiped the sweat from her forehead and, supporting her almost collapsing body, moved towards him.

Who are you, exactly?

"TIME FIRE."

"Huh?"

The red warrior approached her with crisp footsteps. The semi-transparent helmet, with its data streams flowing across the faceplate, reflected Nono Hana's surprised expression.

"Time Fire."

"That's my name... Heh, never heard of it?"

"No..."

Hana answered honestly. If she had heard of this strange name, which clearly differed from the Pretty Cure naming conventions, she would definitely remember it.

"Is that so? It seems there are no Super Sentai in this world."

Nono Hana opened her mouth to say something more, but before she could speak, she was cut off—literally. The man's fingers, encased in his battle suit, pinched her chin and lifted her head, silencing her.

"Mmph..."

Having her chin forcefully lifted and being forced to meet his gaze was an unpleasant experience for Nono Hana.

"How dare you treat Miss Yell like this! Unforgivable..."

Ignoring the resentful whispers from the surrounding crowd, Ash seemed to be playing with his "toy," casually manipulating her small head and weighing the sight of Hana's current disheveled face.

"Precure... Pretty Cure, huh? Heh, interesting."

He casually let go and crossed his arms over his chest, meeting her gaze with his fiery goggles that hid his eyes, putting immense pressure on Hana.

"Do you know, Cure Yell?" He recalled the name from the fleeing bystanders and spoke with a strangely emotional tone. "This is all your fault."

"Huh?" Hana never imagined he would say something like that.

"You protected them too well. So, this is your fault."

"I-I can't agree with you! That's too harsh!"

I'm just doing what I should be doing. Pretty Cures are meant to protect those who can't protect themselves. If they can't, then let me do it. What's wrong with that?

Are you saying you want me to stand by and do nothing? Unforgivable!

"Hmph, who knows."

"You!"

The two, one tall and one short, stood facing each other in a stalemate. The onlookers, having learned their lesson and hiding behind buildings, dared not even breathe due to the atmosphere.

"This city is called Nursery City, right?"

As if to provoke her, the man raised his wrist, and the DV Defender in his hand tapped the V-Commander with a crisp sound.

"I won't be polite about taking it."

"W-What?"

It was an announcement like that of a villain aiming to conquer the world. But come to think of it, Time Fire's actions were indeed villainous, whether it was attacking the crowd or insulting the Pretty Cure like this.

"What do you mean?" Nono Hana's grip on the Melody Holy Sword trembled, her knuckles turning white from the force.

"Exactly what I said. Look, you're already so useless. Even that Doomsday Monster wasn't that strong, and it pushed you into a tough fight. Do you really still have the ability to protect these people?"

"I... I will do everything I can... I will protect everyone!"

"Will that help? In your current state, even trying your best won't be enough. Weren't you almost dead just now?"

As Nono Hana's expression grew worse, Ash poked her forehead repeatedly with his finger.

"You can do anything, you can be anyone... That's something you should only dream about in junior high, you foo~ol."

"You!!" Hearing his words negate all her efforts, even the gentlest person would get angry. Nono Hana pointed the Melody Holy Sword at Time Fire.

"Clang!" The blade was still sharp, but the person wielding it was no longer strong. The Melody Holy Sword was easily blocked by the Guardian Sword. No matter how much she pushed her body, she couldn't advance further.

"Heh." A sneer, as if mocking her, and with a strong push, the weak Yell couldn't even hold onto the Holy Sword and was knocked to the ground.

It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts so much! Everywhere hurt terribly, as if all her bones had been shattered and bone fragments were embedded in her muscles.

Struggling to get up, she felt as though she had truly reached her limit this time. Several attempts only resulted in her collapsing again.

Unacceptable, unacceptable...

She struggled to lift her head, only for it to fall back down.

Droplets of tears fell.

"Yo, what's with the tears? What, you finally realize you're useless now, that you can't protect anything?"

"..."

Nono Hana remained silent.

She didn't want to admit it, but everything this guy was saying was utter nonsense and sophistry.

But, he was right... Was it because the pain from her wounds was too much to think clearly? She felt like Time Fire was right, that her current self...

"I..."

"You bastard!!!"

A roar from a distance jolted Nono Hana's nearly broken spirit.

A pink-haired girl in a middle school uniform, her face flushed with anger, glared through gritted teeth at the red warrior who was now utterly helpless.

"Hmm? So you guys didn't leave."

What a surprise, out of a bunch of cowards, there were still some with courage.

Without even giving her a proper glance, Ash continued to look down at Nono Hana, as if the ordinary person who had mustered her courage didn't exist at all.

"What right do you have! Yell-neechan has always protected us, she's never backed down!!!"

"How could someone like you, who just appeared out of nowhere, possibly understand! You're just a jerk who looks down on everyone because you have a little bit of power! What right do you have to point fingers at Yell, a true hero like her."