"Everyone, don't make a move!"
Rider raised a hand to stop the eager Princesses. He crossed the long and short swords in his hands before him, aiming them at the minister, whose expression gradually shifted from stunned disbelief to distortion, and ground them together to produce extraordinary sparks.
"This is the perfect opportunity to use the blood of a king-thief from the previous generation as a sacrifice, proclaiming my magnificent existence before my new subjects!"
"Y-Yes, yes, go on, go on~!"
The four of them had more or less gotten used to this. He just wanted to show off, didn't he? If he just said so, it would fit Ash's style better than putting it so politely.
"There's a limit to how much you can look down on people!"
Even if you were powerful, there was only one of you... no, wait, now that all my subordinates are dead, there was only one of me too!
The more the minister thought about it, the more wrong it felt. He drew the beam rapier he carried with him, his eyes bloodshot as he recklessly forced Ash into battle.
According to his original plan, he was supposed to turn all the citizens of the Pumpkin Kingdom into members of the Fortress of Despair. Together with those monsters he had barely managed to control, he would have enough forces to defeat the so-called Princess Pretty Cure and seize their power. Then, he would become an existence surpassing the Witch of Despair!
"Die, die! As long as you die—"
But before any of it could truly take shape, the guard monsters were gone, his hidden identity had been exposed, and everything that had yet to officially begin had already died in the womb. And all of it was because of you—because of you, you