Volume One: We'll reclaim your heartbeat!
Chapter 5 - Colluding with the Forces of Darkness
After exchanging some precious metals he had acquired from various evil organizations for money, Ash directly rented a house near the landmark building in the center of Oogai City, known as the "Clover Tower," as his place to rest. After dealing with miscellaneous matters, it was already around seven or eight in the evening, and Ash couldn't be bothered to organize the room at such a late hour. Instead, he decided to rent a private room at a nearby internet cafe for the night and settled in with his instant noodles, potato chips, and cola combo.
The air of mystery and dignity that Ash had previously maintained in the eyes of the Precure was now completely gone as he squatted in his seat, slurping his instant noodles. At this moment, Ash resembled a seasoned internet user.
Logging onto the internet, Ash began to surf the web to gather the knowledge he needed.
He quickly browsed through the information on the screen as one piece of content flowed past after another.
Search: [X Corporation]... No results found for your search. Did you mean [Clover Enterprise]?
Search: [Sealed Dynasty]... No results found for your search.
Search: [Kamen Rider], [Super Sentai]. Tokusatsu hero dramas produced by Toei.
Search: [Ultraman]. Tokusatsu hero series produced by Tsuburaya Productions.
He also checked the current airing programs during this time period in this world: "Kamen Rider Wizard," "Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger," and "Ultraman Ginga." Coincidentally, he had seen the actors portraying these characters.
"In this world, are Kamen Riders and Super Sentai just TV shows filmed for television?"
Ash chuckled and felt a strange sensation. He had recently been fighting alongside Kamen Riders and Super Sentai, but now, everything he knew had turned into virtual TV programs in this world.
"I wonder what they would think if they saw themselves as TV shows. They would probably be surprised at first but continue fighting," Ash mused.
Putting aside such thoughts, Ash began searching for other things.
The information he learned about this world from the internet surprised him greatly. He had never seen a world that could be so... gentle.
"The Pacific Police don't disrupt other countries' situations and instead act as beacons of civilization to help impoverished nations?" Just this alone nearly dropped Ash's jaw. "And there are no more wars in the world, not even in Africa, but instead progress towards civilization?"
Ash marveled at the situation in this world. He had encountered many worlds full of irrational and malicious intent, so encountering such a gentle world was a first for him.
"Speaking of which, renting a house here was done quickly. If it were another world, haggling over prices and various facilities would take days, wouldn't it?"
Upon closer inspection, even the strangers he encountered were extremely warm and friendly. They would go out of their way to help with directions and wore happy smiles on their faces.
In such a gentle world, among gentle people, Ash even entertained the idea of settling down here instead of leaving.
However, it remained just a fleeting thought. He still had the system, which gave him the mission to collect "Dark Echoes."
By fighting against dark organizations or heroes in a certain world, or by absorbing energy with various dark tendencies, Ash could draw forth a presence called "Dark Echoes" from these entities. The more Dark Echoes he obtained, the stronger he would become, and the system would grant him various rewards.
"Even in such a gentle world, there are still dark existences."
Ash thought about the Jikochū and the enemy officers who controlled it. The destruction caused by the Jikochū in a short period of time was no less significant than the various monsters in other worlds.
However, when the battle ended, it seemed that the power of the Precure would repair all the damage caused. That's when no issues arose.
Continuing to input keywords like "Precure" and "Jikochū," he only found a few scattered pieces of information, as if Precure and monsters in this world were nothing more than urban legends.
"So, I can only seek a direct line ?"
Ash took out his phone and loaded the map program. There was a blinking signal indicating the location of the evil organization in this world.
"Well then, let's pay them a visit."
The legendary warriors, the beautiful healers, the guardians of hope, the navigators of dreams.
These were the titles bestowed upon the Precure by humans in the multiverse who had received their assistance. These girls, who always radiated love and kindness, were admired and revered with legendary status.
Including the four Precure Ash had met for the first time, even if they were a bit young and inexperienced, they still held the title of "legend."
In opposition to these righteous "legends," there would naturally exist evil and darkness. The eternal battle between light and darkness, good and evil, was a rule followed in the majority of worlds.
The Selfish Organization was the evil organization that opposed the Precure in this world. Its members amplified the selfish dark side of sentient beings' "Psyches" and extracted the selfishness to transform it into Jikochū, creatures lacking "love." Their goal was to collect more "Dark Heartbeat" symbolizing darkness through the fear caused by the monsters, in order to revive the leader of the Selfish Organization, the "King Jikochū."
They believed that once the Selfish King was resurrected, they could easily conquer the world. However, up until now, all their plans had been thwarted by the Precure.
"Those annoying Precure! And that wretched Kamen Rider!"
In a dim corner of a bowling alley called "gog?! Jikochū," Ira, who had previously controlled the Jikochū, angrily slammed the bowling ball in his hand.
This place served as a resting spot for the members of the Selfish Organization, or one could say, their base.
"I summoned two Jikochū, and we were about to defeat the Precure. But suddenly, out of nowhere, this mysterious guy appeared and ruined my operation!"
Ira explained the situation to his two companions, gesturing animatedly. He vented his frustration by throwing the bowling ball, which rolled all the way into the gutter.
"Damn it!"
"I can't believe I got a gutter ball. It's all because of that Kamen Rider!"
Marmo, a tall female officer wearing a fur coat with one sleeve dyed a different color, chuckled and expressed a different opinion.
"What Kamen Rider? I think you're just making excuses for your incompetence."
"What? Don't you believe me?!"
The middle-aged male officer, Bel, wearing sunglasses, took out the lollipop from his mouth. "If you're so sure about it, then you must have some evidence, like the name of that Kamen Rider."
"Well, um..." Ira stammered. He genuinely didn't know the name of the Kamen Rider after Ash transformed. After all, the Kamen Rider belts of the Ryuki series didn't have a built-in name announcement function like the ones in later generations.
"Would it be enough evidence if the Kamen Rider himself appeared?"
Just as Marmo and Bel were preparing to continue mocking Ira, a strange voice interrupted the conversation among the evil officers.
"Who?!"
Emerging from the darkness was Ash.
"Don't you even bother turning on the lights at the entrance here? I had to sneak in the dark."
"A human?" Marmo was astonished that a weak human dared to intrude upon the territory of the Selfish Organization. Meanwhile, Ira shouted in panic, claiming that this person was the one who had been interfering with him.
Only Bel, lying on the couch, remained silent, observing the person in front of him.
"How did you find this place?!"
Ira angrily questioned Ash, pointing his finger at him. Ash didn't say a word; he simply looked at Ira and pointed to his own collar.
Ira instinctively followed suit and touched his own collar, from which he retrieved a signal transmitter shimmering with a faint light.
"Ira..." Marmo and Bel's eyes instantly sharpened. Well, well, it turned out you led the enemy here.
"You... you... despicable!" Ira's face turned red with anger, and in his frustration, he managed to utter the word "despicable."
"I told you back then, do you really think I missed my shot?"
Ash slowly inserted one hand into his pocket, seemingly unaffected by the hostile gazes of the others, and picked up a bowling ball: "So, don't I get a warm welcome?"
Planting his feet firmly, using his waist as the axis and legs as pillars, he turned around, raised his hand, and with a standard 45-degree angle and a certain amount of force, he released the ball!
The bowling ball traveled straight and knocked down all the pins in its path, while the screen above displayed the congratulatory message "STRIKE."
"Damn it!" Ira became even more frustrated because he had gotten a gutter ball while Ash achieved a strike.
However, the members of the Selfish Organization had no intention of having a peaceful conversation with Ash. In their eyes, they didn't consider themselves the same species as weak humans. They viewed humans as mere tools for producing Jikochū.
At least that's how Marmo saw it now, and she was surprised to discover that unlike the darkness that needed to find gaps in someone's heart to pollute their spirit, the man in front of her had an entirely pitch-black and indistinguishable spiritual part beneath his physical body!
If she were to extract his spirit, she could definitely create a formidable Jikochū capable of defeating the Precure!
That's what she thought, and that's what she did.
"I have no intention of talking to you. Let it go, your dark—"
However, Marmo's incantation was forcibly interrupted as Ash, who had pretended to throw the bowling ball to get closer, simply turned around and raised his hand, pulling out a deep purple large-caliber revolver [Geartozinger] from his pocket and pointing it at Marmo's head.
"Why aren't you reciting your incantation?"
"Heh, do you think a human weapon can harm me?"
After slightly adjusting the aim of the gun, Ash pulled the trigger. The deafening gunshot echoed in her ears, causing her ears to ring. But before she could utter a curse, she was startled by a semi-human-sized melted hole that appeared on the wall behind her.
This destructive force couldn't have been caused by a handgun!
"What's the matter? Do you want to make a bet?" Ash nonchalantly said, still pointing the still hot muzzle at the woman in front of him. "Let's bet, can you withstand this gun?"
"What are we betting on? I bet it's your life, how about that?"
A cold sweat broke out on Marmo's forehead. She definitely didn't want to take a bullet from this thing! It would end in disaster for sure.
And in a bet, both sides should have stakes, right? But why is it only my life at stake? What the hell?!
As for help from her teammate...
Belu remained lying on the couch, watching coldly, while Ira seemed eager to take a seat at the kids' table and was ready to dive into the meal.
As the so-called teammates were captured, they laughed and brushed it off.
"You guys... are really selfish! It's no wonder you belong to a selfish organization. Your actions match your name."
While Marmo was inwardly ranting in frustration, Bel, who had been standing by, finally spoke up and addressed Ash.
"Hey... kid, instead of coming here and not going home to sleep, what are you planning by seeking us, the selfish organization?"
"Oh, you mean the boss (senior executive) of this organization?"
"You've got an eye for it."
Bel seemed quite satisfied with Ash's use of the term "boss," ignoring the protests of the other two, like "He's not!" or "I'm the boss!"
"Hey, kid, let's speak frankly."
Bel took off the sunglasses, his eerie eyes fixed on Ash as if trying to distort his figure.
He released a portion of his dark thoughts. If an ordinary person were present, they would probably be frightened by this darkness and lose their balance. But Ash stood in place, seemingly curious about what Bel would say.
Then, as if nothing had happened, Bel put the sunglasses back on and continued speaking.
"Whether you're an ally of the Precure or some new Precure, if you underestimate us, you'll definitely—"
"Hahahaha!" Ash laughed until his stomach hurt. "I am a Precure?. Ahem, have you ever seen a male Precure?"
"Have we?"
"No, we haven't."
Ignoring the back-and-forth between the other two, Bel continued to ask.
"So, what do you want to do?"
Did you come here just to amuse us?
"Firstly, I need to correct you."
Ash raised a finger.
"I'm not a friend of the Precure."
At least not now.
"So, you want to join us?" Bel's lips curved with a hint of disdain.
A mere human, even with other powers, is still just a human. They really speak with such arrogance.
"It's not joining, it's cooperation. I have a slight interest in the Dark Heartbeat you use." Ash pinched his thumb and forefinger together to demonstrate a small amount.
"So, I thought we could work together and see how it goes."
Ash's proposition reminded Bel of the mercenaries in human history who would fight for money. Now he was genuinely interested.
"Are you introducing yourself to be hired by us?"
An exchange of money for services can be considered fair. And if the job isn't done well, the selfish organization can always turn against Ash.
With a determined mindset, Bel suddenly became calculating.
"I'm quite rare, you know." Ash couldn't resist boasting.
"So... defeat the Precure who hinder our selfish organization," Bel smirked as he stared into Ash's eyes, waiting for his possible reactions.
Since you say you're not a friend of the Precure, then become their enemy!
"What? Can you do it?"
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