Chapter 7: Unfriendly Encounter
Know yourself, know your enemy, and you shall not be defeated.
This is a common and easily understandable principle that everyone knows. However, not everyone actually puts it into practice, as understanding others is indeed a challenging task. But if one only speaks about it without taking any action, then it's certain that this principle cannot be implemented.
However, Ash has a more convenient and quick way to understand others, and that is through battle. It can be determined that he will inevitably come into contact with the Precure of this world in the future. Naturally, it is necessary to understand the opposing side.
Even though he has read about the abilities of the Precure in various online forums and discussions, he is not planning to rely solely on hearsay as a reference. After all, there is a saying that seeing is believing.
He is prepared to personally meet these Precure, and in doing so, he can also obtain the Dark Heartbeat rewards promised by the Selfish Organization.
Why not take advantage of this opportunity?
"He really transformed."
Even though they had already witnessed it once, the girls still found it somewhat unbelievable that the Kamen Rider they had only seen on TV had actually appeared in reality.
But they had no choice but to believe it, as this was already the second time he had transformed in front of them.
"Wow!"
Ai's enthusiasm burst out with astonishment because the Kamen Rider transformation he performed was exactly the same as what she had seen on TV. Although she didn't know why it was black instead of red, how could it not be exciting?
"Um, excuse me, are you Shinji Kido-san?" Ai blurted out her first question, leaving Ash astounded by her imagination.
"Do I look like a journalist to you? My name is Ash, and even if you can't remember, don't use other names instead," Ash replied.
"Sorry, sorry, I was just curious!" Ai apologized repeatedly, bowing her head. "So, are you a real Kamen Rider?"
After a moment of silence, Ash lightly brushed the Card Deck on the dragon head of his belt and revealed his name.
"Kamen Rider Ryuga."
"Ryuga? I haven't heard that on TV, but when I transform, I'm Cure Heart! Nice to meet you!" Ai exclaimed. Rikka, who was behind Ai, looked at her friend once again getting overly familiar with someone and softly reminded her, but as usual, it had no effect.
Afterward, Ai continued to bombard Ash with a bunch of details about the Selfish Organization and the Trump Kingdom, especially emphasizing the evil intentions of the Selfish Organization to take over the world.
Unfortunately, Ash had no interest in listening because he was already aware of these basic details from the Selfish Organization's side. It could be said that this topic had long been in the past for him.
"So, Precure are heroes fighting for justice, and Kamen Rider is also a hero fighting for justice."
Ai was full of confidence, hoping to bring Ash into their team.
Since Kamen Rider was a hero for children, Ash-san must be a good person too. She never considered the possibility of failure from the beginning.
As long as Kamen Rider became a partner to the Precure, they would surely be able to easily defeat the Selfish Organization!
"So, Ash-san, together with us—"
"Don't make decisions for others without their consent. I have no intention of teaming up with little girls," Ash interrupted Ai's earnest invitation straightforwardly.
Makoto, who was beside them, was also displeased by Ash's words. "Why do you look down on us? We have fought and defeated many Jikochū as warriors!"
Even Alice, who had remained quiet on the side, chimed in, "Ash-san, underestimating women will only disadvantage you!"
"I still have no interest," Ash replied.
"Why?!" Ai asked in confusion. "We're all heroes, so let's fight together for world peace!"
"Pfft—" Ash's face hidden behind the mask almost burst into laughter. Since when did Ryuga become champion of justice?
Looking at the determined expression on Ai's face, so resolute and believing that there was nothing wrong with what she said, Ash couldn't help but find it amusing.
Placing a finger on the Card Deck on his belt, Ash pulled out a card and snapped open the outer shell of his right wrist Blackdragvisor, revealing the card slot. He slowly inserted the card into it.
"Let me ask you, why do you fight as a Precure?"
"Fight? Of course, it's to help others, to help Makoto-chan save Trump Kingdom and defeat the Selfish Organization, so they can no longer corrupt people's Psyches!" Ai spoke with conviction.
"Isn't it good to fight for the smiles of others?" Ai continued, and from her eyes, it was evident that she genuinely believed in what she was saying.
The other girls also shared approving glances, indicating that they held similar beliefs or trusted Ai's words.
"It's... quite the correct answer," Ash commented. For him, her words were the standard response of a protagonist in a hero movie.
Filled with conviction, unwavering, but also... overly naive.
"Is it fun that way?"
"Fun?" The girls couldn't comprehend Ash's statement. They couldn't see the connection between the reasons for fighting and having fun.
But it was different for Ai. Even in the past, without her Precure powers, she wholeheartedly helped others without expecting anything in return. She believed it was the right thing to do and acted accordingly, never considering whether it was fun or not.
"It has nothing to do with fun for me!"
"So, it's boring then?"
As Ash closed the Dragon Summoner mechanism, the eyes of the Blackdragvisor on it glowed red.
【Strike Vent】
A deep sound effect resonated as a jet-black Blackdragvisor gauntlet, the Dragclaw, sprang out from a mirror that had been prepared in advance and attached itself to Ash's hand.
"It actually came out of the mirror!"
Makoto, who had previously stated her disbelief in the mirror world, widened her eyes. She didn't expect to be proven wrong so quickly.
"Now that I have this kind of power."
As if to show off, Ash raised his hand and shook the Dragclaw. With a crisp "snap" sound, the closed fangs of the Dragclaw suddenly opened, aimed at the girls' feet.
He remembered what he had witnessed in the past—the "heroes" who were born for justice and died for justice.
So young, so stubborn, and just as naive as these girls at this moment. Even though they sacrificed their lives to save the world or humanity, in the end, people only remembered them by their battle names like "Kamen Rider XX" or "XX Sentai" or "XX Ultraman."
Even though it was the person beneath the suit, not the suit itself, who saved the world, very few people remembered their real names.
Thinking about this, Ash made a dissatisfied clicking sound with his tongue.
"Why not use it for yourself instead!"
Ash suddenly launched an attack. Several jet-black fireballs spewed out consecutively from the Dragclaw, landing and exploding fiercely near the girls' feet.
"Eyaaaahhhh——"
Even though intentionally missing and hitting the ground, the massive fireballs still exploded, causing the girls to fall to the ground in a panic. The intense residual heat scorched their skin, and their once clean clothes were covered in dust, leaving Alice and Ai with torn stockings.
"What are you doing!"
Before the disoriented girls could fully grasp what had happened, the anxious fairy had already rushed forward. Even Lance, who was somewhat timid, stood up at this moment and stood in front of his partner with the others.
"Why...?"
With difficulty, Ai lifted her head, her eyes filled with confusion.
"Because it's more fun this way."
The hand wearing the Dragclaw tapped the shoulder armor, producing a crisp collision sound. Ash imitated Ai's matter-of-fact tone but spoke words that sounded incomprehensible to the girls.
"Why... This is simply incomprehensible..." Alice brushed off the dust from her face, looking up at the twisted figure before her.
"You're just too much!" Rikka, nursing her sore bottom, leaned against the wall as tears welled up in her eyes.
"Why would you do this when we're all humans?" Makoto, squatting on the ground, clutching her arm, questioned loudly.
Not only Ai but also the other three girls' eyes were filled with disbelief.
"Why? Why would you suddenly attack us? There's no reason for something like this!"
"Don't you transform into your battle attire?" Ash turned his gaze from the ground towards the spirits, looking at the girls. "If you don't transform soon..."
"You'll die."
"He's serious... Dabyi!" Makoto clenched her teeth and began to call out to her comrades.
"There's no other choice...!" Ai understood the fact that if they were taken out, nobody would hear anything anymore. She could only stand with her comrades and call out the transformation phrase.
"Precure Love Link!"
The girls transformed into Precure and stood ready, sweating nervously in this tense moment, even with their newfound powers.
Their opponent this time wasn't a member of the selfish organization or Jikochū. It was this person in front of them, who stood out from the rest and spouted strange words and unreasonable things, insisting on fighting them.
"Cure Rosetta and Cure Sword, huh?" Ryuga, who had received information from the selfish organization, glanced at the transformed Yotsuba Alice and Kenzaki Makoto, and spoke their battle names.
"Why do you know...?"
Ash had no intention of answering their questions. Instead, he waved his hand towards them. "Come at me together."
Raising his left hand with the Dragclaw, he tapped it against the Dragon Summoning Device with each step, producing a crisp sound.
"Step."
"Step."
"Step."
Each sound reverberated in the hearts of the Precure like a tolling bell from hell, each sound representing Ryuga getting closer and closer to them, step by step.
"Let me witness the power of the legendary warriors."
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