I blocked that strike and, without turning my head, asked, "Princess Spiana, are you okay!"
In reality, you can't afford to get all caring when the enemy is still around—I had to keep my eyes fixed on him.
"I'm fine, thank you, Nobita! You saved me again!" Behind me, Princess Spiana caught her breath and thanked me with lingering fear.
"No problem, it's what I should do, but right now, the most important thing is to open the passage!"
"I'll hold off Saber here—you hurry and open the entrance!" I said without looking back.
"Okay!" Princess Spiana knew the gravity of the situation; this wasn't the time to dawdle. She turned and ran toward the giant statue's entrance.
In movies, the hero and heroine might chatter forever—that's how people end up dead.
"It's you again!" Saber looked at me with realization.
I didn't respond.
"You won't escape this time!"
With that, Saber swung his sword at me, and I blocked it with the Denkomaru.
Seeing his attack blocked, Saber wasn't surprised and swung his long sword again.
I swung the Denkomaru in return, blocking all of Saber's attacks.
While I was clashing swords with Saber, Princess Spiana, under Doraemon and the others' protection, successfully reached the entrance below the giant statue.
…
Princess Spiana quickly took out Prince Kuntakku's necklace from before.
As soon as she held it up, the green gem on the necklace shot out a green beam toward the special symbol on the door.
The green ray from the gem hit the special symbol on the door, causing it to glow brightly. Then, the originally solid stone door instantly crumbled away.
Revealing a pitch-black passage entrance.
"The entrance has appeared!"
"Great, let's hurry inside!" Doraemon urged loudly.
Then, he fired a few air cannon shots outside, not only repelling the attacking soldiers but also signaling to Nobita that the passage was open.
…
I heard Doraemon's signal and knew this wasn't the time to keep fighting, so under Saber's attacks, I fought while retreating.
As I got close to the passage entrance, I swung hard to force Saber back.
Then, I used instant teleportation to quickly enter the passage.
"Damn it! First squad, follow me!"
"We absolutely can't let them near the Giant God's Heart."
Seeing this, Saber quickly led a squad of soldiers in pursuit.
…
After entering the passage, it wasn't some wide space; instead, it was a winding spiral staircase going upward.
Everyone ran up the stairs.
"Our only goal now is the Giant God's Heart!" I calmly told them.
"So, don't enter any rooms we encounter along the way—the Giant God's Heart should be at the top."
Hearing this, everyone ignored the rooms they passed, saving time compared to the original story.
…
Behind them, Saber chased relentlessly, ignoring everything.
The two groups—one fleeing, one pursuing.
Until they finally escaped the spiral staircase and reached a bridge-like stairway.
The surroundings suddenly brightened, with various small statues embedded in the walls.
Looking down from the bridge, the height was immense; this must be near the top of the giant statue.
Looking at the passage at the end of the bridge, everyone knew the Giant God's Heart was probably there.
But at that moment, Saber caught up with his men.
…
Seeing the situation, I knew someone had to hold them off, or there'd be no chance to activate the Giant God's Heart.
And the only one who could hold off Saber and buy them time was me.
"I'll block Saber's pursuers! You guys go ahead—remember, as we discussed, go push the Giant God's Heart statue." I slowly stopped walking.
"Nobita, be careful on your own!" Doraemon trusted that I had a plan to hold off the pursuers.
"But..." Princess Spiana was still a bit worried.
"Nobita, take care! Don't push yourself too hard," Shizuka also trusted me.
As for Suneo and Gian, those two just said "be careful" and went ahead— they really weren't worried about me at all.
After letting Doraemon and the others go first, I stood alone in the middle of the bridge, holding the Denkomaru horizontally like a barrier.
Saber finally arrived with his men.
Seeing me standing there blocking him, he wasn't surprised at all—after all, I'd blocked him once before.
Saber wanted his soldiers to go ahead, but I used telekinesis to push them back.
"No passage here—entry forbidden!" I stood firm, holding the Denkomaru, and said coldly.
The soldiers still tried to advance, but Saber stopped them. He knew he couldn't get past without defeating the person in front of him.
So, he waved them back—this battle didn't need them anymore.
"Then, let's settle this!" Saber raised his sword.
"Kingdom Guard Captain Saber, at your service!"
"Nobita Nobi!"
We exchanged simple introductions, like a formal greeting.
Because we both knew that after this battle, the only thing we might remember is each other's name.
Saber and I locked eyes, gripping our swords tightly.
Then, we charged at each other without hesitation, our black and yellow swords clashing together.
"Clang!"
After the sound, sparks flew from the collision.
Our eyes met, filled with surging battle intent.
So, the swords briefly separated, built up power again, and clashed once more.
The clanging sounds of metal echoed on the bridge. I blocked all of Saber's attacks, and likewise, he parried my offensives.
But we both launched attacks like a raging storm, constantly swinging our swords.
We wanted to overwhelm each other with furious assaults.
The clashing swords were like black and yellow lights intertwining endlessly.
"This is insane! Their hand speed is so fast I can't even see the attacks!"
"This guy can actually fight evenly with Captain Saber!"
...
The guards not far away watched the duel, stunned and slack-jawed.
Amid the constant clashes on the bridge, sweat covered both Saber and me, soaking our clothes, but neither of us dared relax— we knew the other was like a cunning beast.
The slightest opening would be seized, leading to a fatal strike.
After one sword clash rebounded and pulled us apart, Saber placed his free hand on the hilt, gripping it with both hands, switching from single to double-handed hold.
With both hands on the sword, Saber felt like a game boss entering phase two—his entire aura changed, seeming even more formidable.