Looking at Saber with his surging aura, I knew he was about to go all out.
I couldn't help but switch to holding my sword with both hands too. But I wasn't sure if I could block it.
After all, I'd lasted this long half thanks to the Denkomaru's auto-block function, and the other half from my own hard practice.
But I also knew that in swordsmanship, I couldn't beat Saber, who'd immersed himself in it for years.
Saber had specialized in sword arts for so long—how could a half-baked guy like me compete? Not to mention, I'd spent my time on superpowers instead.
So, no ability comes for free; becoming a master in any field mixes effort and luck.
Saber raised his sword, tip pointed at me, his black cape slowly fluttering behind him.
We didn't speak, our gazes locked on each other.
Suddenly, Saber charged fiercely, swinging a heavy, powerful slash.
I was startled by the sudden acceleration and raised my sword to block.
"Clang!"
The collision rang out, accompanied by the sound of feet scraping.
Saber's slash forced me back several steps, the rebound from the Denkomaru making my hands numb on the hilt.
Before I could catch my breath, Saber charged again, this time with a light jump and vertical cleave, his overwhelming killing intent as if to split me in two.
I hurriedly raised the Denkomaru horizontally. Another "Clang!"—but this time, my body sank under the force.
My feet, in contact with the stone, went numb, and my calves trembled slightly from the pressure.
I gritted my teeth, swung the Denkomaru upward with force, fiercely lifting Saber's pressing sword.
Saber was caught off guard by my sudden burst of strength, his sword lifted up.
He didn't keep pressing, instead retreating a few steps.
He regripped his sword, staring intently.
We both panted heavily, swords in hand—this intense battle had exhausted us both physically and mentally.
Sweat from my forehead dripped onto the stone, and my hands gripping the hilt were slick with sweat.
We were both gasping, but I knew I couldn't outlast Saber.
Saber was a professional soldier—his stamina and experience were beyond a newbie like me.
Before I could catch more breath, Saber charged again. I could only rely on the Denkomaru's auto-block to defend constantly.
Saber pressed on with a flurry of slashes, forcing me back repeatedly.
Facing Saber's relentless attacks, I thought, this isn't working! I can't beat him in swordsmanship, and my superpowers are mostly useless except for escaping.
I'd been using x-ray vision to observe his moves, basically enhancing my perception—otherwise, relying just on the Denkomaru, I'd have been cut down long ago.
And telekinesis—I'd used it from the start, applying pressure on Saber while clearing out the small soldiers.
So, Saber was attacking me while bearing my telekinetic pressure, especially now that I could apply over a hundred pounds of force.
It was like he was carrying a person while fighting me.
Saber truly was the kingdom's strongest—impressive. Even with all my buffs, I was barely holding even.
Of course, I wasn't without trump cards, but using them would drain my stamina a lot.
Looks like I really can't win—I'll have to run soon.
…
Meanwhile…
Doraemon and the others pushed open the door at the end of the stairway.
Entering the room, they saw a prominent huge golden heart-shaped statue in the center.
The heart statue was as tall as an adult, and the group only reached half its height.
"Alright, let's quickly turn the Giant God's Heart as planned!" Doraemon snapped out of his awe and said first.
Then, Doraemon stepped forward, touched the cold golden heart statue, and tried pushing it, but it didn't budge at all.
"This statue looks so heavy—we'll need everyone to push together!" Shizuka, seeing Doraemon couldn't move it, called for everyone to help.
Everyone positioned themselves and pushed hard to one side. Since Gian was still wearing the Super Gloves, his strength was impressive. With everyone pushing together, the statue turned much more smoothly than in the original story.
Once the heart statue started turning, it didn't stop and sped up.
As the heart statue rotated, the entire giant statue trembled wildly, like a wound-up machine coming to life.
The whole giant statue shook crazily, and the room began to rise upward.
Until it reached the top of the giant statue's head, where there was a window to see outside.
Everyone realized this spot was the huge green gem embedded in the giant statue's forehead, visible from outside.
…
At that moment, due to the Giant God's Heart turning, the interior changed.
The bridge trembled constantly, and the statues embedded in the surrounding walls fell off.
What? They actually turned the Giant God's Heart? Saber thought, momentarily dazed.
At that instant, due to the bridge's shaking, Saber's body wobbled.
…
Perfect chance! I seized the opportunity to use my trump card.
Take this—Instant Flash!
I raised the Denkomaru, instantly teleporting through space to above Saber, delivering a vertical cleave. Saber tried to block just in time.
But because I intensified the telekinesis, his body tilted downward.
The Denkomaru bypassed his blocking sword and slashed straight at Saber's head.
With a flash of yellow light, I appeared behind Saber.
Even as the surroundings trembled constantly, we stood frozen like statues on the bridge, as if in our own isolated world.
It felt like ages before the noisy world returned, and Saber slowly spoke.
"Beautiful strike!"
That was the only thing Saber said after the battle—and it would be his last.
Then, Saber's helmet was cleaved in two.
Blood slowly flowed out, and Saber's body fell forward.
Behind him, I knelt on one knee, propping myself with the sword, and slowly exhaled.
Then, I panted heavily.
"Captain Saber was defeated!"
"Captain Saber is dead!"
"Run!"
...
On the other side of the bridge's passage, the soldiers saw the fallen Saber and panicked. They couldn't believe the kingdom's strongest had been beaten!
So, they shouted and fled backward, also disrupting the follow-up soldiers just coming up the stairs.
The hallway became a chaotic mess.
Looking at the bridge about to collapse due to the Giant God's Heart activation.
…
I quickly used instant teleportation to leave and rendezvous with Doraemon and the others.
The collapsing stones gradually buried what was once the kingdom's strongest warrior.