With the Galtite forces thinned out, I sensed our opportunity to counterattack. Gian and Suneo had taken out most of the security ships and were now focusing their barrage on Guillermin's massive vessel.
Having run out of baseballs, they resorted to hurling boulders with Gian's superhuman strength. The massive rocks pummeled Guillermin's ship, causing it to shudder and slowly descend.
"Nobita, now's our chance! Let's rescue Mr. Burns!" Doraemon urged.
"Right, let's go!" I replied, steeling myself for the confrontation ahead.
As we prepared to take off, I felt a tug on my sleeve. "Nobita, please save my father," Morina pleaded, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Don't worry, I promise I will," I assured her before Doraemon and I activated our Take-copters and flew towards Guillermin's ship.
We had barely touched down on the ship's platform when the hatch suddenly opened. Guillermin emerged, instantly firing a shot that sent Doraemon flying backwards. My heart leapt into my throat, but thankfully the Reverse Cloak had protected him from serious harm.
"Earthling," Guillermin's cold voice rang out as he casually twirled his gun. "I've been looking forward to facing you one-on-one."
With the others occupied outside and Doraemon temporarily incapacitated, it seemed I had no choice but to engage an one-on-one showdown. But I wasn't about to play fair against this ruthless villain.
I discreetly used my psychic powers to grab a discarded weapon nearby. No way was I facing a real gun with some fake prop. I also erected an invisible psychic barrier around myself as an extra precaution.
If the others were here, I'd suggest we skip the honorable duel and just dogpile this bastard. But for now, I had to face him alone.
As I gripped the gun, I felt an unexpected surge of confidence. Something primal awakened inside me as I squared off against Guillermin. We stood facing each other, the chaotic sounds of battle fading away until all I could hear was my own steady heartbeat.
"This brat is no ordinary opponent," Guillermin thought to himself, studying Nobita intently.
"So this is what it's like to face the final boss," I mused, a thrill of excitement coursing through me.
But we both pushed aside our inner monologues, laser-focused on each other as the tension reached its peak. In perfect unison, we drew our weapons and fired.
The deafening bang shattered the silence. For a long moment, we remained frozen in our firing stances. Then, almost in slow motion, one of us toppled backwards and lay motionless.
I glanced down at the smoking gun in my hand and let out a shaky breath. My lightning-fast reflexes had served me well - I'd managed to get the shot off a split second before Guillermin could pull his trigger.
But I wasn't about to make the rookie mistake of assuming he was dead. I kept my guard up as I cautiously approached his fallen form, ready to fire again if necessary.
Just as I feared, Guillermin suddenly sputtered and coughed, slowly pushing himself up off the ground. "Not bad for an Earthling," he wheezed. "Good thing I was wearing body armor."
I cursed inwardly. Of course it wouldn't be that easy to take him down.
"I'm guessing you're out of ammo now," Guillermin said with a smirk. "Those guns lying around were all part of my trap. But mine is the real deal."
Before I could react, he fired off another shot. Thanks to my psychic barrier, the bullet stopped inches from my face and clattered harmlessly to the ground.
Guillermin's eyes widened in shock. "Well, it seems killing you isn't in the cards today," he said, his voice tinged with grudging respect. "However..."
He pulled out a remote and pressed a button. To my horror, I saw the core destruction device in the distance change from red to blue.
"The device can't be stopped now," Guillermin gloated. But he wasn't done yet. He leapt into a small Galtite ship and produced another remote. With the press of a button, Mr. Burns's spherical prison suddenly flew across the facility to join the activated core destruction device.
"Saving the doctor or stopping the device - I'm sure you'll make the right choice, Earthling," Guillermin taunted as his ship began to rise. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I really must be going. Until we meet again!"
I gritted my teeth in frustration as Guillermin's maniacal laughter faded into the distance. That bastard had outmaneuvered me at every turn. Now I was faced with an impossible choice - pursue the villain or save the planet and the hostage.
As much as it pained me to let Guillermin escape, I knew what I had to do. With a heavy heart, I turned away from his retreating ship and raced towards the core destruction device. I just hoped I'd have another chance to bring that scheming psychopath to justice someday...
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