We were both gasping for air, desperately sucking in the outside air to fill our lungs before exhaling it just as quickly.
Even though we were utterly exhausted, neither I nor King Demaon slowed down the speed of our strikes.
We both wanted nothing more than to kill each other.
King Demaon knew that if this dragged on, he'd win because of his immortal body.
But what did I have?
King Demaon didn't know what I was waiting for.
Of course, I was waiting for Doraemon.
…
Meanwhile, Doraemon had just arrived at the depths of the Demon Planet's core using his Digging Machine.
He'd drilled all the way through and finally reached his destination. Now, all he had to do was get out and place the Earth Destroying Bomb there.
Just as Doraemon stepped out of the Digging Machine, he suddenly heard a rhythmic thumping sound from ahead.
It sounded just like a heartbeat!
"Could it be...?" Doraemon had a bold guess.
He climbed back into the Digging Machine and drilled forward a bit more. As the machine advanced, Doraemon saw a massive red moon appear before him—no, it wasn't a red moon, but a gigantic, pulsating heart.
He never expected that King Demaon had replaced the planet's core with his own heart!
This was perfect—he'd stumbled upon King Demaon's heart by accident.
Doraemon drove the Digging Machine straight into it for a collision,
But as soon as the machine destroyed part of the heart, that section grew back immediately.
Doraemon realized this attack was useless; only the Silver Arrow could truly destroy it.
But back during the battle at the Demon King's castle, they'd already used up all the Silver Arrows.
Doraemon gave a bitter smile.
Then he shook his head—this wasn't the time to linger.
He'd have to try the Earth Destroying Bomb and see if it could destroy it.
With that thought, Doraemon pulled out something from his pocket that looked like an aerial bomb.
He placed it right at King Demaon's heart and set the explosion timer.
With a beep, the countdown began.
Doraemon then started his journey back the way he came.
He'd set the timer long enough for himself and everyone to escape.
By the time Doraemon returned to the surface, he saw Dorami and the others watching Nobita's battle with King Demaon through a monitor.
On the screen, Nobita was still relentlessly slashing at King Demaon, putting everything he had into attacking him.
It pained Doraemon to see it.
"Everyone! I've placed the bomb—we need to leave now!"
Seeing Doraemon return, Dorami put away the monitor.
"Will Nobita be okay?" Shizuka couldn't help but worry.
"Don't worry! Haven't you seen Nobita's strength?"
Doraemon reassured her.
"Now's not the time to stick around. Leaving sooner will let Nobita withdraw earlier too!"
Doraemon urged them hurriedly, and everyone quickly boarded the Flying Carpet.
But before leaving, Doraemon pulled something else from his pocket.
He placed a door on the spot—the Anywhere Door.
He'd already scanned the Demon Planet's map into it beforehand.
When the time came, all Nobita had to do was open this door to escape the Demon Planet as quickly as possible.
The other side of the Anywhere Door led to the Flying Carpet where everyone was waiting, just outside the planet.
Once Doraemon had set up the Anywhere Door and returned to the Flying Carpet,
Miyoko's mom quickly took control and lifted off, speeding away from the Demon Planet.
"Full speed ahead! Don't worry—I've coated the carpet with Abekobe Cream!"
Looking at the layer of roaring flames enveloping the entire planet in the sky above the Demon Realm, Doraemon called out.
Miyoko's mom didn't hesitate and steered the Flying Carpet straight toward the flames.
Sure enough, thanks to the Abekobe Cream, the Flying Carpet wasn't burned up like before.
It passed right through the blazing encirclement and reached the void outside the Demon Planet.
The Flying Carpet stopped not far from the planet, where everyone could see the Demon Planet moving toward Earth.
The magical moon beside Earth couldn't stop its advance at all.
"Now it's just Nobita left!"
"I hope he gets out soon!"
Doraemon looked at the Demon Planet, now enveloped in roaring flames, and couldn't help but worry.
…
I was still fighting desperately with King Demaon, the hilt of my sword slick with not just my sweat but also King Demaon's blood.
The Denkomaru was even worse—its blade was stained with blood, partially obscuring its yellow glow.
My clothes were torn, and there was a claw mark across my chest. If not for the Telekinetic Armor, I'd have been gutted.
King Demaon's body kept flickering with green light because I'd slashed him so many times, and he was struggling to recover.
His black robe was shredded to rags.
"Huff! Huff! Huff!—"
We were both panting heavily, staring each other down fiercely. Suddenly, King Demaon's eyes filled with panic.
"You actually found my heart?"
I was a bit confused, but then I realized Doraemon must be planting the bomb right now.
So King Demaon's heart was down there? I never thought he'd replace the planet's core with his own heart.
But after the panic, King Demaon suddenly sneered.
"My heart is fine. Looks like you've run out of Silver Arrows!"
"Without Nirnaeth's Silver Arrow, you can't kill me."
King Demaon laughed maniacally. If he dragged this out a bit longer, he could wear this human down to death.
No matter how strong I was, it wouldn't matter.
Just as King Demaon was gloating, the bomb's countdown in the planet's core reached zero.
The Demon Planet began to shake with earthquakes and landslides.
"What's going on?" King Demaon suddenly felt a massive injury to his heart, but without the Silver Arrow, it shouldn't matter.
But what was this terrifying damage?
Before King Demaon could think more, he realized Nobita—the one who'd been fighting him fiercely—had vanished.
…
I'd already teleported to the Anywhere Door. Just before the Demon Planet was destroyed, I yanked the door open and dove through.
Then I quickly shut it, and the Anywhere Door vanished from its spot on the planet.
Everyone looked at me, covered in wounds and exhaustion, and their hearts ached. They rushed forward to check on me.
"Nobita, are you okay?!" Shizuka was so heartbroken she was on the verge of tears.
I was about to speak when the massive explosion from the Demon Planet behind us caught my attention.
The entire planet was enveloped in white light, which then formed something like a mushroom cloud.
The Demon Planet was slowly torn to ashes in that white mushroom cloud, the process as silent and still as an ink painting.
Then, suddenly, a massive boom erupted!
It shook everyone so hard we covered our ears.
But amid that enormous explosion,
A crazed voice rang out.
"Not dead!"
"I'm not dead! Hahaha! Haha!"
"Is that the Demon King?"
I could only say, this villain is really hard to kill!