Nobita's Time Heist

"Let me teach you one last lesson, Nobita..."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Hiss..."

A purple-gold radiance began to emanate from the prophet's head, coalescing like molten gold into a thorn-shaped crown three inches above his head. A strange power emanated from him, and beneath his wide medical robes, countless hands began to thrash about, as if trying to break free from his body!

"boom---!!"

Seeing the situation was dire, the Fire Spirit acted decisively, unleashing a flaming, semi-circular slash that swept across Nostradamus's neck, severing his head with precision and lethality. Instantly, magical energy gushed forth like a spring; his body, deprived of its source of magic, began to dissipate, and his head flew into the air.

but……

The head, suspended in mid-air, revealed an incredibly eerie smile. Its blood-red eyes pierced through the spirits, meeting Da Xiong's gaze from afar. Like a patient and persuasive mentor, it spoke, "In this world, not every question has an answer, nor can everyone be redeemed. In fact, the cunning, hypocrisy, treachery, cruelty, and ferocity of humanity far exceed your imagination. Most of them do not deserve a savior like you."

"The only reason you've been able to stick to this belief until today is because you've been very well protected, plus you've been quite lucky..."

“That’s all.”

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Boom!!!"

Dark clouds churned in mid-air, and a bolt of dark golden lightning, clearly beyond the control of the Thunder Spirit, descended from the sky, striking the purple-gold crown hanging above it. The next moment, an incredibly blinding burst of light and shock erupted from the center of his head.

"careful!"

The snow sprite grabbed Nobita's arm and with a wave of her hand, the swirling snowflakes abruptly changed direction, forming a barrier in front of them, thus shielding them from the blinding light. But snow is just snow, and it doesn't offer much defense. Faced with the subsequent shockwave, the barrier lasted only a second before shattering.

Fortunately, taking advantage of the brief opportunity created for him by the snow fairy, Nobita quickly pulled out the [self-defense cloak] from his pocket, grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her behind him without saying a word, using the cloak to resist the incoming shockwave.

"boom----!!!"

The two collide.

The red cloak billowed up and down, like a hero's cape.

Looking at his back again, the surrounding roar seemed to be silenced. The snow elf felt her cheeks burning and a faint, throbbing pain in her chest, as if something was growing out of her.

Chapter 245: Technology vs. Magic

Elemental spirits can only be summoned if that element is present.

This is where the Snow Elf's advantage comes in... "Snowfall" is a type of terrain magic, and even if her shockwave is powerful, it wouldn't be enough to shatter the clouds in the sky. In fact, Nobita's actions were completely unnecessary. Even if the Snow Elf's body was destroyed by the shockwave, as long as the snow continued, she could easily rebuild a body.

Of course, it was precisely this subconscious reaction from Nobita that showed that he did not regard her as an immortal elf, but as a "girl" with flesh and blood. After realizing this, the snow elf seemed to have many emotions that only humans would have.

However, most elemental spirits were not so lucky—their attack had extinguished those fragile elements. The summoned fighting power was immediately reduced by more than half, with only a few veteran elements remaining on the field thanks to their tenacity.

"Hahahahahahahaha————!!"

An extremely arrogant laugh came from mid-air. Looking in the direction of the sound, black sand flew down from the sky like a locust plague, obscuring the sun and burrowing into Nostradamus's remaining head.

Then, unimaginable, immense magical power formed his body, constantly squeezing, stretching, twisting, and deforming within a murky void. The entire process was utterly chaotic, yet it retained a unique artistic quality, elusive and unpredictable, like a child venting his frustration by mixing paints together and smearing them haphazardly on a canvas. Only his laughter echoed in the air, making it impossible to discern whether he was in pain or joy.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

With three muffled thuds, three pitch-black "dots" bloomed in mid-air. It's hard to describe what Nobita saw at that moment with logical language, but they really were just three dots that seemed to be formed from pitch-black lines, circling around Nostradamus like loyal little dogs.

"This move... was supposed to be used to deal with those hypocrites from the depths of space. You are indeed much more powerful than I imagined."

Completely stripped of his human form, he transformed into a gigantic creature resembling a spider—his body, composed of black sand, was covered with countless human hands, the kind that would kill someone with trypophobia on the spot. Even more terrifying, these hands seemed to possess their own will, each performing incessant movements!

It is over 100 meters long, with a slender body, eight sharp claws on the ground, and its whole body crawling forward.

The purple-gold crown still rested on his head, but it had melted into a pure liquid, dripping down in a trickle. Most horrifying of all was the enormous face that triggered the uncanny valley effect; it was as if air was constantly being inflated inside the skull, causing it to swell. Human features appeared utterly incongruous on this shell, creating a strong sense of disharmony. Magnified many times over, every wrinkle and detail on the face became crystal clear.

Nobita subconsciously rubbed the gem on his bracelet, but failed to summon any elemental spirits.

He knew in his heart that, in any case, this was the final round of confrontation.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Time..." the Fire Spirit murmured, looking at the three black moving points hovering beside the giant beast, and said in a deep voice, "So that's it, time, it's time! He used a mysterious spell related to time!"

Even in the 22nd century, humanity dares not claim to have fully understood time. In this field, it seems like an endless, bottomless pit, no matter how much effort is invested. Ultimately, unlike wind, fire, thunder, and lightning, it cannot be perceived by human senses. It is a very abstract thing; people only understand it as an abstract concept, unable to associate it with a tangible entity.

When time is mentioned, most people probably think of a "clock" or similar tool used to calculate the speed at which time it passes.

Abstract things cannot give birth to concrete spirits.

This is also where mysticism truly differs from science—thanks to the mystics' abundant inspiration, Nostradamus took a step ahead and entered forbidden territory that humanity had not yet been able to explore.

“Nobita, have you heard of the principle of ‘the flying arrow remains stationary’?” the Fire Spirit explained. “If you divide time into infinitely smaller parts, there will be a version of yourself at every point in time. Similarly, the immense magical power that guy possesses is drawn from various points in time, borrowing power from himself existing in different dimensions, converging at one point, and ultimately taking shape…”

"Roar----!!"

A deafening roar, a powerful and resonant sound wave crashing down, the immense size of the creature providing an overwhelming sense of oppression, completed the second half of his sentence. Before him, this magnificent being capable of trampling mountains beneath its feet was the ultimate life form, evolved from the culmination of its past selves across countless timelines!

“The opponent is ‘Time,’ so there’s nothing we can do.” The Fire Spirit looked at the enormous life form that was entrenched in Shantou, feeling somewhat powerless. “Human mystics are truly full of hidden talents. Who would have thought that he would have such a trick up his sleeve?”

"It's nothing." Da Xiong seemed quite calm, adjusted his glasses, and laughed, "He won't have expected my next move either."

……

The next moment, the great Kroos, carrying bonds and memories, makes a grand entrance!

"??!"

Nostradamus's crimson ram-like eyes widened slightly. Even transformed into a monster and with his mind severely affected, he still retained a sliver of reasoning ability. He knew that human technology had been advancing rapidly over the past few centuries, capable of sending tiny humans to the moon. But he never imagined they would develop something like this. Its height, size, and the aggressive force of its punches all demonstrated that it was a being capable of matching his own in size.

"Thump—!!"

Rotation.

Raise your arms.

Punch!

The entire sequence of actions was fluid and seamless, essentially a complete imitation of Gian's punching style. It's said that the more beatings you take, the more you learn how to hit back; who could have taken more beatings than Nobita? Watching Gian's techniques up close amplified the power of this punch, sending the giant spider flying backward. With a deafening roar, its body slammed into the mountainside, instantly shattering most of it.

It was as if a thunderbolt had struck the earth.

"Hahaha... Ahahahaha! That's more like it! If you want to do it, you can do it, Nobita!" The Spider-Man burst into maniacal laughter, which seemed to emanate from some unknown part of his body, carrying a terrifying echo. "A person's life is all about fighting, fighting, fighting!"

The gaping maw opened at an abnormal angle, and ordinary magic was compressed to its limit, blasting out in the form of a light cannon!

"boom-------!!"

The mech on Alexander Cross's abdomen immediately opened, and two cation cannons instantly charged to full power, engaging him in a beam clash.

Science and mystery, two completely different forces, collided. Less than one percent of the energy escaped, instantly evaporating half a mountain. In a blinding blaze of light, the battle for control of the timeline truly entered its most intense phase.

Chapter 246: How to break the infinite health bar?

Historically, the left side always wins in a battle of energies, but today was an exception. The relentless barrage of compressed magic cannons actually suppressed the plasma beam cannons to some extent. The two clashed fiercely in mid-air for a while, ending with Shandong Cross being hit in the lower abdomen.

"Boom————!!!"

From the outside, it looked like a powerful tremor that threatened to collapse the world, but when it reached the cockpit, it only caused the screen to shake slightly twice.

Nobita couldn't help but marvel at the sheer awe-inspiring technology of Mecca Tobias; despite such a heavy attack, it hadn't even left a scratch. He then used both hands to grab one of the legs that the spider was thrusting at him. Seeing the surface covered in a sea of ​​uneven, human-like hands, Nobita suppressed the urge to vomit, gritted his teeth, and, through brainwaves, used his hands, like those of a giant tiger, to hold it tightly and lift it up.

It was lighter than I expected, perhaps because it was constructed purely of magic and had no actual physical body.

Just like a classic scene in many tokusatsu films, it was swung through the air several times before being thrown out!

"Thump—!!!"

The giant spider slid through the forest for a while, and when it touched the ground, the rocks and trees crumbled and collapsed as if made of foam, almost flattening the entire mountain. The spider let out a piercing scream, its eight claws gripping the ground tightly. Even so, it took quite a while to stop, leaving eight shocking plow marks on the earth.

As Nobita watched the spider roar and turn over, he had a sense of déjà vu.

"Speaking of which, the combat mech that the Iron Man Legion Commander piloted at the end also seemed to be spider-shaped, right? Do you villains have some strange misunderstanding about spiders? Spiders can be considered beneficial insects in some ways! Don't use them as a template for villain transformations just because they look a bit scary, okay?!"

"boom----!!"

Perhaps spurred on by Nobita's sarcastic remarks, the Mountain Cross Machine Spirit was overjoyed and immediately unleashed a beam of light from its rear vents. Amidst a deafening mechanical roar, the magnificent eighty-meter-tall machine took off, executing a practiced double jump in mid-air, landing with the precision of an osprey diving, and grabbing one of the spider's legs. Because the creature was lighter than expected, the maneuver encountered virtually no resistance.

"call……"

Memories of dealing with the Iron Man Corps Commander flashed through his mind. Nobita took a deep breath, pulled the trigger instead of gripping, and activated the laser device on his eye mech.

“Buzz————”

The high-frequency ray instantly pierced its surface, striking the junction between its leg and torso, disrupting the integrity of that part. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Nobita used his strong will to manipulate the machine, pulling with both hands as if pulling a radish, and forcibly ripped one of its legs off its body.

"laugh--!"

The sealed magic splashed out, spraying into the air like blood, making the scene somewhat bloody.

But, in the next instant, the severed limbs grew back at lightning speed! Several barbed claws pierced through the air, making several teeth-grinding clangs as they pierced the surface of the Shandong Cross's mech, causing some damage. The human-faced spider, like a jumping faceworm, slammed its massive body onto the mech's surface, recklessly radiating streams of magic power that assaulted the mech's most vulnerable joints.

"Damn it, this guy..."

Even though he didn't pounce directly on it, even just being huddled with it through a layer of armor, Nobita still felt uncomfortable all over, as if insects were crawling on him. He grabbed one of the spider's legs with both hands and slammed it hard to the ground. Flames shot out from the vents on its back again, and the machine took off with incredible lightness, ascending into the sky, its shoulder armor slowly opening.

Amidst a series of cyberpunk-esque opening and closing sounds, countless missiles were launched, weaving a dazzling web in the air, tearing through the air and covering every part of the Spider-Man's body with absolute firepower.

One after another, high-temperature fireballs exploded on the ground, piling up one after another. The hard rocks melted rapidly like ice cream in summer, demonstrating their immense destructive power. Back then, when facing the Iron Man Corps' human wave tactics, Alexander Cross used this very method to clear out a large number of fodder enemies. Although the Doraemon quartet, excluding Shizuka, were also on the field, their strength alone mainly served a symbolic purpose. The vast majority of enemies were annihilated by Alexander Cross, somewhat like a "combined effort to score fifty points."

A volley of fire erupted, billowing dust and leaving the once-flat mountainside looking as if a chunk had been scooped out of thin air. The few elemental spirits remaining on the ground wore expressions of utter shock—this destructive power far exceeded their understanding of humanity. Elemental spirits had a weak sense of time and were often slow to perceive changes in the world. Unbeknownst to them, the insignificant humans who had once worshipped and relied on them had become so dangerous.

but……

"As expected." Before the smoke had even cleared, the enormous silhouette made Nobita's heart sink. Although it wasn't entirely unexpected, the fact that his efforts had been fruitless several times was bound to affect his mindset.

High concentrations of magic surged continuously from the three black dots, transforming into spiritual essence. This spiritual essence then rapidly assembled into a new physical body in the form of black sand. The entire process was like a child building a sandcastle, only several hundred times faster. In just an instant, the human-faced spider's body was reconstructed, showing no signs of injury.

"Hahahaha... Quite a powerful attack, Nobita. Too bad, it's useless against me." The Spider-Man laughed mockingly, and the earth trembled as soon as he spoke. "Every second, there are countless 'eternal' versions of me. Countless versions of me connected together have countless magical powers at our disposal. So what if you destroy this body? You only killed the present me, but you didn't kill me from every moment in the past."

"boom------!!"

A sudden, unexpected attack.

From the gaping maw, another torrent of compressed magic surged forth, hurtling straight towards his head! Nobita reacted with his brainwaves, instinctively twisting the machine's head to barely dodge it. The torrent of magic swept past a distant mountain peak, instantly piercing it, sending massive boulders raining down.

"As expected, your reaction speed isn't as fast as before. That's understandable. After all, you're human. Your spirit is bound by this physical body, and over time you'll feel tired, anxious, and irritable... But I won't! I am a pure spirit, transcending all the limitations that humans have!"

His body expanded again, with endless spiritual energy surging into it, and his size broke through the constraints once more. Compared to him, Shandong Cross's mecha suddenly seemed somewhat inadequate.

Mountains appeared as insignificant mounds at his feet. Infinite magic could naturally create an infinitely tall body; at this moment, his head had already reached into the clouds, like a god overlooking the earth, capable of deciding the life and death of all.

Amid Nostradamus's maniacal laughter, a torrent of magic powerful enough to pierce the earth gathered in his mouth, like a sun hidden in the night, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

Chapter 247: Didn't I save your life?

"Nobita, Nobita!"

A familiar voice entered his mind. Nobita paused briefly, then quickly realized what was happening. He immediately popped a [Telepathic Fruit] into his head and said in his mind, "Shizuka? Are you alright? It's dangerous here. You and Asul must not come over!"

"Don't worry, we weren't planning on coming here anyway... but we can't get out either. We're on the city walls of Chang'an. Spy satellites can't get through, and the magical concentration around Nostradamus is too high, which may be interfering with the use of some items. We can only observe with binoculars. Anyway, you're now on the defensive, aren't you?"

Shizuka's tone was somewhat helpless. Her comrade was fighting on the front lines, and of course she wanted to help Nobita as much as possible, but reason told her that taking care of herself was the greatest help she could give him right now. Nostradamus's trump card was too troublesome, and only someone like Nobita, whose gadget proficiency was at its maximum level, could possibly go toe-to-toe with him.

"Asur asked me to tell you that she knows how to break time magic."

"What?" Da Xiong was startled at first, then asked curiously, "Why didn't she tell me herself?"

The moment the question was asked, he astutely guessed the answer.

In a sense, the Telepathic Fruit is Nobita's most hated gadget, bar none. Doraemon initially used it to trick him. First, the name itself is misleading; it doesn't allow one to "actively" read others' minds. Quite the opposite, it allows one's own thoughts to be read anytime, anywhere, completely disregarding personal privacy. He might call it the "Passive Trisolaran." It's hard to imagine in what context a future human would consume this thing; perhaps it would only be effective during interrogations.

He and Shizuka, to put it nicely, were childhood sweethearts, inseparable since they were little; to put it bluntly, they were practically an old married couple. Every time Nobita went to Shizuka's house, he could use the Anywhere Door to instantly teleport to her bathroom—he knew it better than his own home. If they were really on the battlefield, they would be comrades who could entrust their lives to each other, with absolute trust, so naturally they could use this gadget.

However, Asur, who seems to be carrying many secrets, is naturally unwilling to fully reveal his true feelings to Nobita.

During Shizuka's brief silence, he also sensed a similar meaning.

"Okay, time is running out..." Nobita stared at the glaring red text that popped up on the virtual interface, composed himself, and asked, "What should I do?"

"The principle of this magic is to borrow magic from the self that existed at 'every point in time'. A person's birth is a given fact. From his birth, growth, death, and then becoming a spirit, he experienced countless moments, each of which can become a source of his magic. What's done is done, and from the definition of macroscopic spacetime, it is irreversible."

"unless……"

"Based on the macroscopic foundation, we introduce a special variable."

"What variable?" Nobita was completely confused. "Could you explain it more clearly?"

“The Time Anchor.” Shizuka sighed softly.

With a buzzing sound, it was as if lightning had struck Da Xiong's mind. He was always quick to understand such things and soon grasped Asur's meaning.

In fact, he had done something similar himself, and the target was himself.