The look of alarm on Katya's face was enough for Nova to understand they were in serious trouble.

“What do you mean by a Alpha Mobling?” he asked, turning his gaze back to the masked figure studying them. The figure wore leather clothing, and his skin had a shiny copper hue.

“Like animals in packs, Moblings have an Alpha who leads them. These Alphas are stronger and more cunning. After they stopped searching for us, they likely went after him. It must have been his idea to set up this ambush…” Katya pressed her lips together in frustration. A fight against the Moblings would be nearly impossible to win, especially against their Alpha.

“Ukk kukuq uk.” The Mobling Alpha gestured to the other Moblings, who pointed angrily at Nova with sharp, accusing glances.

“Why are they pointing at me?” Nova asked, his voice tinged with worry. The Alpha Mobling made a universal gesture: first pointing at the white-haired boy, then pounding his fist into his other palm.

Katya quickly understood the situation.

Nova had offended the Moblings' pride, and they had called their leaders to deal with the one who dared insult them.

“Fascinating…” Katya whispered, her eyes gleaming as she realized how proud their race was. She felt like reaching for her electronic notebook but dismissed the idea; the situation was too dire.

“Nova, he’s challenging you to a duel…” Katya said uneasily.

“The only way out of this is for you to defeat him.” She placed her right hand on Nova's back of her and gave him a gentle push forward.

“Wait a second, what?” Nova's surprise was evident as the Moblings began howling, whipping their clubs harder against the trees. It seemed he had accepted the challenge against the Alpha.

An angry Nova turned to Katya, demanding an explanation for what she had just done.

“You can do it, Nova!” she encouraged, giving him a thumbs up. In reality, she knew Nova stood no chance against an Alpha. She was just buying time, hoping he might surprise the Moblings so she could escape.

“Sorry, I think you're cool, but this is the only option…” She gritted her teeth in frustration, hoping the boy would be lucky.

“Damn it…” Nova cursed his luck, feeling distinctly unhappy but understanding that if it was the only way to survive, he had to try.

Determined, he faced his opponent, who was much taller and more intimidating in that demonic mask.

“My body isn't what it used to be. If I can land a good hit, I might win..."He raised his fists, taking a poor offensive stance with his left foot beside his right. “How hard can it be? I beat the officer and smashed a desk; I can do this…”

“Nova, watch out!” Katya shouted, noticing the flaw in his stance just as the Mobling Alpha did.

The massive 6.5-foot Mobling wasted no time, launching a powerful front kick at Nova's guard.

The boy's surprise was evident as he felt the blow's force. His body gave way instantly, sending him falling backward to the ground.

"What the...?" Nova quickly realized the mistake that the Mobling Alpha and Katya had noticed. Without a proper leg stance, he had no footing to counter any attack, and he was bound to end up on the ground with any push.

The sound of Nova's back hitting the ground was thunderous as the Alpha loomed over him, preparing to unleash a furious barrage of punches.

"Nova, curl up!" Katya shouted.

"Shit!" Instinctively, Nova followed the advice, curling into a fetal position to protect his face and abdomen, letting the Alpha's attacks land on his arms and legs.

"That hurts!" he thought, enduring the relentless punishment.

He knew he had to escape that position, but didn’t know how without becoming an easy target for the relentless attacks.

Meanwhile, Katya watched in horror as her partner was brutally assaulted. "At this rate, he’s going to kill him..." She felt guilty for sending him into battle but knew that using one of her grenades might have endangered them both.

"If I try to help him... what will those damn Moblings do?" She glanced at the Moblings around her, who howled with excitement at their leader's display of dominance.

"Think! Think! I need to find a way out of this!" Nova’s mind desperately searched for a solution.

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However, one of the Alpha's fists broke through his guard and struck his jaw, blanking his vision for a few milliseconds and disconnecting his mind from his body.

In that moment, Nova felt only fear. He wanted to run, but fighting was his only option.

Unfortunately, he was unconscious.

"I'm pathetic... Even though I promised to change, I'm still the same," he thought regretfully.

“I couldn’t do anything against Angelo, I couldn’t do anything for Nathaniel, and if I don’t act now, my life will end without fulfilling my friend’s last wish!”

If he didn’t act, he would die without having changed, his words not matching his actions. Why make promises if he didn't follow through?

Hadn't he promised to see the world? To stand by his beliefs? To start fighting and achieve his goals?

He wouldn’t let things stay as they were. He would react, stand up, and fight. From now on, he would fight!

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Nova shouted as he regained consciousness, ready to fight no matter what, but then stopped, staring in disbelief at his surroundings.

He was now a few feet away from the Mobling Alpha, whose right arm hung unnaturally, bent at the elbow in a way that made it clear it was broken.

"What...?" Nova muttered, still with blood on his face, turning to look at the others. Like the Alpha, they were frozen, watching in confused silence.

"Nova..." Katya whispered, equally shocked by what had just happened.

“I knew you were strong! I almost believed your wimpy act! One more move like that, and you’ve got him! He’s yours!” She grinned excitedly, shaking her fists in encouragement.

The other Moblings began to howl in anger, clearly displeased by the turn of events, but Nova himself still had no idea what had happened.

"What the hell...?" he muttered again, glancing back at his opponent, who now hesitated to approach.

During the brief time Nova had lost consciousness, something incredible had occurred.

With near-superhuman precision, he had caught the Alpha’s descending arm with his legs and, with a quick twist, dislocated the elbow before throwing him aside. He had then stood up with a scream, leading to the current standoff.

However, the Alpha’s hesitation soon faded as the Moblings urged him on. He closed the distance with Nova, feinting with his one good arm.

Nova quickly raised his guard, remembering to keep his footing solid. But the Alpha’s attack was a trick, a feint that turned into a powerful kick aimed at the unprotected side of Nova’s face, sending him staggering.

"UUKK UKKU UKKU KKKKUU!" The Moblings’ silence was shattered by their renewed cheers. But this time, despite the blow, Nova stood his ground, clenching his jaw and swinging back at the Alpha in an attempt to land a punch.

"Ah!" Nova shouted as he threw punches, sloppy and uncoordinated, lacking any real technique.

“Nova... what the hell?” Katya couldn't believe it. The skilled fighter from moments ago had vanished, replaced by someone who fought more like a kid on his first day of school.

For the Mobling Alpha, dodging Nova’s attacks was no challenge. In between Nova's swings, he landed sharp counterattacks, each one leaving its mark on Nova’s bruised and bloodied body.

“Shit... this hurts so much... I just want to run, to escape, but...” Nova’s thoughts swirled as he took hit after hit, trying to close the distance between him and his opponent.

"But... fuck, I want to change!" His conviction began to show, and some of the Moblings stopped cheering for the Alpha.

For Nova, the physical pain was nothing compared to the frustration of losing his only friend. The Alpha’s blows stung, but what hurt more was realizing how much time he had wasted running from the fear of pain itself.

"If things had been different, maybe he wouldn’t have ended up in this world, maybe he wouldn’t have been in the factory, and probably..."

“No!” He immediately rejected those thoughts.

“He believed in me, and I’m not going to let him down. That’s why...” He kept fighting, despite not landing a single blow.

“That’s why I’m going to change!”

After a few minutes, exhaustion was evident in both fighters. The Alpha Mobling dodged Nova's strikes, while Nova kept attacking with sheer determination. Meanwhile, more and more Moblings watched silently as the battered Nova struggled against a clearly superior opponent.

With the sunset behind him, his left eye swollen nearly shut, his lower lip split, nose bleeding, and his body covered in bruises, Nova launched a last punch at the Alpha. The creature stumbled as it tried to dodge, its foot getting tangled in the root of a tree, and took the hit on its mask.

The impact shattered the Alpha's mask, causing him to stagger. But as he prepared to resume the fight, he noticed Nova had collapsed after the strike.

The air grew silent. Even the Alpha, with long white hair, protruding lower fangs, and a grim expression, stood still.

It seemed like the moblings were paying their respects to the fallen boy—until the Alpha’s eyes widened. Nova’s hand gripped his foot, and the boy looked up, full of determination.

“Not yet… you haven’t won…”

“UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!” The other Moblings, silent until now, erupted in jubilation.

Katya stared in disbelief. “Are they… cheering for Nova?” she wondered, listening to their strange calls.

“Uk, ukuk uk!” The Alpha’s voice boomed, causing the Moblings to cheer even louder before they broke their circle and rushed toward Nova’s limp body.

This was the moment Katya had been waiting for. She could have escaped, but instead, her legs moved on their own. By the time she realized, she was standing in front of Nova, clutching one of her grenades, trying to scare the Moblings away.

“Don’t you dare touch him!” she shouted angrily, causing the Moblings to halt.

“Shit, what am I doing…” she thought, realizing she had no escape.

“Ka… Katya…” Nova muttered, dazed by what he was witnessing. Just then, the Alpha began to laugh, followed by all the Moblings.

“Kukuk uk uqu.” The Alpha smirked at her, but Katya didn’t understand. She stood firm, still holding her grenade, until the Moblings dropped their clubs in unison, signaling surrender.

“What?”

She couldn’t believe it. Moblings, according to the books, were mindless beasts, driven by rage and territorial instinct. They didn’t negotiate or form alliances.

“Uk ukuk ukuk ukuk uk!” The Moblings grinned as they gathered around, lifting Nova’s limp body onto the shoulders of four who carried him in a line.

“Wa… wait, let me go. What’s wr… wrong with you? This… this isn’t over…” Nova mumbled, too weak to resist.

“Ukuk uk,” the Alpha said to Katya, gesturing for her to follow. Reluctantly, she stowed the grenade and let her curiosity take over, following them as they carried Nova away.

----------------------------------------

A few hours later, Nova regained consciousness.

He found himself in what appeared to be a tribal tent or tipi, accompanied by a Mobling who seemed much older than any he had seen before. This Mobling wore a leather tunic, had a white beard, and large eyebrows that nearly covered his eyes. He was treating Nova's wounds with a strange mixture of smelly herbs.

“You’re awake,” Katya said, beside him and jotting notes on a digital notebook.

“Katya… aren’t we supposed to be dead?” Nova asked, confusion evident on his face. Katya gave a half-smile as she set her pen down.

“According to the books, yes. But as my grandfather used to say, you don’t truly understand something until you experience it,” she replied, her tone surprisingly cheerful given the circumstances.

"It seems your fight made quite an impression on them. I think that's why they invited us to their village and are treating you. They have a fascinating language, but I don’t understand it," she added, suddenly realizing something.

“Sorry if I’m being insensitive. How do you feel?”

“Like I’ve been beaten within an inch of my life…” Nova replied, a hint of sadness in his voice, possibly from the loss.

“I’m glad I wasn’t dead though. That Alpha was incredibly strong. I thought he’d rip my head off every time he hit me.” Nova managed a smile, feeling proud despite not remembering the specifics of the fight.

“It’s true, a normal person would have died from the first blow. You can be proud of that,” Katya said, giving Nova a light punch on the arm.

“But you were pretty terrible at fighting, haha. You looked like a child and even yelled things like ‘I’m going to change!"

Nova’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment, growing redder until he could barely tolerate it.

“I told you I wasn’t good at fighting. And what was that push? You nearly threw me to my death!” He complained.

The two continued to joke and laugh, but with each movement Nova made, the old Mobling grew increasingly impatient. Finally, he could no longer hold his frustration.

“Can you just stand still? I need to treat your wounds, you damn fool!” The old Mobling slapped one of Nova’s bruises, startling both Nova and Katya, who were surprised to hear a Mobling speak.