Chapter 417: The X Ring Begins to Reveal Its Power
Just as the Black Lanterns descended upon Earth, Green Lantern Hal Jordan, realizing the gravity of the situation, immediately rushed to the planet Oa for reinforcements.
However, the reappearance of the Black Ring stirred the Guardians deeply.
Within the Book of Oa—a magical tome with prophetic abilities, strictly forbidden for Green Lanterns to read—there had long been references to such events.
This book, passed down internally among the Oans, contained countless terrifying records. Should it ever be revealed to the public, it would undoubtedly trigger massive waves of panic and chaos.
Sensing the dire nature of this crisis, Green Lantern Corps leader Spenser personally traveled to the various planets where the other Lantern Corps were stationed, calling upon their help.
In truth, the emergence of the Black Lantern Corps was not something that could be taken lightly.
With the help of Hal's ring's recording function, the visual evidence quickly secured the cooperation of the other corps.
A corps based on the dead would inevitably bring death in their wake.
And with the Black Lanterns appearing in ring form, it was inevitable they would one day come into direct conflict with the Seven Lantern Corps.
If they failed to suppress the Black Lanterns in time, the universe would soon be overrun with zombie-like beings. At that point, eliminating them would be nearly impossible.
Thus, the seven-colored Lantern Corps all headed for Earth.
"So that's Earth ahead of us?"
Agent Orange, Larfleeze, hugged his orange lantern battery as his greedy gaze locked on the blue planet before them.
"I can feel a strong aura of death," said Saint Walker gravely.
As the leader of the Blue Lantern Corps—whose rings embodied hope—he was particularly sensitive to despair, which was inextricably tied to death.
Of course, the Blue Lanterns' powers leaned toward support. Only with the presence of the other corps could they unleash their full potential.
"Something's happening!"
Suddenly, Sinestro snapped his head toward the surrounding void, eyes narrowed with suspicion.
The gathered Lanterns scanned the cosmic environment but couldn't detect any immediate threat.
"Light of Willpower!"
Hal raised his Green Lantern Ring high, unleashing a brilliant emerald light that lit up the surrounding void.
In that instant, they all recoiled in horror as the fabric of space began to squirm and shift.
"Damn it—this is a trap!"
Sinestro materialized a massive greatsword, attempting to rally the Yellow Lanterns and break through the encirclement.
With a resounding boom, the squirming mass revealed its true form—a vast net formed from the black blood of Black Lantern zombies, stretching across the sky to entrap the Seven Lantern Corps.
"Hehehe…"
Bruce, now transformed into a Black Lantern zombie, swept his greedy gaze across the Lanterns. His tone dripped with hunger: "What a feast…"
Indeed, the emotional energy within the Seven Lantern Corps was the ultimate nourishment for Black Lantern zombies.
A single Lantern held emotional energy equivalent to devouring tens of thousands of humans.
"Prepare for battle!" Spenser roared.
Seeing once-heroic figures from the Justice League and Avengers now among the undead, he fully grasped the severity of the crisis.
BOOM BOOM BOOM—
In Earth's outer space, an unprecedented war erupted between the Seven Lantern Corps and the Black Lanterns.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, after days of chaos, the human population had dropped at an alarming rate.
Only a few heroes remained: The Flash, Cyborg, Iron Man, Hulk—and their strongest reinforcement, Thor.
But they were desperate. They had hoped Asgard would send its forces, yet only Thor had come.
The All-Father Odin held firm in his belief: he remained in Asgard to guard against potential threats.
After all, Asgard protected the Nine Realms and could not leave its post lightly. If it did, dark elves or fire giants could seize the opportunity to launch attacks.
Besides, enemies lurked throughout the cosmos.
In Odin's eyes, the destruction of Earth was insignificant compared to the safety of Asgard.
Humans could never rival gods in importance.
The remaining humans built shelters and refuges far from cities.
In Western countries, the human population had dropped to less than one percent.
No one knew the situation in the ancient Eastern empires—they remained too mysterious and powerful.
Suddenly, the ground trembled violently.
Inside an underground military base, the alliance team stared in panic as one surveillance feed after another went dark.
"Damn it, we've been exposed," Tony growled.
He had lost both his wife and daughter in this catastrophe, and he burned with the desire to annihilate the Black Lanterns.
But his strength was limited. Vengeance was beyond his reach.
"Where can we even escape to now?" Cyborg asked in a deep voice.
All human strongholds had been breached. The shelters protecting civilians had fallen one by one. It seemed as if their fate was already sealed.
BZZT—
A sudden spark flared.
A portal formed before them.
"Hurry! Evacuate now!"
On the other side of the portal stood Wong, rotund and beckoning them over.
Kamar-Taj—the stronghold of the mystics.
This moment brought a flicker of hope.
The Sorcerer Supreme had been absent from Earth for some time. No one had been able to contact him, not even Kamar-Taj.
Now, Wong had inherited the mantle and was leading the remaining mystics to face the crisis.
As the quakes intensified, the group quickly escaped through the portal.
At Kamar-Taj, a defensive magic formation was already in place. Complex, ancient runes of glowing orange light formed a protective wall, keeping the Black Lanterns at bay.
Rows of magical artifacts atop the walls fired repeated large-scale spells, attempting to wear down the undead horde through attrition.
Once inside, the alliance heroes saw an unexpected figure: Black Panther, King of Wakanda.
"The situation is grim," T'Challa stated bluntly. "The Black Lanterns have defiled our royal tombs."
Indeed, from the moment the Black Rings appeared, Wakanda had suffered reanimations—including even the former king.
"Wakanda can't send reinforcements?" Tony asked darkly.
"We paid a heavy price just to stabilize things internally," T'Challa replied. "But I propose relocating all survivors to Wakanda. We'll raise the energy shields and create an isolated refuge. With our stockpiled power reserves, we can hold out for centuries."
Clearly, Black Panther and Wong had reached an agreement and were now seeking Justice League and Avengers' consent.
After all, America was in a state of anarchy. Most nations had collapsed into chaos. Only a few superhero factions were still holding their shelters.
Small European nations had been wiped out immediately.
Even so, the scattered remaining forces—mutants, Doctor Doom, the Fantastic Four—were still resisting. Perhaps if united, they could turn the tide.
"Sounds good to me," Cyborg agreed.
"I have no choice but to agree," Tony nodded.
Giving up was not an option. They would keep fighting until their last breath.
…
Clack, clack, clack…
The sound of metal echoed through New York's empty streets.
Rotting corpses—heartless and hollow—lined the sidewalks.
Countless had fallen to the Black Lanterns.
These corpses were essentially reserves for the Black Lantern Corps. With just a ring, they could be reanimated.
The Black Lantern outbreak wasn't limited to Earth. Any planet with intelligent life was fair game for Nekron's army.
"Yoohoo~ Anyone interested in a fresh, beating heart?"
Allen, wearing a pair of supreme slippers forged from the Tenth Metal, wandered aimlessly through the city.
He'd been to Chernobyl but had found neither Flash nor Cyborg.
WHIZZ!
Suddenly, a batarang sliced past him and struck the ground.
It morphed into a puddle of writhing black blood.
A figure landed before Allen.
"Damian! Come give your uncle a hug."
Seeing the zombie-like, rotting Damian Wayne, Allen opened his arms enthusiastically.
Damian froze, wondering if this guy was insane—volunteering to die? Still, he had no objection to free food.
BAM!
Without warning, Allen kicked him hard with his size-forty Tenth Metal slipper, sending Damian flying.
The undead boy crashed to the ground, totally dumbfounded.
Is this guy nuts?
He turned on a dime!
"You brat! I've been wanting to beat you up for ages!"
Allen dashed forward, delivering a flurry of kicks, grinning as he stomped Damian mercilessly.
Black blood flew everywhere.
Damian couldn't even get up.
A mysterious power was suppressing him—his Black Ring's powers had grown sluggish.
As Allen continued his assault, figures gathered silently on the rooftops, watching him.
Black Canary, Hawkeye, Batgirl, Black Widow, Falcon, Spider-Man, Peacemaker…
All of them were Black Lantern zombies.
"Oh no… I'm surrounded."
Allen finally noticed the blockade. Hundreds of Black Lanterns stared at him with bloodthirsty eyes.
He raised both hands. "Uh… can I surrender and join you guys?"
"What do you think?"
Damian, now free from the beating, rose and snarled, "I'll tear you apart!"
SMACK!
Allen smacked Damian back down with a flyswatter.
Then, raising the hand bearing the X Ring, he said in a deep, raspy tone: "I always tried to hide my true identity… just wanted to be a humble protagonist. Why do you all have to push me?"
"X Lantern transformation—activate!"
A burst of radiant silver light erupted like a star.
The Black Lanterns instinctively shielded their eyes—the brilliance of the Tenth Metal was blinding.
"Transformation complete. You're finished now."
Hands on his hips, Allen boasted, "Check it out—my hospital gown stripes are now shimmering silver! So cool!"
Hisss…
This guy's clearly unhinged.
Eating his heart shouldn't make us stupid… right?
"I'll give you all one last chance to repent. Once I act, there'll be no mercy."
As he spoke, Allen manifested a silver guitar in his hands.
"Are you… going to use music to convert us?" Black Widow asked, seductively flicking her hair and casting a sultry glance with her alluring, litchi-shaped eyes.
It was likely the Black Ring had drawn from her memories, making her behave as she had in life.
The only problem was her rotting face—missing a chunk of flesh with her molars in full view. Her former charm? Completely gone.
"Ah, Widow—it's always you who understands me best."
Allen strummed the guitar proudly. "I'm the strongest music producer with two and a half years of practice."
"A single song can break the heart. Where can I find a soulmate?"
WUMMM…
The strings pulsed with energy.
The notes carried a mysterious power, resonating directly with the soul.
In fact, Allen wasn't even using his shamanic skills—just the raw abilities of the Tenth Metal.
"Mi-fa-so-mi-re… si-fa-so-mi-do…"
Okay, his vocal skills were… questionable.
But before the Black Lanterns could scoff, their expressions contorted. They clutched their heads, howling in agony.
The music hit like a psychic shockwave.
It pierced into the subconscious, trying to shatter the chains binding their true selves and awaken their real identities.
Indeed, one of the Tenth Metal's effects was the power to awaken the true self.
Since the Black Lantern Rings could revive corpses as zombies, Allen decided to awaken the true consciousness of the fallen heroes to break free from the Black Death Emperor's control.
In fact, it wasn't until the end of the Brightest Day, with the fall of the Black Death Emperor, that the Black Lantern zombies could unlock their hosts' consciousness and control over the rings.
Crack!
It was like the shattering of shackles deep within their minds.
"Black Lantern program has unlocked host consciousness."
All the Black Lantern zombies heard a system notification.
From that moment on, they were no longer mindless, bloodthirsty thralls of the Black Death Emperor. Their original selves had returned. However, they still remained in undead bodies. Only the emergence of a White Lantern Ring could truly bring the dead back to life.
"No… What have I done!?"
Damian collapsed to the ground in agony, retching up clots of black blood. But the blood was sentient—it flowed back into his body on its own.
As the heroes regained their consciousness, they inherited full memories of everything their Black Lantern zombie selves had done in recent days.
Murdering innocents. Devouring still-beating hearts. The horrifying images played in their minds—tormenting them worse than death itself.
"The curtain falls, and the Fork Lantern Man logs off."
Silver light retracted into his ring. Allen looked out at the heroes who were now dry-heaving en masse and shouted, "It's time to fight back!"
Parker choked back nausea and asked, "Who… are you?"
"I'm the Ultimate Techman, lead vocalist of Dong Cheng Wei, sworn to uphold order across all space and time. You can call me Crown Prince. I can handle it," Allen said, flipping his hair dramatically.
"…"
"Crown Prince, are you here to help humanity through this crisis?" Black Widow hurriedly followed up. "Just how many people from Dong Cheng Wei are here?"
"I'm the only one left," Allen said serenely.
"Sorry to hear that," Black Widow replied awkwardly.
To her surprise, Allen growled, "They all signed up behind my back to debut in Happy Boy, the talent show!"
"…"
Bro… are we even having the same conversation?
Wait… don't tell me they really are a band?
Hsss…
Nope. This guy's a lunatic.
"Don't worry! With me, the Ultimate Techman, around—what crisis? It's just a splash in the pool!"
BOOM!
Just as the words left his mouth, Allen looked up toward the sky, startled.
A figure wrapped in orange-yellow light broke through the atmosphere and plummeted toward the city.
BANG!
A middle-aged man with purplish-pink skin and clad in a dazzling golden battle suit crashed into the ground, forming a deep crater.
"Could that be… the Libra Gold Saint who once assaulted Athena—Purple Deaf!?"