The Black Lanterns were like cheaters with unlimited lives. Their powers weren't that strong, but no matter how many times you killed them, they just wouldn't stay dead. Liu A'dou felt completely stuck. If only he had the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception… But no, he was still thinking useless stuff at a time like this.
Black Lantern power was death itself, which meant its natural counter was life—the White Lantern. But unfortunately, no one right now possessed the power of life.
"Master, these things just don't die! What do we do?" Ben shouted.
"I'm trying to figure that out!" Liu A'dou replied. Honestly, he wasn't paying attention at all. He was stuck on how to destroy the Black Lanterns while still protecting the corpses of the dead. That wasn't easy. The simplest solution would be to toss the bodies into the sun, but that would destroy them completely. Total disrespect to the dead. If not even ashes remained, then what would that even mean?
He couldn't help but curse the past. 'Why didn't they cremate people back then?' If they had, the Black Lanterns wouldn't be able to take over a thousand years later. What a headache.
"Why don't you leave them to us?" Just as Liu A'dou was deep in thought, a voice came from the sky.
A green light beamed down over the land—finally, the natural enemies of the Black Lanterns had arrived. The Green Lantern Corps. Two members descended: Hal and an alien partner.
"Kaitou Kid, nice to meet you. Thanks for buying us some time. But now, you can leave them to us. We'll handle the Black Lanterns!" Hal said.
"Be my guest!" Fighting undying monsters was way too much hassle. If someone else was willing to take over, he'd gladly step back.
Clad in a full-body green suit and wearing a glowing green eye mask, Hal raised his right hand. The green light formed into a massive shovel. "Even though you were Earth's first Green Lantern, you shouldn't be here now!"
Li Jong raised his hand too, forming a black shovel. The duel of Lantern constructs began—pure imagination versus imagination.
Back before crossing over, Liu A'dou had dreamed of becoming a Green Lantern. You could create anything you imagined. The ring wasn't just a weapon; it was also a supercomputer, linked to the planet Oa's database, storing practically the entire galaxy's knowledge. But he never got to be a Lantern—instead, he became a phantom thief.
The Green Lantern ring could replicate anything in your mind. Out of all the superhero tools, it was probably the most overpowered in terms of creativity.
"Mom…" Li Cong took the chance to run to his mother's side.
Liu A'dou followed quickly. He realized her brain wasn't completely dead yet. Maybe he could save her. He'd need enough nutrients, or a synthetic heart might work. Without wasting time, he got to work. The heart pumped blood. If it was gone, something else had to keep blood flowing.
He activated the Force, focused on his own heartbeat, and slowly used the Force to move her blood. Until he could get her a heart, this was the only way.
Looking back up at the fight, Liu A'dou was curious—how did Hal even know the Black Lanterns were here?
Turns out, Black Lantern rings had already appeared around other Lantern Corps. The Guardians knew something was wrong, so they sent people out to investigate. Sector 2814 had a high concentration of intelligent life, and Hal had detected traces of Black Lantern energy in his territory. After digging deeper, he found out that a ring had drifted to Earth. So he called a teammate and came back, hoping to find the ring before the Black Lanterns appeared. But they were too late.
Now that the Black Lanterns had shown up, all seven Lantern Corps were on edge. Black was the energy of death, and death was the enemy of all life. Not even the Yellow Lanterns were safe. Like people said—whether hero or villain, no one could escape death. And now that death had come knocking, no one could pretend they were safe.
For now, only a few scattered Black Lantern rings had appeared. The Green Lantern Corps hadn't tracked down the mastermind yet. All they could do was race around putting out fires, cleaning up after the damage was done. The captured Black Lanterns would be taken back to the planet Oa, where the Guardians would remove their rings, letting their bodies return to dust and ashes.
The Seven Lantern Corps were:
1. Red—Rage and agony.
2. Orange—Greed and brilliance.
3. Yellow—Fear and dread.
4. Green—Willpower and valor.
5. Indigo—Compassion and radiance.
6. Blue—Hope and shimmer.
7. Violet—Love and fragrance.
Beyond them were the two primal forces of life and death: the Black Lanterns of Death and the White Lanterns of Life.
These seven formed the full rainbow—red, orange, yellow, green, indigo, blue, and violet. Green sat in the middle, the most balanced of all. That's why Green Lanterns served as the galaxy's police force.
Even against the Black Lanterns, the Green Lanterns might not hold up in large-scale combat. But in a one-on-one fight, Hal quickly gained the upper hand. "Gotcha!"
In a flash, massive shackles clamped down on Li Jong's limbs. His ring was frozen in a block of ice. "Old-timer, work with us. You'll be free soon enough."
Elsewhere, the alien Green Lantern subdued the other two Black Lanterns. Hal turned to Kaitou Kid. "I'll take them back to Oa now. I'll make sure their remains are returned."
"Thanks for your help," Liu A'dou said.
"No problem—"
Clink. Hal was about to keep talking when something smacked against his green energy shield. Liu A'dou narrowed his eyes. It was… a pitch-black ring.
Gulp. Liu A'dou swallowed hard. Even knowing he was a transmigrator, sweat poured down his back. Another Black Lantern ring?
No… not just one.
He looked again. What was falling from the sky weren't raindrops. They were rings. A rain of pitch-black rings.
Controlling the dead, harvesting energy—this was the purpose of the Black Lanterns. Wipe out all life and let death rule the universe. The Black Lantern Corps was awakening. Not just on Earth—rings were raining down on every Lantern planet across the galaxy.
Liu A'dou stood frozen. He saw the coming plague of undeath. With this many rings, just how many ancient powerhouses were about to be summoned from the grave??
'No. Now's not the time to freeze up!' Liu A'dou snapped back to focus. He had to stop more rings from falling.
"Burn, Ultimate Microcosmos!"
He released his full Force power, trying to wrap up the falling rings. The two Green Lanterns saw him move and immediately joined in.
"AHAHAHAHA!" Li Jong burst out laughing. He knew the Black Lantern Corps was about to mobilize. No one could stop them. The most terrifying force in the universe was about to awaken. "Struggle all you want! What you're facing is endless death. In the end, none of you will even have a place to die in peace. I'll be waiting! Hahahaha!"
Was it raining?
All over the world, it started to rain Black Lantern rings. They fell onto the gravestones of heroes, sank into the ground, disturbed the sleep of the dead, stripped them of their final dignity, and puppeteered their broken bodies to kill and gather energy.
This was the mission of the Black Lantern Corps—spread death.
ROOAARRRRR——
Scenes straight out of a horror movie became real. Rotten hands burst from graves, breaking into the world of the living. People everywhere were about to face the most terrifying assault imaginable—with no room for reason, no hope of mercy.
"The Black Lantern Corps has arrived!" Hal shouted.
Even he hadn't expected the enemy to come so suddenly. He fired off an emergency signal to planet Oa. But Earth wasn't the only target. The same thing was happening on every planet with a Lantern presence. The Green Lantern Corps' emergency channels turned into a galactic traffic jam. Even the Guardians were shaken.
Their most terrifying enemy… had finally arrived.