(Davian's P.O.V)
'Welp, this just got fun...'
I thought to myself, casting my vision out.
Stars twinkled from far distances, thousands of light years away.
What was closer was the red dust and pieces of rock floating around us, the remains of a destroyed planet, Mars.
Behind me was the light from the local star, casting my shadow onto the enemies directly to my opposite. Their numbers just a small portion of the full force surrounding me on all sides.
There were thousands of them.
And judging from their soul strengths,
Each could stand up to my Earth's Superman in power. Maybe not win, but few would.
And that was not all. There was something inside them, an infection of some sort. One that made them subservient to the most dangerous foe around.
The Black Racer. Or rather Darkseid.
Looking into each of the Lanterns' eyes revealed no individuality.
They couldn't fight his leash. Darkseid had them under his full control. Which was a damn shame too.
Nick's memories recognized some of the Lanterns.
The green Lanterns were arguably the most well known, their emerald rings a beacon of fortitude and resolve.
Now however, their power rings were dull and dim, missing the undying light of Willpower.
They floated in a loose formation before me. The easily recognizable members like Hal, Stewart, Kilowog and Gardener were nowhere to be seen.
Knowing the kind of trouble those particular ones could cause, Darkseid must have eliminated them first. The group I was about to face was mostly made up of strangers.
Beside them, almost too close were the blue lanterns.
Nick's memories informed me that the light of Hope the blue lanterns tapped into, could only be used to it's full potential in the presence of a green lantern.
Different from the latter group, I recognized someone from the blue lanterns. An alien with pale skin that hovered with his legs crossed in a meditative pose. Saint walker.
Unlike the rest of his corps who were watching me intently, he had his eyes closed.
To the Blue Lantern's right were the Red Lanterns. It was easy enough to recognize the central figure in the rage fuelled corps.
Atrocitus, the leader of the Red Lanterns glared at me with intense fury burning in his eyes.
The shroud of scarlet energy around him radiated a scorching heat even I could feel from where I was.
To the Green Lantern's right was the Indigo Tribe. They were a compassionate collective, wearing indigo robes and carrying staffs.
Their power rings harnessed the power of compassion and usually forced their enemies to feel empathy for their victims.
That said, no one particularly stood out. Their leader was a tall female alien with black eyes and the symbol of the Indigo tribe on her forehead.
The Sinestro Corp was by far the largest.
It had close to thousands of members while the rest of the corps only had a few hundred. The leader, Sinestro did not seem to lack awareness like the others.
He was studying me, a certain curiosity in his gaze.
'I guess this means I was wrong. Not all of them seem to be under Darkseid's full control.'
And finally next to the Sinestro Corp, were the Star Sapphires.
The violet energy around their bodies was less vibrant than usual, looking more like a dark purple. It's shade deeper than the color of my Reiryoku.
Their power rings pulled on the power of affection and at the lead was someone I knew from Nick's memories, Carrol Ferris. She was a character who had dated Hal in the comics.
The only corps missing was the Orange Lanterns. Or rather, Orange Lantern for there was only one member. Larfreeze.
I guess even Darkseid wasn't able to bring the greedy guy to heel. You see Orange represented Avarice.
Besides that, the force gathered to stop me was nothing to scoff at. Were it me from before Shiva's training...I would die from a single corp alone.
Right then I was about to face the full might of all 6.
All of them could survive in space, had a ton of experience fighting in this environment, create powerful constructs and in the case of the Indigo Tribe, influence my emotions.
Lastly all of them were intent in putting me down.
Good lanterns.
Evil lanterns.
It didn't matter now. With the threat of the Black Racer looming large, the only choice I had was...to kill them all.
"Well, will you take my offer?"
Darkseid's voice left the Black Racer's lips, the speedster's hand extending forward.
A miasma of red and green colored energy begun to roil above his palm.
"Join me and I'll give you anything you want. Not just the life of your friend, I am willing to let you rule this pathetic world. One Earth is nothing in comparison to the rest of the wide multiverse."
I rolled my shoulders in preparation.
"Tempting offer."
I responded through the established link in our minds.
"But I think I'll pass. And not for the reasons you think, Darkseid."
My smirk seemed to irritate him,
"I just really want to kick your teeth in."
He could see it in my eyes. The time for talk was over.
"Very well. Then Die!"
He roared, his hand sweeping out in some form of signal.
All the corps answered by priming their rings, the oath most of them recited, a corrupted version of the real thing.
Without a single delay, the battle begun. My enemies attacks rained down at my position with Killing intent.
My response was to disappear into a blur, vacating my position.
Just in time as well. Dozens of different colored constructs swept through where I'd just been a split second ago.
Space screamed from energy blasts, black hole generators, alien beasts constructs and dark matter bombs. I felt the heat and shockwaves behind me while my trail cut towards the Lantern corps closest to me.
My hand was pulled back, the fist roiling with an immense amount of Tairyoku. My first target turned out to be Hal's former lover.
"Alright. We fight as one and die as one."
She told the members of her corp.
"Yeah!!"
They answered back, voice somehow projecting through the vacuum of space. It had to be a special feature of the ring.
I looked into it with Reikaku. Basically, they were using the Ring's energy as a medium. By filling the space around them with the Ring's power, they could send sound through, though it wouldn't reach far.
The Star Sapphires raised their hands, joining their power together to create a large dark purple shield around their group.
I tried their trick. But instead of a ring, I used my Reiatsu to send sound out, effectively allowing me to speak in the vacuum of space.
"Get. Out. Of my fucking way!!"
I yelled, punching out.
My Ki roared, bursting out of my hand in the shape of a golden fist. Hey, if they could create constructs so could I.
The fist construct landed on the diamond shield, causing cracks to immediately spread out. Then with a resounding bang, the Life force within the golden fist was unleashed, drowning them in a huge explosion.
The light from the explosion provided the perfect cover as I was already upon the next group, moving faster than Lightning.
Through my Reikaku I felt the Star Sapphires scatter, most of them dead while a few others seemed to have survived the attack.
The strange thing was that I didn't feel any of their souls move on to the afterlife.
The only notable thing that happened was the power rings abandoning the bodies of the ones I had killed.
Strange.
I didn't have time to think more on it thanks to the Red Lanterns flying to meet me.
The trails they left behind on their advance, glowing red.
A fitting send off as they were coming to meet their maker.
The first Red Lantern to feel the sting of my blade was a green skinned alien with long tentacles falling from its head.
It's face was twisted into a rictus of anger. Scarlet eyes established contact with mine, the power ring on the Lantern's finger glowing ominously.
Before it could use unleash the brewing attack, my foot landed on its chest.
I felt the environmental shield around its form fold under my strength. The weight of my kick shattered the protective membrane, then the flesh gave way, bones shattered and it blood boiled.
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It's entire body was turned into a hot mist.
The blood drenched my face and chest, freezing upon my skin before a second Shunpo caused it to shatter.
Dust and rock was pushed away on account of the burst in speed.
I had more enemies to take out. The rest saw me coming and reacted accordingly.
The dead Lantern's allies pushed their hands out in unison, anger driving them. The rings produced beams of red light that combined. The result was the creation of an enormous draconic construct.
Another group construct.
The construct opened it's jaw in a silent roar, it's huge form storming my way.
Chesha Neko was pulled buck in a laido pose.
'Blade of the grass crane.'
I mentally called out one of the sword moves I'd seen Shiva use in our training. My Zanpakuto swung out a hundred times in the blink of an eye.
Purple slashes occured around the Draconic construct,
Dozens of sharp cuts criss crossing it's body, before the ki I'd applied around the blade extended, making the slashes sink deeper.
The construct shattered behind me, shards of red energy raining out.
Like a shadow, I fell upon the red lanterns behind. Blitzing through their ranks and slashing in wild abandon.
No movement was wasted, each swing and I reaped lives, completely decimating half of their ranks.
"Bastard! Vengeance will be mine!"
Atrocitus, the leader of the corps roared from the rear. The sound carried forth by the power of his ring.
Rage surged within him as he finally decided to make a move. Red Energy brimmed behind him, scarlet flames propelling his form towards me.
Huh, so it wasn't a fluke. They could really talk under Darkseid's control..
Too bad my decision to kill them was already made up.
I met Atrocitus' lunge midway, Chesha Neko landing on the intimidating Axe Construct he timely created. The impact pushed him back. I could see surprise in his eyes at the outcome of our clash.
Even I had no idea how strong I'd become.
He jumped back in with heavy slashes, each move he made leaving echoes of flames roaring out.
A thick layer of ki ran down my sword as we exchanged blows. He was good but not better. Here the true fruits of my training showed themselves.
Chesha Neko changed forms into a spear.
I used it's long shaft to redirect an axe strike, before the sword shifted into a large hammer. I pivoted, adding to the momentum and landed a strike on his Axe.
The construct shattered and he was thrown back for hundreds of meters, hands bending the wrong way.
Reikaku informed me of the other Lantern Corps moving in to assist Atrocitus. I changed Chesha Neko back into a sword, ready for them.
Only for the Leader of the Red Lantern to unleash a ring of flames around the two of us.
"This is my battle! Stay back or face my wrath!"
He warned them.
They all stopped moving forward.
Atrocitus' hands cracked as the damage was healed, the murky green light I'd seen before, covering the injured limbs. I made sure to take note of that. The corruption inside them could apparently recover any damage they sustained.
"You are very power-"
The Red Lantern started, only for me to rudely cut him off.
"This is boring."
I spoke directly to his soul. Something I could apparently now do.
"It would have been easier had you all attacked together. As it is, you're just wasting my time."
The last bit I declared out loud.
Atrocitus blinked. Then blinked again. The heat around him increased, murky green veins growing prominent across his forehead.
His anger was palpable enough that the zone around him trembled.
"You do not talk to me that way human! Learn your place! Aargh!!"
The ring in his hand glowed, another Axe Construct, this one much bigger than the one before appeared above his head.
He pulled it back and then swung out. A swathe of flames leaving the blade on it's path towards me.
My face was illuminated by the liquid like flames. Yet I felt no danger from this attack.
My left hand reached out and using Pride's ability, I siphoned the energy out of the attack, using it to replenish the small bit of my reserves I had already used.
The fire was instantly extinguished, rage energy easily getting sucked into my palm.
Then,
Shunpo.
I appeared before a shocked Atrocitus. To his credit, the leader of the red lanterns still had his wits about him. At least enough of them to launch another desperate attack.
He opened his mouth.
I ducked under the hot boiling blood he sprayed out out of his maw.
The light of the sun glinted off Chesha Neko's blade as it slashed out.
Metal met flesh and bone. Flesh and bone lost.
My form materialized behind him, waving my Zanpakuto to get rid of the blood on it's blade.
Atrocitus stiffened.
Then a thin trail of blood appeared around his neck.
The Red Lantern's head detached from his shoulders.
The rest of the Lantern corps stopped in place, surprise evident in those who were aware.
I raised my left hand, pointing the palm flat at Atrocitus' headless body. Energy transferred from my spirit channels.
'Respira.'
A black aura surged out, covering Atrocitus and completely killing him by disintegrating his flesh.
My eyes stared into the Black Racer's own. Why hadn't he stopped me from Killing them? With his speed alone that would have been a simple matter.
He merely floated before the green lanterns, a knowing smirk on his face. It irritated me.
Something else caught my eye
A scarlet light left Atrocitus' ashes as it sped out into the universe. I snatched it up before it could leave, holding it within my palm.
A red lantern ring. And it was struggling to leave my hold.
"Mmph."
I snorted, concentrating a small portion of Reiatsu on it.
"Learn your place."
The ring settled down, allowing me to feel the connection it had with Rage. The intense emotion was still corrupted like the rest of the corps.
Could I cleanse it? Maybe. But my Sheath was still with Constantine who had needed it to survive the fight with Aethyr.
But cleansing it wasn't my job. My job was to kill. And Darkseid was long overdue. Just as I was about to crush the corrupt ring, he spoke up.
"You sense it, I know you do. The equation to bring all under my influence."
Darkseid spoke through the Black Racer.
"The Anti-life equation has no equal. It has no limits. I can bring anyone I want under me. I own them. Both in life...and death."
With that cryptic statement,
A setback followed.
All the bodies of the Lanterns I had killed, begun jerking. Their dismembered limbs started to reattach to their corpses.
The blood that had frozen within them started to circulate through their vessels, roaring with green energy and the red light of the Omega Sanction.
The dead Star Sapphires and Red Lanterns were covered in the Corruption. Stewing in it. The Anti-life equation. Something Nick's memories told me Darkseid had been after for a long time.
"Every single one of them you kill...is ressurected at my leisure."
The Evil God continued
"How can you hope to win...when my Army is simply unkillable?!"
Something still bugged me. Why could I feel them? The dead lanterns I mean. Their souls...were still trapped within their animated corpses.
I could hear their cries for freedom and retribution against the one who had corrupted their minds, souls and bodies.
I raised a single hand...
"&#_$#-"
A few unintelligible words left my lips. Reality seemed to ground to a halt.
The dead Lanterns stopped moving. Then as one...their bodies begun to break down into ash, their souls springing forth from the ashes. White and gray spheres of light.
Finally free.
Through my Reikaku, I sensed the Black Racer's unfathomable surprise. His jaw hang open.
"Enochian Language?! H- how is this... happening?! Who are you?!"
Darkseid roared into my mind.
Oh, I see now...
I opened my closed eyes, my full influence as a soul reaper roaring forth.
"You're a fraud Darkseid. The 'Anti-life Equation' you're so proud of is nothing but an inferior copy to the real deal."
I informed him.
His version was a simple fusion of Will energy and his Omega Sanction.
Shrouds appeared from the afterlife to ferry the souls of the dead away, adding to the shock he was feeling. I was a little bit surprised he could see them though. Then again, power wasn't something he lacked.
The Shrouds sensed my presence and begun to fly around me in deference.
Master.
Death.
He who shall bring forth the fifth world.
Command us. Tell us what to do.
ByI could hear their whispers now. They spoke to me as if I was their leader. Their god.
"Why are they attracted to you!?"
Darkseid demanded.
"How can you control them?!"
I looked at him with a smirk.
"Come on, you already know the answer to that."
The Black Racer clenched his jaw.
"No! I will never accept it! All of you! Attack!! Kill him and bring me his head!!"
The rest of the Lantern Corps complied with his order.
(General P.O.V)
Sinestro watched as the members of his corps rushed out around him to fullfil the mad god's wishes.
He could also feel the compulsion on his very mind. His whole being wanted to do nothing else than attack the upstart who had disrespected the mast-
No, not master. Sinestro had no master. He was his own man.
The light of his ring intensified, the yellow being the only color apart from Hope to fight back the effects of the false Anti-life equation.
That was mostly due to the green lantern power battery being used in conjunction with Darkseid's formidable Omega Sanction as basis for the equation.
He looked at the other being capable of resisting the effects.
Saint Walker had no yellow ring to speak of. But so great was his mental fortitude that he could fight back the control.
"If it's making a move...we should do so now. Before Darkseid's pet kills whoever this strange fellow is."
Sinestro told Saint Walker.
"Patience. What is meant to happen shall."
Saint Walker replied.
Before Sinestro could say anything else...a massive change occured in the battlefield.
(Davian's P.O.V)
Due to Darkseid's command,
All of the Lanterns decided to attack e masse.
Reikaku told me I was about to be besieged by approximately 3491 lanterns.
The Green light of Willpower, the red light of rage, the indigo light of compassion, the violet light of Love, the blue light of hope and the yellow light of fear.
Protect the master.
Surround him.
Keep him safe.
The Shrouds hovering around me whispered, orienting their positions to cover my front.
"[No]"
I refused.
"[Just carry out your duty. Ferry the souls of the dead. The living should not concern you.]"
They complied without argument, flying away and leaving me alone to face off against my opponents.
A collage of rainbow attacks reached me from all conceivable directions. They were trying to box me in. The constructs created were more powerful than before. Each enough to destroy entire cities. All of them together?
Even the Earth wouldn't be spared.
But this time I didn't bother to dodge their attacks.
Because I'd realized something.
I took a deep breath of nothing, my chest moving up and down, before I exhaled in a sigh.
This was an actual waste of my time.
No matter how powerful the lanterns were, none of them could deal any damage to me. Their power meant nothing again my impenetrable skin.
It meant even little against my boundless soul.
Truth is...the only challenge here was the Black Racer and that was because of his speed. He was the one I was interested in fighting.
"You've evaded death long enough Darkseid... and I have grown impatient."
Saying that, I released the full effects of my Reiatsu.
The world lost color. Everything became gray.
The attacks froze in place. The Lanterns' eyes rolled to the back of their skulls as they went unconscious.
Space went back to being quiet. Only this time, with the addition of passed out bodies floating around.
The Black Racer was also rendered stunned.
The wings behind my back flapped. My feet kicked off, launching into a seamless Shunpo.
Since the start of the fight I'd been thinking of ways to bridge the gap between the Black Racer's speed and my own.
Copying the Lantern's constructs and vacuum communication capabilities had made me curious on what else I could copy.
And that's when my brain had supplied me with a certain skill from Bleach. Shunko. An advanced form of Hakuda that combined physical might with Kido spells.
The skill was employed by three of the most skilled Soul Reapers in the Bleach verse, Yoruichi, Yoruishi and Soi Fon.
The skill worked by expelling elemental Kido through your body like arms and legs to unleash devastating attacks that could level the surroundings.
Not to mention by expelling the energy through the back of your shoulders and legs, the burst of speed would propel you forward several times faster than what you could do with Shunpo alone.
And now I was going to use it, to make one last incredible attack.
Maybe leave a lasting impression on the few presences I could feel watching from folded space. They needed to learn not to fuck with me.
I leaned forward, Chesha Neko unravelling into strings that covered my form entirely. The wings behind me flared with energy.
"Combo spell: Shunko-Hadō #88. Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō (飛竜撃賊震天雷炮, Flying Dragon-Striking Heaven-Shaking Thunder Cannon!"
The Hado spell left my shoulders, shins and heels in the form of purple streaks of lightning that felt out of place yet completely filled the zone behind me with immense Reiryoku.
I surpassed the notion of speed.
It was instant.
Faster than teleportation.
Faster than light.
Faster than the Black Racer.
The eyes behind the Racer's mask widened slower as I materialized before the speedster entity.
The suit of strings I wore extended into sharp claws on my left hand. Respira's energy flickered around the tips of the fingers as they headed for the Racer's neck.
Time slowed down.
"Death... you're the end."
The Racer said in terror.
"Yes. I am."
I replied, swiping out.
Surprisingly, the Racer's speed and reaction allowed him to lean back, avoiding the attack.
Scarlet lightning strafed to my left, the Racer coming in for a scythe slash. Darkseid was no longer wasting time by monologuing. The blade cut through my chest, separating my torso from my hips.
Only for the after-image I'd left behind to dissolve into billions of phantom strings that bound his soul in place.
'Bakudo no.42: Owari no nai unmei no ito (Endless Strings of Fate!)'
Not even a speedster could escape that by phasing. It was a spell that targeted the soul. A new bakudo I'd created but hadn't had a chance to use just yet.
Without giving the Racer time to process what had just happened, I held my palm flat against his back.
[Seeping crest of turbidity. Arrogant vessel of lunacy! Boil forth and deny! Grow numb and flicker! Disrupt sleep! Crawling queen of iron! Eternally self-destructing doll of mud! Unite! Repulse! Fill with soil and know your own powerlessness!] Hado 90: Kurohitsugi!!"
Dark purple coffins filled the air. Then they fell, closing in around the Racer in a huge black rectangular box.
Several spear like protrusions, each covered in Respira tore apart the Black Racer within the coffin.
Electric energy buzzed erratically within as the Racer tried and failed to escape.
A few long seconds later...the Kido dissolved, revealing a mess of bloody guts, crushed bones, pulped organs and lacerated skin.
The Racer's body was also being eaten through by Respira, disintegrating into nothing.
I looked into its eyes and saw not Darkseid but...
"Thank you... brother."
Once the whisper left his lips, light died out in his gaze.
The Racer's body disappeared into flakes of black light that floated around me before fully dissolving into the nothingness.
He called me brother...why?
I was left...speechless. I had felt a familiarity with the Racer but... something told me our connection went deeper than that.
Now then, I turned my focus on the Earth.
Time to finish this. There were no more tricks the gray bastard could play.