Chapter 406: Allen vs. Black Lantern Zombie
Black Death Emperor extended his hand, and the Black Lantern Ring quietly fell into his palm.
He looked at the black ring with satisfaction—it had the power to bring the dead back to life.
The Black Lantern Ring.
A ring beyond the emotional spectrum.
Its emergence heralded an inevitable catastrophe.
A calamity that turned the living into the dead.
The bearer of the Black Lantern Ring would become a Black Lantern Zombie—no longer possessing any emotions of the living, but driven to devour living hearts to absorb emotional energy.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing the former heroes turned into zombies, and how the living heroes will face them," Supreme Superboy said with a cruel smile creeping across his face.
"It won't be long now. We'll see soon enough," Black Death Emperor replied, casually tossing the ring. In the next instant, it turned into a streak of pitch-black light and shot toward Earth. He added, "And we'll descend upon the world as victors."
As the leader of the Black Lantern Corps, he grew stronger without limit as long as Black Lantern Zombies devoured living hearts and funneled the emotional energy to the central battery.
The first ring was merely a test.
Once they had drained enough energy from Mobius, countless Black Lantern Rings would surge forth, spreading across the universe until everything came to an end.
"Did I miss something?"
A shadowy figure appeared before Supreme Superboy and Black Death Emperor, casting a curious glance their way.
"No. The show's just getting started."
…
The streak of black light arrived on Earth without a sound.
Its trajectory was undetectable by any of humanity's current technology.
It flew straight toward a cemetery on the outskirts of New York.
Before long, it hovered in front of a tombstone.
Carved into the stone was the name: William Hand.
…
"The blackest night falls from the skies.
Darkness grows as all light dies.
We crave your hearts and your demise.
By my black hand—the dead shall rise!"
"Flesh. From a certain someone on a certain planet… awakens."
…
Squelch!
A half-rotted hand suddenly burst out of the damp soil, grabbing the Black Lantern Ring with eerie precision.
Next, a decaying corpse—skin peeling and unrecognizable—crawled out of the grave. Maggots writhed inside open wounds, and a nauseating stench accompanied his rise.
Huuurgh…
Allen, leaning on a tombstone, gagged at the sight. "Uncle Punisher… your graveyard's spitting out corpses."
Wiping his mouth, he was thankful he had only eaten some canned peaches—otherwise the taste would have lingered.
Indeed, the so-called Black Lantern Zombies were corpses controlled by the Black Lantern Rings. They extracted the deceased's memories and powers, hunting the living by instinctively tormenting prey to draw out emotional energy—then consuming their hearts to transfer that power to the central battery.
Roar!
The zombie lunged like a wild beast.
Perhaps due to insufficient time, the ring hadn't fully taken over the corpse.
Bang!
"Get lost."
Allen raised a leg and kicked it away, sending it crashing into a tombstone.
At that moment, Frank groggily stepped out of the crypt, rubbing his eyes.
"What the hell is that?"
The stench of rotting flesh instantly snapped him fully awake at the sight of the zombie clad in a Black Lantern uniform.
"I don't know! I just got up to take a leak," Allen replied innocently, raising both hands.
Yeah… Allen had eaten too much canned yellow peach earlier, even drank all the syrup. It led to a midnight bathroom trip. Then came the stench. Curiosity got the better of him, and he ended up vomiting everything he hadn't digested.
"Hold on, I'll get weapons!"
Frank spun around and rushed back to their base.
But the Black Lantern Zombie, in a state of hunger and fearing no death, once again lunged toward Allen without hesitation.
Adaaah!!
Huuuurgh…
Allen kicked it away again, but the stench had him retching uncontrollably.
He could endure filth, but stench? Absolutely not.
"Don't come any closer—you reek!"
Allen pinched his nose and pointed to the crypt. "Go bother Uncle Punisher. Let me catch my breath."
"I'm going to slowly torture you to death," the zombie growled.
Having inherited William's memories, the ring's behavior leaned toward the host's personality. "Death is beautiful. You'll love it."
"Sh*t, don't tell me you're Death's errand boy?" Allen's eyes widened in disbelief.
That "relationship" with Death had always been one-sided—back during the Guardians timeline, Allen often flirted with Lady Death despite her being invisible.
William's rotted hand spewed a stream of pitch-black blood that twisted and condensed into a spear before hurling it.
Allen narrowly dodged it, watching as the spear melted into black blood and reabsorbed into the zombie's body.
Black Lantern Ring.
The Blackest Night.
At last, between the abilities and the outfit, Allen remembered the Black Lantern Corps—rings outside the color spectrum, heralding an unprecedented crisis.
He didn't recall all the details, but he did remember one thing: the White Lantern Ring held the key to victory.
"I'm back!"
Frank returned with a light machine gun.
He immediately opened fire on the zombie.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Muzzle flashes lit up the night as a storm of bullets tore into the decaying body, sending chunks of rotten flesh flying and thickening the already suffocating stench.
Yet William tanked the barrage. Though his body trembled under the assault, he remained upright.
Within two minutes, 200 rounds had been fired—leaving the barrel glowing red-hot.
"I've already died once. How can I die again?" William sneered.
Black blood surged to mend his wounds, restoring his body in seconds.
"What kind of monster is this…?" Frank's scalp went numb.
Killing humans was easy. But anything beyond human? He was at a complete loss.
Especially one that didn't fear bullets.
"Black Lantern Zombie… hurk... a creature that doesn't fear… hurk... death…"
Allen kept gagging while speaking, leaving Frank frowning deeply.
"What do we do now?"
Frank pulled out his sidearm and fired repeatedly to slow the zombie's approach. Panic was clear on his face.
"Failure-Shaming Beam!"
Once there was nothing left to vomit, Allen raised his hand and unleashed a wave of Light of Healing.
The power of light element naturally countered darkness.
And it was now clear—the Black Lantern Ring drew its power from darkness.
Frank was stunned. "How the hell can someone shoot white light from their hands?"
The zombie, previously unfazed, now howled and screeched in panic, seemingly terrified of the white light. Its black blood surged to the surface to resist the light's purification.
Maintaining the Light of Healing, Allen explained, "Uncle Punisher, Black Lantern Zombies are part of the Black Lantern Corps. Looks like Earth's facing yet another disaster."
"Black Lantern Corps?" Frank had heard of the Green Lantern Corps—the Green Lanterns had even helped during the last major crisis.
"They're rings that bring the dead back to life."
Allen said with conviction, "Soon, even the corpses of superheroes will be desecrated and revived as part of the Black Lantern Corps. I've read this event comic before."
"…"
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[TN: Hello everyone. I apologize for the hiatus. I had some health issues and scheduling difficulties, which is why I was inactive.
I was on hiatus from February 10 to May 28, 2026 — a total of 107 days.
To make up for the delay, I will be releasing the complete chapters later for everyone, and daily updates on WN will resume afterward. Thank you.]