Chapter 410: The Birth of Allen's X Lantern Ring
The Amazon warriors present, along with Queen Hippolyta, stared blankly at the spot where Allen and Steppenwolf had vanished into thin air.
In truth, Hippolyta didn't care whether they lived or died.
The problem was that the Lasso of Truth and the God Killer Sword were still in Allen's possession.
These two sacred artifacts were heirlooms of Themyscira—absolutely not something to be lost.
"Sister."
At that moment, Antiope, who had been guarding the temple, arrived with a group of warriors in tow.
However, judging by their pale faces, the trauma still lingered.
The pain of suffering a magical octuplet labor technique was truly no joke.
Yet Hippolyta's attention was fixed on Diana's corpse.
The desecration of the deceased by a Black Lantern Ring deeply enraged her.
But since the true culprit had not been identified and she lacked the strength to avenge Diana, she could only issue quiet orders: "Prepare the body and assign a guard detail to watch over it day and night."
She was worried the same thing might happen again and didn't want Diana's eternal rest to be disturbed.
And if nothing unexpected happened, it likely meant similar events were occurring outside Themyscira as well.
This, however, was something Hippolyta had no desire to get involved in.
One Black Lantern zombie was already driving the Amazons to their limit.
If a swarm were to appear, the Amazons might very well face extinction.
"I'm back."
Dismissing the Mirror Dimension, Allen returned to the real world.
He strode straight over to Hippolyta and extended both hands to return the two divine artifacts.
To be honest, apart from the God Killer Sword being somewhat useful, Allen couldn't really make use of the Lasso of Truth—unless it was for whipping enemies.
"What about the enemy?"
Taking the artifacts back, Hippolyta asked with concern about Steppenwolf's status.
Given his strength, which could single-handedly wipe out Themyscira, he was clearly regarded as the number-one threat.
"He ran away," Allen replied nonchalantly. "Mama, he couldn't resist my devastating good looks, burst into tears, and ran off bawling. What a fragile, glass-hearted old romantic."
"…"
Could you be any more shameless?
Don't think I won't hit you just because you're handsome.
Still, for the sake of him saving Themyscira, Hippolyta remained polite.
Though admittedly, his crazy rambling was giving her a headache.
"I'm taking the Mother Box with me."
Allen casually scooped up the Mother Box without giving anyone a chance to object.
However, the Amazon warriors didn't see it that way. One after another, they drew their weapons.
They couldn't defeat Steppenwolf—but this guy?
Well… probably couldn't beat him either.
Still, Amazons never backed down.
Only the warriors who had originally guarded the temple quietly took a step back, giving their sisters room to act.
After all, no one wanted to go through labor pain again.
"Stop!"
Hippolyta's commanding voice rang out. "Sheathe your weapons. We do not attack our benefactor."
The Amazons were a proud people. Allen had resolved their crisis, and she would not tolerate any betrayal of gratitude.
"But Your Majesty, we can't lose the Mother Box," a squad captain objected.
Guarding the Mother Box was part of their divine duty—a command from Zeus himself.
In their eyes, Zeus was the one true supreme deity.
To outsiders, though, he was more like an indiscriminate interspecies sperm donor.
"Enough."
Hippolyta didn't want to explain further.
At this point, the Mother Box was a massive liability. Keeping it on Themyscira would only invite Steppenwolf back for another attack. Better to let an outsider take it and shift the threat elsewhere.
As queen of the Amazons, she had to consider her people's survival.
"I knew Mama loved me best," Allen said with a grin, nuzzling Hippolyta's shoulder in an exaggeratedly flirtatious way, drawing frowns from the warriors.
How could someone so powerful be such a shameless clown?
"You saved Themyscira, and we are grateful—but don't push your luck."
As she spoke, Hippolyta pressed the God Killer Sword to Allen's neck, her tone clearly a warning.
Unfortunately, warnings didn't work.
This was Allen, after all. He was born to stir up trouble. If he didn't cause chaos for a day, he felt off.
"Would you really, Mama?" Allen rested his chin on the sword and gave her big puppy-dog eyes. "I'm such a rare, flamboyant specimen. Wouldn't you consider keeping me as a pet?"
"Not a chance."
Hippolyta sheathed her sword and casually asked, "What are you planning?"
Her meaning was clear: When are you leaving?
And please, take that damned Mother Box with you.
The sooner the source of all this trouble left, the better—before all of Themyscira ended up in actual heaven.
"Got a forge?"
Allen leaned in with a mischievous grin. "I want to do a little work on the Mother Box."
"We do. But I'll be supervising."
"Knock yourself out."
…
Apokolips.
City of Apokolips.
Thud!
Inside Darkseid's palace.
With the sound of something hitting the floor, the ruler of Apokolips—Darkseid—looked coldly at Steppenwolf lying before him.
"You can't even complete a simple task. Why should I keep you around?"
His voice was cold, his aura overwhelming—every bit the terrifying force of a galactic conqueror.
"Master, please—give me one more chance. I swear I'll retrieve the relic!" Steppenwolf pleaded, panicked.
When he saw the red glow seeping from Darkseid's eyes, his body trembled in terror.
The Omega Beams.
One of the most supreme divine forces in the universe.
A single look, and Steppenwolf felt like he was already dead.
It was these very Omega Beams that had cemented Darkseid's dominance across the stars.
Though lately, a rising newcomer—Thanos—had begun to draw his attention.
Mainly because Thanos wielded the Titan Force and possessed immortality, making him a formidable rival.
Darkseid withdrew the glow from his eyes and clasped his hands behind his back, his tone calm but sharp: "I'll give you one last chance. Fail again, and you'll be turned into a Parademon."
The Parademons of Apokolips were war machines, transformed from the native populations of conquered worlds.
Cheap and ruthlessly efficient.
Steppenwolf had no doubt Darkseid meant it.
If he failed again, he'd be reduced to a mindless soldier—no better than a zombie.
Yes, he was technically Darkseid's uncle, but…
Darkseid's mother once fought him for the throne of Apokolips, which made blood ties utterly meaningless.
After all, if he could eliminate his own mother for power, what chance did a useless uncle have?
If Steppenwolf hadn't been strong, he'd have been purged long ago.
After all, no emperor handles everything personally.
Boom!
A stream of energy enveloped Steppenwolf, giving him no time to recover. He was instantly teleported to the location of the next Mother Box.
"When I get that last Mother Box… I'll act personally."
Darkseid gazed at Earth's starfield, waiting patiently.
If not for the interference of the ancient gods' hidden Pantheon, he would've already descended on Earth himself.
"Earth… what an interesting place."
Indeed. Though its civilization had yet to even reach interstellar status, it was never short of powerful beings reaching for the stars.
The Pantheon was a prime example.
Not just Earth's ancient gods—they had united with divine beings from other galactic civilizations to form a force no one could ignore.
Atlantis.
One of the three Mother Boxes was held by the Atlantean race.
In ancient times, the Atlantean Empire had worshipped Poseidon and answered his call to join the war of the gods.
As such, they were entrusted with the safekeeping of a Mother Box.
Currently, Queen Atlanna, who kept the kingdom running, was mourning.
That morning, she received devastating news: her daughter-in-law Mera and her grandchild—living on land—had been murdered, their hearts ripped out.
Still reeling from the death of her son, this new tragedy left the white-haired queen looking more lifeless than ever.
The only remaining heir to the throne was Ocean Master Orm.
But, as in the original story, this world's Orm had drastically changed after losing the crown, becoming a major villain who stirred chaos beneath the sea.
He didn't just hate humans—he was equally ruthless toward Atlantis.
In his eyes, they were all traitors.
"Your Majesty! There's a situation at the temple."
Suddenly, a royal guard arrived with a report.
Atlanna, accustomed to leadership, composed herself and immediately headed to investigate.
Generations of rulers had obeyed Poseidon's decrees—failure to do so risked rejection from the Atlantean people.
And the temple was one of the most sacred places.
Despite their advanced technology, the Atlanteans had tried studying the Mother Box but eventually gave up.
The gap was simply too great—not something modern Atlantis could meddle with.
They knew the legend: Atlantis's first king once coveted Poseidon's divine power, and the entire continent sank as a result. Ever since, his descendants were cursed—forever exiled from dry land.
By contrast, the breakthroughs of S.T.A.R. Labs came only by piggybacking off Kryptonian tech—and even then, they barely scratched the surface.
Cyborg's creation had involved a string of improbable coincidences.
When Atlanna arrived, she saw the Mother Box trembling violently.
It was the first time she had seen such behavior and couldn't determine what was happening. She ordered her guards to be on high alert.
Boom!
A spatial portal opened.
Steppenwolf had returned to Earth—this time in an ocean environment—and still maintained full combat capacity.
"Enemy attack!"
The soldiers locked on with energy weapons.
The blasts—powerful enough to pierce thick titanium alloy—hit Steppenwolf's armor but didn't leave so much as a scratch.
Focused on the mission, Steppenwolf didn't waste time. He grabbed the Mother Box and prepared to retreat.
"Leave the Mother Box!"
Atlanna would never allow him to take what they were sworn to protect. She launched at him like a torpedo, wielding her trident.
"Out of my way!"
Steppenwolf countered with a backhand strike.
The sheer force sent Atlanna tumbling through the water uncontrollably.
She barely stabilized herself and prepared for a second assault—only to see a beam of energy wrap around Steppenwolf as he vanished once again.
…
"Forty! Forty! Forty!"
Back on Themyscira, Allen pounded the Mother Box with a small hammer, sparks flying.
Despite his efforts, it remained undamaged.
Hippolyta stood nearby, clearly uncomfortable, wondering if he'd gone mad.
"What kind of hammering technique is that?"
Allen caught his breath. Now dual-wielding a big hammer and a small one, he resumed his vigorous pounding.
Unfortunately, the Mother Box stayed intact.
Clearly, its material was extraordinarily tough.
"Phew… that was satisfying."
After a good beating, Allen stopped the pointless hammering.
In truth, he'd just wanted to mess around and get a feel for the box's resilience.
Obviously, it couldn't be destroyed by conventional means.
"What are you doing?" Hippolyta asked, puzzled.
"Just loosening up a bit."
Allen set down his hammers and flipped his hair with flair.
With everyone watching, he placed both hands on the Mother Box.
Disassemble.
He silently uttered the command in his mind.
In an instant, radiant light burst forth and enveloped the Mother Box.
Moments later, the once cube-shaped object had reverted into a pile of raw materials.
Anything man-made, Allen could reduce to its base components using his disassembly skill—unless it was a naturally occurring divine artifact.
For example, the Infinity Stones wouldn't work—they're a form of matter themselves.
"Yes! Finally found it."
Allen picked up a silver-white metallic object about the size of a palm.
The moment Hippolyta saw the silvery metal, even she was visibly moved.
He could clearly sense the terrifying energy of laws contained within it.
"This is...?"
Unable to suppress his curiosity, Hippolyta asked.
"Ta-da! The Tenth Metal, Element X," Allen said bluntly, without the slightest hesitation.
That's right—his entire purpose for this trip had been to find the Tenth Metal.
The only supreme treasure in existence.
Under normal circumstances, it exists only within the World Forge of the World Forger's realm. It was also the key item used by Perpetua in her fight against the Bat God Barbatos.
Of course, there are always exceptions. The Mother Box's forging process once incorporated the Tenth Metal.
As for how Apokolips got hold of it, Allen had no idea.
The only halfway reasonable explanation was that it had been obtained by Jakakhan from the World Forger before his ascension to the Source Wall.
"Combining the Tenth Metal with a Black Lantern Ring? Now that's promising."
With that, Allen took out a pitch-black ring.
Completely unconcerned, he began modifying the Lantern Ring right then and there.
Having had similar experience before, Allen handled it with ease.
The other set of Lantern Rings lacked a stable energy source, so he'd taken an unconventional approach—targeting interdimensional lifeforms to serve as Lantern Beasts.
However, the Tenth Metal contained boundless energy and numerous special abilities.
In less than half an hour—
A black-and-white ring glimmering with silver radiance was complete.
"X Lantern Ring—done."
Allen slipped it onto his index finger, and in an instant, fully grasped the powers within.
Among all the Lantern Rings, this one was easily on par with the Phantom Lantern Ring.
"This is freaking awesome."
This unique ring alone was enough to deal with any crisis.
Hmm...
Allen looked at the remaining metal materials.
Following the principle of not letting anything go to waste, he had to put them to good use.
His gaze swept across the forging molds, and an idea formed in his mind.
"Ladies, help me heat the forge!"
Allen waved to the watching Amazons.
The warrior women all looked to their queen, and after receiving her silent approval, began to assist.
After all, they trained daily, and it was inevitable for weapons to be damaged—having forging facilities was a necessity.
High-temperature smelting.
Mold casting.
Amid a flurry of heat and sparks, Allen crafted a new weapon to his liking.
"This looks amazing."
Allen proudly raised the new weapon, waving it with flair as he declared, "I've always wanted a flyswatter."
"..."