"What does your Highfather want with Kyle?"
"You have no right to know Highfather's divine will."
Hal Jordan laughed in disbelief. His ring shifted into combat mode automatically. "The Green Lantern Corps doesn't fear you! I won't let you take my fellow Lantern!"
The remaining Green Lanterns moved into battle formation as well. Setting aside the question of whether to keep using the rings—Kyle Rayner, the White Lantern, absolutely could not be taken. The name "Torch Bearer" was already legendary across all seven Lantern Corps. Having their hero seized on their own doorstep, at their own headquarters? Even the most timid among them would put up a fight.
The Lanterns figured the visitors had brought an army to take someone by force, and they weren't wrong.
The two sides were on a collision course. While the Lanterns raised their defenses, the Guard readied themselves in kind.
Thea hadn't restricted the Weave, so magic had spread widely across New Genesis. As an elite force, the Guard counted plenty of mages in their ranks—powerful ones, at that.
Several of the strongest mages began channeling, magical energy rolling off their bodies in waves. The New Gods' pride made them look down on the Green Lantern Corps without a shred of concern. If these people wanted to resist, then the Guard would show them what they were dealing with.
Of the hundred thousand Guards, nearly ten thousand were high-tier mages, and among them were several Archmages.
They began chanting incantations in booming voices while the high-tier mages coordinated to inscribe spell arrays. The distinctive radiance of Legendary Spells began to glow, magical power drawn from the Weave as the spells took rapid shape.
Just as the two sides were about to clash, ten Guardians flew out between them.
"Stop this! New Gods, do you want to start a war?!" Ganthet glared at the invaders without a hint of fear.
Orion sized him up. He and the little blue man seemed roughly evenly matched. If he unleashed part of his dark nature, he could definitely beat this one—but if all the little blue men were at a similar level, ten of them would be too many. Three, he could handle. Maybe.
To preserve what little "righteousness" his side could still claim, Orion explained his purpose.
"Unacceptable! Rayner is one of ours—we won't hand him over to you!" Before Ganthet could weigh the strategic implications, several of his more impulsive fellow Guardians flatly refused.
"Shut your mouths!" He snapped at the meddlesome little blue men, then turned back to Orion. "Why would Highfather issue such an order? Is this the will of New Genesis as a whole, or Highfather's alone?"
Old and shrewd, Ganthet was nothing like the eight recluses who'd spent hundreds of millions of years guarding the First Lantern. He needed to determine where this order originated—whether it represented New Genesis's collective stance or Highfather's personal agenda—and by extension, whether Thea and Diana were friends or enemies.
"Hand over the Earthling. All you need to know is that we act in the name of justice." Orion deflected the question and pressed harder.
"I'll go with them..." Kyle didn't want his presence to spark a battle and started to step forward, but Sayd held him back.
"Kyle, please wait. This is more complicated than it appears," she said quietly.
Kyle had always respected Ganthet and Sayd, so he stayed put.
"If you stand in our way, you are the enemy! Are you prepared to face the wrath of the New Gods?!" Orion roared.
Ganthet's expression was grim. "You are far too arrogant, New God. I am older than you can fathom. When Highfather and Darkseid fought their first great war, I had already lived for countless ages. Your threats are meaningless and laughable in my eyes."
Watching the feed from the Underworld, Thea pressed a palm to her face. Ganthet was actually a decent person—devoted, principled, morally grounded. Compared to his colleagues, he had plenty of virtues. Just one flaw: the man loved to boast.
He couldn't help himself. Always inflating things. Claiming the Spectre was beneath him, that Superman was nothing special, and now this—pulling seniority on Orion. The subtext of his little speech was that Highfather and Darkseid were children in his eyes. As if age and power had anything to do with each other. Spoiler: they really didn't.
No one was stupid enough to miss the insult. Ganthet's words ignited the Guard's fury. These were soldiers willing to die for Highfather, and hearing someone disrespect him like that sent them over the edge. Without hesitation, they attacked.
Three Legendary Spells that had been charging up fired simultaneously—two meteor storms and a spell that summoned a storm of lightning. Light and shadow crisscrossed as the battle erupted in full.
After the spells landed, the mages collectively pulled back to the rear to prepare a second volley.
The Guards hefted their javelins and hurled them at the Green Lanterns, who'd thrown up a wall of constructs.
Diana's contributions to New Genesis's military doctrine were evident. The strategy maximized ranged strikes against the enemy: spell barrages first, then javelin volleys. After that, the shield-warriors advanced while the cavalry flanked. This classical Greek city-state approach to warfare was a natural fit for the New Gods' combat style.
Following the magic and javelin salvos, the Guards' lances fired row after row of energy beams. By the time the battered Green Lanterns fought through to melee range, they were met by well-drilled shield-warriors.
One hundred thousand trained, fully-equipped elite Guards against one thousand demoralized Green Lanterns. The result was a slaughter.
Several of the Guard's strongest warriors tied down the Guardians while Orion pressed his assault against Ganthet and Sayd.
"You commit this atrocity and still dare call yourselves righteous?!" Sayd screamed in fury.
Orion said nothing. He knew the Green Lanterns were righteous heroes, but he had no choice. He had to complete the mission.
To avoid drawing Thea and Diana into the conflict and triggering an all-out war between the Underworld and New Genesis, he intended to finish this fast.
A thread of darkness slithered from the deepest part of his soul—the evil power he'd been born with, inherited from Darkseid's bloodline. Orion's face twisted into a snarl, and a single blow sent Sayd flying.
Across the battlefield, the Lanterns were losing on every front. Outnumbered a hundred to one and facing elite troops, their casualty count climbed relentlessly.
"Stop! All of you, stop! I'll go with you! Stop killing innocent people!" Kyle Rayner shouted in rage. He couldn't believe his eyes. Familiar Green Lanterns lay in pools of blood around him. This was how New Genesis's self-proclaimed champions of justice upheld their ideals?
"Hah! Out of my way, old man!" Orion, dark energy swirling across his face, punched Ganthet aside, then turned to Kyle. He drew several deep breaths, forcibly suppressing the violence surging inside him.
"Please come with me. Don't keep Highfather waiting." Orion's voice was low and measured.
Kyle felt nothing but revulsion for this "Highfather" of theirs. Revulsion and a growing hatred.
"Let me revive my comrades first." Kyle gave Orion no warmth. Silently, he reached out to his ring. The White Lantern Ring could resurrect the dead—that power was a major reason he'd endured so much hardship to earn the ring's acceptance in the first place.
But this was his first time actually using the resurrection function.
The ring's glow was faint. Dozens of silver threads spiraled out from it, connecting to the bodies of the fallen Lanterns.