Chapter Thirty-Five: The Yellow Light Legion vs. Hydra (Part Three): The Leader’s True Intentions

Yet what did the conflicts of Hell have to do with the living?

At least from the moment he sent the little demons back to Hell up until now, Elia’s life could barely be described as peaceful. Sinestro had come to discuss an academic matter with him. The general theme of his scholarly report was:

“Is Borrowing a Platform Without Paying the Platform Fee a Shameful Act?”

This was how matters stood: after watching Elia fight for a long time, Sinestro had finally begun to understand the reason behind the Yellow Lantern energy’s continual decline.

Put simply, this universe obeyed the law of conservation of energy. In a certain sense, the Yellow Lantern Corps’ central power battery was a warehouse for storing the spiritual force known as fear. The fear within it originated from every sentient being in the universe. Never mind how it was collected. The living produced the energy, the members of the Yellow Lantern Corps used it, and their acts of violence inspired new fear, thus creating a recurring cycle of environmentally friendly, renewable energy.

To put it more plainly, the central power battery was merely an intermediary.

Ordinary people could not directly apply fear energy, so they had no choice but to pay the platform fee, become members of the Sinestro Corps, and use the functions developed through their yellow lantern ring app.

But Elia Esposito was different. He had originally possessed the ability to kick the platform aside and develop an app of his own. In other words, even without using a yellow lantern ring, he could still make use of fear energy. He was practically the Yellow Lantern Corps’ greatest competitor.

If the Yellow Lantern Corps were compared to Meituan, then Elia could be compared to Ele.me.

The problem was that Elia had the necessary technology, yet had no desire to become an intermediary. Instead, he had gathered a whole pile of lantern rings and become a Yellow Lantern member himself! The fear energy produced by those he intimidated naturally never reached the Yellow Lanterns’ central power battery. Elia, meanwhile, did not use the energy he collected. He simply continued drawing on the Yellow Lantern Corps’ reserves!

Was that not equivalent to the head of Ele.me using the Meituan app to order takeout for people, while pocketing the fees himself?

What kind of absurdly good deal was that?

So Sinestro’s long-winded speech had only one central point: Elia could continue using the lantern ring, but he had to pay something. Otherwise, if things continued this way, not only would the central power battery suffer—Parallax, the embodiment of fear itself and the Yellow Lantern beast, would be starved thin as well!

Sinestro knew that English was not Elia’s native language, and was frustrated by the fact that, for some reason, the lantern ring could not translate into the language Elia commonly used. He therefore spent a great deal of time and effort both simulating explanations through the ring and gesturing with his hands. Sinestro had never shown such patience even with his own daughter. Clearly, he had developed a sincere appreciation for Elia’s talent.

The two of them chatted leisurely for half the night, and finally managed to bring their understanding of the situation to a common standard.

The reason Sinestro had been able to speak with Elia for so long without interruption from any superheroes was that they were no longer on Earth.

Just as Sinestro believed Elia worth befriending, Elia likewise felt that the Yellow Lantern Corps possessed technology of considerable distinction. But with Ophelia and Gale at home, he would never risk bringing the other man there. Sinestro, for his part, had long since abandoned the thought of having Elia report to the Yellow Lantern Corps’ headquarters.

Both men wanted to get to know the other, yet neither was willing to lower his guard. They therefore tacitly agreed to meet on a neutral planet not far away.

After attempting his first flight, Elia embarked on his first short interstellar journey aboard Sinestro’s ring.

In a world without superheroes, he might even have counted as the first man to explore outer space. But as for whether this rare new experience in life moved him deeply...

Not particularly.

Users of lantern rings could fly through space at speeds reaching eighty percent of the speed of light. They also passed through a wormhole along the way, and Elia felt that the entire Solar System had been left behind in the blink of an eye.

His homeworld, Earth, had become an almost imperceptible star amid the endless darkness.

The star sector they now occupied was Sector 2813, connected to Sector 2814, where Earth lay. A Yellow Lantern member named Romat-Ru was stationed there.

He was an alien with pointed ears and a beak like a chicken’s. On top of his head sat an extremely comical golden fleshy fin resembling a mohawk.

Sinestro had apparently not intended to notify anyone of their arrival, for when Romat-Ru suddenly appeared within their field of vision, a brief expression of surprise crossed his face.

“Oh.” Sinestro recovered quickly and introduced him to Elia. “This is Romat-Ru. The gentleman beside me is Elia Esposito of Sector 2814.”

“Esposito.” Romat-Ru scrutinized Elia with suspicion and disdain. “I have heard of you—the one favored by the lantern ring. I come from the planet Xudar. Before joining the Corps, I was a serial killer. Countless children died by my hand, and my name still inspires fear in the people of Xudar. What about you, Esposito? What did you do on your planet to make this yellow light fall so deeply in love with you?”

By then, Sinestro had grown accustomed to translating the English produced by Elia’s ring into a second language along the way. He responded instinctively:

“I’m sorry.”

Then he gave Elia a smile.

“What he said is not important. You should be able to see that Romat-Ru is provoking you. Romat-Ru: ‘Boss?’ I swear that was not my intention. It is merely that... my Corps members are all elites, and elites are inevitably proud.”

As he spoke, the yellow lantern ring displayed synchronized subtitles and explanations beside him. It was considerate to the point of absurdity.

Romat-Ru looked at him, then at Elia, utterly baffled.

What was going on?

Sinestro continued, “You may do as you please, Esposito. You as well, Romat-Ru. I will not interfere. This is a matter between the two of you.”

The moment he finished speaking, Romat-Ru immediately assumed a defensive stance.

Elia did not move. He merely turned the yellow lantern ring that had been on strike until now and asked pensively:

“Anything I please?”

Sinestro’s arched brows twitched.

He remembered Elia’s bizarre intimidation ability—an ability he had witnessed only once, yet which had left such a deep impression on him that he could not help feeling wary. Sinestro had been about to suggest that Elia retreat farther away first, lest the leader of the Corps embarrass himself here.

But after a moment’s thought, he changed his mind. He merely prepared himself mentally and hovered where he was, saying calmly:

“Of course.”

Despite the complete command suggested by his manner, Sinestro was actually far from certain of himself. He had no idea how Elia’s intimidation ability could directly awaken genuine fear from within a living being. It required neither killing nor death. A single casually spoken sentence could produce a result more terrifying than a river of blood.

It was as though fear were a violin string. While others strained to blow against it, Elia needed only to pluck it lightly with one hand to make it give forth a thunderous note unlike any that had come before.

Sinestro himself was, of course, not immune to its effects. That had already been proven in their previous battle. At the time, Elia had roared a few brief words at the Book of Destiny in order to suppress it. Sinestro, who had merely been listening from the side, had been struck as though by lightning. He had remained dazed for a long time before barely managing to regain control of his body.

And that had only been collateral exposure.

The previous experience had made Sinestro instinctively reluctant to clash with Elia again. But he soon realized that this way of thinking could only be avoidance born of fear.

Since when had Sinestro bowed his head before fear?

No. There ought to be nothing in this universe capable of making him bow.

Thus, although Romat-Ru’s arrival had not been arranged by him, Sinestro quickly resolved to take advantage of the opportunity. He needed to force himself to face Elia’s power once more, and then overcome the fear within his own heart.

If it failed again this time, he would find another opportunity and continue trying.

Until he conquered his weakness.

Sinestro did not need to be invincible. He had suffered crushing defeats, been imprisoned by the Green Lantern Corps, been captured by the Red Lantern Corps, and lost countless battles large and small. Yet even now, he still stood among the universe’s most formidable figures.

But he could not fail before fear. Otherwise, everything he possessed would betray him because he had betrayed himself.

So, facing Elia and one of his own Corps members, Sinestro forced an unconcerned expression onto his face and said:

“Of course. Do as you please.”

Elia really did as he pleased.

Sinestro was merely his nominal superior. Even if the other man paid his wages, Elia would still have to judge from the amount whether he should act like a tyrannical contractor or show him a little respect. At present, the two of them had no sordid financial transaction between them, nor had they yet developed a pure friendship. Elia had asked only because Sinestro’s translation skills were exquisite and the yellow lantern ring was genuinely useful.

In the language of the Book of Destiny, he calmly said to Romat-Ru:

“You should pay with your life for the innocent people who died by your hand. What they felt before their deaths is the fear you feel now.”

Romat-Ru’s vertical pupils suddenly widened.

He might have been scum, but he was utterly loyal to Sinestro. Since joining the Corps, eighty percent of his operations had received Sinestro’s approval or tacit encouragement, while nearly all of the remaining twenty percent had been carried out in pursuit of the Corps’ interests.

To him, killing was a toy. He could use his lantern ring to manifest the corpses of those who had died by his hand and wield them as weapons. As he himself had said, he had killed tens of thousands of people on his homeworld, more than half of them children.

But now, in Romat-Ru’s eyes, all those corpses transformed into grinning zombies and lunged at him.

They opened their enormous bloody mouths and engulfed him. Romat-Ru could hardly breathe. He was not afraid of corpses, but the embodiment of death before him rose higher than the tallest mountain on Xudar. Viewed from afar, it resembled a grim reaper draped in black robes and holding a scythe. Look closely, however, and one could see countless eyes and countless faces upon it.

Behind that horrifying incarnation stood an inconspicuous figure. He wore a long robe, his hands bound in chains, and at the end of those chains lay an open silver-white book.

Romat-Ru could not understand what he was seeing.

Countless images flashed through his mind: himself mocking life, himself mocking fate; and the souls who had died beneath his blade, the innocent ones who had wept, despaired, and resigned themselves to death.

He felt his soul rising while his body sank, a fierce pain churning within his heart.

The planet beneath his feet seemed to split in two. Vast planetary rings interwove into a Möbius strip. Distant stars boiled, then cooled. The universe fell silent.

Who was he?

Why was he lingering here?

As Romat-Ru stood lost in bewilderment, a woman in a Gothic dress, with black hair and pale skin, slowly walked toward him.

She wore a smile that could almost be called gentle, and crossed the dark, airless void as easily as though she were walking on level ground.