Reading settings
Chapter 196: All Will Be Well
Orin Vale knew clearly that something called the "Light of Hope" also existed in the DC Universe.
This was not some abstract or metaphorical figure of speech, but a part of the system known as the "Emotional Spectrum."
The commonly known Emotional Spectrum contains seven colored lights, each corresponding to an emotion or quality. Red, orange, yellow, green, indigo, blue, and violet correspond to Rage, Greed, Fear, Willpower, Compassion, Hope, and Love, respectively.
Among them, "Hope" is the name of the Blue Lantern Light. It is the most special of the seven lights in the spectrum. Only those with the conviction to never give up hope, even in the most dire situations, can wield the Blue Light. Every member of the Blue Lantern Corps must be an individual of the highest moral character and purest spirit in the universe, like a saint.
In terms of energy alone, the Blue Lantern Light, representing hope, is the rarest yet most immense emotional energy source compared to the other six lights.
Orin Vale had briefly studied Green Lantern energy. While this was not enough for him to become a master within the Emotional Spectrum's technological tree, he had gained a slight understanding of how this unique DC Comics technology operated.
At the very least, he could recognize an emotional source when he came into contact with one, like right now.
"Hope." The voice rang out again.
Following it was a massive amount of energy. A gentle and radiant blue brilliance burst forth from a fissure deep within the steel planet, surging into his body all at once.
Although he had never seen it before, nor did he have any related data for reference, he could quickly guess what this energy was.
Beneath his feet, there was very likely some kind of energy source for the Blue Lantern spectrum.
The Light of Hope—from its name and description, it was clear that this concept had a high degree of compatibility with the Ultraman Race. It was no longer a question of how well it fit; it was practically tailor-made.
Therefore, when Orin Vale approached the energy source and released his light energy, that power was drawn to him like a magnet.
More and more, the light grew, filling him completely.
The Manhunters Commander raised its arm again.
"No one—"
The instant the word "one" left its mouth, Orin Vale charged forward again.
An electric arc radiated through the air as Ultraman's body vanished as if teleporting. In the next instant, he appeared in a flash before the hunter, his body suspended in mid-air as he delivered a direct front kick to its chest and abdomen.
A halo-like effect exploded on the robot's body. The shockwave caused the surrounding buildings to collapse, sending metal debris flying. The terrifying destructive power and immense impact blasted numerous radiating cracks across the protective force field on the chest of the Manhunters.
The Manhunters suddenly counterattacked with an energy beam, but it only pierced through an afterimage. Orin Vale was long gone. The next moment, he emerged from the left amidst a flickering electric arc and an afterimage, still in mid-air. With a flying knee, he slammed into the head of the Manhunters, knocking it askew with a boom.
Shards of green light flew everywhere, and a large area of cracks was blasted into the defenses on the Manhunters' head.
It spun around and swatted with its palm, but Orin Vale had already dodged. A fleeting afterimage flashed past its right flank. The Manhunters turned again to strike, only to swing at empty air. In the same instant, a supersonic elbow strike hit its shoulder from behind like an iron hammer, causing its protective force field to continue cracking apart.
It was like peeling an eggshell at hypervelocity.
"No one can escape—"
The upper body of the Manhunters impossibly swiveled one hundred and eighty degrees, reaching for Orin Vale behind it. Orin Vale pulled back, retreating without turning his head to evade the grab. He had barely withdrawn from behind his opponent when, in the same moment, he appeared from the complete opposite direction as if he were a clone, trailing lightning as he delivered a diving flying kick.
The Manhunters was kicked onto its back. The metal titan, dozens of meters tall, crashed to the ground and slid along it like a berserk giant beast. The alloy and rebar of the ground screeched and groaned. The roof of the factory building was torn to shreds, and the spreading impact kicked up clouds of yellow sand. All machinery in its path was crushed to pieces, leaving a trail of fire hundreds of meters long in its wake.
Overwhelmed, the protective force field finally shattered completely into a rain of fragments.
They fought at super-speed. What seemed like several rounds had actually taken place in a matter of seconds. It was only now that the Green Lantern, moving at a normal flow of time, burst out of the nearby ruins with a boom and flew back into the sky.
Having just taken off and not yet regained altitude, Hal witnessed the incredibly impactful scene. The massive robot was sent sliding backward with a series of rumbles, its protective force field blasted to smithereens. The dozens-of-meters-tall red-and-silver giant materialized out of thin air in an electric arc-like flash, landing heavily while still in its flying kick pose. Its landing seemed to trigger an earthquake on the planet.
Hal, having flown out of the ruins, hovered in mid-air and pondered for two seconds.
Then he muttered, "I must be seeing things."
But the Manhunters felt no pain. Or at least, Orin Vale thought it probably didn't feel any pain.
After being kicked away, the Manhunters sprang back up with almost no recovery time. Its chest had, at some point, transformed to reveal a massive cannon.
Super-condensed green light churned and brewed within the giant cannon, seemingly fully charged and ready to be unleashed at any moment.
“Energy index extremely high. Coefficient assessment: extremely dangerous,” the Green Lantern Ring alerted. “Projected power level is sufficient to destroy the current planet.”
“You've got to be kidding me,” Hal said, startled.
Orin Vale also saw the power contained within this cannon blast at a glance.
But he didn't dodge.
He could feel that the abundant light within him, named "Hope," would be no weaker than his opponent's if unleashed at maximum output. No, it should be even more than that.
He could even compress and suppress the energy's release radius, controlling its direction and the scope of the explosion.
Although this planet beneath him didn't seem to have any ordinary inhabitants, they had come here to investigate. Besides, Orin Vale was quite concerned about the suspected Blue Lantern energy source underground that was charging him. If he let the opponent's beam blast the entire planet to smithereens, it obviously wouldn't help their investigation.
In a split second, he made his decision.
No dodging, no evading. A real man meets a beam struggle head-on!
Orin Vale formed a cross with his hands.
Specium Ray!
A stream of radiant light shot out, released more fiercely than ever before. The metal ground was scorched through from a distance, and the steel structures and debris turned red-hot. Even the sky seemed to faintly reflect an azure hue.
The blue radiance, trailing lightning, collided head-on with the green light of the Manhunters!
The energy erupted into a circular impact at the point of contact. They were locked in a brief stalemate, like the center marker in a tug-of-war shifting back and forth for a moment. But after only a second of stalemate, the centerline began to push toward the side of the Manhunters, sweeping forward with overwhelming force.
Orin Vale had reason to believe he had seized the advantage in this beam struggle.
He increased his output again, unleashing the Specium Ray with full force. The green light was utterly defeated, torn apart by the overpowering stream of light. The boundless vortex finally washed over the enormous body of the Manhunters without any resistance.
"No one can escape... can escape…”
The Manhunters Commander's outer shell cracked and its parts peeled away, revealing a skeleton-like mechanical frame. It muttered a few last words, finally giving up on repeating itself as the light in its mechanical eyes turned blue.
“...All will be well.”
The Commander's body shell exploded completely. A majestic surge of light and heat erupted from within, rising to the sky like a sharp sword powerful enough to pierce the planet.
It shot straight into the heavens.
(end of chapter)
Orin Vale knew clearly that something called the "Light of Hope" also existed in the DC Universe.
This was not some abstract or metaphorical figure of speech, but a part of the system known as the "Emotional Spectrum."
The commonly known Emotional Spectrum contains seven colored lights, each corresponding to an emotion or quality. Red, orange, yellow, green, indigo, blue, and violet correspond to Rage, Greed, Fear, Willpower, Compassion, Hope, and Love, respectively.
Among them, "Hope" is the name of the Blue Lantern Light. It is the most special of the seven lights in the spectrum. Only those with the conviction to never give up hope, even in the most dire situations, can wield the Blue Light. Every member of the Blue Lantern Corps must be an individual of the highest moral character and purest spirit in the universe, like a saint.
In terms of energy alone, the Blue Lantern Light, representing hope, is the rarest yet most immense emotional energy source compared to the other six lights.
Orin Vale had briefly studied Green Lantern energy. While this was not enough for him to become a master within the Emotional Spectrum's technological tree, he had gained a slight understanding of how this unique DC Comics technology operated.
At the very least, he could recognize an emotional source when he came into contact with one, like right now.
"Hope." The voice rang out again.
Following it was a massive amount of energy. A gentle and radiant blue brilliance burst forth from a fissure deep within the steel planet, surging into his body all at once.
Although he had never seen it before, nor did he have any related data for reference, he could quickly guess what this energy was.
Beneath his feet, there was very likely some kind of energy source for the Blue Lantern spectrum.
The Light of Hope—from its name and description, it was clear that this concept had a high degree of compatibility with the Ultraman Race. It was no longer a question of how well it fit; it was practically tailor-made.
Therefore, when Orin Vale approached the energy source and released his light energy, that power was drawn to him like a magnet.
More and more, the light grew, filling him completely.
The Manhunters Commander raised its arm again.
"No one—"
The instant the word "one" left its mouth, Orin Vale charged forward again.
An electric arc radiated through the air as Ultraman's body vanished as if teleporting. In the next instant, he appeared in a flash before the hunter, his body suspended in mid-air as he delivered a direct front kick to its chest and abdomen.
A halo-like effect exploded on the robot's body. The shockwave caused the surrounding buildings to collapse, sending metal debris flying. The terrifying destructive power and immense impact blasted numerous radiating cracks across the protective force field on the chest of the Manhunters.
The Manhunters suddenly counterattacked with an energy beam, but it only pierced through an afterimage. Orin Vale was long gone. The next moment, he emerged from the left amidst a flickering electric arc and an afterimage, still in mid-air. With a flying knee, he slammed into the head of the Manhunters, knocking it askew with a boom.
Shards of green light flew everywhere, and a large area of cracks was blasted into the defenses on the Manhunters' head.
It spun around and swatted with its palm, but Orin Vale had already dodged. A fleeting afterimage flashed past its right flank. The Manhunters turned again to strike, only to swing at empty air. In the same instant, a supersonic elbow strike hit its shoulder from behind like an iron hammer, causing its protective force field to continue cracking apart.
It was like peeling an eggshell at hypervelocity.
"No one can escape—"
The upper body of the Manhunters impossibly swiveled one hundred and eighty degrees, reaching for Orin Vale behind it. Orin Vale pulled back, retreating without turning his head to evade the grab. He had barely withdrawn from behind his opponent when, in the same moment, he appeared from the complete opposite direction as if he were a clone, trailing lightning as he delivered a diving flying kick.
The Manhunters was kicked onto its back. The metal titan, dozens of meters tall, crashed to the ground and slid along it like a berserk giant beast. The alloy and rebar of the ground screeched and groaned. The roof of the factory building was torn to shreds, and the spreading impact kicked up clouds of yellow sand. All machinery in its path was crushed to pieces, leaving a trail of fire hundreds of meters long in its wake.
Overwhelmed, the protective force field finally shattered completely into a rain of fragments.
They fought at super-speed. What seemed like several rounds had actually taken place in a matter of seconds. It was only now that the Green Lantern, moving at a normal flow of time, burst out of the nearby ruins with a boom and flew back into the sky.
Having just taken off and not yet regained altitude, Hal witnessed the incredibly impactful scene. The massive robot was sent sliding backward with a series of rumbles, its protective force field blasted to smithereens. The dozens-of-meters-tall red-and-silver giant materialized out of thin air in an electric arc-like flash, landing heavily while still in its flying kick pose. Its landing seemed to trigger an earthquake on the planet.
Hal, having flown out of the ruins, hovered in mid-air and pondered for two seconds.
Then he muttered, "I must be seeing things."
But the Manhunters felt no pain. Or at least, Orin Vale thought it probably didn't feel any pain.
After being kicked away, the Manhunters sprang back up with almost no recovery time. Its chest had, at some point, transformed to reveal a massive cannon.
Super-condensed green light churned and brewed within the giant cannon, seemingly fully charged and ready to be unleashed at any moment.
“Energy index extremely high. Coefficient assessment: extremely dangerous,” the Green Lantern Ring alerted. “Projected power level is sufficient to destroy the current planet.”
“You've got to be kidding me,” Hal said, startled.
Orin Vale also saw the power contained within this cannon blast at a glance.
But he didn't dodge.
He could feel that the abundant light within him, named "Hope," would be no weaker than his opponent's if unleashed at maximum output. No, it should be even more than that.
He could even compress and suppress the energy's release radius, controlling its direction and the scope of the explosion.
Although this planet beneath him didn't seem to have any ordinary inhabitants, they had come here to investigate. Besides, Orin Vale was quite concerned about the suspected Blue Lantern energy source underground that was charging him. If he let the opponent's beam blast the entire planet to smithereens, it obviously wouldn't help their investigation.
In a split second, he made his decision.
No dodging, no evading. A real man meets a beam struggle head-on!
Orin Vale formed a cross with his hands.
Specium Ray!
A stream of radiant light shot out, released more fiercely than ever before. The metal ground was scorched through from a distance, and the steel structures and debris turned red-hot. Even the sky seemed to faintly reflect an azure hue.
The blue radiance, trailing lightning, collided head-on with the green light of the Manhunters!
The energy erupted into a circular impact at the point of contact. They were locked in a brief stalemate, like the center marker in a tug-of-war shifting back and forth for a moment. But after only a second of stalemate, the centerline began to push toward the side of the Manhunters, sweeping forward with overwhelming force.
Orin Vale had reason to believe he had seized the advantage in this beam struggle.
He increased his output again, unleashing the Specium Ray with full force. The green light was utterly defeated, torn apart by the overpowering stream of light. The boundless vortex finally washed over the enormous body of the Manhunters without any resistance.
"No one can escape... can escape…”
The Manhunters Commander's outer shell cracked and its parts peeled away, revealing a skeleton-like mechanical frame. It muttered a few last words, finally giving up on repeating itself as the light in its mechanical eyes turned blue.
“...All will be well.”
The Commander's body shell exploded completely. A majestic surge of light and heat erupted from within, rising to the sky like a sharp sword powerful enough to pierce the planet.
It shot straight into the heavens.
(end of chapter)
