Reading settings
**Chapter 198: Is It That Serious?**
"Just as I said, my name is Ganthet. I was once a member of the immortal Guardians of the Universe."
The Little Blue Man was set down. He straightened his collar and spoke at his leisure.
"So why are you here?" Hal asked, puzzled. "Aren't you supposed to... uh... I thought you never left Oa."
"In most cases, yes. But as I just said, I *was* once a Guardian. I am no longer," Ganthet sighed softly.
"Huh? Guardians can get fired?" Hal was astonished. "I thought that only happened to Green Lanterns."
"Generally, that is the case. But my brethren believe I have forsaken our ideals and no longer walk their path," Ganthet said calmly. "So I was struck from the rolls of the Guardians and exiled."
This in itself didn't surprise Orin Vale; Ganthet being expelled by the Guardians was bound to happen sooner or later. What surprised him was the timing. In the main universe of the original work, Ganthet's expulsion should have happened much later. He hadn't expected it to be so early.
However, being accused of "forsaking the path" by that bunch of Little Blue Men wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Ganthet was a Guardian one couldn't avoid mentioning when talking about the Green Lantern Corps. He was arguably a breath of fresh air among the Legion's troublemakers.
It's well-known that the Guardians of the Green Lantern Corps were practically cut from the same cloth as the idiotic bosses from the Showa-era Ultras, creating far more trouble than they solved. Therefore, among such a group of morons, Ganthet, who could be considered moral and conscientious, became an outlier.
Repeatedly shielding errant Lanterns, including Hal, giving them the green light against the will of the Guardian Council, and constantly opposing the Council's decisions—it was only a matter of time before Ganthet was expelled.
So, if one had to name his crime, it was probably refusing to wallow in the mire with his moronic brethren.
Just being expelled was getting off easy. In the later stages of the original work, the increasingly audacious Little Blue Men even ganged up on Ganthet, performing a procedure akin to a lobotomy on him, stripping him of his emotions and forcing him to sync with the Council.
"So after you were banished from Oa, you were caught by the Manhunters?" Orin Vale asked.
"I went through some other things during that time... but that's about the gist of it." Ganthet sighed softly. "The Manhunters were a mistake we once made. Falling into their hands now could be considered a form of retribution."
Orin Vale had a good guess. This was likely the reason those Manhunters had undergone a full suite of "anti-Green Lantern" modifications, and why that Commander just now could wield the energy of the green light.
The ones who captured Ganthet might have used coercion, brainwashing, or even direct mind-reading to extract knowledge about the Green Lanterns from his mind, applying the Guardians' techniques for modification. When it came to research on the Emotional Spectrum, at this stage, no one in the entire universe was more authoritative than the Guardians.
"Actually, I've been meaning to ask," Hal said. "What's the deal with the Manhunters? My Power Ring can't find any information on them. I went to ask the Guardians, and they told me not to meddle, even threatening to take away my Power Ring and expel me..."
"That's to be expected. My brethren erased this mistake from the Lanterns' database. It is a taboo subject on Oa, forbidden to be mentioned. In fact, I was strongly against it at the time. But they refused to accept their mistake, and my brethren and I had a huge argument over it.
"Thinking back now, perhaps the seeds of my rift with my brethren were sown back then. From that point on, we gradually began to walk different paths."
Unlike the other Guardians, who were tight-lipped about their dark past, Ganthet slowly recounted the full story.
It wasn't really a new story, just the same old tale. Billions of years ago, this bunch of Little Blue Men, with nothing better to do, decided to protect the peace of the universe and created a legion of Manhunters that looked like they were born to be traitors.
Then came the classic: the AI developed self-awareness and, after some meticulous calculations, arrived at the one true solution: "The world itself is the problem." The Legion then went berserk, and almost every living creature in Universe Sector 666 was slaughtered. Afterward, the Manhunters were exiled by the Guardians, and only then was the Green Lantern Corps born.
In truth, there were many other factors and bits of foreshadowing involved. For instance, the AI going berserk wasn't an accident; it was deliberately caused by a renegade Guardian named Krona. Another example is that there were actually survivors from Sector 666. One of them, a survivor named Atrocitus, was filled with the hatred of losing his home and family and a never-ending fire of rage. He later became the leader of a Lantern Corps and founded the Red Lantern Corps...
"The slaughter of an entire Sector!?" Hal was shocked. "That's genocide—no, it's the extinction of countless, innumerable races!"
"Indeed. But my brothers refuse to acknowledge it. They even erased all records of the Manhunters from the Book of Oa," Ganthet sighed.
A classic case of rewriting history to hide their crimes... Why did this whole routine feel so familiar?
A bunch of self-important Little Blue Men who granted themselves jurisdiction over the universe to meddle everywhere, spouting slogans of freedom and peace while actually being a bunch of interstellar troublemakers. They bullied the weak and feared the strong, only picking on soft targets and steering clear of anyone who could fight back. And now, genocide and altering history were added to their list of crimes.
Orin Vale refused to believe that this character profile wasn't written to be snarky about someone.
"Now they have obtained the technique to absorb and utilize Power Ring energy, making them even more dangerous than before," Ganthet said in a low voice. "Additionally, while I only saw Manhunters during my imprisonment, I could tell from their conversations that there is someone else behind the scenes now.
"A mastermind they call the 'Grandmaster' is commanding these hunters from some unknown location. This only makes them more dangerous."
Just as he said this, a strange noise suddenly came from the side.
The group turned in unison to see a pair of red glows light up in the darkness, followed by a metal figure emerging from it.
There was actually a lone Manhunter still hiding in this underground space.
It seemed completely unaware that its teammates stationed outside had all been wiped out, still diligently guarding its post as it mechanically raised an arm.
"No one can escape the Manhunters—"
Before the other two could react, Hal shot forward, shouting, "This one is mine!"
With that, he slammed the Manhunter to the ground with a booming hammer construct.
But he wasn't finished. Hal then raised his Power Ring, and a green train construct charged along a suspended track, sending the robot flying, only to then manifest a springboard construct in its path to bounce it right back.
As it came back, he conjured a heavy hammer and smashed it into the ground, then locked onto the fallen Manhunter before it could get up and unleashed a frenzied barrage of firepower.
Hal's eyes glowed with green light. This was just the beginning.
This was the first kill he'd gotten since they entered. When had the hot-headed Green Lantern ever been so aggrieved since joining the Corps? Of course he wasn't going to let it go so easily.
Gatling guns, anti-tank cannons, rocket launchers, missiles, fighter jet bombardments plus a dive attack, followed by a Gundam construct armed to the teeth, its full payload of weapons unleashing a crazy torrent downwards...
"No one can esca—"
"Can esca—"
"No one—"
"...Uh."
The Manhunter below was gradually becoming dumbfounded, even forgetting to repeat its catchphrase.
Its single eye, of which only half remained, flickered with a red glow, as if in question.
*Seriously, bro? Even if I'd killed your father, this would be an overreaction, right?*
You're...
Is it that serious?
(end of chapter)
"Just as I said, my name is Ganthet. I was once a member of the immortal Guardians of the Universe."
The Little Blue Man was set down. He straightened his collar and spoke at his leisure.
"So why are you here?" Hal asked, puzzled. "Aren't you supposed to... uh... I thought you never left Oa."
"In most cases, yes. But as I just said, I *was* once a Guardian. I am no longer," Ganthet sighed softly.
"Huh? Guardians can get fired?" Hal was astonished. "I thought that only happened to Green Lanterns."
"Generally, that is the case. But my brethren believe I have forsaken our ideals and no longer walk their path," Ganthet said calmly. "So I was struck from the rolls of the Guardians and exiled."
This in itself didn't surprise Orin Vale; Ganthet being expelled by the Guardians was bound to happen sooner or later. What surprised him was the timing. In the main universe of the original work, Ganthet's expulsion should have happened much later. He hadn't expected it to be so early.
However, being accused of "forsaking the path" by that bunch of Little Blue Men wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Ganthet was a Guardian one couldn't avoid mentioning when talking about the Green Lantern Corps. He was arguably a breath of fresh air among the Legion's troublemakers.
It's well-known that the Guardians of the Green Lantern Corps were practically cut from the same cloth as the idiotic bosses from the Showa-era Ultras, creating far more trouble than they solved. Therefore, among such a group of morons, Ganthet, who could be considered moral and conscientious, became an outlier.
Repeatedly shielding errant Lanterns, including Hal, giving them the green light against the will of the Guardian Council, and constantly opposing the Council's decisions—it was only a matter of time before Ganthet was expelled.
So, if one had to name his crime, it was probably refusing to wallow in the mire with his moronic brethren.
Just being expelled was getting off easy. In the later stages of the original work, the increasingly audacious Little Blue Men even ganged up on Ganthet, performing a procedure akin to a lobotomy on him, stripping him of his emotions and forcing him to sync with the Council.
"So after you were banished from Oa, you were caught by the Manhunters?" Orin Vale asked.
"I went through some other things during that time... but that's about the gist of it." Ganthet sighed softly. "The Manhunters were a mistake we once made. Falling into their hands now could be considered a form of retribution."
Orin Vale had a good guess. This was likely the reason those Manhunters had undergone a full suite of "anti-Green Lantern" modifications, and why that Commander just now could wield the energy of the green light.
The ones who captured Ganthet might have used coercion, brainwashing, or even direct mind-reading to extract knowledge about the Green Lanterns from his mind, applying the Guardians' techniques for modification. When it came to research on the Emotional Spectrum, at this stage, no one in the entire universe was more authoritative than the Guardians.
"Actually, I've been meaning to ask," Hal said. "What's the deal with the Manhunters? My Power Ring can't find any information on them. I went to ask the Guardians, and they told me not to meddle, even threatening to take away my Power Ring and expel me..."
"That's to be expected. My brethren erased this mistake from the Lanterns' database. It is a taboo subject on Oa, forbidden to be mentioned. In fact, I was strongly against it at the time. But they refused to accept their mistake, and my brethren and I had a huge argument over it.
"Thinking back now, perhaps the seeds of my rift with my brethren were sown back then. From that point on, we gradually began to walk different paths."
Unlike the other Guardians, who were tight-lipped about their dark past, Ganthet slowly recounted the full story.
It wasn't really a new story, just the same old tale. Billions of years ago, this bunch of Little Blue Men, with nothing better to do, decided to protect the peace of the universe and created a legion of Manhunters that looked like they were born to be traitors.
Then came the classic: the AI developed self-awareness and, after some meticulous calculations, arrived at the one true solution: "The world itself is the problem." The Legion then went berserk, and almost every living creature in Universe Sector 666 was slaughtered. Afterward, the Manhunters were exiled by the Guardians, and only then was the Green Lantern Corps born.
In truth, there were many other factors and bits of foreshadowing involved. For instance, the AI going berserk wasn't an accident; it was deliberately caused by a renegade Guardian named Krona. Another example is that there were actually survivors from Sector 666. One of them, a survivor named Atrocitus, was filled with the hatred of losing his home and family and a never-ending fire of rage. He later became the leader of a Lantern Corps and founded the Red Lantern Corps...
"The slaughter of an entire Sector!?" Hal was shocked. "That's genocide—no, it's the extinction of countless, innumerable races!"
"Indeed. But my brothers refuse to acknowledge it. They even erased all records of the Manhunters from the Book of Oa," Ganthet sighed.
A classic case of rewriting history to hide their crimes... Why did this whole routine feel so familiar?
A bunch of self-important Little Blue Men who granted themselves jurisdiction over the universe to meddle everywhere, spouting slogans of freedom and peace while actually being a bunch of interstellar troublemakers. They bullied the weak and feared the strong, only picking on soft targets and steering clear of anyone who could fight back. And now, genocide and altering history were added to their list of crimes.
Orin Vale refused to believe that this character profile wasn't written to be snarky about someone.
"Now they have obtained the technique to absorb and utilize Power Ring energy, making them even more dangerous than before," Ganthet said in a low voice. "Additionally, while I only saw Manhunters during my imprisonment, I could tell from their conversations that there is someone else behind the scenes now.
"A mastermind they call the 'Grandmaster' is commanding these hunters from some unknown location. This only makes them more dangerous."
Just as he said this, a strange noise suddenly came from the side.
The group turned in unison to see a pair of red glows light up in the darkness, followed by a metal figure emerging from it.
There was actually a lone Manhunter still hiding in this underground space.
It seemed completely unaware that its teammates stationed outside had all been wiped out, still diligently guarding its post as it mechanically raised an arm.
"No one can escape the Manhunters—"
Before the other two could react, Hal shot forward, shouting, "This one is mine!"
With that, he slammed the Manhunter to the ground with a booming hammer construct.
But he wasn't finished. Hal then raised his Power Ring, and a green train construct charged along a suspended track, sending the robot flying, only to then manifest a springboard construct in its path to bounce it right back.
As it came back, he conjured a heavy hammer and smashed it into the ground, then locked onto the fallen Manhunter before it could get up and unleashed a frenzied barrage of firepower.
Hal's eyes glowed with green light. This was just the beginning.
This was the first kill he'd gotten since they entered. When had the hot-headed Green Lantern ever been so aggrieved since joining the Corps? Of course he wasn't going to let it go so easily.
Gatling guns, anti-tank cannons, rocket launchers, missiles, fighter jet bombardments plus a dive attack, followed by a Gundam construct armed to the teeth, its full payload of weapons unleashing a crazy torrent downwards...
"No one can esca—"
"Can esca—"
"No one—"
"...Uh."
The Manhunter below was gradually becoming dumbfounded, even forgetting to repeat its catchphrase.
Its single eye, of which only half remained, flickered with a red glow, as if in question.
*Seriously, bro? Even if I'd killed your father, this would be an overreaction, right?*
You're...
Is it that serious?
(end of chapter)
