Both of them first controlled the giants behind them and launched into combat. Even with Thea's mental strength, coordinating that many arms at once was a bit taxing. Sinestro's construct giant had never encountered an attack like this either, so their first exchange was extremely cautious.
The Hundred-Armed Giant's assault was relentless, yet the damage it caused was minimal. Sinestro's giant, however, was experienced; after calmly responding to a few moves, he realized the opponent wasn't overwhelmingly strong and began counterattacking.
When Sinestro himself charged forward with two long blades, Thea—who had diverted a huge portion of her focus into her construct—felt the strain. She flicked out a throwing dart to push him back, dismissed the Hundred-Armed Giant, and replaced it with a towering, helmeted, spear-wielding warrior—the one she knew all too well… Ares, the God of War!
Thea understood Ares inside out, and with a portion of his divinity within her, every move felt familiar. The fifty-meter-tall Ares wielding his long spear was a perfect match for Sinestro's seventy-meter axe giant.
Freeing up some of her mental focus let her properly counter Sinestro's refined combat skills. The English cross-hilt greatsword in her hands moved as if alive, cutting straight toward Sinestro's waist.
But Sinestro's two-meter height against Thea's one-seventy gave him that awkward "can't quite reach" feeling on the ground. After a few exchanges he realized ground combat was a terrible idea—and immediately switched to his advantage: aerial combat.
He conjured chains, attempting to bind her legs. Noticing his move, Thea manifested Diana's Lasso and snared Sinestro's arm in return. Both exerted force, the distance between them collapsing rapidly. Thea dropped the lasso, gripped her sword with both hands, and aimed straight at Sinestro's chest—going for the kill.
Sinestro hadn't expected her to go all-out within minutes of starting. Forced into a clumsy retreat, he had no choice but to use the ring's power to levitate out of the sword's path—but he didn't rise far before finding himself ensnared.
The colossal green Ares, still locked in combat nearby, tanked a heavy axe blow in order to hurl a giant emerald net right onto Sinestro.
Sinestro's ascent halted, and Thea was already rising after him.
A crisp clang rang out as Thea's greatsword plunged into the green shield Sinestro materialized. Both constructs shattered into fragments.
Back in the sky—where he intended to stay—Sinestro extended his arm and fired a concentrated green energy beam at her.
Thea mimicked his earlier gesture, forming a green shield of her own that blocked the blast. She then summoned two long knives and met Sinestro's massive axe head-on.
Their fierce battle naturally drew the attention of nearby Lanterns, and more and more free members of the Green Lantern Corps flew to the edge of the arena to watch.
At first, they assumed this was some new recruit sparring. But once they scanned the unknown woman, they were stunned—she was an Earthling.
"Do you know her?" a few Lanterns asked Hal Jordan, who had a decent relationship with them.
Thea was the CEO of a listed company; the ring had no trouble pulling up her public records. Hal hadn't recognized her at first, but as the fight went on, he finally connected the dots. Even so, there was zero joy on his face—only disbelief. Hal suddenly felt his understanding of Earth was embarrassingly shallow.
A CEO heiress from a publicly traded company… fighting the greatest Green Lantern in Corps history to a draw? These two identities didn't match at all! Was the universe weak—or were Earthlings terrifyingly strong? He couldn't figure it out.
Faced with curious Lanterns, Hal could only give a wry smile:
"She's a public figure. I know who she is—she just doesn't know me."
The ring's universal translator was absurdly powerful; several Lanterns from completely different planets understood the term "public figure" instantly. They were stunned. If random humans from Earth could go toe-to-toe with their "greatest warrior," then what kind of monsters lived on that planet?
Sinestro, seeing more and more Lanterns gathering, didn't want his subordinates witnessing him fail to subdue a rookie. He pushed his ring to full output, relying on his superior experience and trying to overpower her.
Massive emotional energy manifested into swords, axes, bombardments—raining down on Thea like a storm.
Thea was pressured, yes—but far from discouraged. The fight had been unfair from the beginning anyway. He had decades of experience with the ring; she'd used it for what, minutes? If she still won, the Corps should all resign together. Her mindset was simple—learn everything you can.
She absorbed Sinestro's combat applications like a sponge, comparing them to her magical knowledge, and honestly felt a thrill rising in her chest.
The battle ground into a stalemate. Sinestro used every ounce of skill he possessed—he hadn't fought this seriously in a training arena in ages. This was life-and-death determination, all to suppress Thea.
But the more he pushed, the more Thea adapted. With his "demonstrations," her mastery of the ring sharpened rapidly. The fight stabilized at a ratio of Sinestro six parts advantage, Thea four.
Neither could break the deadlock. And though Sinestro would eventually win if they dragged it out, he refused such a victory. Winning through pure stamina, in public, against someone who'd used the ring for only minutes? He'd never show his face again.
In contrast, Thea was growing more confident by the second. "The greatest warrior?" Ha! Just a title. The ring fed on emotion and belief—her confidence strengthened her power without her noticing, boosting her attacks.
Every veteran Lantern watching immediately sensed her steadily rising willpower. That meant only one thing—she believed she could win.
They didn't dare interrupt, exchanging panicked glances instead. A few even began praying to their homeworld deities:
Please, Great Sinestro, hold on… If you lose, we all lose face!
Sinestro also noticed her rising confidence and found it absurd.
"I, Sinestro, will never be defeated by you!"
He unleashed a torrent of emotional energy. His arms moved like wound-up springs, firing an endless barrage of energy spheres at Thea.
She darted through the air, dodging what she could and blocking what she couldn't. Near the end, she manifested a pair of wings to boost her aerial mobility. Sinestro's explosive barrage lasted a full minute before he finally stopped, silently assessing the damage.