Through the drifting smoke, Thea caught a flaw in Sinestro's defense. She tanked two green energy blasts head-on, then flicked out the Green Lantern Corps' favorite tool—a glowing green emotional chain. She wrapped him three full times from head to toe, tightening it firmly. Still feeling unsafe, she mimicked the Six-Rod Light Prison and materialized six emerald pillars, compressing Sinestro until he was sealed airtight. Only then did she exhale in relief.
Silence fell outside the arena. Nearly the entire Green Lantern Corps on Oa had gathered. They couldn't believe their leader might fall; many quietly prayed and cheered for Sinestro in their hearts.
But their silent support didn't help—if anything, it only deepened Sinestro's humiliation. To end up like this… Thea's bindings were unreasonably tight. He struggled several times without success. But his firm willpower finally showed its worth. Despite his anger, he didn't panic, directing his construct giant to abandon its advantage and come rescue him.
Sinestro's giant had held absolute dominance and would have defeated Thea's giant soon—but it had to give all that up and rush back to save its master.
Naturally, Thea didn't allow the rescue to happen. She manifested all kinds of long-ranged weapons to bombard Sinestro, coordinating with her giant to strike wildly. But every attack was absorbed by Sinestro's giant. Its original seventy-meter frame shrank rapidly to fifty, its body dented everywhere—but the sacrifice wasn't in vain. Using its strength, Sinestro finally broke free. He then recharged the weakened giant, stabilizing its form once more.
The ring's intense energy drain shattered his plan for a quick victory. He flew directly into the giant's body—both for more agile control and to recover from his enormous physical exhaustion.
"There's a move like that?" Thea had always assumed constructs fought separately from their creators. Now she had learned something new. Imitating him, she too flew into her giant, and after a brief adjustment, fully seized control of that towering form.
The Ares-like giant, under her direct command, moved like an ancient god returning to Earth. On this planet far, far from home, he roared to the heavens, battle intent swirling around him. Though slightly smaller than Sinestro's construct, his presence was overwhelming, long spear raised to meet Sinestro's giant axe head-on.
The aura surrounding Thea's giant was something every Lantern knew well—courage. Pure, unmatched courage. Even those who wanted to help Sinestro were stunned into silence. Such a noble quality was beyond reproach.
Sinestro, bolstered by his iron will, cast aside hesitation and fought with equal fearlessness.
Their clash only grew fiercer. Sinestro had the edge in control skill and raw energy output. Thea, however, surpassed him in martial technique, constantly seizing openings to heavily damage him.
The scale of their battle expanded, and Thea felt something strange—exhilaration. A soaring exhilaration. The stronger her fighting spirit burned, the more her construct's appearance resembled her own.
The Ares divinity she had obtained earlier was rapidly merging with her. In half a year she had only absorbed less than twenty percent—but with her battle intent amplified a hundredfold by the ring, the fusion surged forward. In this short exchange with Sinestro, she had already absorbed over another five percent.
She hadn't expected the ring to give this kind of benefit. Her previously indifferent mindset began to shift. Once this was over, if those old blue men did offer her a Green Lantern ring, should she accept it? The cost and reward weren't exactly balanced—it felt tricky.
When Sinestro forced her back yet again, even his iron will wavered. Thea was fully demonstrating what it meant to grow stronger by the fight. Their six-to-four battle ratio was visibly tilting toward equality.
Sinestro began attacking recklessly. He refused to drag things out any longer. Whenever his giant took damage, he simply repaired it with pure ring energy, trading blow for blow. It was a test of whose energy would run dry first.
He ignored Thea's refined technique. It looked crude, even shameless—but it worked. This style targeted Thea's weakness mercilessly. She'd had the ring for mere minutes; converting emotion into energy took her far longer than Sinestro. Gradually, she began to lag.
When her energy ran out, courage alone wouldn't matter. That was Sinestro's strategy—simple, brutal, exploiting his strength against her weakness.
"Beating me won't be that easy!" Thea shouted. Her giant surged under her intense emotional swing, its appearance finally becoming identical to her own. The War God's will felt fused with hers. A war god can be knocked down—but never defeated.
Behind her giant, countless phantom images appeared—ancient Earth ancestors battling the heavens and the land, tilling the soil, refusing to yield. Unbowed. Tenacious. Fighting to the bitter end. The giant drove its spear into the ground, stomped forward, and charged Sinestro with unstoppable momentum.
"Your tenacity is admirable—but you cannot win!" Sinestro, having faced her directly, sensed every shift in her aura. He too forced out every drop of power within himself, funneling it into his giant.
He manifested an incredibly thick shield, ready to endure her strongest strike. Though calm, even he felt a flicker of unease before her sky-splitting charge. He dismissed his axe and poured all his energy into the sturdy shield.
Silence fell across the surroundings. Every Lantern waited for the strongest clash of the battle.
Thea felt her aura at its absolute peak. She leapt, her giant moving with the authority of Horus layered atop the ferocity of Ares. She knew—this strike, he absolutely could not block.
But then—an accident happened.
BOOOOM!!!
Thea's giant violently exploded, sending shockwaves ripping in all directions. The assembled Green Lanterns hastily formed barriers to block the oncoming energy tide.
Covered in dust, Thea didn't even spare a glance at the still-alert Sinestro. She flew straight at the Guardians, furious.
"What kind of garbage ring did you give me?! It exploded! If I hadn't noticed in time and redirected the blast outward, I'd be the one blown to pieces!"
The tiny blue Guardians looked speechless.
A temporary ring—what did she expect? They had never designed it to withstand this level of output. Temporary rings were for training new recruits. What new recruit could possibly use it this ruthlessly? She had literally overloaded it until it burst. It was… not exactly something they'd predicted.