Chapter 99: The Person Closest to the Wizard
**2023-10-23 Author: Rowing Without Oars 233**
Gotham, after school, at a crossroads.
Kara should have been home by now. But having walked to the crossroads with a close friend, the two, who were meant to part ways, lost track of time while gossiping. They chattered away, first about Bob from Class A, then about Kane from the basketball team, and got delayed.
And Kara, happily gossiping with her friend, was completely unaware that in a shadowy corner behind her, a pair of eyes had quietly opened.
A hideous demon, named after one of the sins most feared by humans—its name was Envy.
Of course, that was just the story. In truth, they were not the only beings to hold the title of the "Seven Deadly Sins." He and his brothers were demons spawned from these seven original sins, not the original source of the names themselves.
According to legend, the true origin of the name 'Seven Deadly Sins' was an ultimate demon that transcended the Multiverse. Its power was unfathomably great, and any one of them could annihilate the Multiverse in the blink of an eye.
Of course, this was all ancient myth. Today, it was questionable how powerful those demons truly were, or if they had ever even existed. In any case, by the time these Seven Deadly Sins brothers came into being, the figures so deified in the myths were long gone.
Now, the ones who inherited the title 'Seven Deadly Sins' and became the world's original sin were these seven brothers.
After some discussion, the Seven Deadly Sins decided that Envy would be the one to carry out this capture mission.
After all, the target appeared to be just a harmless high school girl. Forget a powerhouse on the level of the Seven Deadly Sins; even a random demonic spirit could pull this off. There was absolutely no need for all of them to mobilize, so they just sent a single representative.
By now, Envy had already entered a state of concealment. Superficially, it looked no different than usual, but in reality, empowered by magic, it was effectively invisible to the naked human eye. Some wizards could see it with the aid of their own magic, and the legendary Shazam could also see it while transformed.
Magic was silently unleashed. Wisps of black mist, like extensions of Envy's body, slowly stretched out. Like gaseous threads, they connected to the girl's limbs. Just like Envy's own body, these threads were invisible to the eyes of ordinary people; only experts in the mystic arts could perceive them.
It was a type of magic similar to traditional puppetry. The captured person would become like a marionette, their body falling completely under the caster's control.
They didn't want to harm the girl—at least, not yet. If the act wasn't performed in front of that detestable Wizard, the effect would be greatly diminished.
Therefore, its mission was to capture her alive.
Connected!
Envy rejoiced inwardly. The girl was now completely within its grasp. All it had to do was give a firm pull...
She didn't move an inch.
Envy froze, then pulled again with all its might. The misty threads trembled violently from the force, yet the target remained completely still.
The girl was still laughing and chatting with her classmate, utterly oblivious.
Envy: "?"
*What was happening? Is it possible I'm just rusty from not using my magic for too long?*
Just as it was racking its brain in confusion, Kara finished chatting with her classmate and prepared to part ways. She raised her right hand and waved a vigorous goodbye.
In that instant, the invisible threads were pulled taut.
Completely unprepared, Envy was suddenly yanked off its feet by the puppet strings, sent flying violently through the air by the motion of her wave.
Envy's entire body was abruptly yanked hundreds of meters into the sky. Like a kite with a snapped string, it flew backward in the strong wind, its eyes wide with shock even in mid-air.
It was as if to say, *This is what you call a 'harmless high school girl'?*
The demon's body seemed to turn into a distant star on the horizon.
It was only then that Kara noticed that waving her hand had felt a little strange. But she looked at her small hand, then glanced behind her, and saw nothing out of the ordinary.
The little girl tilted her head in confusion.
*Must have been my imagination.*
*Orin Vale was right. My control over my strength still isn't precise enough. I need to keep up with my training.*
Humming a little tune, Kara continued on her way home from school.
A moment later, Envy flew back, seaweed draped over its body and a fish balanced on its head.
It had been careless.
It glared viciously at the girl's back, snatched the fish from its head, and angrily stuffed it into its mouth.
This was definitely no ordinary girl. As expected, anyone who dealt with that old Wizard was bound to be trouble.
But no matter. It had just been caught off guard. Envy had other methods.
It flew ahead of Kara and, in its concealed state, lay in ambush in an alley along her path. Then, it adjusted its strategy and unleashed a new spell.
Gas streamed in wisps from its fingertips, merging into the air. It drifted slowly down the street, invisibly swirling around Kara.
Envy revealed another sinister smile.
It had figured it out: this little girl possessed a ridiculous amount of strength. And as it happened, Envy was one of the brothers who did not excel in a contest of strength.
But that was no great problem. It would win with cunning.
Its gas-based illusion magic could bewitch the spirit and trap the target in a hallucination.
In theory, this technique should be extremely effective against a Kryptonian. Kryptonians are tough and durable, but their magic resistance is low. They are particularly vulnerable to magic that manipulates the spirit.
However, despite this, all of a Kryptonian's five senses are super-enhanced, including their sense of smell. Furthermore, because their bodies are naturally weak to magic, they are also exceptionally sensitive to its aura.
Kara frowned. Her little nose twitched as she sniffed the air, sensing that something was wrong with the smell.
This action, however, made the hidden Envy's heart leap in alarm.
*She can actually sense it!*
Ordinary humans could never detect this kind of magical mist; they would typically fall into the demon's trap without ever realizing it.
But it was fine. She only seemed to feel that something was amiss but hadn't pinpointed the problem.
*Got her!*
Just as the corner of Envy's mouth curled into a cold smirk at the thought.
Suddenly, it saw the little girl's mouth open wide, as if she were about to...
"A-a-a-ACHOO!!!"
A single super-sneeze. A powerful torrent of cold erupted, sweeping through the alley like a hurricane laced with ice crystals, instantly turning the entire lane into a frozen wasteland!
"Yikes!"
Realizing her sneeze had accidentally triggered her freeze breath, Kara quickly clapped a hand over her mouth.
*Oh no, I've made a mess...*
But she felt it really wasn't her fault. Her nose had suddenly become incredibly itchy, as if she were having an allergic reaction.
*But then again, I was supposed to be immune to all illnesses by now. Could I still have allergies?*
Kara quickly peeked into the alley to check.
*Thank goodness. There are no people or cats, so no innocents were harmed. What a relief...*
*Huh?*
Kara's gaze swept across the alley and landed on a... rather strangely shaped, even slightly ugly, ice sculpture.
The little girl tilted her head in confusion, her ahoge standing on end.
*Why is there something so ugly in the alley?*
Envy, inexplicably frozen solid: "@%&*@"
(end of chapter)