Chapter 100: An Inferior Disguise
2023-10-23 Author: Rowing Without Oars 233
Envy slowly opened his eyes.
He was a fool. A complete fool.
He knew the Old Wizard was dangerous and had many tricks up his sleeve, but he never imagined that a seemingly innocent and harmless little girl by his side could be so difficult to deal with.
That superhuman strength... to Envy, it felt like it could even rival the legendary Shazam when transformed with the power of the six gods.
And that bone-chilling sneeze. That felt even more absurd to him than her strength.
Among traditional mages, a freezing spell of this caliber would be considered a powerful crowd-control ability, right?
And it came from a sneeze?
Are you kidding me?
Even now, as Envy came to his senses and recalled that scene, his mind was still filled with questions.
So where did that shady wizard find such an absurd little girl?
Of course, this was merely the shock of being ambushed. It wasn't as if he was afraid.
Getting hit this time was purely due to carelessness. Envy had fully believed he was dealing with a frail, powerless girl, and her deceptive appearance had left him completely unguarded. But in terms of strength, even against Shazam wielding the power of the six gods, he and his brothers wouldn't necessarily be afraid.
A vicious glint gradually appeared in Envy's eyes.
He had been careless, but there wouldn't be a next time.
Round two. By now, that girl should be finished—
Huh?
Only after regaining his senses did Envy realize that he couldn't even move a single finger.
His body was immobile, and even his thoughts seemed to have grown sluggish. His body, which should have been able to turn into mist at will, was completely unresponsive. He tried to summon even a sliver of energy, but there was no response.
Envy's heart sank. This feeling was vaguely familiar. Could it be...
"His name is 'Envy'."
A familiar, aged voice sounded beside him. The Old Wizard Shazam spoke, stroking his great beard.
"One of the Seven Deadly Sins. As long as original sin exists in the world, they can never be truly eliminated. A very dangerous opponent... But don't worry, he's back under the Seal and no longer poses a threat."
Envy: "!"
Only then did he realize he had returned to the detestable Rock of Eternity, reverted to his sealed statue form.
Standing beside the statue were the Old Wizard and that beautiful, blonde little girl.
After accidentally freezing him, Kara had instinctively felt that this bizarrely shaped thing didn't seem like a good person, so she had carried the entire ice sculpture back. The Old Wizard recognized it at a glance as Envy, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, and promptly prescribed the right remedy, locking him back in Envy's dedicated cell within the Rock of Eternity.
"So I actually encountered something that dangerous!"
Kara said in surprise, patting her chest with lingering fear.
"That was a close call, a really close call."
Her frightened gesture seemed to say, "Good thing my skills were superior."
Envy, locked in the statue: 凸(艹皿艹)
I'm the one who got beaten up, and I'm the one who got sealed. A close call? A close call my ass!
"The Seven Deadly Sins... does that mean there should be seven of them?" Kara asked.
"Correct. The seven of them hate me to the bone. Since Envy has appeared, the others are likely not far behind," the Old Wizard said grimly. "We must be prepared."
"Oh! Then we have to tell Orin Vale quickly... By the way, where is he? I don't think I saw him when I got back today."
Flustered by this whole fiasco with Envy, the little girl had only just now remembered that she hadn't seen Orin Vale since returning.
"Oh, he's been down below all day, hanging out with your aunt," the Old Wizard mumbled. "He's been down there for the better part of the day, with the Gate shut tight. Who knows what kind of shenanigans they're up to down there..."
Kara: "?"
"Late yesterday, my radar detected certain specific signals."
Orin Vale stood before Astra, separated by glass, as he swiped open a holographic screen.
"Certain identification signals from beyond Earth. At first, I suspected it might be a new move from Brainiac, so I compared it with the data I obtained from your spaceship."
"The result was... surprising."
With a gesture, the screen before him split in two. Two signal wavebands appeared in their respective interfaces and, following his gesture, overlapped.
A perfect match.
"...It's completely identical to your spaceship's identification signal."
Astra remained silent.
"I'm guessing they're your teammates, right?" Orin Vale looked directly at her. "From Fort Rozz?"
Fort Rozz was a Kryptonian prison located within the Phantom Zone. Astra and her husband were both from that prison.
Astra's face was ashen, but she still said nothing. From her expression, however, Orin Vale already knew he was right.
"You've been missing on Earth for so long, it's normal for someone to come looking. Your subordinates? No, I'm guessing... perhaps your husband? Now that you're gone, Fort Rozz should be under his command, right?"
"I couldn't find the coordinates or entry password for your headquarters in your spaceship's flight log. Would you be so kind as to disclose them to me?"
"When I left, Fort Rozz was near Mars. The coordinates and entry password are XXXX... that damned magic."
She snorted in annoyance, glaring at Orin Vale.
"Your despicable spell might force me to tell the truth, but it's useless. Fort Rozz is a mobile base. My husband would have certainly changed its location after I went missing. It's useless even if I tell you."
"The password I gave you is only the first part of the authentication. Fort Rozz is one of the most impregnable prisons ever built by Krypton. No unauthorized person can enter or exit freely, even with the password."
"It authenticates through facial, iris, and biometric information separately. So unless you can turn into me, it's useless even if you have the password..."
Before she could finish, the figure of Orin Vale standing before her was suddenly enveloped in a golden radiance. The brilliant light made Astra instinctively shut her eyes. When she focused her vision again, the handsome young man was gone, replaced by a tall and heroic Kryptonian general in a black uniform.
The same face, the same build—it was like looking at her own reflection.
The rest of Astra's words were caught in her throat. Her mouth hung open, her shock plain to see.
"You were saying, something like this?" Orin Vale asked.
Damn it, even his voice sounded exactly the same!
Astra's facial muscles twitched.
Seriously, what is the deal with you light race people?
You can shoot lasers, you're incredibly strong, you can change your size, you can travel through data cables, and now you can even freaking shapeshift?
So is your race's real superpower to just clap your hands and get whatever you want? Whenever you need an ability, you just open up a skill menu and create one on the spot, is that it?
Astra's face was cold. She forced herself to remain calm and snorted, "It's useless. That's just a simple disguise, the most basic of basics for Kryptonian technology. Our Kryptonian system's authentication cannot be fooled by such an inferior disguise."
"The recognition system will scan the entrant's biometric information, even their genes. That crude disguise of yours is useless—"
"Is that so?"
Orin Vale calmly walked over to the black Kryptonian spaceship, the one Astra had used to travel to Earth.
He stretched out a hand and placed it on the spaceship's exterior.
The Kryptonian spaceship immediately activated. Two scanning lasers slowly passed over Orin Vale's disguised form.
Then, the ship's system started up, and a pleasant electronic voice chimed.
"Welcome back, General Astra El. How may I help you?"
Orin Vale smiled at the woman behind the glass, his expression seeming to say, *See? No problem at all.*
The real Astra: "???"
(end of chapter)
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