Chapter 105: Teammate Flanked and Has Yet to Return
"So this thing is... one of the Seven Deadly Sins?"
At the Rock of Eternity, Orin Vale sized up the grotesque, bizarre statue before him, simultaneously activating his Ultra Vision to perform a scan.
Indeed, on the surface, it seemed to be just an ordinary statue. But with his vision, he could see the strange energy bound within this shell, flowing like a current, futilely striking against the cage that restrained it.
A gloomy voice emanated from the statue: "Show some respect! I am a great existence beyond your imagination."
"I bet you are," Orin Vale shrugged. "Quite a unique look you've got there."
The demonic creature in the statue shrieked strangely.
"Envy, to be more precise," Wizard Shazam said, walking to his side. "Just one of the Seven Deadly Sins. There are six more like this one out there. Every single one of them is extremely dangerous. And they hate me to the bone, so they certainly won't let this go."
Kara, standing to the side, placed her hands on her hips, looking a little proud. "Not so dangerous, after all."
Envy let out a heavy snort.
"Don't get cocky too soon. I was merely careless for a moment," Envy said grimly. "But there won't be a next time. My brothers' power is beyond your imagination, and they will soon come for you. Go ahead and be pleased with yourself for now. Enjoy your final moments, foolish Wizard. They're coming soon. Your fancy new friends can't save you, and those flashy spells will be useless. My brothers are unstoppable..."
Before he could finish, a mass of black mist shot from the entrance of the Great Hall like an arrow. It traversed the entire hall and, with a *shhh*, sank into another of the Seven Deadly Sins' statues nearby.
That was Sloth of the Seven Deadly Sins.
In the blink of an eye, another one of the Seven Deadly Sins was sealed.
Envy forcefully swallowed the words he had left unspoken.
"Hmm?" The Old Wizard stroked his great beard and couldn't help but smile. "In this world, besides us, I've only granted the authority to enter the Rock of Eternity to one other person..."
The next moment, the Old Wizard's new apprentice, Raven, floated in through the main gate. She was dressed in her classic Raven sukumizu-style uniform, wearing a hood and a cape, her figure shrouded in dim, violet magic power.
"This thing suddenly attacked me," Raven said as she floated down. "I was forced to defend myself and counterattack, leading it here to seal it away... I remember reading about them in a book. Are they the 'Seven Deadly Sins'?"
Everyone: "..."
The Seven Deadly Sins were truly unlucky. They just wanted to grab a random hostage, but their first grab netted a Kryptonian, and then they caught the daughter of Trigon.
Moreover, Raven, with her protagonist's halo, was probably the most overpowered individual among Trigon's offspring. In the original work, it was shown more than once that a Raven who had unbound her restraints and unleashed her full firepower was someone even her old man Trigon couldn't handle. Within the entire magical system of the Multiverse, she was a top-tier Mage.
Although her awakened ability might only be the tip of the iceberg right now, her progress was swift under the Old Wizard's systematic tutelage. With her opponent underestimating her and being careless, solo-killing a lone member of the Seven Deadly Sins was a piece of cake.
"Not bad. You did very well."
The Old Wizard's eyes narrowed into a smile, an expression on his face that seemed to say, "As expected of my student."
Then he turned to Envy with a smile. "What was that you were just saying about your brothers?"
Envy pondered for a few seconds, then said sullenly, "I said, our brothers are unstoppable. Except for that loser, Sloth."
Sloth, who had just been thrown back into his cell, grumbled unhappily, "Hey! I'm still here listening."
"So what? Trash is trash. You think you're justified for being a free kill?"
"So? Aren't you in here too? You got taken out even faster than me, so what right do you have to talk?"
"I was careless! I was tricked!"
"Me too! Who would've thought we'd randomly grab a little girl and she'd turn out to be another Mage..."
"..."
Two of the Seven Deadly Sins had been taken down inexplicably. Kara grabbed her good friend Raven's hand. "Raven, you're amazing! This way, we've each taken one down. We're tied one-to-one now!"
"I haven't gotten a single one," Orin Vale said sullenly.
He was a little unhappy. Wasn't he also one of the people by the Old Wizard's side? Why couldn't he run into one of the Seven Deadly Sins giving themselves up for a free kill?
It would have been one thing if a teammate just stole the kill, but the key was that this teammate's kill didn't grant any experience or drop any equipment. It felt like a real loss.
This wouldn't do. He absolutely couldn't let the remaining five kills get away.
Demon creatures like the Seven Deadly Sins were hard to find, but Orin Vale had a clue. The two currently locked up looked quite similar to their versions in the *Shazam!* movie. If he used that as a reference, then the Seven Deadly Sins were very likely attached to the movie's villain, Doctor Sivana.
Finding a monster is difficult, but finding a specific person is much easier.
As expected, after a brief search, Pal helped him lock onto the target.
"Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, from Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, address..."
"Mark the address for me and plan a flight path," Orin Vale said. "Looks like we're going out for another spin."
In the darkness.
"Sloth hasn't returned either," said Greed of the Seven Deadly Sins in a deep voice.
The brothers were speechless for a moment.
A teammate flanked and has yet to return. There were only seven of them in total, and two teammates had already gone to flank the backline, never to be heard from again.
"How about... we send someone else to try?" Bliss suggested tentatively. "I saw there's a young man with the Wizard, one who runs a coffee shop. There can't be anything wrong with him, right?"
There can't be that many overpowered individuals in the world, can there?
"Send another one away for free?" Pride's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"It was just a suggestion..."
"There's a problem with our strategy," Pride said gravely. "We underestimated our enemy before. From now on, we must advance and retreat as one! Only by working together can we... Dammit, Gluttony, can you stop eating for just two seconds?"
The chewing sounds in the darkness finally stopped. Gluttony raised his head, his innocent eyes seeming to say, *You do your thing, I'll do mine. How am I getting in your way?*
"Hahahaha..."
Laughter echoed in the darkness.
"Who's there!?"
Pride whipped his head around, his eyes narrowing.
"Don't be nervous."
The form of a demon emerged from the darkness. He had curly black hair, a grayish body, and the wings of a fallen angel.
The demon Belial.
"Forgive my intrusion, but I saw one of your members had a... conflict with my sister not long ago," Belial said with a smile.
"A demon," Pride said coldly. "What? Are you here to seek justice for her?"
Several of the Seven Deadly Sins cracked their knuckles, looking ready for a fight.
"Oh, no, no, no, don't misunderstand. Of course not," Belial smiled. "In fact, I'm here to help you... to help you subdue my sister."
The Seven Deadly Sins: "?"
(end of chapter)