The mysterious mist created by Huic was a boon to Lure and a bane to her enemies, whose senses got confused. Not only had the fog further magical properties: granting Lure invisibility and boosting her speed, but it also allowed her to teleport anywhere in Khalut if she wished so.

She rejoiced, for Huic had indeed granted her a way to train her abilities. In normal circumstances, she had nil chances to even approach a group of several mid-ranked heroes or villains, yet, backed by the abilities of an S-ranked hero, she felt incredibly confidant. A large part of her poise is due to the intoxicating effect of the mist, smelling like freshly pressed apple juice. With every breath, she felt lighter and waves of excitement surged through her body, slightly suppressing her rational mind.

Leaping through the mist, she was searching for the rest of the victims. The heroes were her priority target because they were the reason for Sinistra’s injuries. She felt it, the calling. Whispers, the mist whispered. Baffled, she could not conceive how some water droplets in a gaseous state could apparently have a mind on their own. But she had seen Huic abilities. Are illusions becoming reality? In school, she had been taught a lot, leastwise the basics about empowered beings, yet never had anybody mentioned the marvels that S-ranks could unleash.

“Suggestion,” she thought. Bold as she was, Lure tried to get even more privileges from the mist. It sounded absurd, but her ability seemed to be able to communicate with the magical entity, even influencing it. Training. She remembered that Huic had set up the situation for her, it was thus highly likely that the mist was meant for training as well. She tried suggesting to the mist granting her knowledge about the exact locations of her enemies. The fog answered by letting her feel the locations of her enemies. Awesome. She stopped running and bowed to the mist in gratitude. Maybe Huic was actually in control of the mist, but the unfamiliar and strange feeling she received from it made her doubt this very possibility.

Several different sized red dots appeared in her mind since she had received more authority from the mist. Two clusters of red dots and one isolated. Lure had a plan and it meant winning like a true villainess. She leaped through the mist and appeared twenty meters away from an isolated B-ranked hero. First, she needed to balance the power level between the two antagonistic groups. Not realizing that he was followed, the man with a violet-green cape marched carefully, inspecting every corner of the seemingly abandoned alleyway. Lure had to admit it, the winding streets and alleys of the harbour quarter made ambushes a constant threat.

She further shortened the distance between them to increase the effectiveness of her abilities. “Suggestion”, she mumbled. Unlike Soothe her other two abilities worked even when the targets did not hear her voice. However, speaking out lout the name of an ability meant imposing her will to the world; speech counted more than thoughts, thus speaking the name of an ability out loud generally increased its effectiveness. Passive, unlike instant effect, abilities worked over a period of time and were channeled. Lure concentrated on her gift Suggestion, influencing her unsuspecting victim, nudging him into a certain direction – where the villains were hiding in a warehouse. She told the man to turn right, so he did. She told the man to go down the road, so he did. She told the man to slap his face – he did not.

When both of them arrived in front of the temporal base of the villains, Lure paused. Should she just let the hero enter? No, he would flee the very first moment he perceived danger. She was sure that the hero couldn’t perceive her and that she could nudge him into inspecting the shabby – not at all suspicious – warehouse. The crux of the matter lied in the execution. Whirling the mist around her arms, she coated herself in layers of the magical substance and dashed through the wall of the warehouse. Inside, she saw five nervously shuddering villains with downcast eyes. She had time; the man outside was trapped anyway, as was everyone in the maze of fog, except herself.

Lure, still unperceivable by senses, approached a man with a greyish self-made costume with blue asymmetrical stripes whom she believed to be the leader. The seams were ridiculously misplaced.

A voice told her in her mind: Devour, Dominate, Control. She instantly knew that if she were to continue on her current path, her abilities would change from Soothe, Seduce and Suggestion to Devour, Dominate and Control. But this was a problem she had to deal with in the future. Lure hesitated, though, she did not want to embark on this path. She wanted to fight the NIP, but not at all costs. In the fight versus Brutus or the Berserker, she had only defended herself; she did not actively try to harm anyone. Yet, she realized that further influencing people – more than a simple nudge – would have repercussions on her mind, potentially on her character. But she trusted Huic for some reason she herself couldn’t understand. She knew that she needed power, and power is but a tool. Weapons don’t destroy, humans do. Power, yes, she needed it. She only regretted not having Sinistra with her as an advisor.

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“Suggestion,” she whispered in the man’s ear and added, “Enemy, B-rank, outside, pincher attack.” The instructions did not forcefully compel the man to act on her whims, but as a leader, he ought to act for the interests of his people.

“Coven, I spotted an enemy, I think. The rest stays,” he announced.

Both villains started leaving the building. Lure, clouded in mist, leaped through the building. The hero was still inspecting his environment but was utterly lost, for Lure had increased the density of the fog, decreasing sight to mere meters.

“Wait. Your allies will rescue you,” she whispered to him. His expression softened, no longer as agitated. He believed her. No, he wanted to believe her. Of course, Lure had made that up, the other heroes were still lost in some alleyways, too. She moved away from him since she expected a fight to break out, finding shelter behind a container lying in the open space.

A swarm of black ravens pierced through the mist, targeting the hero, who defended himself the last moment by igniting himself. So, it is true, Lure thought, Ravens are indeed magically gifted. She had indeed wondered how the villains had managed to find the storehouse. She had seen that woman, called Coven, summoning Ravens. Probably a type of Conjure ability.

The hero shouted, “Combustion.” An ear-deafening shockwave took Lure by surprise, destabilizing her and causing her to fall. Damn, that wasn’t just simple combustion, that was an explosion! She had underestimated the might of a B-ranked. Without the mist protecting her, her ears would have bled! All of the ravens were burned.

The Woman conjured even more ravens, dozens, no hundreds! All flying towards the hero, like an animal-bomb. The birds shrouded him in a black veil, repressing his flames.

“Pulse,” he shouted this time. The ravens were all pushed away, leaving him vulnerable for an opportunistic attack.

“Impetus,” madly squalled the villains' leader, accelerating with indescribable speed. He embraced the hero from behind, restricting his enemy’s movement.

Entangled, the hero couldn’t move in time, when a new wave of ravens fired at him. He fell on the ground and was captured by the villains.

The first step of Lure’s plan had already been accomplished. Suggestion. She communicated with the ravens and hinted at them, where the group of villains should move. The band would surely follow the lead of the ravens and bring them back to their hideout.

She leaped through the mist, appearing behind the group of heroes.

“Did Ardent come back?” asked the woman with shiny, golden hair.

“No, enforcer. He did not yet contact me,” replied the other B-rank.

Perfect, they seem malleable. “Suggestion,” she whispered, guiding them to the villains’ hideout.

“Leader, should I go too?”

“The mist is treacherous. Believe me.”

The heroes’ group didn’t leave her a better impression than the villains' band. Yet, undeniably, that woman radiated an aura of strength. She may be young for a B-rank, but the power she exuded was in no way trifling, stronger than any B-rank Lure had met so far. Their leader was strong enough to take down two B-ranks in a fight.

Balancing the odds, she whispered in the other B-rank’s ear, “Suggestion, giving up, insubordination.”

“Enforcer, we should stop moving and wait until the fog disappears."

“No,” the woman commanded, her tone deepening, scowling. “Our duty is to capture the super villains.”

Another superhero, bearlike with a full beard, moved near his companion. “Common, let’s move,” he patted him on the back.

Lure did not stop, though. She repeatably used her gift to influence her target over the span of five minutes. Success. His mind started cracking, she felt it.

The super villains’ hideout was in fact just an old pub with a courtyard, accessible from the main street. She had successfully led the other band back to the base of operation, thanks to the ravens. From afar, she could see the captured, unconscious hero.

The manipulated hero, she learned was called Aegis, did lose his cool and started maniacally shouting nonsense. “Flee, it will get you. A ghost, it will get you.” The other heroes looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

“Calm yourself!” Their leader was still headstrong, or at least she did appear or; her outer behaviour may hide her feelings. She was a capable captain though, keeping calm in the face of the storm.

Lure jumped on a roof, aided by the powerful mist. From the high-ground, she could better analyze the ensuing action.

“Noooooooo. We must run. Fortress.” A medieval-like armour covered him from tip to toe. Without any shame manifesting on his face, he took his heels.

His group wanted to follow him, but they were greeted by the charging villains, their leader ahead.

“This, can’t be,” stuttered the heroine. Unlike Lure and the villains, the heroes could not see their enemy until it was too late. “No, I won’t let you win.” Her orders were absolute and superheroes were stubborn as donkeys. “Amplify. Adjust. Nova.”

Surprised, Lure cried, “No!” Even on the top of the roof, she could feel the massive culminating energy radiated by not one but two passive abilities strengthening another gift. She’s committing suicide? She couldn’t have foreseen that, internally, the heroes’ leader was far more unstable than she appeared on the outside.

A small sun, with the heroine as the central point, burst forth, obliterating every obstacle. Buildings splintered like glass under the overwhelming might of the energy ball. The terrible heat set Lure ablaze, while the wave destroyed her body.

“Stop.” And time stopped. Everything stopped. Even the flying ravens in the air halted, immobile.

“Excellent.” Huic clapped his hands. “Excellent. Brilliant plan and execution. I am proud of you.”

The still living Lure wanted to smile, but she desperately looked at the destroyed buildings.

Huic simpered like a senior enlightening his grandchild, “Silly, no need to worry, you’re just in my illusionary world. No humans were harmed. I have saved everyone.”