Merlin's Powers From The Seven Deadly Sins Explained
Much like her mythological counterpart, Merlin from "The Seven Deadly Sins" is one of the most mysterious characters in the series. While the original Arthurian tales depict Merlin as a wizened old sage, the anime series reimagines him as a beautiful and deadly woman. Both are ancient by our standards (though you wouldn't guess it looking at anime Merlin), and both are among the most powerful wizards of their time.
While magic is far from rare in "The Seven Deadly Sins" and almost every character uses it in some way or another, Merlin is special. Her endless thirst for knowledge in the magical arts, combined with her unnaturally long lifespan, has made her completely unparalleled as a spellcaster. On top of that, her inherent power, Infinity, only serves to make her spells even more powerful to the point where villains complain that it is "unfair." But that still begs the question, how exactly do Merlin's powers in "The Seven Deadly Sins" work?
Merlin is the best and brightest magician even as a child
While Merlin may not be the only one with magical powers in "The Seven Deadly Sins," she is certainly alone in her academic knowledge regarding magic. While most other Sins members derive their magic from their inherent powers or their inhuman bloodlines, Merlin gains her powers from studying the magic arts in the city of Belialuin. Born over 3,000 years before the start of the series, Merlin is raised as a test subject for the wizards who control the city. She proves to be a natural talent, surpassing all of Belialuin's best wizards in a matter of years. Since then, she has done nothing but study magic.
The end result of the millennia of study and practice is that Merlin is the undisputed greatest magician in the world by the start of "The Seven Deadly Sins." As such, she has dozens of spells in her arsenal, all of which are put to great use in various situations. Spells like Exterminate Ray, Fire Storm, and Shock Stinger are powerful offensive spells for battle. She has spells that manipulate curses and time, such as Curse Engage and Chrono Coffin, and even spells for locating individuals or items in a wide area. This makes her an incredibly versatile opponent, useful both on her own and in a team in a variety of situations. But while these spells form the backbone of her abilities, it's her inherent power that takes the cake.
Infinity is as limitless as its name implies
Most of the time in "The Seven Deadly Sins," spells disintegrate once they run out of energy. What makes Merlin ridiculously powerful is her ability to circumvent this fact. Her inherent power, Infinity, allows her to sustain spells for a limitless amount of time. As she explains to Grayroad in Episode 23 of the series, she can easily make a fire burn forever or encase something in ice for eternity. It's also how she circumvents aging, allowing her to sustain her time manipulation spells for as long as she desires so that she never ages.
Merlin can also use Infinity to empower spells as she casts them. She can take an already powerful spell, like Exterminate Ray, add Infinity to it, and boost its power as much as she desires. Considering this, it's no surprise why Grayroad calls her power unfair. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that characters like Meliodias and Escanor are similarly powerful, there may be nobody in Britannia capable of standing up to her. Thankfully (at least for most of the series), Merlin is on the good guys' side, so that's not something they really have to worry about.