The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 262.
The cave leading to the Seven Deadly Sins’ interior was pitch dark.
It seemed that Juras had somewhat pioneered the exploration, but even so, visibility was poor.
‘I wish the internal forest would appear quickly.’
Although they had temporarily overcome their curses right now, the curses continued to invert their minds and tempt them.
Except for Estelle, who had perfectly overcome the curse of jealousy, everyone was increasingly struggling.
Gaspar, under the curse of sloth, wanted to rest whenever he could, and Yumir was finding it difficult to control her emotions, getting irritated constantly.
Erina, under the curse of lust, had been staring at me intently with a completely flushed face.
Eonia had completely surrendered to the curse.
“Woomen! Hurry up and go forward! Hmph, this is why these foolish beings are so!”
Under the curse of pride, she was looking down on everyone except me. Only I could control her.
“Eo, say that and take the lead.”
“Uh, ho, how dare…”
“How dare? Keep talking. If you want to call me Woman, go ahead.”
“Oh, no! How could I say that to Ars! I will take the lead!”
As they barely escaped the cave, a dense forest of trees appeared.
“Whew! Now I can catch my breath.”
Breathing the cool air seemed to clear my head.
“Alright, let’s quickly head to the center. Gaspar! Don’t just sit around!”
At that moment, Ash grabbed my shoulder. He made an unpleasant expression and spoke. “Ars, I’m sorry, but could you write a curse release spell for me?”
“Why, you said it was fine earlier.”
“I thought so… But greed isn’t just limited to money.”
“What?”
“Steal a friend’s woman… Such filthy thoughts are whispering to me. The fact that I’m even thinking this makes me feel so disgusted that I might go crazy.” Ash was speaking sincerely.
I finally realized that the curse of the Seven Deadly Sins was more dangerous than I thought.
At first, one endures, but eventually, it completely subdues you.
“Ars…? I would like to ask as well. It’s becoming really unbearable.”
Erina said, twisting her body. If Estelle hadn’t been holding her back, she might have already jumped at me.
“Can’t be helped. Then I’ll use it.”
Honestly, I thought the current cursed state was the best.
It was as clear as day what would happen if Gaspar became angry or Ash became lazy.
Still, since Ash and Erina were suffering too much, I decided to redistribute the curse release.
With a sizzling sound, the curse release spell was used, and a refreshing energy waves enveloped us.
The curse of stinginess that had been tormenting me disappeared.
But soon, a new curse covered me.
“Ugh…!”
The curse of greed that wants to make everything in the world mine.
It was painful for a moment, but since I’m fundamentally non-materialistic, I quickly overcame it.
“Whew! Is everyone okay?”
But they were not okay. Everyone was grabbing their chest or head, suffering.
“Let’s endure and move forward. If it becomes too difficult, I’ll use the curse release again.”
I moved forward and checked everyone’s condition.
First, Yumir was under the curse of lust, moving her tail and ears busily. She was stealing glances at me.
Fortunately, Yumir was handling the lust curse.
With her high self-control, she was quietly walking.
In Eonia’s case, it was the curse of wrath. The atmosphere suggested she would bite if touched, seeming very dangerous, but I could still control her.
“Eo, did something happen that upset you? You can be angry with me.”
“No! How could I ever do that to Ars…”
From my perspective, the curses of wrath, jealousy, greed, and lust were the most dangerous. These four had to be handled by people with strong willpower.
Gaspar handled jealousy, seeming to have nothing to be jealous about and overcoming it smoothly.
Estelle under the curse of stinginess was also fine, but Erina under the curse of pride was suffering.
Her sense of privilege as the duke’s eldest daughter was rising.
Worried, when Estelle extended her hand, Erina slapped it away harshly.
“Don’t touch my body! It’s unclean!”
“E-Erina…?”
Estelle seemed to be in strong shock. I had to step in.
“Estelle, keep walking. I’ll handle Erina.”
“…Yes, take good care of Erina.”
I helped Erina to her feet.
She was biting her lip, holding something back. Meanwhile, she was blaming herself for what she had just done to Estelle and shedding tears.
“Ars… Please clear this dungeon quickly… If we go any further…”
“I know. Just endure a little longer.”
Now I clearly understood why the Seven Deadly Sins claimed so many victims.
If my party, which had the highest sense of camaraderie, was like this, I was very worried about the situation elsewhere.
* * *
Meissen was looking around with an awkward expression at the base camp.
Dozens of thieves had already surrounded her.
“M-Mirabel, be careful, they might attack at any moment!”
“…”
But Mirabel was not listening to Meissen’s words and was just staring blankly at the location of the Seven Deadly Sins’ center.
Suddenly, with a tap of a staff, Vandalin appeared beside her.
As he struck his staff on the ground, the thieves surrounding them began to faint one by one with a clear sound.
Mirabel muttered,
“Vandalin, is this the place that corrupted Mepatra?”
Since it was in ancient Elvish, Meissen and Bisketa did not understand.
Vandalin paused before answering, “Yes. It was created by Mepatra, my fellow coexistence dweller.”
“What exactly happened here?”
“It wanted to test humans and ultimately expose them. It aimed to gather the seven sins committed by humans to show their ugliness. Through this, it wanted to inform everyone that humans are a species that cannot coexist and are harmful beings, and also rationalize it to itself. It was very troubled by the shaking of its mission of coexistence.”
“So it was trying to convince itself that humans are unnecessary for coexistence?”
“Yes.”
“But Mepatra ultimately fell into a state of chaos. That means humans passed its test. It couldn’t accept it and went mad.”
“Exactly.”
That’s why there were no monsters guarding this Seven Deadly Sins dungeon. The dungeon’s master, Mepatra, was still alive but had gone mad.
“Can this human, Ars Elaine, pass Mepatra’s test?”
“I don’t know. It’s not an easy task.”
“…”
Mirabel was looking at the Seven Deadly Sins with a worried expression.
Suddenly, someone appeared through teleportation. It was none other than Erina.
Erina looked pale, as if barely holding something back.
“Erina!?”
Meissen quickly chanted a curse release spell. Only then did Erina catch her breath and find stability.
But for a moment, she shouted with a desperate expression,
“We must go help Ars right now!”
“What happened?”
“It’s my fault… Because I was struggling too much…!”
Before Erina could explain the situation, teleportation continued to activate, and people started appearing.
They were all from Ars’ party.
Ash, who had received curse release, spat out curses,
“That damn guy! Trying to bear it all alone!”
The details were simple.
Willpower is naturally consumed. The longer the curse continued, the more difficult it became for people to endure.
“The curse release order form was rapidly decreasing with each use, and eventually reached the point of running out.
The consumption of the curse release order was faster than expected.
In such a situation, there was no choice but to make a binary decision.
Either retreat or forcibly head towards the center.
“Ars has gone to the center alone! He said he would escape using the Teleportation Scroll if it gets dangerous, but…!”
Being alone meant Ars was receiving all seven curses. For an ordinary person, it would be reasonable to go mad immediately.
“Th-, that’s…”
Meissen swallowed hard.
Without the curse release order, the one who could use the curse release spell had to lead the group and enter the Seven Deadly Sins.
“What should we do now? Vandalin!”
She asked Vandalin in a state of panic, thinking he might provide some answer.
However, Valdallin responded briefly.
“It was the same back then.”
“Yes…?”
“Whether when the Seven Deadly Sins occurred in actual history or when they appeared in the dungeon and were subjugated, it was always the same. In the end, only three people reached the center. Soon, one person will be selected from the other groups as well.”
He shook his head.
“Whether a miracle like the first time will occur, or a disaster like the second time will happen…”
As soon as those words ended, the Teleportation Scroll was activated, and people from other parties began to appear.
Their numbers were five and six respectively.
“What…?”
Even Valdallin furrowed his brow. This meant there were two groups heading to the center, not just one.
This was a situation even Valdallin had not anticipated.
* * *
My mind was spinning. If I didn’t grit my teeth and endure, I would go mad at any moment.
The seven curses were roughly tearing through my mind, trying to sever my reason.
“Whew! It’s fortunate that I sent the others away.”
The Curse of Lust was particularly difficult to bear. If I hadn’t sent the others away, my rational thread might have been broken.
“The direction is correct here…”
The end of the forest.
Pushing through the thicket, a plain with a sword stuck in it came into view.
“That’s it…!”
The sword looked like an incredible treasure sword. Multicolored jewels were embedded in the handle, and the blade looked sharp enough to easily slice through stone.
Seeing it, my Curse of Greed stirred. It screamed to claim it as its own immediately.
“How noisy.”
Ignoring the inner cry, I headed towards the point where the sword was.
Then, a rustling sound came from both sides.
Surprisingly, Beato appeared first. She too seemed to be enduring something, gritting her teeth.
Seeing me, she smiled slightly.
“Looks like you’ve reached the same conclusion. I was the same.”
“…Wasn’t Elena the leader of your group?”
“She has some mental instability.”
I agreed. It was hard to imagine Elena enduring the seven curses. Just looking at her jealousy towards my master Ilya, she would not have been able to withstand the Curse of Jealousy or the Curse of Wrath.
“Ugh… I can’t bear the Curse of Lust because you appeared.”
“Try to attack if you’re going to.”
“Don’t say such stimulating things. It’s really hard to endure.”
“Hmph.”
“Beato crossing her arms and turning her gaze. Soon after, with a rustling sound, Instructor Ilya and Anton appeared.
“My lord! Are you safe?!”
“I’m safe. But are there two of you?”
‘Yes, both Ilya and I were able to endure. I sent the other people using something called the teleportation scroll .’
Anton seemed completely unfazed.
In contrast, master Ilya appeared to be struggling slightly with the curse of lust and remained silent.
“In any case, we’ve arrived at the center…”
It was unclear how to proceed from here.
Beato speaks.
“Why don’t you draw the sword?”
“Do we really have to? I feel a bit uneasy. Since earlier, it feels like someone is whispering to me, telling me to take this sword.”
“…I feel the same way. So let’s just draw it and get it over with.”
“Understood.”
I strode towards the sword. The more I approached, the stronger the energy from the sword seemed to become.
“The more I look, the more it seems like a famous sword.”
Jeweled swords typically lack practicality, but this sword didn’t seem to be like that. Even I, who doesn’t primarily use swords, wanted to try it.
As soon as I gripped the hilt tightly, I felt a full flow of energy through my hand.
Juras said he couldn’t pull it out, but when I applied force, the sword came out smoothly without any resistance.
“Ah…”
A dazzling sword blade. I stared at the blade as if possessed. When I tried using Aura, it flowed naturally along the blade like water.
The more I did, the more an intense voice rose from within.
The curse of stinginess and greed screamed that this sword was mine and must never be given to another, with jealousy and anger about the fact that this sword had been with someone else. Various emotions swirled together sharply.
It was the same for others.
Beato could no longer endure and was kneeling. Her gaze was fixed on the sword. I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination, but it felt like she wanted to steal it.
Then someone inside me shouted that it must absolutely not be taken away.
‘Is this how it is….’
Why historically was there only one survivor from the Seven Sins? I felt like I was about to know that truth.
No matter how many people arrived here, they would cause internal strife over this sword.
‘I must destroy this sword.’
I was reluctant. However, I used superhuman self-control and drew the sword with my left hand that wasn’t holding it.
I was planning to break the blade.
But then.
“I just can’t stand it anymore.”
Anton suddenly said this and drew his weapon, approaching me.
“Anton…! Don’t come…!”
The more he approached me, the more ugly emotions rose up. They were clearly telling me he was coming to steal the sword and that I should attack and crush him.
“Ugh…!”
Since gripping the sword, these negative emotions had become too strong. It was even harder to endure as Anton drew his weapon and approached.
The thought of stabbing Anton’s neck with the sword in my left hand grew stronger.
‘No, I can’t! How could I swing a sword at my vassal…!’
With a clang, I desperately released the force in my hand and dropped the sword from my left hand.
“Heh.”
Anton saw this and smiled, then swung his sword filled with Aura.
I had prepared for death, but—
With a clang, what was sliced wasn’t my neck, but the blade of the sword I was holding.
Anton shouted with a voice full of rage.
“How dare you try to sow discord about my loyalty to my lord with an insidious voice, impossible!”
“Anton…!”
“Lord Ars, please give me that sword. I will completely destroy it.”
He gently opened my hand holding the sword and took it away.
At that moment, it seemed Anton also heard the sword’s ugly and intense voice, but he chuckled and threw the sword into the air.
Then with a whoosh! Whoosh! He mercilessly swung his sword, breaking it into dozens of pieces.
The sword completely lost its form.
Along with that, the Seven Sins dissolved into magic and disappeared, and a vivid vision began to emerge in my mind.
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