Surviving as a Cult Leader in Another World (Going up)

The smell of burning filled my nostrils.

Screams and shouts echoed from everywhere, and I took advantage of the chaos to head towards the female prisoners' cell.
It was to rescue Galatea, the Holy Knight.
"What's going on right now!"
"It seems the knights have attacked!"
"They're holding out in the castrated men's prison! Let's go there too!"
The voices of the panicked cult members echoed through the alleys made of stacked logs.
Perhaps because Loras and his gang were doing a good job of drawing attention, most of the cultists rushed towards them.
Those knights were despicable, but their skills were genuine.
They would be able to buy me a lot of time─.
"Galatea!"
I entered the prison, which was now empty after the people had left like an ebb tide, and found Galatea trapped inside.
The valiant female knight I remembered was nowhere to be seen. Her face was bruised and injured, and she was wearing ragged clothes, making her look quite pitiful.
"Where─am I─. I am─Diana's─."
"Please come to your senses. It's me, Hyde. Monk Hyde with the wooden plaque. We met at Emrys Monastery. I've come to repay your kindness for the passage permit!"
"All men who insult the Goddess must die─."
"Oh, dear."
It seemed that Galatea's mental state was worse than her physical appearance.
While the Crescent Moon Sisterhood castrated male prisoners and used them as slaves, they captured female prisoners, tortured them, brainwashed them, and turned them into members of their group.
Brainwashing was one of the specialties of heretics, so it wasn't surprising.
After all, there's no way anyone in their right mind would believe in heresy and cults.
In a way, all heretics and cultists were victims of brainwashing.
"I'll get you out of here right away!"
I picked up a nearby stone.
Whoosh, grab!
And when I struck it with all my might, the crude wooden lock easily shattered.
"Let's go!"
"Ugh, my─."
I rescued Galatea from her confinement, but she couldn't walk easily, so I had to carry her.
Now all that's left is to escape─.
As I was thinking that, I heard a loud noise.
Crack-!!!
I've heard the sound of a mansion's main beam breaking, and it was exactly that kind of noise.
When I went outside, I could see a gigantic woman, who seemed to defy perspective even from afar, wielding a log and smashing the knights.
"That's─."
"It's Lady Wrath! Lady Wrath, the Ire is using her power herself!"
"Kyahaha! Smash the knights!"
The women's laughter and cheers explained the current situation.
Wrath of the Deadly Sin─.
The way she subdued and smashed the knights in an instant was quite surreal.
"Loras, you useless bastard. You should have held out a little longer."
Loras and Tristan were captured by the cultist women right in front of me. I couldn't see the one-eyed knight, Baldwin.
He was probably dead.
I hid in the attic of a warehouse that seemed deserted for now.
Looking out the window, I could see people busily moving around.
"We've confirmed that twenty sisters have died!"
"Let's tear these bastards apart!"
"Let's impale them!"
The women were furious.
Then the cultist woman called Wrath, the Ire shouted.
"Build an arena!"
After that, a circular arena was built with torches and fences, and Loras and Tristan were thrown inside naked.
Loras and Tristan regained consciousness.
It seemed they were going to make them fight each other.
"Wrath, you're a cruel woman."
Tristan and Loras.
One of them would surely die.
If they were going to fight each other to the death anyway, I hoped they would drag it out for a long time.
"Dame Galatea. Can you wait here for a moment?"
"Ugh─."
I left Galatea in the attic and slipped out of the warehouse.
Now that all the women were busy watching Loras and Tristan's deathmatch, I headed towards the prison where the male prisoners were held.
"Hey! Slave! Why are you loitering around!"
Then someone approached me.
It was a cultist woman with her face painted black with ink.
I showed her the herbs I was holding for Dihon and said,
"Lady Wrath ordered me to give medicine to the prisoners."
"Medicine? Yes, their condition is serious. It's the first time I've seen Lady Wrath so angry. She truly deserves to bear the name of Wrath. Well, it hasn't been long since she arrived here!"
Seeing her blabbering about information I didn't even ask for, she must be a woman who loves to talk. She must be excited by the blazing fire, violence, and the smell of blood.
Indeed, her pupils, which could be seen beyond the black ink, were constricted as if she was extremely tense.
I asked in a harmless and weak voice, like a petty villain,
"Um, where did that terrifying Lady Wrath come from?"
"You stupid slave. Don't you even know that? She came from the Witches' Sabbath. From 「Walpurgis」. Some damn bastard messed up our funding and slave supply."
I see.
Originally, Wrath, the Ire didn't exist in the Crescent Moon Sisterhood at this time.
But it seemed that Walpurgis, which could be considered the parent organization of the Sisterhood, was alerted because I handed over Bluebeard, Wicked Woman Nicola, and Nomad to the Inquisition.
Whack-!
Then the woman punched me hard in the back.
"Ouch!"
"More importantly, you damn bastard, how long are you going to slack off? Hurry up and do what Lady Wrath ordered! Damn castrated bastards have no guts! Get out of here and go to the prison!"
"Ugh─."
"It seems the prisoner we caught this time is Archibald's son. If we keep him alive, we can use him in many ways later. Don't let him die. It's your responsibility if he dies! Hurry up and go!"
My back hurt like hell.
But I was glad that I could go to the prison, so I bowed my head and ran to the prison.
When I entered the men's prison, I saw a familiar face through the log bars.
"Lord Oscar."
"That voice, Hy, Hyde─!"
"Shh. Be quiet. I'll get you out of here."
Oscar Archibald.
He was imprisoned.
The iron wall called Archibald must have saved his life again.
"Hyde…I can't see anything…My eyes…What happened to my eyes? I can't see anything. There's only darkness…darkness in front of me."
"...."
Oscar Archibald's face was burned as if someone had scorched it with fire.
He had suffered severe burns to his face, making him look so hideous that the handsome features he once had were nowhere to be seen.
"I can't see…!"
Oscar seemed agitated.
If I stayed like this, the cultists might come in, so I had to calm him down first.
"The cultists have blindfolded you, Lord Oscar, that's why you can't see. You'll be able to see again once the bandage is removed, so don't worry."
"I, is that so? Ha─. That's a relief. Then, Hyde, be my eyes. I can't feel my arms and legs. What about my arms and legs?"
Oscar's arms and legs were bizarrely bent and broken.
It was a miracle that he was still alive.
What was even more horrifying was that blood was gushing from his lower body. It seemed they had applied a cloth to stop the bleeding crudely, but─.
It seemed Oscar had been castrated.
"...."
These damn, horrible cultist bitches.
If someone were to ask me if Oscar, despite being a villain, had committed such evil deeds as to deserve this suffering, I would have to ponder deeply.
Judgment is not the realm of humans, but of the Lord.
"Your arms and legs are fine."
"…Lord Hyde, I see now that you're a poor liar."
"What do you mean?"
"My condition is not good…I know that very well. I'm probably going to die. No, I might experience something worse than death…I'm Archibald's son, after all…"
"...."
"Priest Hyde, hear my confession before I die. I must repent for my sins."
"Oscar, I'm a priest who doesn't believe in confession. Repent for your sins through your own prayers. And you shouldn't talk too much. Your condition─."
"Manaan, it was me who killed them. But I had no choice. He started to tell the truth about too many things. It was a curse more powerful than I had ever seen."
"...."
"Hyde, I won't…ask you to save me now. But please, tell my father that I died proudly as Archibald's son…? Promise me."
This guy.
He's talking nonsense until the very end.
He truly was the arrogant son of Archibald.
"Quickly, Hyde. You're…a member of the Agarphe of the Covenant now. My promise…"
At the same time, I raised my evaluation of Oscar Archibald.
Humans reveal their true 'nature' when they are on the verge of death, a nature they cannot hide.
I became curious about this man named Oscar only now.
"Oscar, are you not afraid of death?"
"…I don't know. But now that I can't see, I understand. Hyde. It seems you're afraid of death. Perhaps you've committed…many sins…? Did you perhaps orchestrate this whole thing…?"
"Ha, I'm an innocent man with no sins. Don't make baseless accusations, brother."
"That's impossible. When I look at you, I'm reminded of my father. But I'll believe you. I'll save the innocent you, so please…tell my father…my last words…"
"How can you save me when you're on the verge of death?"
I had many ideas about escaping with Galatea.
We could escape through the secret passage while Loras and Tristan were fighting each other.
Nevertheless, the reason I came to see Oscar was that I wanted to make sure he died. It was understandable for ignorant knights like Loras and Tristan.
The courage to sneak into a mountain fortress where a Deadly Sin might be present.
I thought Oscar must have something he was relying on.
"Cough, ugh, can you see the silver cross pendant around my neck? This is a specially…made whistle. If you blow it, something unimaginable will happen. Hyde, you…will escape then."
I put the cross whistle in Oscar's mouth as he wished.
Then, with his dying body, he blew the whistle with all his might.
Fweeeeeeeeeeeee-.
The whistle made a sharp sound.
It was at that very moment.
Aaaaaaaaaargh━───!!!!
A sound that made the nape of my neck tingle erupted from somewhere.
It sounded like the cry of a beast, or perhaps a scream or a shriek. It sounded sorrowful at first, but as it changed into what seemed like a roar of evil, it ultimately conveyed a single emotion.
An unfathomable depth of rage─.
Soon, Oscar burst into loud laughter.
"Damn infidel bastards, all of you die!"