Surviving as a Cult Leader in Another World (On Pause)

Madeleine Michelangelo.
The man, better known as Michelangelo, the president of the Artists Guild, found the world and its people utterly ignorant.
He scoffed every time he witnessed their unrefined actions and appearances.
'No one understands the true value of my art! Fools.'
Michelangelo felt a profound sense of loneliness.
Not a single person could discuss art and life on the same level as him.
Artists were inherently solitary beings.
'Of course, the author of "The Way of the Beast" is a man I can acknowledge. Lust, what kind of man is he? It may seem like a vulgar erotic novel, but the grammar is refined, and the vocabulary used is impressive.'
The new words introduced in "The Way of the Beast" and the newly released novel "The Non-Virgin" were rapidly changing the world.
He was amazed that someone could create such shocking words like 'dick', 'cock', and 'cunt' and spread them throughout the world.
'Speaking of shocking, that wooden plaque monk's work from earlier was quite shocking in many ways!'
Monk Hyde.
Michelangelo's mood soured as he recalled the lanky man's pale face. The story he had heard earlier was so childish that even a baby would find it boring.
'I should have beaten him up so badly that he could never call himself an artist again!'
His fists itched at the thought.
Shiver-
Michelangelo felt a sudden chill in the air of the Grand Cathedral.
What was going on?
Just then, someone shouted.
"Lo-Look, look at that guy! What is that!"
It was the painter Bonaccio.
Michelangelo turned his head at his urgent voice. There, someone was clinging to Michelangelo's masterpiece, the Pietà, like a spider!
And they were screaming loudly.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah─!!!!!!"
Michelangelo.
Although he couldn't be described as deeply religious, he had grown up listening to the teachings of the church, and all the artwork he created was based on the Bible.
The Savior and the Virgin Mary.
The creation of the first human, Adam-.
Judgment Day-.
These were Michelangelo's main artistic subjects.
Therefore, the scene unfolding before his eyes was horrifying, sending chills down his spine and making him dizzy.
A man clinging to the sacred statue of the Virgin Mary and shouting such blasphemous screams-.
"Wh-Who are you! Who are you to cling to the statue of the Virgin Mary, you scoundrel! Come down immediately! Come here!"
He was a man wearing a red cross mask.
The robe he was wearing was also dyed red, giving it a bloody and ominous appearance that disturbed people's hearts.
Soon, the man clinging to the statue of the Virgin Mary spoke.
"Virgin Mary? Such a thing doesn't exist in this woooorld!!! To think you worship this insignificant woman as the Virgin Mary!!!! Hahaha!!! In the end, this stone is nothing but a non-virgin!!!"
"He's, he's crazy! Lord, please let Michelangelo not have heard what he just said!"
To deny the existence of the Virgin Mary.
And now, the man was clinging to the statue of the Virgin Mary, undoubtedly defiling it. Was there anyone in the world who feared divine punishment so little?
Michelangelo felt his common sense being distorted, and his hands and feet trembled as if he would be punished just for witnessing this scene.
That's when it happened.
"Lu-Lust! You dare enter this Grand Cathedral! Shouldn't a demon like you be forbidden from entering the Grand Cathedral…!?"
Milione, the mischievous Lady of Durgien, started trembling in fear. Her words made everyone realize who the man in front of them was.
Lust, the Beast, the most notorious man in Durgien.
He had appeared in this holy place.

"I understand! You've come to rape me again…!"
Milione said something crazy.
Of course, no one could focus on Milione's words.
They were overwhelmed by the 'pressure' emanating from the being before them.
Michelangelo had always wanted to meet 'Lust'-. But he regretted ever having such a thought.
Now, he only felt fear.
"Don't look so grim, everyone. Even if the Virgin Mary truly exists and has power, this is just a stone. Is this stone your God?"
Finally, the man descended from the Pietà statue.
And he started kicking the statues of the Savior and the Virgin Mary with his feet. It was a violent act, seemingly devoid of any fear of divine punishment.
"Tell me, is this your Savior? Is this stone your Savior? No, this is just a stone. An idol you created! You fools, Milione!"
"Lu-Lust called my name!"
"I have the power of 'hypnosis' to control the non-virgins I've raped at will! I command you! Milione, destroy this Pietà statue!"
"Ugh, my, my body is moving on its own-. Lust, you're controlling me at will─! No, ugh!"
It seemed that Milione, the mischievous Lady of the Archibald family, was being controlled by Lust's words.
What was this 'hypnosis'?
People couldn't understand the situation.
Hypnosis was a concept that began to be established in the 18th century in Austria, so it was difficult for people in this dark age to grasp.
Still, Michelangelo thought it was a very dangerous and terrifying ability.
Crash-
Finally, Milione pulled the Pietà with all her might and shattered it.
A masterpiece.
Michelangelo felt his hair turning white as he watched his cherished work being destroyed, as if he had aged 30 years in an instant.
"Hahaha! This is art! When Judgment Day comes, you insects who worship decaying stones and scribbles that will burn to ashes-, I am your Judgment Day─!"
Lust shouted and started running around the Grand Cathedral. He took out oil from his hand and started spraying it on the murals, finally setting them on fire.
Whoosh-
The Grand Cathedral was ablaze.
The artists panicked and shouted as they watched.
"Mi-Michelangelo! Do something! Our paintings are burning!"
"We have to stop him! We have to stop that guy!"
"Who's going to stop him! You go!"
The artists, who prided themselves on loving and protecting culture and heritage more than anyone else, couldn't lift a finger even when a villain appeared who was directly destroying their paintings.
They were artists, after all.
If they had the courage to resist injustice and were skilled in combat, they would have become knights, not artists.
In this moment of destruction, reminiscent of Judgment Day, their artistic sense, brushes, chisels, nails, and hammers were all useless.
All the artists could do was shout at the guards.
"Gu-Guards! What are the guards doing!"
"Ugh, my body is moving on its own- I'm going to take down the guards!"
The guards had long been knocked down by Milione, who was rampaging for some reason. Amidst this total chaos, Michelangelo was in awe.
Everything he had worked for his entire life was disappearing into nothingness because of some bean-smelling oil and a small candle.
"I was an insignificant human. A primitive human whose lifelong efforts could be erased by a single candle. I deserved this for acting all high and mighty."
"Mi-Michelangelo, what are you saying! We have to stop that man, Lust!"
"You bastard! Da Vinci! Don't you dare mention Lust's name carelessly! Look at this spectacle! Isn't it more artistic than anything else! Art is a flame! Art is burning! And burning is sex, which means art is sex! Hehe! Sex!"
"What the fuck, what are you talking about all of a sudden! Hey! Why are you holding that torch! Oh no, don't do it! Someone stop Michelangelo! Michelangelo has gone mad and is setting fire to the Grand Cathedral!"
"Set it on fire! Burn it! Kyaaaaa! Lord Lust, take my soul! I, Michelangelo, will create a beautiful flame! Hehe, fire blast!"
The fire in the Grand Cathedral subsided an hour later.
The building's frame remained sturdy, but the paintings and meticulously sculpted statues inside couldn't escape the flames.
The Grand Cathedral, burned to a crisp.
I felt dizzy as I looked at the building.
"What a terrible…."
I was only planning to burn a few paintings.
But Michelangelo, the president of the Artists Guild, who suddenly lost his mind, started setting fires everywhere, and as a result, the Grand Cathedral was reduced to black ashes.
This arson of the Grand Cathedral wasn't my fault, Hyde's fault.
"Hahaha, Lord Lust will return! Lord Lust! I, Michelangelo, have done it! Please take me as your servant! Hehehe!"
Michelangelo, the president of the Artists Guild, was now tied up and being dragged away by the soldiers. A white-haired knight, observing him with narrowed eyes, approached the artists and asked,
"Michelangelo, that man was actually a minion of the cultist Lust. Artists Guild, are you accomplices as well?"
"No! We truly didn't know anything! Sir Parmas! This is unfair!"
"But…it was truly a shocking sight. To destroy those works of art so ruthlessly. I wonder if there's anything more artistic than that fleeting moment…."
"Arrest them all! We'll have to ask the inquisitor for details!"
The old knight Parmas, with his long white hair, shouted. He was wearing a wide-brimmed hat, giving him a very sophisticated appearance.
Soon, the soldiers began to arrest Michelangelo and the other artists under the orders of Parmas, one of the Six Knights.
Parmas' blue eyes now turned to us.
"Lady Milione. I heard you were controlled by Lust. Did he use some suspicious ability called 'hypnosis'? You must tell us exactly what happened."
"Sir, it felt like Lust's will was forcefully entering my mind. When his will controlled my body, it felt like we became 'one'."
"Became one? What do you mean?"
"It was, it was completely like sex. Lust violated me again. And when we became one like that, I learned about Lust's thoughts and his future plans!"
"Become one…I don't quite understand, but you're saying you were controlled? Like a puppet?"
"Yes! Lust controlled me!"
No, what do you mean controlled?
Was an ability like hypnosis real?
Milione had simply beaten up the soldiers and destroyed the Pietà statue on her own to help Lust.
She was a crazy woman.
However, Parmas, the gold plaque knight, frowned when he heard that Milione had learned about Lust's plan.
"Lust's plan? What do you mean?"
"Lust, that man, is plotting a huge conspiracy in Durgien! Yes! I know Lust's will! Lust, that man, will soon appear in public and start preaching on the streets!"
"I-Is that true!"
The old knight Parmas was flustered.
Was it true?
Of course not.
Was I crazy?
To preach on the streets as Lust?
Unaware of my thoughts, Milione continued rambling.
"Wrath will appear too! Wrath and Lust! And their followers, the Blood Crusaders, will rise up in Durgien!"
Wrath will appear?
That meant that if Lust didn't show up, the enraged Wrath would go on a rampage and attack innocent civilians.
"We must inform the guards! Lady Milione, you should return to Archbishop Archibald's house and remain under house arrest for the time being! You are not without responsibility for this arson!"
Slide-
Parmas, the gold plaque knight, now looked at me.
The knight with the golden cross, with less than 10 of his kind.
His gaze was sharp and menacing.
"Are you Hyde? I received a letter from Selim about you."
"I imagine it was filled with nonsense. Selim was a fool."
"Oh ho, are you saying that I, his master, was lacking? A disciple's foolishness is the master's fault. To be honest, Hyde, I don't like you. I'll be watching you."
It seemed he held a grudge against me because his disciple, Selim, had been executed. But I didn't even kill Selim.
The executioner did.
I even volunteered to be Selim's lawyer to reduce his sentence to imprisonment.
"Let's go!"
As Parmas' yellow cloak disappeared into the distance, I felt indignant. Why did he dislike me, an innocent person, when he failed to properly teach his disciple?
He was a strange old man.