"Oh crap..." I muttered under my breath as chaos unfolded in front of me.

But seriously, how could that happen? I couldn't help but doubt the Intelligence and Emotional Quotient of the two cults.

Well, consider how low the Axis Cultists' Intelligence Quotient- Uh, I mean, how devoted they were to their patron goddess, I figured that would happen eventually, one way or another.

The Axis Cult was having a free for all with the Eris Cult and the knights for law enforcement.

"I am so going to treat Saki to something after this... But first, I would have to clean up the mess here."

"Hmm? Is that...? Astroraia-sama! The Magic Swordmaster has arrived at the capital!" A scout used his magic binoculars to found me and reported the news to Alicia.

"Is that so? Thank you." Alicia then fished her pockets to find her communication device.

On my way to the blacksmith...

"Alpha to Zulu! Where are you at?" Alicia's voice rang through the communication device.

"Uh... Obtaining something." I replied as I opened the door.

"Get over here quick! Please..." Alicia spoke in a somewhat anxious tone, as if she wanted me to arrive at the scene as soon as possible.

I looked at the crystals at my hand.

Guess I don't really have a choice...

I put the crystals into the core and dashed towards the chaotic streets.

"LEAVE NOTHING STANDING IN OUR PATH!"

"ERIS PADS HER CHEST!"

It looks like the situation has escalated by tenfold since I went to collect to Core Crystals.

But the armaments the cultists had seemed quite formidable. Call me a conspiracy theorist all you want, but the fact of the sturdy equipment worn by those cultists didn't sit well with me.

Anyway, crowd control and peacekeeping comes first.

"Good day to you, ladies and gentlemen. This is a warm broadcast from the Magic Swordmaster, I am extremely glad to see you all are alive and kickin', but you are currently causing huge disturbance to those who live nearby. So I would have to ask you to leave here as soon as possible."

The people jeered, tried to convert the cultists to the opposite cult and had zero intention to leave.

So I suppose I should take that as a no.

"Core change, Pegasus to Taurus." I muttered as people fighting among themselves.

All of a sudden, mist covered the entire street.

'Is there someone looking after me?"

If that's the case...

I opened the pouches and the iron sand rose like smoke.

After a few minutes, I figured the iron sand should be distributed evenly around the street.

However, the two factions continued to hurl objects frantically and the situation became worse than ever at the moment.

"Take a nap! Stunder!" I unleashed a clap of thunder and lightning.

And the lightning hit the iron sand and created a net of electricity.

The cultists were shocked and stunned, they also lost their ability to make things worse.

"Zulu to Alpha. All cultists are subdued."

"Remember to check if there is any purple-eyed people within the ranks of the cultists. Leave them to me if there is any."

"Gotcha."

However, I really want to ask a few questions regarding what just happened.

To begin with, it is quite rare for the Eris Cultists to be as fanatic as the Axis Cultists. Why would they be that pissed, considering the fact they were annoyed and sexual-harassed (well technically, since the Axis Cultists always asked if the female members pads their chest) by the Axis Cultists constantly?

The second thing is, how come did the patron goddesses of the cults failed to sense this? After all, the power of the goddesses are affected by the faith of their followers directly. That's how that realm works, or so I heard. So, they should be a bit weaker as their followers faith slightly wavers. And the fact that they didn't even show up and meditate the conflict immediately made them less convincing that they were aware of this.

Not to mention, who is behind this? Why would that person create the conflict? There are three deities apart from Aqua and Eris, namely Wolbach, the Goddess of Sloth and Violence; Regina, the Goddess of Vengeance and Puppetry; and Volras, the God of Darkness and Death.

Let's be honest, these three have the same odds of being the culprit.

Why? If we rewind back to the incident.

Violence? Check.

Puppetry? Most likely, so check.

Darkness in humanity? Check.

Let's talk about Wolbach first. She is the Goddess of Sloth and Violence. Blood was spilled on the street due to the sheer violence of the conflict.

Judging on how offensive the insults are, I figured there was darkness within them. I have sufficient reasons believe Volras also played a part in this mess.

During the conflict, no one said this is something decreed by either of the goddess. There were some signs of puppetry within the incident.

Maybe I should keep the questions to myself for now. Since I am going to locate them down.

That night...

"Here you go, thank you for your hard work, Magic Swordmaster." A slightly tired voice spoke up as a gloved hand passed a mug of warm cocoa to me.

"You are very welcome, Astroraia-san. And thank you for the drink." I answered with a weary smile and took the mug from Alicia.

"How is it?" Alicia asked as she fidgeted nervously.

"Nice. The cocoa isn't that bitter, and the temperature is perfect. Did you make this yourself?" I asked as I turned my attention towards Alicia.

"Yeah..."

"Well thanks for your handmade cocoa."

After a few months of research...

"Alright, we have located the three deities. Hey, Alicia, could you please hand me the newspaper?" I called out as I stretched.

"What? That man managed to take down the Destroyer?! Holy shit, that's pretty amazing." I read the newspaper with a wide-eyed expression.

"Aw shit!"

"What?" Alicia looked at me as if I went crazy.

"I forgot yesterday is Loby's birthday! Fk!" I facepalmed myself as I dashed out of the room.

"Hey, Lima, are you free today?"

"Yeah, I am. What's up?"

"Can you meet me at the Adventurers' Guild?"

"Yeah sure."

"How dumb of me... How could I forgot the birthday of one of my party members...?"

"Not to mention... Why the hell did Alicia made me bring her birthday gift for Loby as well...?"

Suddenly, the door was pushed open.

"You are late." I sipped on a cup of tea as I eyed the Archwizard who was panting, probably because he ran over here as fast as he could.

"Have a seat, young Archwizard." I offered Loby a seat as he approached my table.

"So, why are you calling me out today? Do you have any business with me?" Loby asked after he sat down.

"Your birthday was yesterday, right?"

"Uh, yeah, and?"

"I forgot that, and I'm sorry about that. But I do prepared a birthday gift for you. So does Alicia." I continued with slight embarrassment as I placed the gifts on the table and pushed them towards Loby.

"So here... Happy belated birthday."

"Geez, I should be mad for you guys forgetting my birthday. But I guess you couldn't help it and you bought the gifts after all. Thanks." Loby expressed his thanks as he collected the gifts.

"Also, did the Crimson Demon sealed Wolbach before?"

"..."

"It's fine if you don't want to ask. I will call you out when I need you. Until then, have a nice day." I continued before I rose and left the Adventurers' Guild.

However, a young girl in a white kimono and a black katana stood in my way.

"Excuse me, but are you the Magic Swordmaster?" The girl asked.

"Precisely I am. How can I help you?" I replied.

"I am the Mist Swordswoman, Amai. And I am here to deliver some information from Saki-san." The girl greeted me politely.

"Is that so? Thank you-"

"But you would have to defeat me before you can have access to her information." Amai drew her katana and did a fighting stance as she continued.

'Really...?'

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter! I knew I could make it a bit longer, but I really want to upload this ASAP. Considering the fact that yesterday (20/8) was Loby's birthday, so I don't want to delay this.

Also, with this chapter, all of my OCs have made their first appearance, so I would give out their info. sometime later on.

Hope you all enjoyed it and stay tuned for the next chapter!