The Guild That Never Was

Daichi and Hiro flew over the balcony’s stone guardrail and flopped in front of Sanae. Two pink energy ropes were wrapped around her arms, pulling the duo closer. She dispelled the items and knelt over to inspect her wounded friends.

“Hiro! Daichi! Hold on, I’m right here!” She looked panicked, trying to decide who to focus first. Her palms lit up bright yellow as she hovered them over Hiro. “Heaven’s dawn, Heaven’s witness; dispel the spells from Hell and cleanse my friends. Unburn the righteous and seek the salvation of annihilation . . .”

Yes, check him first. He needs more help . . . Daichi watched Hiro’s black flames shrink and the burn marks evaporate. Earlier, Domination's curse had planted withering pain on both men that urgently needed treatment. If left unchecked, a single cursed ember could erupt into a full-blown inferno.

Sanae continued her long chant even as Makoto sauntered up to her from behind.

“Hey, hey! What gives? I gave the ok to give Hiro a Soul Rope, but why sneak one on Daichi? We only had two, ya' know!”

She ignored him and continued her purification. Her glowing hands caressed Hiro’s burns as color started returning to his face.

“Are you listening, woman? Woman!"

From the floor Daichi could see Sanae's lips contorting into a snarl. Her eyes twitched with every single pestering word from Makoto, like a powder keg getting steadily filled. All that was missing was a final spark.

"WOMAN!"

Sanae's hands curled into fists and canceled her ritual half-way through. She lumbered straight up then looked Makoto in the eyes before slapping him with damaging force. The impact immediately imprinted red on his face, echoing throughout the cavern.

“NO! I am not listening! I regret ever listening to you! You’re scum!” Sanae’s emotions poured out for the world to see. “All you do is manipulate and lie! You never intended to beat Domination! You sent Daichi down there to die just for sick laughs! And I’m sick I went along with it! But no more! I’m DONE!”

What is she . . . saying? Daichi could only process part of the conversation in his half-conscious state. He raised his hand towards Sanae as she looked towards him and rushed to grab it. The small fire burned into her palms; she bit into her lips from apparent pain. Sanae repeated the process with his other hand, further cleansing him even at the cost of her own health.

“I’ll have to finish purifying you later,” she whispered. “Please, stay strong until then.”

Behind her, an irate cowboy was radiating a malevolent aura. Only his hostile eyes previewed the calm but burning rage within him.

“I hope you’re aware of the gravitas of your actions, Sanae Tsubasa,” Makoto stated. His doofus persona had vanished, replaced with something akin to a judge passing judgment. The true self he'd likely been harboring had been unveiled. “Striking me, berating me, belittling me, then accusing me of hedonism? All while failing the simple litmus test I crafted for you? What apropos punishment am I thinking this warrants?”

She stood to face him once more, sheer defiance boiling in her eyes. “I don’t care what you think. I’m leaving the guild—something I should’ve done forever ago.”

“Come again? Leaving the guild? Bitch, did you save yourself that day in Lex Talionis? Where do you think you’d be today if it wasn't for us? Who knows how many guys you’d have—”

“Shut up, Makoto,” Hiro's coarse voice said. He was sitting upright watching their argument unfold. His unyielding, penetrating stare made the false cowboy balk. 

“Don’t tell me you’re taking her side over mine! This chick you’ve barely known for a year? Instead of me? Bad joke, man!”

“I've already thanked you more than enough times for everything,” Sanae finally countered. “I’ve given you almost everything you wanted, including joining this guild, but I can’t turn a blind eye forever. Not anymore!"

"BAHAHAHA!" Makoto laughed with his hand to his face. Only a twisted, grinning grimace peeked from underneath as he slowly revealed himself. "Didn't know we had comedians here besides me! But look! Look! I helped raise the kid's level, didn't I? I'm a good guy!"

"No!" She took a quick peek over her shoulder. "We keep an open guild slot just so you can mess with people! But at least you've never tried killing them until now!”

"Oh, it's too late to proselytize me, honey. Ain't no absolution for beggars who reject my offers, so all this is on you. Actually would've been fun being the kid's guard dog across Paradise—not like I got anything better to do.”

Sanae refreshed her purity spell on Daichi to pause the curse’s spread, then faced Makoto once more. “You knew I wouldn’t accept your deal—knew that I couldn’t after what I’ve been through. You’re nothing but a coward! That’s why you didn’t help clear the last enemies before Domination! You didn’t wanna risk losing your life, so you sacrificed the lives of your guildmates instead!”

“Heh. Never been much of a utilitarian. Besides, everyone else still had two lives left, so I did some dirty math! If only your brain was a bit bigger to see the bigger picture!”

“S-Sanae . . .” Daichi coughed from below her. His voice was raspy and his skin was paling. “It’s okay, I’ll leave. You d-d-don’t have to do anything for me. You’ve done enough already.”

She attempted to reply but stopped after Makoto pointed his revolvewand down at a dying Daichi.

“Stop the screeching, kid," he sneered. "Ya' really thought you were baller enough to join my guild? Pffft—could say everything was just a 'prank'. Pretty funny, huh?"

"Leave him alone!" Sanae tried grabbing Makoto's revolvewand but he flung her aside.

"See? I knew you’d give her wrong ideas, but infecting her so much in one day wasn't expected. Bad call that I gotta rectify now."

“Why . . . Makoto . . . ?” Daichi muttered as the revolver-shaped wand began glowing green.

“Hmmm? Why? Because I have a BIG dick! You wouldn’t know what it’s like, kid.”

Sanae darted in front of Makoto and spread her arms wide. “I won’t let you do this anymore! Just let him go! He needs treatment ASAP or the curse will kill him! Please!”

"Huh?" Makoto reached under his cowboy hat to scratch his head. “You’re not doing him any favors by standing in front of me. It just makes me wanna shoot for a collateral.”

"S-S-Stop!" Daichi mustered all his remaining strength to stand. He willed out his Menu and tapped through several prompts to leave the guild. “There, I’m not p-part of Lone Star anymore. I’ll walk myself out. Just leave S-S-Sanae out of this.”

“Daichi, no! You have to rest!” She hurried to coax him into sitting down.

Aiming straight at them, Makoto’s revolvewand began leaking green sparks as it prepared to fire.

“Unfortunately," he said, "neither of you is leaving here alive without serious reformation—placid platitudes be damned."

Sanae’s eyes turned fierce. She shifted Daichi’s arm over her shoulders and tapped at the air. “I just left the guild too. Me and Daichi are both leaving. Now move.”

“Is my IQ the only one worth a shit in here? I said no one is leave—”

“If Sanae wants to leave, she can leave.” Towering Hiro shambled between them, covered in curse marks and wielding his huge sword. He was barely standing but still electrified the air with a bloodcurdling expression. 

Makoto took several steps back, almost stumbling over himself. The shielder and fire mage behind him nervously readied their own weapons.

Are they all gonna fight? Daichi thought. This could be bad. I’m useless right now and Hiro's still hurt. A 3v3 is the last thing we want!

“You of all people Hiro, I expected more from!” Makoto half-laughed, but hints of bubbling sadness previewed the emotions swirling inside him. “We’ve known each other basically forever! And we were lucky enough to spawn into this world together!”

Hiro stood silent.

“Ever since we were kids you were a loner, but I hung around you no matter what people said. Come high school I brought you inside my fold; and I got you laid, got you friends, got you respect—even got your grades up so we could graduate!" Makoto's grip on the revolvewand pointing ahead tightened. His face seemed on the verge of crying but it was hard to tell whether from frustration or sorrow.

Still silence.

“Is this really how you want all that to end? A slugfest in some dank cave? Over a girl with small tits and some kid you just met today? There’s still time to change your mind!”

An intense staredown between the cowboy and his hulking friend ensued. Patches of black flames still burning on Hiro's cape wisped around, as if being choked out by the bitter atmosphere. A guild of once good friends was on the verge of imploding. Everyone watched carefully for the slightest, sudden movement that would trigger an all-out war.

Then, Hiro sighed. His shoulders slouched and he lowered his sword, surrendering himself with a torn expression. “I don’t want to fight—not if I don’t have to. Even now I still respect you, so just let Sanae go with Daichi and I’ll stick by your side; like we've always been."

Makoto’s hand trembled more than ever, enough that Daichi feared the revolvewand would accidentally fire off. All eyes were on the cowboy as he bit hard into his lips, as if compiling all his available options into one mental presentation.

“Fine! I don't need a Pyrrhic victory. They got ten minutes to get out of my sight now. After that, I'm coming after them." He holstered his revolvewand and moved aside. A clear path down the cave passageway was a stone toss away.

Sanae nodded. She brought Daichi closer into her, letting him smell the faint sweetness of her lilac hair. “It’ll be a while before I can finish your treatment. Will you be ok?”

I'm surprised I'm still alive to be honest. “Yeah, I think I’ll manage, haha.”

“Don’t be afraid to shift your weight onto me. I don’t mind.”

His wobbling legs were already failing. “S-Sorry . . ."

Sanae began walking, gripping Daichi's arm over her shoulders. She would need to lug him all the way back to Outset through Domination's Raid. But the first steps had already been taken, and they were likely by far the hardest. 

A brief cough, then she looked behind one last time towards Hiro. Her eyes were full of confliction and confusion, like she tried conveying all her emotions in one resolute glance.

“Go,” Hiro sternly said. Blotches of curse marks were still spreading across his skin. “I’ll be fine.”

She mumbled something just under her breath, but too low for anyone except Daichi to hear. "Thank you—for everything."

Without another word, the two defectors shambled their way back down the Raid Dungeon and out into the wide, open world.