Phoenix Flame and Fiendish Gargoyle are at war with each other since Fiendish Gargoyle kidnapped Yukina. Everyone is fighting outside to keep them busy while Maru and his friends work to get her out. However, they have to face Fienidish Gargoyle's best to do that. Thanks to Mary, one has already been defeated, but it did take a toll on her.
"Mary, are you going to be okay?" Maru asked.
"Yeah. I did use a good deal of my magic." Mary said. "I can move around, but I don't think I be able to keep fighting."
"She should conserve whatever magic she has left." Aster said. "We still have three of Fiendish Gargoyle's best to deal with, not to mention Johnson himself. That's to try and conserve some power, we should fight one on one until we defeat the remaining three." Gin and Maru agreed to that. They need to try and keep their strength up.
'Sweet. That means I don't have to fight anymore and put myself in a dangerous situation again.' Mary thought. 'Even if my magic does return, I'll just let them handle all of the rest.'
"Well, we better get going. Yukina is waiting for us." Aster said. All of them were in agreement and kept on moving. They continued their way up the building and would be ready for whatever is next. They kept going on up until they've reached the next door. Once they got there, all of them went right on in. When they got there, they found their next opponent was waiting for them. The one who was standing before them was Tsubasa.
"Hello, Phoenix Flame. My name is Tsubasa Sora."
"Looks like we found the next one." Gin said. "How nice of you to roll out the red carpet for us."
"I must admit that I'm a little surprised." Tsubasa said. "I did not think your entire guild would come to rescue Yukina Winters, nor did I expect you to defeat Moola. However, you would be wise not to underestimate the rest of us."
"Whatever. You're not going to scare us away." Gin said.
"If you just give us back Yukina, we'll be out of here." Sandy said.
"That is not my decision to make." Tsubasa said. "I'm afraid I can't allow you to pass any further." He reached for his sword and pulled it out. "Now, which one of you am I going to do battle with?"
"Hold on. You actually want to fight us one on one?" Maru said.
"Of course. As sure as I am to defeat all of you, I believe this way would be more honorable." Tsubasa said. "However, it does not mean I will allow the rest of you to simply pass. None of you will be going beyond this point unless you can defeat me."
"No worries. I got this." Gin said as he stepped forward and was ready to take him on.
"Gin, are you sure?" Aster questioned.
"No worries. In fact, this will be over before you know it." Gin said as he pulled out one of his guns and took aim. "I'll just use Sleep Shot. One shot and we can get this guy out of the way."
"You can try." Tsubasa dared. Gin went and did just that. He took a shot, but something unexpected happened. Tsubasa used his sword and was able to deflect the shot. "What?!"
"Did I see that right?!" Mary said as they were all a little shocked and surprised at what Tsubasa did.
"How could he have deflected a shot with just his sword that fast?" Gin questioned.
"Care to try again?" Tsubasa said.
"No problem!" Gin called. He tried again, but Tsubasa was able to deflect every shot at him. They all couldn't believe their eyes. All of Gin's shots were at the speed of a live bullet and yet each one was deflected. "No way! How could he have blocked all of that?!"
"How is he doing that?! A magic sword?!" Mary said.
"Possibly, but I'm not sensing any magic. I think he's just that skilled." Maru said.
"I spent most of my life training with a sword." Tsubasa said. "Even a gun wouldn't be much effect if I can just simply reflect the attack."
"Can you handle twice as many...while moving?!" Gin said. He pulled out his second gun and started firing away with both while running along the side. He did force Tsubasa to move from his spot, but he still managed to reflect attacks. "This guy might be more trouble than I thought."
"I believe it's my turn." Tsubasa said with magic flowing into his sword. "Cross Slice!" He swung his sword into an X and sent out a shockwave. Gin rolled out of the way, but the attack cut right through a solid concrete wall.
"Did that really just happen? He sliced through the air and then the wall has a huge cut through the it!" Mary said.
"He's skilled." Aster said.
"Hold on." Mary said as she thought of something. "Gin's keeping him busy, so let's try to go on ahead. Gin won't let him do anything, and he can't really stop all of us."
"But that guy said he wouldn't let us." Sandy said.
"There's really no way he can. Gin would stop him." Mary said. "Let's just go for it."
"No." Aster said. "We stay right here. I actually want to see how this plays out."
"How come?" Mary questioned. Aster didn't answer. He just watched closely. "Hello? You going to answer me?"
"It doesn't matter. You want to be brave enough to get between those two?" Maru said. During the standoff, Mary could see how serious they were, and getting between them would seem like a bad idea.
"I'll admit that you got skill." Gin said. "You might be good with a sword, but that isn't going to stop us from saving Yukina. Now get out of the way."
"Let me ask you something." Tsubasa said. "Why go to such lengths to rescue Yukina Winters? She is the daughter of our master. All he wanted was to just simply return her home."
"Are you seriously trying to justify what you did?" Gin said. "You jerks were the ones that kidnapped her. If you had to take her by force, she doesn't want to be here. Plus, I'm still looking to get a little payback after you guys messed up our guildhall."
"That was all Phatar's doing. I had nothing to do with it, nor did I want to. However, I knew I couldn't stop Phatar." Tsubasa said. "Still, I don't understand such things. Why are you taking these matters so personal?"
"You're really asking me that?" Gin said. "That guildhall is the closest thing some of us have to a home. Some of us lost our old ones, but I guess that wouldn't mean much coming from someone who works in a dark guild. You people don't care who get hurt as long as you get what you want. You think people like us are too scared to use magic to what you think is it's fullest potential. How is using magic to it's full potential involve hurting people? As for Yukina, it doesn't matter if this is where she's from. She's one of us now. You creeps were the one that kidnapped her, brought her here against her will. If Yukina really wanted to be here, she never would have joined us in the first place. I could go on, but I don't think someone like you could understand."
"Someone like me?" Tsubasa questioned. He looked at himself and it didn't seemed like he was all that pleased.
"I do find it a little perplexing." Aster said. "You said your name is Tsubasa, right? Earlier, you spoke of honor. Well, what honor is there in what you and your guild have done? How much is honor worth to you? Where do you draw the line? Do you even understand what the word means?"
"What it means?" Tsubasa questioned. Does he?
"I doubt someone who works in a dark guild could really understand." Gin said as he held out both of his guns together and was building magic power into one shot from both of them. "If you're not going to get out of the way, we'll have to make you move! Guns Magic: Dual Buster!" Gin fired the shot right at Tsubasa. Tsubasa snapped out of it and saw the attack coming. He managed to get out of the way in time, but the blast hit the wall and caused a large portion of it to be blown right off.
"What in the world?!" Tsubasa said as he couldn't believe it. The wall was blown off and had a good view of the outside. "I've never seen anyone conjure a blast that strong!"
"That's what I've got in store for anyone that messes with my home or my friends." Gin said. "You trashed our guild, kidnapped one of us, and you probably don't even care. It might not mean something to you, but it sure as hell means something to us." Tsubasa was amazed. Never has he seen anyone go to such lengths for a guild or for another's sake. At least not while he's been in Fiendish Gargoyle. It's having him look back at his own life.
"That's not true for me... Is it...?" Tsubasa wondered
...
Flashback
"I've spent most of my life learning to wield a sword. As a child, my favorite stories were the ones that involved brave knights and warriors that wielded a mighty sword to vanquish evil. I had hoped I could be like that."
Tsubasa really did love those stories. Ever book he read involved a brave warrior that wielded a sword. He loved it so much that he was hoping to be like that. That's why he learned to wield a sword, especially when he learned he could wield sword magic. That's how he started to learn.
"Apparently, the reason I loved it might have been because I could do it. Perhaps I was meant to wield a sword. The moment I started to wield a sword, I got right into and was quite good. Once I became old enough, I traveled the land with my own blade and tried to find ways I could use it."
Tsubasa was pretty skilled with a sword, even at a young age. He was real proud of himself and thought he could do some real good. That was before they showed up.
"I considered joining military rankings, but Master Johnson found me first. I was out in the woods and was trying to deal with some monsters, but they had me overpowered. I could have sworn I wasn't going to get out of there alive, but Master Johnson saved me. He saw my skill and invited me to join his guild. That was before I knew difference between guilds."
Tsubasa was battered and beaten down by some of the monsters. He could have thought this was going to be the end, but Johnson stepped in and saved him. Not knowing what guilds were really like, Johnson invited him into his and Tsubasa foolishly accepted.
"I accepted because he saved my life. I was in his debt. One thing I learned about honor was that I had to repay it. Of course, I knew of some things were things I did not enjoy. Still, I stayed by Johnson's side after what he did for me. After hearing what some people thought about guilds, I didn't think much of it."
"Those other guilds are so pathetic."
"They're just using their magic to get work. We're the ones really struggling."
"We should be free to use our magic how we want. How we can really help people when we can't use all of our tricks?"
Tsubasa felt that he had to repay Johnson. As a swordsman of honor, he felt he had to do that, but he had to commit actions he didn't really like. He didn't feel right about any of it, but he thought helping Johnson was the honorable thing to do. After hearing how some other members view guilds, Tsubasa thought he wouldn't have been much better off.
End of Flashback
...
'I became a warrior so I could be like the ones I admired, but came to the conclusion that they were just fantasies. Nothing more than ways to entertain others with no truth behind them.' Tsubasa thought. 'However, these people are different.' He thought as he looked right at the enemy. 'They see their guild as something more than just a place for work. They care for each other. I've never seen any one go to such lengths for that of another. These people are doing all of this because they care.' Tsubasa has never seen a guild like this one. He didn't like some of the things they've done in a dark guild, but this guild is different. They care for each other, and a guild isn't just a guild to them. That's different from what Tsubasa has. His honor has been tainted, and to a warrior like him, honor means a lot. Unable to go through with this any further, he dropped his sword. "There is no honor in any of this. I stand down and surrender. You are free to go on ahead."
"Wait. You're giving up?" Gin said. None of them thought he would actually do that.
"A swordsman without honor is like a tiger without fangs." Tsubasa said. "Might be able to live and survive, but it doesn't feel right." Tsubasa sat down and showed that he really had no interest in fighting anymore. "The guilds I've seen don't have the kind of heart you seem to have. They just view their guilds as a place for work and such. I've never seen one with the dedication towards it you all seem to have."
"I can understand that. You probably don't get a lot of that here." Gin said. "For us at least, it is a lot more than that. A guild can offer you things that are harder to come by. It can even give you back something you thought you lost, maybe even something better without you looking for it." It's certainly something for Tsubasa to think about, but there's no way for him to win this fight in his current state.
"Your friend is at the top of the building, but you should be warned. Those remaining will not be so submissive. They'll fight until they can't fight anymore." Tsubasa claimed.
"Thanks for the warning." Maru said.
"Wow. He sure is different from the last guy." Sandy said.
"It's because he does have honor." Aster said. "Let's go." All of them took Tsubasa's offer and went on ahead.
"Are you sure about this? What if this is some sort of trick?" Mary questioned.
"I think we're okay." Maru said. He took a look back at Tsubasa with him just sitting there. "Tsubasa Sora... He's not like the rest of them." With that, they all went on ahead. Tsubasa certainly had a lot to think about now, but what will this lost swordsman do now? Putting those thoughts aside, Maru and the others continued on and are getting closer and closer to Yukina.