18 Formally Saying Goodbye

Airia's Blessing….

As soon as Kori walked into the guild, all eyes were on her. While she was no stranger to this place, no one dared to walk up to talk to her. Kori figured that Dio had made up some kind of horrible lie about her. She did not care, though. No matter what was said, she would just ignore it. She just came here to clean out her room and go to her new home. Her new guild will be an all female guild, a place where girls who wish to join a guild but do not want to be harassed can go. Kori knew not all men were like that, but one or two bad eggs in higher positions make the experience of being in a guild no fun at all. Dio was a prime example of this.

She walked towards the stairs leading to the upper floors but stopped when a voice sounded out across the room. "Kori! What the hell are you doing here!? Didn't you already leave!? You have no right coming back to the guild!"

This obnoxious voice belonged to none other than Dio himself. Kori turned her head, her eyes cold. The temperature in the room slowly began to lower as ice started to spread out from her feet. "Dio…. I will say this one more time. Stay away from me, or I will freeze you solid and then shatter your body into millions of pieces. I have no idea what lies you spouted about me, nor do I care. I will just say this. I am leaving this guild because of you so that I no longer have to see your face. I am sick of the harassment I have had to deal with all these years. No matter how much you ask, I will never be yours. Today I only came to get my things."

"Heh, too bad your things have already beee…."

*Bang!*

Dio did not even get to finish his sentence when an ice spike shot up from the ground beside him, causing him to have to jump out of the way. Because of how sudden the attack was and the speed of it, his clothes were torn, and he ended up falling on the ground just to escape the attack. "Kori you!"

"You touched my things!?" Kori's voice echoed through the guild hall. Everyone quickly moved out of the way, not daring to get in between the two.

"Kori…." Another voice echoed through the room. "Come to my office."

Kori turned to see an old man standing on the second floor balcony. "Guild Leader, I can not do that. Not until I know that my things have not been taken by this bastard!"

"They have not. I had them secured as soon as I heard what had gone on. My wife was the one who went in and cleared the room out." Airia's Blessing Guild leader, Junzo, replied. "So come upstairs, and let's have a chat."

After saying this, Junzo turned his gaze towards Dio and coldly said: "Dio, we will talk later."

Dio stared at the guild leader while gritting his teeth. He hated both Junzo and Kori now. He had wanted to make Kori his. This was something he had been working on for quite a few years, but it was Junzo who would always protect her. And now there was also that little girl by Kori's side. He couldn't help but remember that hateful smirk on the little girl's face. It was like she was mocking him. Clenching his fists, Dio stormed out of the guild hall.

Upstairs in the guild leader's office, Junzo sat behind his desk and looked at Kori standing there with her hands behind her back. "Are you serious about leaving the guild?"

"Mmm… I already created my own guild. I just paid for and signed the papers. I am taking a newly awakened girl under my wing. Dio is not the only reason I am doing this. I am doing it because climbers have stagnated. No one is willing to risk anything anymore. As a climber who wishes to reach the top, I do not see why we should be stalled on the tenth floor. So I plan to train new people who have dreams of reaching the top floor. I myself also wish to see the top floor. You might think I am crazy for doing this, but I have already firmed my resolve the moment I declared I was leaving the guild." Kori replied.

"I see… I will not stop you. But please know that I will always help you whenever you need it. Ever since I took you in long ago, I have always treated you like my own daughter. It does sadden me that you do not wish to be anymore, but everyone must follow their own dreams." Junzo smiled warmly at Kori.

Kori was trying to control her emotions. The old man in front of her had truly been good to her over the years. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to push her emotions down as she bowed her head. "Thank you for taking care of me all this time."

"What are you talking about? Even after you leave, I will be helping you as much as I can. Anyway, take this bag here. It has your things. As you are now a guild leader yourself, you will need a pouch like this. It is called a dimensional bag. Every guild leader has one or two. This will be your first. Keep all the things related to your guild inside to keep them safe. And keep it on you at all times." Junzo wanted to make sure Kori had everything she needed to get by for the time being.

"Thank You for everything….." Kori took the bag and stood up. She then bowed her head and clutched the bag to her chest before leaving the office. She was trying hard to hold back her tears. She had once called this place home, but now she was leaving it.

Junzo stared at her, departing back, and sighed. "They all must leave the nest someday, huh?"

Out on the streets, Dio had been walking with a scowl on his face scaring those around him. He was walking towards Gales Expanse when he saw a familiar figure standing in front of a street stall. "It's that little bitch!" Dio's eyes burned with hatred, remembering how his clothes were set on fire.

With anger filled eyes and completely forgetting what had happened just the day before, Dio marched toward Myu…