2.4 Crocus

"Soulbind."

A void-like shadow formed on the ground as it multiplied into multiple binds and shot at Kali.

With an ordinary blade, it would do nothing against it. That's why Kali kept the cursed enchantment on the sword. It allowed the blade to counter Black Magic spells such as this one.

With a few swift swings, the binds were all cut in half before it could reach her.

"That enchanted blade of yours is troublesome. What makes it worse is that it's cursed." Ghastler said with a hint of frustration.

Kali smirked and said, "As a master of Black Magic, I naturally learned what was able to counter it and how to counter it if used against me. I hope you did the same research."

"Don't underestimate me, it'll be your downfall."

"A lot of people told me the same thing, yet I'm still here standing high and mighty."

"Flare of Hell."

A beam of dark flames shot at her at a high speed. Kali instantly side-stepped and jumped away to dodge the beam in time. However, she didn't expect it to follow her.

"A homing beam of dark flames?" Kali muttered under her breath. "Time to switch enchantments."

Kali drew blood from her thumb by using her sharp teeth and drew several lines of blood on the blade.

"Blade of the Eclipse, come forth." Kali said as her eyes glowed red. The blade switched from a glowing black to a bright red color. Small particles of fire could be seen sparking off of it.

Before the beam could land, Kali timed it perfectly, and precisely cut it in half causing it to split into two. The two pieces collided with a nearby tree and turned it into nothing.

"Those Curse Enchantments of yours, aren't they a bit too powerful?"

Kali chuckled. "After a few hundred years of hard work, it'd be a shame if it wasn't this powerful. Though I have to say, that homing beam of yours was quite scary."

"Haha! I honed it to perfection!" Ghastler said proudly. "Though, you were able to counter it perfectly."

"I countered it with hundreds of years of hard work. Feel proud." Kali replied. "Now then, let's continue. Chaos Beam."

Lord Ghastler was baffled at how many Black Magic spells Kali knew. She would perform a new one after a new one, even he wasn't sure if he knew more spells than Kali despite learning from Zeref.

"Dispersion Spell." Lord Ghastler said. The beam in front of him dispersed into particles. Right when he thought he was fine, Kali suddenly appeared before him. "Huh?!"

"Surprise!" Kali exclaimed as she swung her blade that was enchanted. "Death is coming! Blade of Mirages!"

Right when Lord Ghastler dodge one of her blades, another one came, however, when he dodged that one, another one came. It kept repeating until he tried to block it. He casted a magic spell, but before he could, he felt a sharp pain on his waist.

He glanced down to see that Kali had passed him and was able to slice him.

"Ha…you won." Lord Ghastler said as his arms dropped to his side. "It seems death awaits me once again."

Kali sheathed her blade and said, "Stop being dramatic, I didn't even cut you that deep."

"The cut won't kill me, but that curse will."

"That curse is only temporary, it disappeared when I cut you."

"Oh…then why don't you kill me?"

"Because you are useful." Kali said as the light in her eyes disappeared. "Now that I have spared your life, you now owe me your life. Black Magic will never cease to exist."

Lord Ghastler was startled at the sudden change of demeanor and tone. The only thing he could form was a nod to show that he understood.

"Now then, we'll be taking our leave. Build your kingdom, but remember, you will always serve me. That kingdom of mine will be of my use." Kali said as she walked towards Gildarts.

Lord Ghastly stared at her back as she disappeared into the distance. He never expected things to turn out this way, but things were going to be more interesting. He felt as if being by Kali's side was going to bring him tons of new things to experience.

The light in Kali's eyes started to reappear as she made her way to Gildarts. She was surprised that he didn't even wake up or make the slightest movement with everything that was happening in the background.

"But I guess that's what makes him Gildarts." Kali said as she kneeled. "Oi! Get up!"

Gildarts opened his eyes with a yawn. "Huh? Where are we?"

"Did you forget that we're on a mission? We're in Mikage Forest." Kali replied.

"Oh right, how did everything go?"

"It went well, I cleaned everything up so you didn't have to. Let's move onto the next mission."

"Wait, how long was I even out for?"

"You were only out for a few minutes, it wasn't that long."

"Then what about the spiky guy we met?"

"He left, that's all there is to it. Anyway, it's about time you get up. We have to do more missions."

"Alright, alright." Gildarts said as he got up. "Our mission is in the kingdom next to this forest. In order to know what we're doing, we have to meet up with the king."

"Which kingdom is it?"

"Crocus, the kingdom of Fiore, also known as the Flower Booming Capital."

"I see." Kali muttered. She was kind of reluctant to go since Crocus had a wide population which meant news of her is going to be everywhere. "Well, we better keep our hood on."

"I don't, but you need to."

"Hah? Why only me?"

"Because even though people will recognize me, they wouldn't dare make contact with me. And if you're with me, naturally they won't make contact with you either. It's going to be the same with the king."

"Alright then, shall we proceed?"

"Yep, also, what's up with the way you're speaking? You talk like someone from a hundred years ago."

"My bad, it seems like I've been reading too many history books. One of my hobbies is gaining knowledge."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go."

Together, they made their way out of the forest. Kali wanted to explore Crocus though, it's been a decade or so since she's visited. She wanted to see what has changed and what remained the same.

Moreover, she was looking forward to meeting the princess. To Kali, she was an interesting being. Her intelligence was amazing, she was able to create the "Eclipse Project"

"Now then, let's go."