(Third Person POV)
"Where are we?" Gray asked as Jason walked in front of them
They were in a small village, somewhere on the border of Fiore. Jason had taken them via his ship, The Archangel's Might, and flew towards where Jason had once encountered a vicious group of dark mages and assassins that tried to take his life.
Most of the buildings were destroyed, charred black, they had long since burned down. There only a few standing houses that were barely clinging on.
Natsu was sniffing the air, "Smells like wet dog and rotten cheese." He said with a scowl, "Why are we here?"
Jason sighed, "Shut up." He said, "This is where a Dark Guild used to be based at. They tried getting at me a while ago, I destroyed them. This is the result of the fight."
Gray raised his eyebrow, "Damn." He said, "You did this? Were there people here?"
Jason shook his head, "No." He said, "They were already killed by the Eclipsed Darkness."
"This was that long ago?" Gray asked
"Eclipsed Darkness?" Natsu said covering his nose, "No wonder it smells like shit."
Jason stopped, "The Dark Mages tried to take advantage of me fighting and dispelling the Darkness." He said, "I smashed them with ease but there was one guy that was corrupted and put up a fight; he died."
Jason pointed towards a crater in front of them, in the middle of the small village center that was still covered in smoke and dark mist.
"The result of the Eclipsed Darkness, huh?" Gray said as he looked around, "Why're we here then? Is there anyone that can point us toward who's hunting you?"
Jason nodded, "Something like that." He said as he looked up into the sky, "But wait...something's up."
Natsu looked up at the sky as well, "What? Is it Erion?" He said, "He's not following us, is he?"
"No...." Jason said, "But it does feel like him.....similar....."
"What's that mean?" Gray asked, "Wait...I feel a presence....in the crater!"
Almost immediately, a massive figure darted out of the crate, without any warning. It shot straight at them as they felt a massive spike in dark magic power.
"What the!" Natsu exclaimed as he readied a stance
"Hm." Jason said as he smacked the figure away
The figure crashed hard against the ground, barreling towards a broken wall and hitting against it hard.
"Whoa..." Gray said with awe, "That took me by surprise."
"I bet." Jason said with a serious face, "Be on guard. This is an Eclipsed Darkness remnant."
The figure suddenly stood up, taking the appearance of a man covered in blue mist, black smoke emanating from it.
"J-Jason......" Its coarse voice said as two bright eyes appeared in its face, "Y-You're back....."
"You know that thing?" Gray asked
"Yea, he's the guy that got corrupted." I said, "I tried saving him but it was too late. The Eclipsed Darkness is bound to his soul and since I dispelled the darkness here, somehow he's bound to this place. There is no danger to him existing, which is a shame. I check on him from time to time, make sure he's not a threat. Nobody comes here anymore so that's good, I guess."
Natsu stepped forward, "Damn..." He said, "He's the source of the shit smell..."
"Garin." Jason said, "Where's your buddy? The one with the scythe."
The figure flickered as it stood still, giving off a serious look at the group. Gray noted that the man's face was distorted by the thick mist and smoke, nothing but magic power coming out of it that took the form of the slimy darkness that was the Eclipsed Darkness.
"I...." Garin said, "I don't know..."
"So this is what happens to someone when they get corrupted by the Eclipsed Darkness..." Gray said, "It's a good thing you dealt with all that.....shit.....does he still feel pain? Is it painful to be in that constant state?"
Garin looked at gray, "I sense god power in you?" He said, "........a cold power at that..."
Gray looked at him with surprise, "H-How?" He said
"Oi....is there any way to tone the smell down?" Natsu said as he pinched his nose, "It's getting too damn pungent."
Jason then felt a creeping sensation, off into the distance. He knew it wasn't the corrupted man in front of them, this was something else. Ever since sensing August, he had a constant lock-on on his magic power, so he knew it wasn't him either. The Magic King hasn't made a move since his presence was known, meaning that he was planning something.
After he found out who was targeting him, Jason was going to go deal with him at once.
"What the....." He said as he looked up at the sky again, "....Garin....has anyone come lately....?"
"A man...." The corrupted man said as he slowly walked to his left, "He said he wanted to kill you...."
Jason looked at him, "He did?" He said
"Is he the one that's targeting you, Jason?" Gray asked
"He wore black armor." Garin said as his corporeal form flickered constantly, "And emitted a powerful magical aura....my entire being was afraid of him.....the Eclipsed Darkness at my core cowered in his presence....."
Jason frowned, "W-What?" He said
"What the hell is this guy tal-" Natsu said, "We got incoming!"
Suddenly, a massive figure came crashing down from the sky, causing an intense shockwave that shook the ground violently and caused several buildings to fully collapse.
Jason raised his arm to shield his face as he looked at the massive dust cloud that was caused by this.
Gray frowned, "T-This magic power!" He exclaimed, "Is it August!?"
Natsu crouched down as he covered his nose, "Shit!" He yelled, "That spread the smell even worse....I-"
"Shut the fuck up about the smell already!" Jason snapped as he summoned a gun, "Get ready to fight!"
From the dust cloud, The Black Knight emerged, a shield in his hand. His mere presence emitted an intense dark aura that covered the entire aura, slightly shaking the air as he took a step.
"The Knight...." Garin said as he flickered away
Jason scowled, "Garin! Come back here dammit!" He growled
"It is your fault, Jason..." Garin's voice said as he fully disappeared
"That fucking prick..." Jason growled
He then turned back around and faced the Black Knight who summoned a massive black greatsword out of thin air. There was something strangely familiar about this new foe, one that Jason couldn't put his finger on.
But one thing was for sure; he was an enemy.....and he was strong.
"So....." The Knight's voice resonated throughout the air, "We meet at last...."
"Jason Darkborne."