"Shanks..."
Phoenix's eyes trembled, then he slowly lowered his head, his right hand gripping the black blade unconsciously tightening by three points.
"Shanks?"
Gildarts pointed at himself, seemingly having heard Phoenix's words, with a strange expression.
"No, I'm Gildarts..."
"Fight!!"
Phoenix raised his eyes, interrupting Gildarts, the fighting spirit in his eyes suddenly burning with intense ferocity.
"Fini-chan..."
Mavis frowned, not expecting Phoenix's emotions to fluctuate so strongly in front of this person. Although the person in front of them was indeed powerful, he was by no means the sole reason for Phoenix's intense excitement. It was important to remember that in the past few months, Phoenix had faced the entire guild, including many powerful S-Class Mages and even those above that level, yet he had never shown the slightest emotional change when facing them.
"Hide to the side, Mavis. I'm going to get serious now."
"Understood, Fini."
Mavis stopped thinking further and immediately dispelled her physical form. Now in her ghost form, unless an attack directly affected her soul, no other attack could harm her.
"This girl..."
Gildarts's expression immediately changed because Mavis was clearly right in front of him, yet he couldn't sense her presence.
Earlier, Gildarts heard Phoenix call her Mavis. Although the name felt familiar, Gildarts didn't have time to ponder it further. Phoenix's aura had already locked onto him, and if Gildarts continued to be distracted, he would likely be met with a fatal blow.
"Lightspeed!"
"—!!"
So fast!
Gildarts's pupils contracted sharply. Without thinking, he unleashed a Crush Magic attack and simultaneously leaped backward at Lightspeed.
Boom!!
The void emitted a piercing roar as Phoenix's Lightspeed and Gildarts's Crush Magic both fell silent.
(Such a clean and decisive attack. Is he really just a nine-year-old child? And that strange girl, her presence is also quite intriguing.)
Gildarts glanced at Mavis and then refocused his attention entirely on Phoenix. Through that initial probing exchange, Gildarts had already determined that the young boy in front of him was not someone to be easily dismissed.
If he didn't go all out, he might be the one to lose.
Shaking off the inexplicable thoughts that had arisen in his mind, Gildarts slowly channeled the Magic in his body to ensure his power could be unleashed more perfectly.
Meanwhile, Mavis, who was off to the side, had already noticed when Gildarts looked at her again. She had clearly dispelled her physical form, yet he could still see her. Was it a strange ability like Fini-chan's? Or...
"You don't use a sword?"
Suddenly, just as Gildarts was waiting with a serious expression, Phoenix unexpectedly asked.
"Uh... a sword? How did we suddenly get to that? I'm a Mage who uses Crush Magic, not a swordsman who practices swordsmanship."
Although Gildarts was puzzled, he patiently explained.
"Is that so..."
Phoenix looked at Gildarts indifferently, a hint of undetectable regret in his eyes.
Crack!
Sticking the black blade into the ground, Phoenix raised his right hand, and a ball of white light enveloped his fist.
"Weapons are also part of one's strength!"
"I know! But... a fist is enough. Tremor-Tremor!"
"Crush!!"
However, this time Gildarts completely miscalculated. The power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit primarily relies on vibrations to cause changes in the earth. This is not a simple attack, but it is more unpredictable than a direct attack.
Crack!
Space shattered like a mirror, piece by piece. Under Gildarts's astonished gaze, a force capable of shaking the earth directly pushed him away.
Rumble!!
Countless towering trees fell one after another. The ground, wet from the mist, was completely churned up several times, and Gildarts's body was forcibly sucked into it.
"Fini-chan!"
"I know!" Phoenix's sharp gaze was fixed on the front. "I didn't use my full strength, and besides, he won't be defeated by that!"
Sure enough, in less than ten breaths, with a loud "boom," Gildarts's somewhat disheveled figure reappeared.
"Haha, that really is a strange ability. If my Magic couldn't crush everything, I might have been completely sealed in there just now."
Gildarts shuddered at the thought. If someone else had been in that situation and couldn't quickly destroy everything pressing down on them in the shortest amount of time, they wouldn't need an opponent to finish them; they would suffocate from lack of oxygen.
"Kid, I admit your ability is very strange, but if that's all you have, you won't be able to defeat me."
"Is that so? Then I'm truly relieved. If you were to be defeated by me so easily like them, then I would be the one to feel regret. Tremor-Tremor!!"
With an Instant Transmission, Phoenix appeared behind Gildarts and punched him in the back. As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Gildarts twisted his body strangely, and a white grid immediately enveloped Phoenix. However, the effect of Tremor-Tremor was simply too astonishing, and the range of its fluctuations was too vast. Even though Gildarts tried his best to avoid it, his body was still sent flying by the powerful vibration wave.
Whoosh!
At the same instant, Phoenix's pupils contracted sharply. He narrowly dodged Gildarts's Crush Magic and, like a shadow, reappeared behind Gildarts.
"Tremor-Tremor!"
"Crush!"
Phoenix's Tremor-Tremor could only send Gildarts flying, but it couldn't cause him substantial damage. Unless Phoenix had ample time to pour all his power into his fist, or directly slammed the white-light-wrapped fist onto Gildarts's body, an instantly unleashed Tremor-Tremor might be effective against A-Class Mages, but it had no effect whatsoever against Gildarts, who was S-Class or even above ordinary S-Class.
However, even Phoenix dared not easily test Gildarts's Crush Magic with his own body. Unless he mastered elementalization, Phoenix simply wouldn't dare to engage Gildarts in true close-quarters combat against this equally strange ability.
Similarly, Gildarts, as Phoenix's opponent, was also very frustrated. In terms of speed, Gildarts couldn't keep up with the elusive Instant Transmission. In terms of experience, under Kenbunshoku Haki, Gildarts's every move was within Phoenix's predictive range. In terms of power, Gildarts dared not directly take a punch that combined the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's ability and Armament Haki. In terms of Magic, Gildarts hadn't seen any subtle changes in Phoenix's breathing.
Whoosh!
Phoenix's figure flickered again, but this time he didn't continue to entangle with Gildarts. Instead, he appeared beside Mavis, deep in thought.
"Hehehe~ It's been a long time since I've seen that expression. You're stumped, aren't you!"
"...Indeed, it's very tricky."
After a long pause, Phoenix finally uttered this indifferent remark. It was rare to encounter an opponent with whom he could truly contend, and Phoenix yearned to fight him to his heart's content. However, due to the opponent's ability, Phoenix could only sigh.
"Kid, are you not fighting anymore?"
Wiping a trace of cold sweat that had appeared on his forehead at some point, Gildarts also said with a frustrated expression.
"No more fighting, it's boring."
Phoenix shook his head helplessly. With a wave of his hand, he took the black blade and slung it over his back. Phoenix then took Mavis's hand and turned to leave.
"Wait a moment!"
"Hm?"
Phoenix wasn't surprised by Gildarts, but by Mavis suddenly stopping. Seeing the joyful glint in Mavis's eyes, Phoenix was very puzzled. However, soon, when Gildarts revealed his identity, Phoenix finally understood. A member of the Fairy Tail guild had come directly to find him.
"I am Gildarts, Gildarts Clive, a Mage of Fairy Tail."
"Fairy Tail..."
Looking at Mavis, who was becoming increasingly joyful beside him, especially the hint of anticipation in her eyes, Phoenix nodded slightly. Then he said to Gildarts, "I'd like to visit your guild, if that's alright?"
"Huh?"
Gildarts's mouth immediately dropped open in surprise. When he had first come over, he had thought of many ways to communicate with Phoenix. But they had fought as soon as they met, and Gildarts felt that the subsequent negotiations would be very troublesome. Especially when the battle ended inconclusively, with neither able to overcome the other, Gildarts felt there was no hope at all. But no matter what, his purpose for coming had to be clear. He never expected that after he had just revealed his identity, Phoenix would immediately say he wanted to come to his guild. It wasn't because of him, because when he heard his name, Phoenix's expression hadn't changed in the slightest. Instead, it was Fairy Tail that interested him more.
Could it be that he owed too much money and was embarrassed?
Gildarts thought darkly to himself. Besides that, Gildarts couldn't find any other plausible explanation.
"What, is it not possible?"
Seeing Gildarts's expression change dramatically but remaining silent, Phoenix, impatient, frowned.
"No... it is! Absolutely! In fact, it's great that you're coming."
Gildarts said with a stiff smile. But inwardly, Gildarts felt an inexplicable sense of profound weariness.
This boy was truly too worrisome.