"U-uncle… am I already considered an uncle?"
"Isn't that an obvious fact?"
Phoenix retorted, annoyed. This made Gildarts' figure appear even more desolate.
"Besides, I wouldn't agree unless it was a genuine invitation."
Gildarts was a free-spirited wanderer; it was impossible for him to team up with others for missions. Although not much was known about him, this much was evident from his style of doing things.
"Sigh, never mind, never mind. I originally wanted to tease you a bit, but I didn't expect you to be so sly."
Gildarts shook his head helplessly. Just as Phoenix had said, Gildarts had merely spoken casually and had no real intention of doing so.
"Hmph hmph, of course, don't you know who I am!"
Phoenix let out two disdainful snorts, his arrogant attitude truly infuriating.
"Grandpa! Are you really planning to let this arrogant brat become an S-Class Mage?"
Suddenly, a jarring voice interrupted. Everyone turned to see a blond boy of about twelve, wearing headphones, walking through the door, looking at Phoenix with a serious expression.
"Oh, it's Laxus! Yes, that's exactly what I've decided. His strength is more than enough to be an S-Class Mage!"
Seeing it was his grandson, Makarov's tone softened considerably, and he introduced Phoenix and Mavis: "This is my grandson, Laxus. Although not as talented as Phoenix, he is also a very excellent Mage."
"Hmph!"
Apparently very displeased with Makarov's introduction, Laxus snorted at Phoenix and said, "Fight me! I want to see if your strength has truly reached S-Class!"
"Laxus, don't be foolish…"
"Leave it to me!"
Phoenix raised his hand, cutting off Makarov's words. His gaze shifted to Laxus, who was looking at him with hostility, and Phoenix's lips curved into a faint smile.
"To test my strength, does that mean you are also an S-Class Mage?"
"Uh…"
Laxus's aggressive aura suddenly paused, but he quickly composed himself and said with an indifferent expression, "The S-Class title is just a title, after all. It doesn't represent anything."
Although what he said was true, a hint of embarrassment still naturally appeared on Laxus's face. After all, the meaning of his words had already revealed the fact that he himself was not an S-Class Mage.
"Hmm, indeed. A single S-Class title truly doesn't represent much."
"Er…"
Laxus, who had expected the other party to mock him, was clearly stunned for a moment.
"In the past few months, I've encountered many Mages flaunting their S-Class aura, but unfortunately, none of them could last more than a few moves against me. So-called S-Class Mages are truly just good in name."
Phoenix said lightly, but hearing this and recalling the series of Dark Guilds destroyed by Phoenix, everyone's eyes subtly flickered.
Among those two hundred-plus Dark Guilds, there were quite a few top-tier S-Class Mages, but in front of Phoenix, they all ended in disastrous defeat. Especially after hearing the First Master Mavis recount this journey, the First Master didn't participate in any battles at all; Phoenix alone dealt with all those Dark Guilds one by one. Thinking of this, everyone once again carefully scrutinized Phoenix. Who could have imagined what kind of power was contained within his small body?
"…"
Laxus's eyes also trembled for a moment, but his stubborn nature quickly allowed him to compose himself, and his eyes revealed a powerful fighting spirit.
"Laxus, right? You're good. I accept your challenge!"
Phoenix's tone was calm and steady, instantly making him seem like the true elder, and Laxus like an immature child. Although Phoenix was a few years older than Laxus, the illusion was that Phoenix was clearly much more mature than Laxus.
"Hmph!"
Laxus also noticed this, and his gaze towards Phoenix became even more unfriendly. However, the other party was an S-Class Mage personally announced by his own grandfather, and he was merely referred to as the Master's grandson. Knowing this but unable to refute a single word made the proud Laxus extremely annoyed.
"Is here okay, Old Man?"
Loosening his fists and feet, Phoenix asked with a smile.
"Go outside! Don't you dare fight in here!"
Makarov also wanted to witness Phoenix's magic. After thinking about it and realizing there would be no danger, Makarov nodded in agreement. But of course, the location would definitely not be the guild.
"Hey, Laxus, follow me!"
As Phoenix lifted his foot and walked, he wasn't heading towards the main door at all. Seeing this, a bad feeling instinctively surged in Makarov's heart.
"Phoenix, that's not the main door…"
Boom!
Well, Makarov's warning was clearly too late. The guild's wall was shattered into pieces by Phoenix with a single raise of his hand.
"Hahaha, that's truly my style!"
Boom!
Another wall, accompanied by Gildarts' long laughter, also met its demise.
"Mm-hmm, I saw Gildarts do this on the way here and always wanted to try it. I didn't expect it to be so exhilarating!"
"This is the one thing you absolutely cannot learn!!"
Makarov wailed loudly.
"It's fine, it's fine! I'll be careful. The guild will compensate for any houses I smash."
"That's precisely why you shouldn't learn it!!"
Makarov collapsed to the ground, pounding it frantically as if his parents had died, his joy at the guild acquiring a promising talent completely gone.
Everyone merely cast a sympathetic glance at Makarov, but no one went to comfort him. Instead, their attention was fixed on Phoenix and Laxus, who stood about ten meters apart in front of the guild's entrance.
"Mavis, you be the referee, and remember to give me special treatment."
"Hey!! You're an S-Class Mage!! You've completely thrown away all the pride of an S-Class Mage!!"
Everyone was clearly stunned by Phoenix's words. Even Laxus, who stood opposite Phoenix with a serious expression, couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.
However, facing Phoenix's words, which were not quite a joke and even a bit like cheating, Mavis instead showed a happy smile.
"Don't worry! Even if you get beaten so badly that I don't recognize you, in my heart, you'll still be the strongest."
"Wow!! That's a really venomous remark!!"
Everyone silently complained in their hearts, but none dared to voice it directly.
"Hehe~~ I'm truly grateful."
Phoenix chuckled twice, raising his right hand and beckoning to Laxus with a finger.
"Come at me with all you've got. I'll give you ten moves!"
"Don't…"
Laxus's shoulders trembled slightly, and a massive, shocking magical power burst forth from his body. The ground cracked inch by inch, unable to withstand the pressure, and shattered stones floated into the air under the influence of the magic, then completely disintegrated.
—"Don't look down on me too much! Roaring Bolt!!"
Crack!!
A thick golden lightning bolt, with lightning speed, directly struck Phoenix. But facing Laxus's furious attack, Phoenix merely smiled faintly, clenched his right fist, and with a punch that simply incorporated the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, he directly shattered the "Roaring Bolt" into its most basic lightning elements.
"Laxus is truly amazing. He'll probably become the next S-Class Mage in a few years."
"Indeed! But Phoenix is really something else. How did he make that fist with the white light ball? I thought I heard the sound of breaking glass just now."
"It's an illusion! How could there be such a sound?"
"Hmm, that's true."
Laxus's powerful magical release due to his rage was already enough to shock everyone, but Phoenix, with an understated gesture, shattered Laxus's formidable attack with the most brutal means, which made everyone even more astonished.
"That punch seemed to hold back a bit, but it's enough to deal with Laxus. So, how will Laxus respond next?"
Gildarts' gaze shifted to Laxus. Because he didn't know the concept of Armament Haki, even though Gildarts felt something was missing from Phoenix's punch, he couldn't articulate what it was.
Whoosh—!!
Although prepared for Phoenix blocking his first attack, Laxus still couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, seemingly still unable to believe that his move had been blocked just like that. However, Laxus had a resilient spirit and quickly composed himself. His body moved with his thoughts, and Laxus's body directly turned into lightning, circling behind Phoenix.
"Lightning Bullet!"
"Too slow!"
Just as a hint of joy appeared on Laxus's face, Phoenix's calm voice suddenly rang in Laxus's ear, and the target he was about to ambush instantly transformed into an afterimage and vanished.
So fast!
Bang!!
Before Laxus could be shocked by Phoenix's speed, a great force directly impacted Laxus's abdomen, sending him flying fiercely.
Boom!!
Smoke and dust billowed as Laxus's body was unceremoniously kicked by Phoenix directly into the residential area on the left side of the guild, destroying house after house.