A month later.
In front of an unknown dense jungle, Phoenix and Mavis looked at each other in silence.
"We're lost, aren't we?"
"It seems so."
"Sigh!"
The two sighed in unison. After leaving the northern mountains, they headed southwest, but after a month of walking, they felt more and more uneasy. By the time they realized it, they were already in their current predicament.
"Let's go! Waiting around won't do any good. Let's conquer this jungle!"
"Oh!"
Mavis raised her fist in agreement.
And so, the two, full of courage and high spirits, embarked on their grand jungle conquest adventure… Three days later.
Bang!!
A huge Dragon's claw slammed heavily onto the ground, and the strong airflow even triggered a storm.
"Careful, Grandeeney, are you trying to kill me?"
Under the huge Dragon's claw, a small golden figure roared in anger.
"You still want to be Phoenix the Undying like this? Bring out your true power, or my claws will show no mercy."
"Go Fini-chan, I've always believed you can defeat Zeref and the Black Dragon."
"Go Fini-gege! Go Grandeeney!"
In a corner of the battlefield, Mavis was holding a blue-haired girl about two years old, watching the duel between Phoenix and Grandeeney, the Sky Dragon.
"Don't make sarcastic remarks, Mavis, and Wendy, are you helping me or Grandeeney?!"
"Both!"
Such powerful yet unprincipled words, but coming from a two-year-old girl, they didn't seem shameful; instead, they made people feel genuinely adorable, especially since this two-year-old girl was truly lovable.
"Hahahaha!! Even for your encouragement, I absolutely cannot back down!! Full power!! Dragon's—Roar!!!"
A powerful roar, similar in move to Laxus's but different in attribute, rapidly formed from the Dragon-shaped magic circle in Phoenix's mouth. The surrounding air rapidly diminished, and a huge tornado fiercely struck Grandeeney's claw, but it was shattered by Grandeeney's single claw.
"Too weak! Again!"
"Dragon's Roar!!"
Bang!
"Again!"
"Dragon's Roar!"
Bang!
"Again!"
"Dragon's Roar!!"
"Again!"
"Dragon's Roar!"
"Dragon's Roar!"
"Dragon's Roar!"
...Mavis and Wendy quietly watched Phoenix, who, under Grandeeney's claws, repeatedly used his roar only to have it shattered, yet repeatedly stood up and exerted himself to unleash another roar.
No one spoke, and no one looked away. Even Wendy, at only two years old, knew that this big brother was diligently training to learn Dragon Slayer Magic.
This tenacious and persistent belief, even if Wendy still didn't understand it, was deeply etched in her heart.
As for why this situation occurred, it started three days ago.
Three days ago, Phoenix and Mavis, filled with immense ambition, began to push forward in a straight line, as if breaking through bamboo. This truly stirred up a hornet's nest; the entire jungle instantly became lively, countless strange and rare beasts scurried about, and continuous roars echoed through the jungle.
Then—
Roar—!!
With an angry Dragon's roar, the entire jungle instantly quieted down.
Then, Grandeeney's massive body appeared before Phoenix and Mavis.
Grandeeney was originally accompanying Wendy, the human girl she adopted, to sleep. Unexpectedly, less than ten minutes after lying down, the jungle, which had been calm due to her deterrent presence, suddenly erupted into chaos. Countless noisy sounds were incessant, and Grandeeney, forcibly awakened, was extremely furious, thinking some ignorant scoundrel wanted to challenge her authority. However, in an instant, through the Dragon race's unique strong senses, Grandeeney immediately detected Phoenix, who was joyfully causing the commotion, and Mavis, who was skipping beside him. Because they were humans, Grandeeney's raging anger slightly subsided. Unlike other Dragons, Grandeeney was very close to humans. Unless they were particularly bad humans, Grandeeney generally wouldn't have much conflict with them.
At first, Grandeeney didn't intend to show herself. After all, ever since she adopted Wendy, she had put all her energy into Wendy, treating her like her own daughter. Grandeeney didn't want to get too involved with outsiders and thus affect Wendy's growth. But, as luck would have it, Phoenix's direction of travel was precisely where Grandeeney was residing. To prevent Phoenix from carelessly barging in, Grandeeney reluctantly let out a Dragon's roar and then directly appeared before Phoenix and Mavis, hoping to make them leave.
Grandeeney's sudden appearance truly startled Phoenix and Mavis, but immediately afterward, the two stared intently at Grandeeney as if looking at a treasure, which put immense pressure on Grandeeney.
Grandeeney asked and learned that Phoenix and Mavis were lost, so she told them the correct direction. However, Phoenix and Mavis, having seen a Dragon with their own eyes, clearly didn't want to leave. They stubbornly followed Grandeeney, which greatly annoyed her. In a fit of anger, she directly attacked Phoenix, hoping he would see the situation clearly, but Phoenix, excited to find an opponent he could go all out against, immediately went full throttle. After three consecutive "Airquakes," Grandeeney immediately retreated to her lair… Of course, this wasn't because Grandeeney was afraid of Phoenix, but because she instantly went back to bring Wendy out. After Phoenix's "Airquake" three-hit combo, the entire jungle was already shattered and unrecognizable. Helplessly, Grandeeney had no choice but to take Wendy and find a new jungle to settle down in. Phoenix and Mavis naturally followed closely. Perhaps Grandeeney had developed a slight interest in Phoenix, or perhaps Grandeeney hadn't detected any greed or malice from Phoenix and Mavis. Grandeeney didn't fly too far, but settled down in a denser jungle about thirty kilometers nearby.
After settling down, one Dragon and three humans began a gathering.
Grandeeney liked humans, so even though she had just fought Phoenix, she didn't resist his closeness; instead, she apologized for her previous attack. Wendy's world was very small, and having never seen other humans, she showed unusual affection towards Phoenix and Mavis. There was no need to mention Phoenix and Mavis; without any pretense or deliberate flattery, the two acted as if they had met old friends they hadn't seen in years, doing and saying things as they normally would, which made Grandeeney even more gentle towards them.
Phoenix wanted to learn Dragon Slayer Magic. This idea had germinated after experiencing Laxus's roar, but Phoenix had neither a magic crystal nor had he met any Dragons, so he could only daydream about it. Now that he had met Grandeeney, Phoenix didn't want to miss such a good opportunity.
Mavis was much simpler; she merely wanted to see a Dragon with her own eyes and befriend one. Of course, if she could lure this Dragon into the guild, she would be overjoyed, even laughing in her sleep.
Facing Phoenix's request, Grandeeney initially wanted to refuse, but after pulling Phoenix in front of her and giving him a thorough physical examination, Grandeeney pondered for a moment and finally, for some unknown reason, agreed to Phoenix's request. However, Grandeeney added a condition; she didn't specify what it was, only requiring Phoenix to abide by any conditions she set in the future. Phoenix readily agreed to this. After all, he and Grandeeney were not yet familiar with each other, and her willingness to teach him Dragon Slayer Magic was already beyond his wildest dreams.
Grandeeney's Dragon Slayer Magic is mainly divided into three major categories: healing, support, and offensive.
Wendy currently mainly practices healing and support. Grandeeney originally planned to start teaching Phoenix with healing and support as well, but Phoenix immediately lost interest upon hearing this, which greatly annoyed Grandeeney. After fiercely stomping Phoenix underfoot for a while, Grandeeney ultimately decided to start teaching him with Dragon's Roar.
Then, after two days of Grandeeney's brutal squeezing, it wasn't until Phoenix had discarded all other abilities apart from his most primitive magic power, whether it was his Devil Fruit ability, his doujutsu, or even his swordsmanship, that Grandeeney's magic instruction for Phoenix officially began.