Steady, powerful footsteps slowly approached.
A tall figure stepped into the halo cast by the magical lantern, one step at a time.
The newcomer was a middle-aged man draped in a scarlet cape and clad in exquisite silver-white armor.
His features were resolute, his gaze sharp, and he carried the composed presence of a veteran hardened by countless battles.
Even facing a group of Mages who had just finished a fierce fight, he showed no trace of fear.
"Who are you?"
Gray stepped forward, raising his hands into the opening stance of Ice Make Magic, his expression guarded.
The middle-aged man stopped. His gaze swept across the crowd before finally settling on Natsu and Gajeel.
In a calm voice, he slowly said, "I am Arcadios, commander of the Fiore Cherry Blossom Holy Knights and a senior officer of the Royal Army."
Lucy and Wendy both gasped sharply.
A high-ranking Royal Army officer appearing deep beneath the Grand Magic Games arena in the middle of the night was simply too strange.
Ignoring everyone's shock, Arcadios spoke openly.
"Do not be nervous. I have been nearby all along, and I heard your entire conversation with the Jade Dragon."
"The four-hundred-year-old history it spoke of happens to confirm the facts uncovered by our military's years of secret research."
"Confirm the facts?"
Lu Chongwei narrowed his eyes and looked Arcadios up and down.
"The commander of a knight order hiding in the dark to eavesdrop hardly seems like the kingdom's style."
"You said just now that they would not become dragons. What exactly did you mean?"
Arcadios's expression did not change as he directly threw out a staggering theory that made everyone's scalps tingle.
"According to the military's top-secret records, Acnologia's birth was by no means merely a backlash from Dragon Slayer Magic."
His