For a moment, everyone's eyes turned to Arcadios, waiting for his answer.
"All right, but before that, I'd like to correct something." Arcadios had never intended to hide much, so he answered frankly, "Acnologia didn't turn from a Dragon Slayer Wizard into a Dragon because he overused Dragon Slayer Magic. The Dragon Slayer Wizards here can rest easy."
With that, he looked at Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy.
"So we won't turn into Dragons? That's a relief..." All three let out long sighs of relief. Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Natsu then asked curiously, "But if it wasn't from using too much Dragon Slayer Magic, what made him turn into a Dragon?"
He wasn't the only one curious. Everyone else wore the same expression, except Achill, whose brow furrowed slightly. He had already guessed the likely reason.
If his guess was right, then four hundred years ago, there was undoubtedly only one person who could have done it—
A faintly sorrowful figure flashed through his mind, and Achill's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.
"Have you heard of the demons created by Zeref?" Rather than answer their question immediately, Arcadios posed one of his own. His calm gaze swept over everyone, lingering especially on Gray, Natsu, and the others.
"You mean Deliora?" Gray caught on quickly, his expression grave.
"That's right. Deliora!" Arcadios nodded, his own expression becoming deadly serious. "Acnologia is very close to them! According to our research and deductions, the person who turned Acnologia from a Dragon Slayer Wizard into a Dragon four hundred years ago was none other than—"
"The legendary Mage hailed as the most savage, most terrifying, strongest, and most evil in the history of magic," Arcadios said heavily, his gaze solemn. "The Black Wizard, Zeref!"
"It was him—" His words sent a chill through