Zeref

Zeref is a character from the Fairy Tail anime and manga.

Zeref the Black Wizard is considered to be the most evil wizard who ever lived, having left a legacy of death, destruction, and demons of his creation. Some of his devoted fanatics have sought to use his magical tools of resurrection to bring him back from his presumed death centuries ago; others have believed he was merely sealed away and waiting for someone to unleash his dark powers on the world—but none of them could be further from the truth.

As it later turns out, Zeref is a kind yet tormented young man who has been kept alive for over 400 years by the Black Magic of Ankhselam, a curse that steals all life around him the more he wishes to preserve it. For this reason, he has wandered aimlessly while avoiding as many people as possible, unless he chooses to see them as pawns that can be used as a means to an end. After witnessing too many conflicts done in his name, however, he decides to step out of the shadows to wreak havoc on mankind—all while holding out hope of being stopped by his younger brother, Natsu, whom he is certain is the only one capable of ending his life.

Appearance
Despite being hundreds of years old, Zeref has the appearance of a young man. He wears high-collared red (black in the anime) and tan robes with gold trim, along with a large, flowing white toga draped around his torso. He has short black hair, dark eyes, and abnormally sharp canines. He also wears a pendant, where he keeps a childhood picture of Natsu and himself. When Zeref returned to the Alvarez Empire, he changed his wardrobe to a black and white outfit.

When angered, Zeref's irises become red and gain a black ring around the pupil, giving him a much more menacing appearance.

Personality
Zeref is said to have been the darkest, most evil Mage in the history of the Magic World, mastering the Black Arts and creating many Demons, some of which still wreak havoc in the present.

In the modern era, Zeref seeks to isolate himself and is very calm, sincere, and conflicted. He wishes to die to atone for all the sins he has committed, and may commit in the future. He shows concern for others when he warns them not to come near him, knowing that they would die if they did. He is also somewhat emotionally fragile, as when he realizes that Natsu is not ready to kill him yet, he breaks down in tears. Zeref often kills with no prior incentive or knowledge.

In spite of all this, Zeref is very vindictive, and will punish those who he believes to be evil. This was shown when he ruthlessly killed Hades, whom he thinks has committed a number of unforgivable sins. As a result of his immortal life, Zeref has developed a misanthropic loathing for humanity and its repeated idiosyncrasies of hatred, evil, and conflict.

Nevertheless, Zeref is also shown to be a man of the people as the Emperor of Alvarez, and is shown to display good will and friendliness towards his generals and subjects, which is also reflected in their opinion of him, sincerely cheering and welcoming him as he returns to the capital after a long absence. Zeref also compared running the Empire akin to playing a strategy game, making the Curse of Contradictions' symptoms go away while at it, because the people he commands, he treats merely as pawns.

Abilities
Black Arts (Kuro Mahō): Zeref was able to master all forms of Dark Magic at a very early age, and brought countless Demons to life. His Magic Power is enormous; so enormous, in fact, that he cannot consciously control his own Magic, though whether this was always the case is unknown. Zeref's lack of control over his Black Arts seems to come from his emotional state. He, himself, has stated that when he cares of the lives of others, his Magic becomes uncontrollable and randomly bursts outward, killing all those around him, but, when he no longer cares about others, he gains complete control over his Magic, and becomes the ruthless, cold-hearted Zeref spoken of in legend.
 * Ankhseram Black Magic (Ankuseramu no Kuro Majutsu): It is a Black Art that allows Zeref to kill any living thing he desires. This Magic seems to be uncontrollable at times, causing it to burst out randomly, killing anything within a certain radius around him. However, when Zeref forgets the value of, and no longer cares about, a human life, he can fully control this Magic. Certain Magic Items can protect people from Ankhseram Black Magic, such as Natsu Dragneel's scarf. This Magic also appears, contrary to the nature of the Black Arts, unable to be learned, as Zeref only gained this curse-like Magic by upsetting the ancient God Ankhseram, who apparently bestowed this upon Zeref due to his making light of the connections between life, death and people in his race to bring his brother back to life. The side effect of this Magic is immortality and the inability to age.
 * Death Predation (Shi no Hoshoku): This usage of this spell creates a dark wave that kills everything in the user's immediate vicinity.
 * Death Orb: A spell that, when used, destroys everything in its path.
 * Repent (Kuiaratameyo): Zeref swipes both of his arms in a circular motion until the bottom of his hands meet. The hand on top has the index and middle fingers pointing upwards, while the other hand has the little and index fingers pointing downwards. While doing this, he is surrounded by a dark aura. This spell creates a huge vertical explosion, and it's blast radius is seemingly controllable. It was used to kill Hades.
 * Dark Blast Inferno (Ankoku Bakuenjin): Zeref gathers flame-like dark matter in his palm and strikes his target with the powerful attack.


 * Living Magic (Seikatsu Mahō): A very ancient, long-forgotten form of Magic that breathes life into an object. Some of Zeref's creations are sentient, and seek to further Zeref's former, as-of-yet unknown, evil desires. Most of the beings that Zeref created were Demons
 * Deliora (Deriora): One of Zeref's many creations, Deliora was a monstrous Demon that attacked the icy villages in the North.[112]Deliora was imprisoned in a block of ice by Ur. Lyon Vastia tried to unfreeze it so he could kill the Demon, however, after years of being imprisoned in Ur's ice, the Demon's life force was greatly reduced, so much, in fact, that simply upon being released from the ice, it died.
 * Lullaby (Rarabai): A flute that can transform into a giant Demon. Whoever hears Lullaby's song (aside from the caster) will die. Erigor hoped to use this to kill the Guild Masters at their meeting. As Kageyama failed to carry out the mission, Lullaby transformed into its Demon form to feast upon souls. However, Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, and Erza Scarlet were able to defeat the Demon flute. It currently is in the Magic Council's possession.
 * E.N.D. or Etherious Natsu Dragneel (Ēteriasu Natsu Doraguniru): The strongest of his Demons, thought to be able to kill the immortal Zeref.
 * Nemesis (Nemishisu): This spell creates Demons from rubble. It can create an entire army of Demons with just a few rocks. This spell was used by Hades while battling Fairy Tail. Hades learned this spell from Volume 4 Verse 20 of one of the Books of Zeref.
 * Tartaros ( Tarutarosu): Zeref stated that all of Tartaros' members are Demons he created.
 * Mard Geer Tartaros (Marudo Gīru Tarutarosu): One of his strongest Demons and the founder of Tartaros.
 * Bloodman (Buraddoman): Apart of the Alvarez Empire's Spriggan 12, he was at some point created by Zeref and he wields the supreme collection of all of the Curses possessed by the Nine Demon Gates and their leader Mard Geer.
 * Larcade Dragneel (Rākeido Doraguniru): Apart of the Alvarez Empire's Spriggan 12, he was deemed the strongest failed Etherious creation from the multiple attempts at remaking Natsu Dragneel, donning the last name of Zeref as proof of his strength.


 * Immobilization Magic: A Black Art of Zeref's that allows him to freeze time for all except those he specifically chooses to remain mobile. After casting this Magic, the surrounding area and all those affected by the Magic appear inverted in color, whilst those unaffected remain as they are.

Law (Rō): Although he was never shown to use it, Zeref was the one who taught this supreme type of Black Magic to Mavis, in order for her to fight for her friends.
 * Teleportation Magic (Shunkanidō no Mahō): Zeref was shown to be able to teleport easily by conjuring a Death Orb in thin air at his desired location and easily emerging from it.

Fire Magic (Hi no Mahō): Zeref is shown to be capable of using this type of Magic, such as when he used it to burn Mard Geer's tome.

Telepathy (Terepashī): Zeref has shown to be capable of using this Magic, contacting Larcade through the use of this Magic in order to cease his Magic.

Bullet Magic: A Magic that Zeref uses to produce ballistic projectile of Magical energy out of his finger. Enchantment (Fukajutsu): Zeref has been shown to be a master Enchanter. He was capable of morphing Irene's dragonized form into the physique of a human, something which she, a very skilled Enchanter herself, was not able to do.
 * Piercing Bullet: Zeref releases magical energy from his finger to pierce the Book of E.N.D..

Fairy Heart-Induced Form: Zeref, after activating the Magic of Fairy Heart, accesses a mode that he himself calls "surpassing a God of time and space". In this form, he becomes fully white overall, with an intricate clothing design as well as wings. Due to Fairy Heart's infinite Magic Power, he is able to control time and space, as when Natsu blew him back with a powerful attack he reformed his being as well as the area that was destroyed with ease. Enhanced Durability: Zeref is quite physically durable, as he was able to take a punch from Natsu Dragneel (no visible marks were left), and return to his feet, completely unfazed.
 * Time Magic (Toki no Mahō): After accessing Fairy Heart's power, Zeref was said to have the control of time, shown by reversing the debris of the destroyed part of the guild when attacked by Natsu.
 * Neo Eclipse (Neo Ekuripusu): With the power of Fairy Heart and the Space Between Time, Zeref is able to merge both Magics into one, to create this Magic. With it he can relive life again, destroying the current world while the new one replaces it. Neo Eclipse was in the form a door (by walking through it will induce the magic) as Zeref merged it with Fairy Tail's guild door.

Expert Sensor: Zeref was able to sense Acnologia approaching Tenrou Island from quite a fair distance, as well as talk to Mavis Vermilion despite not being able to see or hear her.

Immortality: Approximately 400 years ago, Zeref successfully attained immortality, which is revealed to be a byproduct of him being cursed by the God Ankhseram with Ankhseram Black Magic. In addition, he is also unaging.
 * High-Speed Regeneration: Owing to his status as an immortal, if Zeref has gone at least a short amount of time with receiving damage occurring in successive intervals, his wounds heal without a trace.

Trivia

 * Zeref appears as the final boss of the Tenrou Island arc in the PSP game, Fairy Tail: Zeref's Awakening. He can later be unlocked as a playable character by completing the game's exclusive arc.