History Characters / FairyTailZerefAndHisDemons

The Black Wizard Zeref lived 400 years ago, and he created many demons known as Etherious. Many of them make up the Tartaros dark guild.

''Here be spoilers.''

[[{{Characters/FairyTail}} Back to the main character index]]
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[[folder:Zeref]]
!!Zeref
!!!Voiced by: Creator/AkiraIshida (JP), Creator/JoelMcDonald (EN)
[[quoteright:308:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zeref_image.jpg]]

The most evil wizard who ever lived, also known as the Black Wizard. He is known to have used Living Magic to create countless demons and Ankhseram Black Magic to kill everything around him, and is responsible for most of the world's problems, directly and indirectly. Many evil wizards have hoped to resurrect him since his defeat 400 years ago. In reality, he has been living all this time on Sirius Island, where he's had plenty of time to think about all the trouble his magic causes.

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* AffablyEvil: One of the very few villains that can fit in this trope. He begs people around him to stay away from him in order not to get killed, [[spoiler: and taught Mavis and her friends magic as gratitude for her showing kindness to him.]]
* TheAgeless: It's not CompleteImmortality, because Zeref himself has indicated that he can still die if somebody kills him. Only problem is, he's become so powerful that he can probably count the things that ''can'' kill him on one hand. In fact he created a bunch of powerful demons solely because [[spoiler:he hoped they would be able to kill him]]. He initially became immortal [[spoiler:completely by accident; it's a part of his {{curse}}. See below.]]
* AllPowerfulBystander: What he was prior to the Sirius Island arc, and what he wanted to be indefinitely. [[AwakeningTheSleepingGiant Until Hades forced his hand.]] Though given TheReveal in Chapter 444, he apparently spent part of the last few hundred years [[spoiler:establishing an empire on another continent.]]
* TheAloner: He is never around anyone else, mostly because he kills them simply by being near them. [[spoiler:Never around anybody else but Mavis, anyway, and that's because she's immortal like he is]].
* AloofBigBrother: To [[spoiler: Natsu.]]
* AntiVillain: He's a mix of [[SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains Types]] [[NobleDemon I]], [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds II]], and [[WellIntentionedExtremist III]], with [[DesignatedVillain a dash of IV]].
* ApologeticAttacker: When he can't control his powers, he constantly apologizes to people, animals or plants that get near him.
* ArchEnemy: Zeref is intentionally trying to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] this trope with Natsu, and was willing to [[spoiler:kill Makarov]] to do it.
* TheArchmage: '''The''' greatest example of this in the series. His power and knowledge of magic dwarfs that of any other character so far. ''Fairy Tail Zero'' reveals that the other top contenders for this title [[spoiler:Mavis, Master Hades/Precht, and Walrod]] were his ''students''. He was the one who taught them the magic that they would eventually master to become some of Fiore's strongest mages. [[spoiler:Chapter 10 of ''Fairy Tail Zero'' reveals that one of Fairy Tail's strongest signature spells, "Fairy Law", was a spell that Zeref taught Mavis.]]
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: [[spoiler:This is the guy who conquered an entire continent and united its 700+ magic guilds, Light and Dark alike, ''by himself''. The fact that he could and did do this is the main reason Ishgar is so wary of him even though they know so little about his 'Spriggan' persona. If they knew Spriggan's true identity, they surely would crap their pants at the mere thought of Zeref being in charge of Ishgar's greatest geopolitical threat.]]
* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: His "[[ThePowerOfCreation Living Magic]]" allows him to create giant demons of immense, nigh-unstoppable power, including [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]] such as [[BrownNote Lullaby]] and Deliora.
** The real kicker? It's now looking as if a good number of the higher-tier demons that ''aren't'' colossal [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]] can join guilds, and the higher-ranking members of Tartaros are made up of nothing ''but'' demons, including E.N.D., who just so happens to be their '''guild master.'''
* {{Badass}}: He is known as perharps being the most powerful magician that ever lived.
** Hades is one of the most powerful individuals in the series. Makarov suffered a CurbStompBattle against him, Fairy Tail at first couldn´t even scratch him and only defeated him after a prolonged fight. And Zeref? He killed Hades with a single attack!
** Among his students were Mavis Vermilion, the First Master of Fairy Tail; Hades, the Second Master of Fairy Tail and Master of Grimoire Heart and Warrod Sequen, one of the Four Gods of Ishgar. All these three are known as some of the greatest wizards of all time.
** [[spoiler: He practically forged the [[TheEmpire Alvarez Empire]], a great political superpower, all by ''himself''. His PraetorianGuard is composed of twelve individuals that are equal or superior to the strongest magician in Ishgar and they all obey him without question. This just shows how powerful he is.]]
* BadassBoast: When Mavis asks him if he is going to war, he answers, "No. [[CurbStompBattle It will be a one-sided annihilation.]]"
** Also crossers over with PreMortemOneLiner in chapter 414:
--> '''[[spoiler: Mard Geer]]''': [[spoiler: Mard Geer]]... can realise... what you wish...\\
'''Zeref''': ''[[YouHaveFailedMe You can't]].''
* BadassFingersnap: Gives one in Chapter 414 [[spoiler: which turns Mard Geer back into book form and promptly [[BadBoss lights him on fire]]]].
* BadassLongRobe: A black ([[AdaptationDyeJob originally red in the manga]]) tunic of some kind, worn under a white, toga-like outer layer, complete with HighCollarOfDoom.
* BadBoss: Becomes one after [[TookALevelInJerkass he takes a few levels in jerkass]] in chapter 414, [[spoiler: considering what he does to Mard Geer.]]
* BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork: He appears to mean well, so the bad guy part is currently debatable, but when Hades is driven off with no sign of repenting, he's the one who takes care of him.
* BadPowersGoodPeople: Maybe. [[ThenLetMeBeEvil Actually, big maybe.]]
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: [[spoiler:Mavis, after witnessing his curse and seeing just how lonely and miserable he was, used her illusions to [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming let Zeref pet some animals]]. Zeref was so moved by the encounter that he agreed to teach Fairy Tail's founding members some magic to help defeat Blue Skull. When she became immortal like him and she suggested they give EternalLove a shot since they only have each other, her kindness made Zeref fall in love with her. Tragically, the curse wouldn't allow them to be happy together.]]
* BenevolentBoss: [[spoiler: While he shows indifference towards Tartaros, he shows a very friendly and positive relationship with his servants from Albareth Empire. He even claims that he sees them as pawns in order to protect them from his curse. It is no wonder the people cheered when he returned.]]
* BigBad: He's responsible for the existence of demons, and becomes active after he's found on Sirius Island and decides to wipe out humanity, building himself up to a final battle with Natsu. [[spoiler:This appears cemented when he takes E.N.D.'s book from the protagonists and kills Mard Geer for failing him. He then goes on to serve as direct antagonist of ''Albareth Empire''.]]
* BigBadEnsemble: So far, he's only served as a secondary villain to [[BigBad Big Bads]] Hades, Future Rogue, and Mard Geer. [[spoiler:With him killing Mard at the end of the Tartaros arc, he, Acnologia, and E.N.D. are forming one for the endgame.]]
* BigBadFriend: ''Fairy Tail Zero'' shows that Zeref is this to Mavis when it's revealed [[spoiler:he taught her and the other founding Fairy Tail members how to use magic]], and that [[spoiler:she has the exact same curse he has]]. [[spoiler:Makarov]] even implies that this is the ''real'' reason Zeref wants to get his hands on [[spoiler:Lumen Histoire]]. [[spoiler:His reasons become even more suspect when it's revealed that he was in love with her prior to her death]]. Even when Mavis later acknowledges that Zeref has become a threat to humanity, the expression on her face makes it clear that she would really, really prefer that he just come to his senses instead of having to fight him.
* BigBadSlippage: Of a sort: while he was the GreaterScopeVillain prior to being discovered, he still wasn't evil after he was discovered until he felt the human race was too evil to keep on living.
* BigBrotherInstinct: [[spoiler:His entire StartOfDarkness was caused by his desire to resurrect his younger brother, Natsu. Yes, ''that'' Natsu.]]
* BigFancyCastle: Apparently, he lives in one of these as of Chapter 416. [[spoiler:Makes sense, as it's later revealed that he's TheEmperor of Albareth.]]
* {{Bishounen}}: Particularly when Chapter 7 of ''Zero'' displays that he's one of the few young adult males in the series to be lean rather than muscular.
* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: The Brooding Boy to [[spoiler:Mavis']] Gentle Girl. [[spoiler:She was the first person to show him kindness and be able to understand him in his lonely immortal life. Tragically, falling in love with her got her killed.]]
* BrutalHonesty: Does not make any attempt to sugarcoat that [[spoiler:Mavis is going to start inadvertently killing everyone around her just like he does.]]
* CainAndAbel: [[spoiler:Cain to Natsu Dragneel's Abel. Although Natsu is still clueless of the relation, Zeref is hell-bent on eradicating mankind while Natsu is definitely a force for good who treasures family links and companionship. Zeref practically invoked this trope by using his late brother's body to create the one being he thinks will be able to kill him]].
* CantLiveWithoutYou: None of the beings created by Zeref's magic can survive without his magic sustaining them [[spoiler:including Natsu.]]
* ChildProdigy: [[spoiler:He was ''the'' most brilliant student at the Mildian Academy, to the point where he made his teachers nervous for studying [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow magic typically considered taboo]] and creating several magical theories most sane mages wouldn't even touch. According to his teachers, this is supposedly what pissed [[GodIsEvil Ankhseram]] off.]]
* CompleteImmortality: His immortality [[spoiler:is part of a divine curse]], so it's not going to be overcome that easily. Killing him is tantamount to [[spoiler:overcoming the will of the gods, who want him to suffer for eternity]].
* CosmicPlaything: He received a cruel curse from a JerkassGod merely for [[spoiler:wanting to bring his little brother back]]. Ever since then, the curse has found its way to make Zeref miserable and ruin any chance of happiness he might get. [[spoiler:Including killing the girl he loved, even though she had the same exact curse he has]].
* CreateYourOwnVillain: [[InvertedTrope Inverted.]] In a huge twist of irony, ''both'' the guilds that pose a credible threat to him owe their very existences to him. [[spoiler:Fairy Tail ''and'' Tartaros. Fairy Tail because without him, the founding members might have never learned magic, and Tataros because he created most of its members, including its Guild Master and founder]].
* CreatingLife: He ([[TomeOfEldritchLore literally]]) wrote the book on [[ThePowerOfCreation Living Magic]]. While other dark mages, including Hades, have been shown using it to create {{mooks}}, Zeref has used it to create anything from giant [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]] to fully-sentient demons, many of which make up the Dark Guild known as Tartaros. [[spoiler:His initial goal was to learn how to bring back the dead.]]
* CreepyMonotone: Interestingly, his voice has become this in the anime following the Grand Magic Games. Possibly {{justified}}, however, considering [[MisanthropeSupreme how]] [[ThenLetMeBeEvil much]] [[OmnicidalManiac he's]] [[PutThemAllOutOfMyMisery changed]] since the Sirius Island arc.
* CryCute: Admit it, [[http://i41.tinypic.com/fuv2op.jpg this]] is not what you first imagined after the way he was [[TheDreaded built up throughout the series]].
* CurbStompBattle: Zancrow and Hades got their asses '''handed''' to them by him.
* {{Curse}}: Zeref suffers from a rather cruel variation of this. Basically, the more he values life, the more everything around him dies. On the other hand, if he does not value life, he will regain control of his immense magic, and he will no longer automatically kill everything around him. However, the fact that he doesn't value life means that he will probably still kill people anyway, only intentionally this time. This way, it is set up so that he will ''always'' end up killing people, whether he wants to or not. Of course, it's heavily implied that he brought this upon himself. [[spoiler:The Mildian Academy claims that Zeref was committing blasphemy against the gods for studying taboo magics in order to resurrect his dead brother, hence a curse that was designed to kill anybody he could ever care about or even being in the same general area as him, with [[WhoWantsToLiveForever immortality]] to boot.]]
* CurseEscapeClause: The immortality is permanent, but the "kill everyone around you with uncontrollable waves of death" part of it seems to go away if Zeref stops caring about other people. If that happens, Zeref's able to control it. [[spoiler:The curse itself, however, is intent on making sure Zeref can never be happy -- even though Mavis suffered the same curse, Zeref's love for her was enough to bypass her immortality and kill her after they kissed]].
* CursedWithAwesome: The immortality that is part of his curse did give him enough time to complete his original goal [[spoiler:of bringing back his brother]].
* CynicismCatalyst: [[spoiler:The first one was the death of his little brother and his attempts to revive him which got him cursed. The second one was when Zeref finally finds somebody he genuinely cares about, and comes to believe he can safely be with Mavis, even falling in love with her. [[KissOfDeath And then they kiss]]...]]
* DarkIsEvil: He's not called "Black Wizard" for nothing; along with other, more common dark magics, he could create his own demons and magical objects that were designed to kill people. [[spoiler:He himself wasn't actually that bad of a guy, though; the [[ThenLetMeBeEvil evil]] part came much later.]]
* DarkMessiah: Zeref genuinely wants to see the world become a better place, and even [[spoiler:created an entire country where he rules as a relatively benevolent Emperor, though he himself admits he didn't create Albareth for the sake of being a ruler.]] Zeref outright states that his sole [[ThenLetMeBeEvil motivation]] for becoming an [[spoiler:OmnicidalManiac]] is to 'cleanse the world of its sins,' and is perfectly prepared to die to atone for his own, and wants [[spoiler:his brother to be the one to do it; see CainAndAbel above]]. He even has [[spoiler:twelve disciples in the form of the [[PraetorianGuard Spriggan Twelve]], including a SixthRangerTraitor]], as if Mashima was intentionally trying to invoke this trope.
* DatingCatwoman: [[spoiler:Zeref is an evil wizard who eventually becomes the BigBad of the series and it's eventually revealed he was romantically involved with Mavis, the First Master of Fairy Tail.]]
* DeathGlare: The absolute master of this in the series. Zeref's glares have been enough to make grown men [[TearsOfFear burst into tears]] and [[OhCrap crap themselves]]. Basically if Zeref is giving you this look run!
* DeathSeeker: He expects to be killed by Natsu someday. And he'll wage war on humanity if he has to for it. The entire reason the demons of Tartaros even exist is because [[spoiler:Zeref was trying to create something powerful enough to kill him]].
* DespairEventHorizon: He was already well on his way there, but the big one came when [[spoiler:he kissed Mavis and she died as a result, right when he thought he finally found somebody he could safely allow himself to care about.]]
* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: One of the very first things he says to [[spoiler:Acnologia]] when the two finally meet:
-->'''Zeref''': How's the arm?
* DissonantSerenity: He can talk about [[OmnicidalManiac wiping out humanity]] in the same sad, apologetic tone he uses when killing people by accident.
* DoomMagnet: Even though it's probably all his fault, wherever he goes, Acnologia is never far behind. And that's assuming he doesn't [[WalkingWasteland kill everything around him himself, first]].
* TheDreaded: Very few names in Earth-Land invoke as much unmitigated terror as his does.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: He has black hair and pale skin, and is considered the most evil wizard in history.
* TheEmperor: [[spoiler:Of Albareth Empire, where he is referred to as Spriggan.]]
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Apologizing to the wolves that die trying to attack him.
* EternalLove: [[spoiler:Tragically subverted. Once Mavis became immortal like him, Zeref thought he finally found somebody he could safely allow himself to care about. Sadly, that same love got his beloved Mavis killed.]]
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes:
** Although he isn't really that evil to begin with [[spoiler:[[ThenLetMeBeEvil until later on]]]], Zeref still loves [[spoiler:his younger brother, Natsu. He is what he is today because he tried to bring the deceased Natsu back to life, and can do nothing but cry when he sees his brother alive and well and all grown up]].
** Again even though he wasn't exactly evil at the time Zeref [[spoiler: fell in love with Mavis after she assured him that they could be together forever until they found a way to break their curse. Sadly [[KissOfDeath kissing her]] resulted in Mavis' death and is implied to be when Zeref's true StartOfDarkness began]].
* EvenEvilHasStandards: He has a noted disgust for most Dark Guilds, especially those who commit atrocities in his name, with Grimoire Heart having earned the dubious honor of being the guild whose actions finally convinced him that HumansAreBastards. Zeref has also apparently decided that the one thing he ''definitely'' wants to do before he dies is [[spoiler:kill Acnologia.]]
* EvilMentor: [[spoiler:Chapter 7 of ''Fairy Tail Zero'' reveals that he effectively taught Mavis, Yuriy, Walrod and Precht, of all people how to properly use magic.]]
* EvilOverlord: [[spoiler:Subverted. He is clearly considered supreme among the rest of his subjects, and each member of his PraetorianGuard could be considered a candidate for TheArchmage. Makarov is surprised to find he is friendly and willing to negotiate, and his subjects are genuinely happy to see him return. Although Makarov realizes that Spriggan is Zeref a short while later.]]
* EvilSorcerer: A complete {{deconstruction}} of this trope. He [[spoiler:UsedToBeASweetKid who just wanted his baby brother back, and never quite understood why researching the connection of life, death, and magic was so taboo.]] As a result of his curiosity and dedication to somebody he loved and cared about, he was [[spoiler:cursed by a JerkassGod]], and everything went downhill for him there. His turn to [[CreatingLifeIsBad Living Magic]] was less about power for power's sake and more about ending his own life [[spoiler:and saving his brother's]]. As for his InstantDeathRadius and CompleteImmortality? [[spoiler:He didn't choose them. [[FateWorseThanDeath They chose]] ''[[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow him]]''.]] The 'evil' part of the EvilSorcerer trope [[ThenLetMeBeEvil came much later]].
* EvilerThanThou: Hades never stood a chance against this guy.
* FangsAreEvil: He has large canines in his early appearances, but they disappear later on.
* FateWorseThanDeath: He's immortal, but he also has an InstantDeathRadius designed to kill anybody he could ever care about. The only way around it is to stop caring about their lives (which kind of defeats the purpose), or if the person he cares about is ''also'' immortal. [[spoiler:Like Mavis, for instance. And even then, the curse still kills her when they fall in love.]]
* TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest: [[spoiler:He did ''not'' take Mavis' death well. After delivering her body to Fairy Tail, he unceremoniously drops her on the ground at Precht's feet, while walking away claiming that he's sick of being around people and will therefore go back to Albareth (since he sees the people that live there are mere pawns), and that he shouldn't have fallen in love.]]
* FriendlyEnemy: Towards Natsu. When the two finally see each other again in Chapter 372, Zeref greets him by smiling, and saying that he knew Natsu would be strong enough to make it that deep inside of Tartaros' headquarters. [[spoiler:The reason he's actually rather friendly to him is because he doesn't hate his brother at all -- everything that Zeref has done that led him to being what he is today was to bring the deceased Natsu back to life.]]
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Zeref went from being [[spoiler:a fairly normal, if [[ChildProdigy absolutely brilliant]] and defiant student at Midlian Magic Academy]] to TheDreaded Black Wizard.
* GivenNameReveal: Overlaps with WhamLine below. Go on, click that spoiler next to his name if you dare.
* AGodIAmNot: Many Dark Guilds worship him as a [[PhysicalGod Physical]] GodOfEvil. Zeref thinks they're scum and [[StopWorshippingMe resents their reverence]], with Tartaros being the only possible exception.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Before becoming active in the Sirius Island arc, he lives in isolation from the rest of humanity and is distant from the other villains, pondering whether or not he should step down and become the BigBad. However, the demons he creates affect the plot even before his return, and there exist wizards who wish to resurrect him. [[spoiler: Even his projects to revive his brother such as Eclipse and the R-System have an effect in story arcs. ]]
* HeadbuttOfLove: [[spoiler:With Mavis. He gave her a loving headbutt when she told him she used an incomplete version of Law, but he was TemptingFate to see if she'd die. [[TheReveal She]] [[CompleteImmortality didn't]].]]
* HealingFactor: After his [[spoiler:fight with Natsu, where he was clearly holding back because he had hoped Natsu would kill him,]] his wounds healed so quickly that [[spoiler:Invel]] did a double-take. Apparently, it comes with the CompleteImmortality.
* HeelRealization: Had one over 400 years ago. [[spoiler:Or it'd be more accurate to say that he was never really evil to begin with; he just delved a bit too deeply into forbidden magic, and screwed the entire world up as a result.]]
* HeroKiller: [[spoiler:Came so dangerously close to killing Makarov that it's not even funny. And that was after sending him flying with one flick of his wrist.]]
* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:Congratulations! You've stopped Face, you prevented E.N.D. from being activated, and all that's left is to destroy or take the TomeOfEldritchLore back to--... wait, where did it go?]]
-->'''Zeref''': "This belongs to me. [[YankTheDogsChain I'll be taking it back, now]]. It's really important, you know."
* HumansAreBastards: He believes that humans never learn from their mistakes and that wars, hatred and evil will always prevail. Though given most of the villains such as Zero, [[OmnicidalManiac that wanted to destroy everything that has form]]; Hades, who [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans planned to erradicate 90% of the world for a so-called utopia]]; Future Rogue that was going to TakeOverTheWorld at the cost of his race's extinction and even Acnologia, till now Fairy Tail's greatest {{Jerkass}}, are all humans, it is [[VillainHasAPoint actually quite not very hard to agree with him]].
* ICannotSelfTerminate: [[spoiler:Wanting to die yet being near perfectly immortal, Zeref struggles with this one. At some point, he took to creating demons in the hopes that one would become strong enough to kill him.]]
* IdiotHair: Has one spike in the middle of his head. Of course, he's no idiot.
* ILetGwenStacyDie: [[spoiler:Mavis' death was what broke Zeref for good. To make it worse, ''his love for her was the very thing that killed her''.]]
* InstantDeathRadius: Things die around him. No touching needed.
* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler: He came up with the idea of the Eclipse Gate, so he can go back in time and avert his brother's death. 400 years later, the Kingdom of Fiore finish the Eclipse Gate, so they can go back in time and kill Zeref.]]
** [[spoiler: He taught magic to Mavis' group, who would form the very same guild where his brother Natsu would later join.]]
** [[spoiler: He decided to isolate himself from the world by going to Tenrou Island. He had actually no idea that it was a sacred place to the same guild where both his lover and brother belonged.]]
* KaleidoscopeEyes: They change between red and black depending on his mood.
* KickTheDog: [[spoiler:To Mard Geer,]] in the form of YouHaveFailedMe.
** He almost did this again to [[spoiler:Makarov]], saying he was going to kill him and then [[spoiler:send his dead body back to Natsu for the sole sake of pissing him off. Mest saved him just in time.]]
* KillerRabbit: Easily the most feared wizard to ever walk the face of Earth-Land, and with good reason... who also happens to be a youthful self-loathing DeathSeeker who has a tendency to break down in TearsOfRemorse.
* KissOfDeath: [[spoiler:Confessing his love for Mavis and kissing her killed her. Thus began his true StartOfDarkness.]]
* KnightTemplar: God help you if he thinks you're evil.
* LackOfEmpathy: He admits to treating his people like pawns in a game of chess. [[spoiler: This is how he protects his own subjects from his curse.]]
* LeanAndMean: As could be seen from [[spoiler:Mavis']] NakedFirstImpression, he's noticeably much thinner in build and less muscular, especially in comparison to the vast majority of [[WorldOfMuscleMen the rest of the cast]]. Not that that [[MusclesAreMeaningless means a whole lot]], given his level of power.
* LivingMacGuffin: Several villains are out to gain his power, if not his very existence.
* LongLostRelative: [[spoiler:To Natsu.]]
* LoveHurts: [[spoiler:Trying to bring back the little brother he loved got him Cursed. Falling in love got the girl he loved killed.]] Basically, every time Zeref has allowed himself to love ''anything,'' it blows up in his face.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: On two levels. [[spoiler:His love for his little brother and his desire to see him brought BackFromTheDead started him down the slippery slope. Inadvertently killing Mavis with a KissOfDeath was the last straw.]]
* TheManBehindTheMan: While he is not technically the leader of Tartaros (that would be E.N.D.), because he is the one who created the demons that make up the guild they idolize him, making him something of a ''de facto'' figurehead. He otherwise has no direct involvement with them.
* MeaningfulName: [[spoiler:His Spriggan alias. Spriggans are depicted as grotesquely ugly, and said to be found at old ruins and barrows guarding buried treasure and generally acting as fairy bodyguards. They were also said to be busy thieves. He wants Lumen Histore which houses Mavis inside]].
** He later [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this, himself, telling [[spoiler:Makarov]] that he picked this alias specifically because it means [[spoiler:"Ugly Fairy"]].
** The name Zeref may be derived from two sources: ''Seraph'', angelic beings associated with dragons and fire, which hints at [[spoiler:the relationship between Zeref and Natsu]]; ''Seth'', the Egyptian deity of storms, desert, chaos and war, whom features in the Osiris myth in ancient Egypt mythology, foreshadowing [[spoiler:the destined conflict between the Dragneel brothers]]. The differing natures of these two sources may also symbolize the conflict of good and evil in Zeref.
* MerlinAndNimue: [[spoiler:Mavis was his magic apprentice. Because she used an incomplete version of the Law that he taught her, she ended up cursed like him. Mavis wanted her and Zeref to form an EternalLove relationship to have each other and find a way to break the curse together, but sadly them falling in love with each other got her killed.]]
* MindRape: [[spoiler:Mavis]] correctly deduces that Ankhseram's Curse is causing Zeref's own thoughts to contradict themselves, [[spoiler:such as when he seemingly can't decide if he wants his brother to destroy him, or if he wants to destroy him.]] This explains his rather massive mood swings and constantly switching back and forth between being a FriendlyEnemy and wanting to become the ArchEnemy to Natsu, and even [[spoiler:struggling with his own feelings for Mavis after her death]].
* MisanthropeSupreme: Chapter 340 reveals that he has become this since the events of Sirius Island. Turns out that being [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld Really 400 Years Old]] has given him the unique perspective to observe some rather unfortunate traits of human nature as well as the fact that humans never seem to learn from their past mistakes. What Hades pulled [[OmnicidalManiac was the last straw]] [[PutThemAllOutOfMyMisery to him]], and Future Rogue's actions probably didn't help, either.
* MoodSwinger: Ankhseram's Curse is a curse of contradictions, causing Zeref to suffer severe mood swings and his thoughts and wishes to contradict themselves.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:Upon seeing what his research into magic governing life and death had [[KillEmAll done to the entire rest of the academy]], Zeref had a mental breakdown. His life was a downward spiral of guilt culminating in a [[DeathSeeker death wish]] ever since.]]
* NakedFirstImpression: [[spoiler:Mavis]] first met him when he was taking a bath in a lake.
* {{Necromantic}}: [[spoiler:The reason he studied all of that forbidden magic was to resurrect his brother, Natsu, who had died at a very young age. He succeeded, by giving Natsu an Etherious body, hence E.N.D.]]
* NighInvulnerable: Takes a punch from [[KungFuWizard Natsu]] without a scratch.
* NotEvilJustMisunderstood: When he's finally introduced, Zeref is shown to not be the legendary evil wizard that he's made up to be. He's actually a lonely and tortured man with an uncontrollable InstantDeathRadius that just wants to be left alone so he doesn't have to hurt anyone anymore. But later on [[ThenLetMeBeEvil he finally gets fed up of humanity and getting rejected by the world.]]
* OfficialCouple: With [[spoiler:Mavis, after chapter 450. They're even on the cover of Volume 53 of the manga holding hands, with a giant heart-shaped tree behind them, and their... [[{{Understatement}} complicated]] relationship is the focus of the ''Albareth Empire'' arc.]]
* OneHeadTaller: Than [[spoiler:Mavis]].
* OneHitKill: He kills Zancrow and Hades with a single spell.
* OnlyICanKillHim: What he thinks of Natsu. [[spoiler:Or perhaps more accurately, what he thinks of [[TomatoSurprise E.N.D.]] It is, after all, part of why his little brother was brought back to life]].
* OppositesAttract: [[spoiler:With Mavis.]]
* OverarchingVillain: He remains a villain for the entire series.
* ParentalNeglect: [[spoiler: Even though he created the demons of Tartaros, he never shows any slight care for them. Everything that Mard Geer and the Nine Demon Gates did was they thought it would please their creator, and yet Zeref is not even touched by such dedication and lets his own creations being defeated and kills Mard Geer for his failure.]]
* PersonOfMassDestruction: The most powerful wizard in history, bar none.
* PosthumousCharacter: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted.]] He was hiding, not dead.
* PowerIncontinence: Zeref's harmless without his powers, but once they've activated he can't stop them.
* PutThemAllOutOfMyMisery: Once reaching the conclusion the world will never accept him, Zeref casually states that he will wipe out humanity. [[spoiler:It's actually more of a SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum.]]
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: He doesn't look like it, but he's over 400 years old.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: [[spoiler:Yazir claims that he is one. Supposedly the Spriggan Twelve are the ones who were really eager to invade Ishgar, and Zeref had been keeping the peace for years. Though he later intends to start a war once he plotted his 'Kill Them All' plan.]]
* RedBaron: "The Black Wizard."
* RedEyesTakeWarning: A sign that he will kill on purpose, as opposed to the uncontrollable blasts of death magic that normally surround him.
* RedemptionDemotion: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]]. Zeref outright states that learning the value of life made him weaker, but it also led to his PowerIncontinence, suggesting not so much a loss of power as a loss of control.
* ReluctantWarrior: The reason he kills Hades is solely because Grimoire Heart wanted to use him to destroy more lives.
* RenownedSelectiveMentor: A minor example, but [[spoiler: he was the one who personally taught Mavis and Fairy Tail's founding fathers how to use magic. Each of them would then later on become the strongest mages within the series.]]
* SealedEvilInACan: Ultear and her guild are out to unseal him. His "resurrection" by Jellal was part of a plot to help unseal him. Ultimately [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] later on; he was never sealed to begin with, he just didn't feel like doing anything.
* SeeingThroughAnothersEyes: Mavis implies that Zeref was able to do this through Obra during the Grand Magic Games.
* ShadowArchetype: To [[BigGood Mavis]], in a number of ways. For example:
** Both were [[ChildProdigy Child Prodigies]] in magic, having a near-encyclopedic knowledge of magical theory; Mavis in magic in general, Zeref in [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow more taboo forms of magic]]. Mavis went on to create the titular guild, which became the defining guild of Fiore, while Zeref was indirectly responsible for just about every dark guild in the series that came after his heydey (especially Tartaros).
** Mavis actually ''did'' die [[spoiler:(except [[OnlyMostlyDead not really]])]], while Zeref [[DeathSeeker wants to die]] but is immortal. Both gained their inability to age by messing with magic they didn't fully understand for somebody else's sake, with Zeref [[spoiler:pissing off Ankhseram by trying to resurrect Natsu as E.N.D.]], and Mavis [[spoiler:using Law without having mastered it first to save Yuriy's life, which ''also'' pissed off Ankhseram]].
** More subtlely, both also resorted to magic to cope with loss: Mavis subconsciously used her Illusion magic [[spoiler:to pretend that Zeira was still alive]] while Zeref [[spoiler:devoted himself to exploring forbidden magic to revive his dead little brother Natsu.]] And the clincher? [[spoiler:They both have the exact same Curse. Probably helps that they were romantically involved, too.]]
** The ''Fairy Tail Zero'' anime takes it a step further: Both were ConvenientlyAnOrphan, with Mavis being entirely self-educated and desperately wanting to attend school, whereas Zeref was [[spoiler:shipped off to a boarding school after his parents and younger brother were killed by dragons]]. Mavis only left Tenroujima after meeting Yuri, Warrod, and Precht, all of whom later became her co-founders in Fairy Tail, whereas Zeref was surrounded by [[spoiler:surrounded by his fellow students and teachers. He may or may not have had friends his own age, but his teachers were both awestruck and incredibly nervous about Zeref's [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow chosen field of study]], and was later more or less completely isolated up until he met Igneel, Anna, and later, what would become Albareth, and Mavis herself]].
* ShipTease: His HeadbuttOfLove above with [[spoiler:Mavis. Not to mention her (attempted) YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre speech to him, and the YouAreNotAlone moment at the end of Chapter 449. Chapter 450 makes their romance official, though with tragic results]].
* TheSlowPath: [[spoiler:Zeref stayed behind while the Dragon Slayers (and by extension, the dragons) were sent forward in time through Eclipse. It was over the next 400 years that Zeref came to believe that HumansAreBastards and had his StartOfDarkness when [[TheLostLenore Mavis]] died.]]
* StarCrossedLovers: [[spoiler:With Mavis. Ankhseram's Curse all but ensured the two can never truly be together, though it's implied that Zeref wants Lumen Histoire not to use it as a weapon, but as an attempt to ScrewDestiny.]]
* StartOfDarkness: [[spoiler:Everything that made Zeref "The Black Wizard" was stemmed from his attempts to revive his younger brother Natsu. He immersed himself in the dark arts, and his studies apparently pissed off the gods enough to curse him. Things went downhill from there, culminating in a KissOfDeath with Mavis and the first bit of genuine happiness in his life being tragically taken away from him.]].
* StepfordSmiler: A mixture of Type A and a dash of Type C following Chapter 340. During his appearances in the ''Tartaros arc'', he's [[DissonantSerenity constantly smiling]] and speaking in a polite tone. When he [[spoiler:threatens Natsu in Chapter 414, it looks like a mix between his now-legendary DeathGlare and a SlasherSmile.]]
* SurvivorsGuilt: [[spoiler:He lived, while his younger brother died at an extremely young age. It was what spurred him to learn dark magic, in an attempt to resurrect him.]]
* TearsOfRemorse: Especially after he realizes Natsu isn't powerful enough to kill him yet.
* TeacherStudentRomance: Admittedly he didn't fall in love with [[spoiler: Mavis until long after he mentored her but he did teach her magic and they did become a couple. [[YankTheDogsChain For about ten seconds.]]]]
* ThanatosGambit: [[spoiler:The entire reason he created his demons, and why his demons are trying to activate Face, is so that E.N.D would be released, and would serve its original purpose: killing Zeref. That's right, his demons are just an elaborate way for him to try to commit suicide, since almost nothing else in all of Earth Land even comes close to being able to put him out of his misery.]]
* ThenLetMeBeEvil: Since the events of Sirius Island, he kept pondering whether the world would truly change for the better and, having decided it won't, he opts to [[OmnicidalManiac wipe out humanity]] to cleanse the world of its sins.
* TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow: Studying these has been his life's mission ever since he was a child. [[spoiler:It was initially to resurrect his dead little brother, Natsu.]]
* TimeStandsStill: Before he appeared to Natsu in Chapter 372, he somehow caused the Tartaros {{mooks}} attacking him to freeze in place, while the world around him had its colors inverted, so that the two can speak one-on-one.
* TomeOfEldritchLore: The Books of Zeref, named after him, and written by him as well. They're all how-to book for the Black Arts, and explains in detail how to summon demons. In the case of his higher demons such as those that make up Tartaros, they literally ''are'' demons.
* TookALevelInJerkass: [[spoiler:Chapter 414 confirms that he did in fact [[ThenLetMeBeEvil step down from]] GreaterScopeVillain to BigBad.]]
* TragicVillain: He really was not that bad of a guy to start with. Honestly, seeing everyone you've ever cared about die and [[spoiler:becoming the CosmicPlaything of a JerkassGod]] would make anyone snap, eventually.
* TranquilFury: He never raises his voice when he's angry, and yet his DeathGlare can reduce people to being petrified with fear.
* {{Tsundere}}: A ''bizarre'' case of this trope actually being [[JustifiedTrope justified]]. [[spoiler:He confessed his love for Mavis prior to her death. His mind was already a mess due to the MindRape caused by the Curse of Contradictions messing with his thought processes. After her death, the Curse actually caused him to deny his own feelings for her, even to the point where he unceremoniously dumped her body at Precht's feet before walking away.]]
* UsedToBeASweetKid: [[spoiler:Turns out Zeref's a textbook example of why TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow. All he wanted was to resurrect his younger brother. He became the most powerful dark wizard to ever live in the process.]]
* TheVillainKnowsWhereYouLive: Overlaps with WhamLine. [[spoiler:He reveals to Makarov that not only does what Lumen Histoire is, he knows that 'Lumen Histoire' is a code name for 'Fairy Heart,' which is a magic that is even more powerful than the Three Great Fairy Magics.]]
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: [[spoiler: Beloved by the people of Albareth. [[TheDreaded Not so much in Ishgar.]] ]]
* WalkingSpoiler: It's virtually impossible to talk about him to someone who hasn't gotten to the point where he shows up without ruining everything. [[spoiler: His relation to Natsu is an even bigger spoiler, along with the fact that he's Emperor Spriggan of the Albareth Empire.]]
* WalkingWasteland: His Ankhseram Black Magic can turn an entire forest into a lifeless desert full of corpses in mere seconds.
* WellDoneSonGuy: To the demons of Tartaros despite never having actually met him in person. Their primary goal is to meet him for the first time. Most of their villainy is merely them doing what they think Zeref wants from them.
* WhamLine:
-->'''Zeref''': [[spoiler:My name is Zeref Dragneel. I'm your brother, Natsu.]]
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: The real reason why he's so miserable, according to Mard Geer. [[RedemptionEqualsDeath He's only half right.]]
* WorldsStrongestMan: According to the Magic Council, he is the strongest mage of all time. The only character who comes even close to his level of power is Acnologia, the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse, and he isn't human -- [[spoiler:at least, not entirely, and he no longer considers himself as such anymore anyway]].
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: A DeathSeeker who hates himself so much that he chose to become TheAloner out of guilt and fear of what his power has could still do to the world. And yet, the moment he's pissed off, it becomes clear that he's TheDreaded for a '''''[[OmnicidalManiac damn]] [[PersonOfMassDestruction good]] [[WalkingWasteland reason]].''''' He really was not that bad of a guy to start with, however. Honestly, seeing everyone you've ever cared about die and [[spoiler:becoming the CosmicPlaything of a JerkassGod]] would make anyone snap, eventually.
* WorfHadTheFlu: Zeref states that this is why he lost to Ultear, who is, for all intents and purposes, not even close to being in his league. Because he didn't actually want to kill her, his control over his magic was weakened enough for him to lose to her in single combat. Despite winning, and despite Zeref not being at the top of his game, Ultear was still so exhausted after fighting him that she collapsed.
* XanatosGambit: His plan to wipe out humanity is clearly this. If he manages to exterminate humanity, he will be happy that the world has been purified. If he is killed, then he will [[DeathSeeker overjoyed to finally being free of his curse]]. Either way, he will in a way get what he wants.
* YankTheDogsChain: Right when it looked like he finally found somebody he could safely bring himself to care about in [[spoiler:Mavis, he ends up killing her.]]
* YouAreNotAlone: Chapter 449. [[spoiler:As Mavis ran away crying after Zeref revealed to her that she's Cursed just like he is, he thinks to himself that, finally, there's somebody else out there who knows exactly what he's going through, and can safely walk alongside him. [[KissOfDeath Until he fell in love with her, that is]]...]]
* YouHaveFailedMe: [[spoiler:To Mard Geer]], complete with DissonantSerenity and a PreMortemOneLiner.
* YouWontLikeMeWhenImAngry: His mere expression has been enough to [[TearsOfFear make people cry]] when he's pissed off.
[[/folder]]
----
!Demons

[[folder: E.N.D.]]
!!E.N.D.
[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/end_book.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Click here]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5589443f60397fece1ebf19e5c10ddad.png[[/labelnote]] to see his original form. Spoilers!]]

The inactive "guild master" of Tartaros, rendered in a helpless state after his last battle. While he's currently in the form of a book, he is one of the most feared beings in history this side of Zeref himself or Acnologia, and is universally regarded as the most powerful of Zeref's demons, known for single-handedly defeating Igneel in the past.

E.N.D. is different from other Etherious, due to the way he was created. He's considered Zeref's ''magnum opus'' for a multitude of different reasons. Massive spoilers follow.
----
* AmbiguouslyEvil: [[spoiler: With the revelation of Natsu being some version of E.N.D fans have been speculating that he's not really an evil demon like the rest of Tartaros. While the Natsu we currently know does not seem to have a mean bone in his body, the rumors and facts stated by other characters leave this in question. This also could be due to Igneel's influence over Natsu when he was raising him. ]]
** With a recent revelation it might be the case that [[spoiler: E.N.D was never an evil demon]].
* ArtifactOfDoom: His [[TomeOfEldritchLore Book of Zeref.]] [[spoiler:Igneel]] explicitly told Natsu that, no matter what, he is ''[[TemptingFate not to open it]]''.
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: He's the strongest demon ever created by Zeref, and he leads a guild made almost entirely of demons Zeref created. [[spoiler:Subverted, as E.N.D. never had any involvement with Tartaros]].
* {{Badass}}: You know how Dragon Slayers can't even harm a dragon, despite their magic being made to do so? Well, this demon is infamous for defeating ''Igneel'', most likely giving him that scar on his face. [[spoiler:While E.N.D. is certainly powerful, there was never a fight between the two. Igneel just loved his foster son too much]].
* CynicismCatalyst: [[spoiler:His original death drove Zeref's research into the black arts, as Zeref hoped to revive his dead brother.]]
* TheDreaded: Atlas Flame fears him. His very name sends chills down Doranbalt's spine. Kyoka, a fellow demon and one of his subordinates, is visibly nervous about waking him. Mard suspects that even [[spoiler:''Acnologia'']] is afraid of him.
** Hell, just the mere ''thought'' of [[spoiler: Natsu himself being]] E.N.D is enough for some readers to become restlessly anxious to finding out just how freaking powerful he's going to be.
* ExcaliburInTheRust: The book containing him is visibly worn and covered in burns and tears, probably as a result of his battle with Igneel.
* EvilGenius: He invented Curses.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There a number of hints E.N.D. is [[spoiler:Natsu Dragneel]], before it's actually revealed.
** [[spoiler:Zeref's seeming familiarity with Natsu when they first met.]]
** [[spoiler:Zeref's statement that only Natsu can kill him, mirroring Mard Geer's later statements that only E.N.D. is capable of killing Zeref.]]
** [[spoiler: Reread chapter 1 and look under Natsu in the picture with the guild: '''E'''.'''N'''.'''D''' is written under him.]]
* TheGhost: [[spoiler:Subverted. Never appears in person despite being mentioned multiple times in the Tartaros arc. Then Zeref reveals that Natsu himself is E.N.D.]]
* GivenNameReveal: [[spoiler:E.N.D. stands for Etherious Natsu Dragneel.]]
* GreaterScopeVillain: Of the Tartaros arc. He is the strongest demon ever created by Zeref, the BigBad of the series, and powerful enough that Zeref [[spoiler:hopes to be killed by him]]. However, he's stuck in his book, with Mard Geer in charge in the mean time. [[spoiler:Subverted when it is revealed that E.N.D. is actually Natsu, who has shown no indication of making a FaceHeelTurn.]]
* HalfHumanHybrid: [[spoiler:He was created from the body of Zeref's deceased younger brother, infused with Zeref's demon magic.]]
* InsistentTerminology: Every character states Igneel couldn't kill E.N.D. [[spoiler:With TheReveal that E.N.D. was a young Natsu, it appears Igneel simply couldn't ''bring himself'' to kill E.N.D.]]
* HiddenVillain: [[spoiler:Natsu is an amnesiac E.N.D.]], unbeknownst to him and most of the cast.
* IWillFindYou: Zeref states E.N.D., like all of Tartaros, has been looking for Zeref for quite some time.
* LongLostRelative: [[spoiler:He's Zeref's younger brother. Or rather, he ''was''; E.N.D. is actually more of a reincarnation of Zeref's brother Zeref created using magic. How he got sealed into a book and how Natsu as we know him lost his memories is still unknown.]]
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The acronym of his name is "E.N.D.". [[spoiler:Though "Etherious Natsu Dragneel" itself isn't particularly scary sounding.]]
* OnlyICanKillHim: E.N.D. is said to be the only one powerful enough to kill Zeref. [[spoiler:That's the true reason he wants to find Zeref so badly, and also the reason Zeref is so interested in Natsu.]]
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: He's a creature born of pure magic fused into a body, like Zeref's other demons. [[spoiler:Though unlike the others, E.N.D. was fused into the body of a dead human instead of a homunculus.]]
* PlayingWithFire: E.N.D. is a flame demon who used fire curses. [[spoiler:Just like his namesake.]]
* PuppetKing: [[spoiler:E.N.D. never had any association with Tartaros. Mard Geer, the real master, simply used his status as the strongest Etherious as a source of inspiration for the rest of the guild.]]
* TheReveal: E.N.D. stands for [[spoiler:'''''E'''therious '''N'''atsu '''D'''ragneel''. Further, Natsu's actually Zeref's dead little brother, resurrected using the same magic that creates Etherious on a human corpse.]]
* SatanicArchetype: Has [[PlayingWithFire flame powers]], is a [[OurDemonsAreDifferent magical "Demon"]], led a guild called [[TheLegionsOfHell Tartaros]], and wants to [[spoiler: kill his creator, Zeref]].
* SplitPersonality: How Zeref describes E.N.D. [[spoiler:when he wonders if it will be Natsu or E.N.D. who will finally reach his level.]]
* SealedEvilInACan: He's trapped inside his Book of Zeref until enough "curse power" can be gathered to resurrect him [[spoiler:or Natsu himself opens the book of E.N.D.]]. TheReveal however leaves it unclear if it's him in the book [[spoiler:or just his powers, memories, or something else.]]
* UltimateEvil: He is Zeref's ultimate demon, but he hasn't shown his face yet, so what he looks like is still up to imagination. [[spoiler:Turns out to be a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]] in that he's actually Natsu, and never had any association with Tartaros.]]
* WalkingSpoiler: Knowing his appearance, backstory or full name gives away that [[spoiler:Natsu Dragneel is E.N.D.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tartaros]]
->See Characters/FairyTailTartaros
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lullaby]]
!!Lullaby
!!!Voiced by: Creator/RyokoOno (JP), Creator/MonicaRial (EN)
[[quoteright:225:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lullaby_flute_2088.png]]
[[caption-width-right:225:[[labelnote:Click here to see its demon form]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lullaby_ft_360.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]

A demon flute crafted by the evil wizard Zeref, whose melody lulls all who hear it into an eternal slumber. The dark guild Eisenwald acquires it in a plot to assassinate Fiore's guild masters, not realizing the flute has a mind of its own.

----
* ArtifactOfDoom: Though its true form is a colossal demon, it commonly takes the form of a three-eyed, skull-shaped flute of death.
* BrownNote: It is said to kill all who hear its melody, not that it ever gets a chance to demonstrate.
* ButtMonkey: Despite its gargantuan size, it's a complete small-fry compared to Zeref's other demons, and is even treated as a bit of a joke in the anime.
* DiabolusExNihilo: The demon comes out of the flute with no warning, is given a tiny bit of backstory as a servant of Zeref, and is made short work of almost as fast. Even Kageyama, the guy who stole the flute to use himself, knew nothing about the monster.
* FluffyTheTerrible: A devilish instrument of death named after a bedtime song.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: A preview of the other demons in the world along with Zeref...
* GreaterScopeVillain: Of the Lullaby arc. It's Erigor who's leading Eisenwald to kill the guild masters, but Lullaby is more powerful.
* {{Hypocrite}}: It fearfully calls Natsu a monster in the anime after seeing him [[FeedItWithFire suck up the flames left by its attacks]]. This is coming from [[{{Kaiju}} a textbook example of a monster]].
* LogicalWeakness: In the anime, Natsu and co.'s attacks wind up punching holes in Lullaby's body, which messes up its sound and renders it unable to play its music. Given that it is essentially still a flute in its demon form, this doesn't come as a surprise to our heroes.
* MagicMusic: It's sound magic causes death to those who hear it.
* MeaningfulName: A lullaby is a song one plays to help someone fall asleep. It [[FluffyTheTerrible doesn't sound so terrifying]] until Lucy realizes that this particular flute's song forces those who hear it into eternal sleep.
* OneWingedAngel: Turns from a flute into a demon.
* ScaledUp: Even more noticeable in the anime, in which it turns from something the size of your average musical instrument into a colossal monster.
* UndyingLoyalty: Based on what little dialogue we hear from him, he, like most of the other demons, adores Zeref.
* VoiceOfTheLegion: In the anime, it speaks with two overlapping voices: a [[EvilSoundsRaspy raspy masculine voice]] and a [[AltoVillainess deep feminine voice]].
* YourSoulIsMine: It claims to devour everyone's souls.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Deliora]]
!!Deliora
[[quoteright:224:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/deliora_ft_2734.jpg]]

The Demon of Destruction, a monster created by Zeref that rampaged across the northern continent of Earth-land ten years ago, killing the families of Gray and many others until the ice wizard Ur sacrificed herself to defeat it. Though no longer an active threat, the demon's legacy comes back to haunt Gray several times.
----
* AndIMustScream: Tends to happen when you get hit with Iced Shell. He spent over a decade trapped in ice that cannot melt through normal means that constantly drained his energy. He'd been in there for so long that when he was finally released, [[spoiler:he died on the spot.]]
* ArchEnemy: Served as this for eight-year-old Gray, who dedicated himself to learning magic for the sole purpose of defeating it. Although Ur managed to kill it before Gray even had the chance to, it still has ways to cause misery for Gray in death, with [[spoiler:Silver invoking this trope in the Tartaros arc by pretending to be the demon brought BackFromTheDead just to rile Gray up enough to put himself out of his misery]].
* BreathWeapon: Depicted as a fiery breath in the manga, and a WaveMotionGun in the anime.
* ChekhovsGunman: [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope Subverted.]] No, that isn't actually him in the Tartaros arc; [[DeathSeeker Silver]] was bluffing.]]
* GreaterScopeVillain: Of the Galuna Island arc. Lyon seeks to free it so he can defeat it and avenge Ur's death. It's also responsible for Gray's backstory, killing his parents (and eventually Ur as well).
* HarmlessFreezing: [[spoiler: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. It dies the moment it's released from Iced Shell]].
* {{Kaiju}}: Certainly fits the bill of a giant monster that leveled whole cities across an entire continent, and has a BreathWeapon to boot.
* KillItWithIce: Ur defeats Deliora by using Iced Shell, a DangerousForbiddenTechnique that perma-freezes the demon by turning her own body into ice,[[spoiler:: and slowly kills it over the course of 10 years ]].
* LiterallyShatteredLives: [[spoiler: Its body crumbles apart shortly after being thawed out of its ice prison ]].
* TheRedBaron: It is known as "the Demon of Destruction".
* SealedEvilInACan: It's found frozen in a giant block of ice, and Lyon's goal in the Galuna Island arc is to release it. However, being stuck in the "can" for 10 years proves lethal in this case; by the time Deliora is finally let out,[[spoiler: it is already dead]].
* TheUnfought: The Galuna Island arc builds Deliora up as the ultimate enemy Fairy Tail has to face on the island. When it's finally unleashed after the climactic battle against the ArcVillain, [[spoiler: it drops dead before the confrontation even starts]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Doriath]]
->See Characters/FairyTailDarkGuilds under Succubus Eye.
[[/folder]]
----

* EvenEvilHasStandards: He has a noted disgust for most Dark Guilds, with Grimoire Heart having earned the dubious honor of being the guild whose actions finally convinced him that HumansAreBastards. Zeref has also apparently decided that the one thing he ''definitely'' wants to do before he dies is [[spoiler:kill Acnologia.]]

* XanatosGambit: His plan to wipe out humanity is clearly this. If he manages to exterminate humanity, he will be happy that the world has been purified. If he is killed, then he will [[DeathSeeker overjoyed to finnaly being free of his curse]]. Either way, he will in a way get what he wants.

* XanatosGambit: His plan to wipe out humanity is clearly this. If he manages to exterminate humanity, he will be happy that the world has been purified. If he is killed, then he will [[DeathSeeker overjoyed to finnaly being free of his curse]]. Either way, he will in a way get what he wants.

* Badass: He is known as perharps being the most powerful magician that ever lived.

** Hades is one of the most powerful individuals in the series. Makarov suffered a CurbStompedBattle against him, Fairy Tail at first couldn´t even scratch him and only defeated him after a prolonged fight. And Zeref? He killed Hades with a single attack!

* BigBadEnsemble: [[spoiler:Zeref seems intent on forcing a battle between himself, E.N.D. and Acnologia that may destroy the entire world.]]

* GreaterScopeVillain: Of the Tartaros arc. He is the strongest demon ever created by Zeref, the BigBad of the series, and powerful enough that Zeref [[spoiler:hopes to be killed by him]]. However, he's stuck in his book, with Mard Geer in charge in the mean time.

* InsistentTerminology: Every character states Igneel couldn't kill E.N.D. [[spoiler:With TheReveal that E.N.D. was a young Natsu, it appears Igneel simply couldn't ''bring himself'' to kill E.N.D. after their final battle rendered Natsu helpless.]]

* UltimateEvil: He is Zeref's ultimate demon, but he hasn't shown his face yet, so what he looks like is still up to imagination. [[spoiler:Turns out to be a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]] in that he's actually Natsu, though his full Etherious form is unknown.]]

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: He's the strongest demon ever created by Zeref, and he leads a guild made almost entirely of demons Zeref created.
* {{Badass}}: You know how Dragon Slayers can't even harm a dragon, despite their magic being made to do so? Well, this demon is infamous for defeating ''Igneel'', most likely giving him that scar on his face. [[spoiler:The true name of E.N.D. might suggest he was spared for a reason we don't know yet, but that does not take away from this feat]].

* RedBaron: [[Main/TheMaster "Master E.N.D"]].

* AmbiguouslyHuman: He looks perfectly human, and might have started out as one too. But his immortality, his sheer power, and his tendency to speak of humans as if he wasn't one himself all imply that he isn't quite human any more (if he ever was). Of course, given his opinion that he has long since crossed the in-universe MoralEventHorizon, he could simply no longer [[ThatManIsDead see himself as human]] anymore. [[spoiler:Turns out he was and still is human, but his divine curse has isolated him from the rest of humanity for so long that he no longer feels a connection to them anymore.]]

* HealingFactor: After his [[spoiler:fight with Natsu, where he clearly holding back because he had hoped Natsu would kill him,]] his wounds healed so quickly that [[spoiler:Invel]] did a double-take. Apparently, it comes with the CompleteImmortality.

* DarkMessiah: Zeref genuinely wants to see the world become a better place, and even [[spoiler:created an entire country where he rules as a relatively benevolent Emperor, though he himself admits he didn't create Albareth for the sake of being a ruler.]] Zeref outright states that his sole motivation for becoming an [[spoiler:OmnicidalManiac]] is to 'cleanse the world of its sins,' and even seeks to die to atone for his own sins, and wants [[spoiler:his brother to be the one to do it; see CainAndAbel above]]. He even has [[spoiler:twelve disciples in the form of the Spriggan Twelve, including a SixthRangerTraitor]], as if Mashima were intentionally tying to invoke this trope.

* {{Necromantic}}: [[spoiler:The reason he studied all of that forbidden magic was to resurrect his brother, Natsu, who had died at a very young age. [[GoneHorriblyRight He succeeded,]] by giving Natsu an Etherious body, hence E.N.D.]]

[[folder:Tartaros]]
->See Characters/FairyTailTartaros
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lullaby]]
!!Lullaby
!!!Voiced by: Creator/RyokoOno (JP), Creator/MonicaRial (EN)
[[quoteright:225:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lullaby_flute_2088.png]]
[[caption-width-right:225:[[labelnote:Click here to see its demon form]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lullaby_ft_360.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]

A demon flute crafted by the evil wizard Zeref, whose melody lulls all who hear it into an eternal slumber. The dark guild Eisenwald acquires it in a plot to assassinate Fiore's guild masters, not realizing the flute has a mind of its own.

* TheSlowPath: [[spoiler:Zeref stayed behind while the Dragon Slayers (and by extension, the dragons) were sent forward in time through Eclipse. It was over the next 400 years that Zeref came to believe that HumansAreBastard and had his StartOfDarkness when [[TheLostLenore Mavis]] died.]]

* TheLongPath: [[spoiler:Zeref stayed behind while the Dragon Slayers (and by extension, the dragons) were sent forward in time through Eclipse. It was over the next 400 years that Zeref came to believe that HumansAreBastard and had his StartOfDarkness when [[TheLostLenore Mavis]] died.]]