Larcade Dragneel

Larcade Dragneel (ラーケイド・ドラグニル Rākeido Doraguniru) was an Etherious, and a part of the Alvarez Empire as a member of the Spriggan 12: the protection guard of Emperor Spriggan. He was the third strongest member of the Spriggan 12, behind Irene Belserion and August.

Appearance
Larcade is a well-built young man, with his most noticeable features being his upward spiky blond hair that comes as far as his shoulder blades on his back, as well as a large white cross symbol donning on his forehead. He has sharp orange eyes with an accentuated white design around the crust of them, while also possess one noticeable earring to go along with a tight necklace that has a circular ornament attached to it. For clothing, he wears a golden-colored kasaya that has a rectangular pattern (similar to Natsu Dragneel's scarf) that covers one-half of his body while the other half is exposed. A white sash is also tied around the upper part of the garb that streaks to hip to go with one around his waist as well. On his left arm, he has an intricate light green tribal tattoo with a decorative armband wrapped around it, while the mark of the Alvarez Empire resides on his left shoulder. He wears dark colored capris to go with a simple set of two-toned colored footwear.

Personality
Larcade has been largely shown to be of a peaceful nature, evident by the calm passage he delivered to the Lamia Scale members he came across after he removed the souls from their bodies. He also has been seen to have his hands in a praying format, adding on to his tranquil persona. As mentioned by Invel, he can be very irresponsible, with him repeatedly failing to attend the meetings when summoned for his Spriggan 12 duties. However, he is loyal towards his comrades, as he saved a captured Dimaria from Lamia Scale mages and when Zeref told him his Magic was affecting his allies as well, he immediately stopped. He also believes that friendship is one of the world's greatest beauties, as when he witnessed Dimaria hugging Brandish.

He holds his creator Zeref, whom he refers to as "father," in high regard, as he said he wouldn't be able to face him if he didn't attempt to pay their enemies back for the decimation of Alvarez's military. Larcade is also extremely jealous of the love Natsu Dragneel gets from his father, as from the time he was created, he was neglected by Zeref in favor of Natsu. Although usually in a polite tone, Larcade can be blunt and direct, with him raising the ire of Sting by saying he shouldn't butt into other guilds' affairs while belittling his status as a non-Fairy Tail member. He also possesses an arrogant side as he believes that he is the ultimate mage who is capable of defeating Acnologia.

Despite his composed nature, Larcade is very fragile as shown when he broke down when Zeref deemed him as a failed creation rather than his child.

History
Larcade, a Demon of Zeref's books, was created during Zeref's attempts to revive Natsu. As he was the strongest out of the failed creations, he was bequeathed the name "Dragneel" and was, many years later, allowed to join the Alvarez Empire.

Alvarez Empire arc
In light of the upcoming war between Ishgar and the Alvarez Empire, and their subsequent fight to retrieve Fairy Heart, Larcade receives an immediate summons to attend a meeting between Zeref (Emperor Spriggan) and the entirety of the Spriggan 12, but because of his immediate location within the extremely vast expanse of Alakitasia, he finds himself unable to attend.

Larcade, along with Irene and Bloodman, are ordered by Zeref to mobilize from the northern Ishgar border and to eliminate any resistance while heading towards Fairy Tail, successfully annihilating the Sabertooth and Blue Pegasus alliance. After Irene alters the climate of Mt. Zonia, she calls for the two to prepare themselves to head into battle once again as opposing Ishgar reinforcements have arrived. Later, after the casting of Irene's Universe One, Larcade finds a captured Dimaria escaping from some Lamia Scale Mages who are trying to retrieve her. He vanquishes their souls to the heavens, watching their bodies fall to the ground as he moves towards Dimaria, telling her he has come for his fellow Shield; the latter pronouncing his name in a state of surprise by his arrival.

Larcade then takes Dimaria to the Fairy Tail Guild's new location, where he reconvenes with the other Spriggan 12 members and one million Alvarez soldiers. There, Larcade stands beside August and Invel, and comments upon Brandish and Dimaria's friendship, only to receive a hateful glare from August; Larcade comments that he is the only one August dislikes, which Invel remarks is because Larcade never answers the general's summons. Larcade then stands alongside the emperor and the rest of the Spriggan 12 in an intimidating battle formation.

Larcade eventually descends onto the battlefield and appears in front of Yukino, Sorano and their accompanying Exceed, where he insults the appearance of Fairy Law. Larcade states that he needs to repay the enemy in kind for dwindling their forces, otherwise he would not be able to face his father. The Shield of Spriggan reiterates his claim of paying the enemy back before casting his Magic in the form of a bright light across the battlefield, which causes most (but not all, and including some allies) to be afflicted with extreme amounts of pleasure. As a result of this, Larcade is telepathically contacted by Zeref to cease his actions, which he does; the Spriggan 12 then explains the workings of his Magic, Pleasure, to those present, and directly assaults Yukino and the Exceed, overwhelming them with pleasure. However, his Magic is cut away by the arriving Kagura Mikazuchi, who finds it hard to believe that Larcade, a user of white light, is Zeref's follower; Larcade responds that he is not Zeref's follower, but is rather his son.

Larcade goes on to introduce himself as a Dragneel to his foes, citing that Zeref and Natsu are brothers, and that he is the latter's nephew before expressing his interest in meeting the man that his father unforgivably loves more than him. Larcade then attacks Kagura with blades of light, which she parries (the mountain he is sitting on is also bifurcated), before turning his Pleasure tendrils on her, which she escapes from by biting her own tongue. A surprised Larcade has the gap between him and Kagura closed, her speed being something he commends; he easily blocks her unsheathed Archenemy and tells her that he is among the three who are above the rest of the 12. Reveling in her despair, Larcade blocks her second swing and fatally injures the Mermaid Heel Mage, deriding her with his hope that her soul will ascend and be free. With Kagura out of the way, Larcade turns his tendrils back on Yukino and, rather psychotically, tells her to die.

Larcade nearly succeeds in killing Yukino, but his attempt is thwarted by Sting, who jumps out from nearby and knocks him away. Amused at his new contender, Larcade attacks him with Pleasure, but, to his surprise, Sting eats his Magic, citing that white things don't work on him as he is the White Dragon Slayer. The Shield of Spriggan then smiles when Sting angrily points out that he and Natsu smell exactly alike. In response to Sting's complaint, Larcade says that Natsu is also like Zeref's son, hence their same scent. Larcade then attacks, but his Magic is again eaten, and he is dealt to fierce blows in return. Unfazed, Larcade uses his second Magic, Soul of the Wicked Meal, to sap all his nearby foes' strength with intense hunger. Larcade uses this opportunity to attack Sting with his cross; his foes begin to eat each other, except Frosch, until Sting knocks them all out. Larcade resumes his battle with the Dragon Slayer, but easily overwhelms him because of his intense hunger, eventually impaling Sting with the previously-thrown cross while deriding Sting's him as a non-Fairy Tail member. Sting gets back up, and to Larcade's surprise, Rogue appears on the battlefield to let Sting eat his Magic. Intent on ending the battle, and with an angry Sting entering a Dragon Force-empowered White Shadow Dragon Mode, Larcade prepares the Magic that will bring his enemy eternal slumber: R.I.P.

Larcade then goes on to resume his battle with Sting, wherein his Magic is negated with light and he is struck with shadows, and a combination thereof. Still claiming that Sting cannot beat him, Larcade manages to successfully cast R.I.P., describing himself as the only Mage able to be beat Acnologia because of his desire-targeting Magic. Despite his foes nearly succumbing to the eternal sleep his Magic presents, thanks to the help of Rogue and Kagura, Sting enters his shadow, which staves off sleep and sharpens his senses. The resulting attack ends with Larcade's defeat; Larcade lays on the ground, calling out for his father, after which he succumbs to his injuries and falls unconscious.

After Irene's death and Universe One's dispelling, Larcade finds himself in Magnolia and frantically crawls toward the Fairy Tail Guild so that he can help his father. Larcade eventually makes it to the guild and casts R.I.P. on Natsu; telling his father that he now has the chance to kill his brother and free himself from the curse plaguing his heart, he shouts for Natsu's soul to ascend to the heavens. However, Larcade's actions are not taken kindly and a hole is blasted through his chest by Zeref, who tells him not to interfere.

Wounded Larcade questions why Zeref attacked him and the latter stomps on his wound stating he has no child. He states Larcade is a demon from the book of Zeref who was one of his attempts at reviving Natsu and was given the name Dragneel since he stood out among the others. Larcade tries to plea to Zeref who is livid at him for interrupting his fight with Natsu when he was enjoying himself and kicks him away deeming him a failure. As Zeref and a disgusted Natsu prepare to restart their fight, Larcade breaks down in tears.

Writhing in pain, Larcade pleads to Zeref calling him "Father" once more, but the latter expresses anger at him for still referring to him as that stating Larcade was merely a creation of his as he has no children or family. He then orders for Larcade to disappear from his sight before blasting him again, as he slowly dies Larcade weakly calls Zeref "Father" before he is completely destroyed.

Magic and Abilities
Pleasure (快楽 Kairaku): Larcade's primary Magic involves with casting both "pleasure and pain" to its targets, only affecting those who have experienced the "forbidden" pleasures of life, and cannot be avoided by those people; those affected are struck with pleasure so intense that, if experienced for long enough, causes them to die as their very souls are lifted from their bodies. The caster casts this Magic into one that quantifies a large radius, though this has the drawback of affecting allies who may be otherwise qualified to be affected. However, it also appears that Pleasure can be directed on a small group of people, even if they don't meet the its requirements, and overload them with pleasure regardless. This version of the Magic takes the appearance of tentacles that grab the targets, but the tangible nature of this kind of attack also means that the tentacles can be severed, thus allowing those attacked to be freed. Pleasure can also be cast as blades of light that cut and destroy the terrain it contacts.

Soul of the Wicked Meal (悪食の魂 Akujiki no Kon): Larcade's next Magic to target yet another of human primary needs; upon activation, this Magic causes its target to feel immense hunger. It is most effective against a group of enemies as, after a short while of this Magic being in effect, they begin to view each other as illusions of food, unable to resist the urge to consume them. This Magic can be stopped either through the sheer will of its target, or the affected being physically harmed in order to come to their senses.

R.I.P. ( Resuto In Pīsu): Larcade's third Magic deals with the primary need of one to sleep and once in effect, the target is unable to resist a sudden feeling of drowsiness. Even though Sting attempted to negate its effects through causing pain to himself, it was proven futile and eventually, the only partial counter to this ability has been shown to be Rogue's shadows, as entering them sharpens one's senses. Larcade has stated the final stage of this Magic to be the moment of its target closing their eyes, that is when they enter a state of slumber from which they cannot wake up.

Immense Strength: Larcade is shown to have an enormous amount of physical strength, being able to easily parry multiple strikes from Mermaid Heel's strongest Mage, Kagura Mikazuchi while her sword was unsheathed, using only two fingers. Larcade is also able to tear through human flesh with his bare hands.

Immense Reflexes: Larcade has extraordinary reflexes, as he was able to parry both of the extremely nimble Kagura's sword swings at close-range and then proceed to completely outmaneuver her.

Immense Durability: Larcade has show to posses an incredible resistance to pain, as he emerged without a scratch after receiving a punch and kick from Sting Eucliffe. Even after being struck by both of Stings's Holy Ray and Holy Nova Larcade was left with a few scratches and unfazed, despite the destructive capabilities of both attacks. Even after Sting entered in White Shadow Dragon Mode, and was struck by numerous white shadow-enhanced punches and later struck by a powerful blast Larcade emerged standing with only a few bruises. He was also able to withstand a blast from Zeref despite still being wounded from his previous fight with Sting. Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Larcade is very versatile in the art of close combat, being able to block, parry, and retaliate against his opponents' attacks, while also having the reflexes to attack his target before they can land a hit on himself.

Immense Magic Power: As a member of the Spriggan 12, Larcade boasts an insurmountable amount of Magic Power; his levels of strength are stated to be on par with those of the strongest Mage Ishgar has to offer: God Serena, and were compared to that of fellow Spriggan Brandish μ's own, someone renowned for toppling entire nations single-handedly, and whose Magic Power exceeds Makarov Dreyar's own caliber. When sensed, Mavis Vermilion sweat and trembled, questioning the nature of his magic. Zeref called him his "secret weapon", having the potential to defeat Acnologia.

Equipment
Cross: Larcade carries a humongous cross that is hoisted upon his back; it can be rather simply thrown, and functions similarly to a boomerang, being able to be returned to its thrower's rough location.

Quotes

 * (To Lamia Scale members): "Let the pure white souls ascend to the heavens... and be free."
 * (To Sting Eucliffe): "Humans cannot help but succumb to their hungers. Even Acnologia shares that weakness. Thus, I am the one who can defeat him. I, the ultimate Mage!"

Battles & Events

 * Kagura Mikazuchi vs. Larcade Dragneel
 * Sting Eucliffe vs. Larcade Dragneel