Hades

Hades, whose real name is Purehito, was Fairy Tail's second Guild Master, and the one who passed on the title to Makarov. He is now the leader of the Grimoire Heart Dark Guild, whose goal is to unseal Zeref.

Appearance
Hades is a tall, elderly man with long, slicked back white hair, revealing his forehead, a mustache, and a similarly long yet mildly thin beard, reaching down to his lower chest in many curves. He has some wrinkles on his face, as evident of his extremely advanced age; nonetheless, despite this very age, his figure is muscular and well defined. His right eye is usually seen covered by a simple eye-patch, hiding away his Devil's Eye.

His regular attire consists of a dark shirt paired with armored shoulder pads and shiny gauntlets, as well as chain-mail covering the parts of his arms remaining exposed, simple light pants with flames near the edges, held up by what looks like a light belt composed of two straps with the relative buttons, possibly part of the pants themselves, and dark, simple shoes or boots. Over this outfit he wears a large, dark cape, bearing Grimoire Heart’s symbol on the back and sporting a mantle with a high collar, lighter-colored borders and jagged lower edges. Sometimes he’s also seen wearing a helmet matching his armor, with a prominent metal plate protecting his forehead, with two lines of studs on the front, siding his face and jutting out in a protrusion on each side, and a darker rear part, adorned by a crest reminiscent of those seen on Greek helmets.

After this first outfit was mostly destroyed and torn as a result of his fight with Team Natsu, Wendy Marvell and Laxus Dreyar, Hades requipped an unbroken, second one, highly reminiscent of the first, but with subtle differences: his shirt, gauntlets and cape remain the same, but his pants are now tucked inside a pair of dark greaves reaching up to his thighs, and their belt holds up a wide, dark waist-guard.

As Purehito, his physical features were almost the same, with only his mustache missing. However, it’s worth noting that the iris of his left eye was dark, while as Hades it’s light grey in color. He sported a light cape bearing Fairy Tail’s mark on the back, complete with a dark fur-lined mantle, and what looked like a loose robe below it. He also carried around a long staff, with its top shaped yet again like Fairy Tail’s symbol.

When using Devil’s Eye, his ears seem to get pointed, and his mustache and eyebrows jut out prominently upwards.

Personality
He seems to be calm and confident man who shows no signs of fear to his enemies, especially Makarov. He was described by Makarov as a "great Master who taught harmony and led the Guild to the proper path". He also called Makarov a "boy" despite his midly advanced age, possibly implying a playful nature.

He reappears as Hades, Master of Grimoire Heart, and is now depicted as a Mage in search of the "Essence of magic", which he traced back to the Dark Mage, Zeref. When Makarov questioned him about his belonging to a Dark Guild he answered that "this world is full of things that cannot be measured as merely good or evil", implying an enlightened or a philosophical frame-of-mind, or perhaps, even a corrupted heart. He is shown to be very confident in his abilities, stating that he "dances with magic freely", and has the will to destroy those who would hinder his path, as seen when he crushed Makarov with very little remorse.

Although he believes his strongest team, the Seven Kin of Purgatory, to be invincible, due to their Lost Magic abilities, he seems to be happy knowing someone can defeat them, possibly appreciating talent, and apparently not caring very much about the ones he raised himself. He was especially happy when he learned that "Makarov's kids" had already taken out three of the Seven Kin, laughing out loudly.

Despite being the driving force behind Grimoire Heart, Hades is not entirely cruel. He admitted that fighting his former Guild Fairy Tail made him sad, but that he could live with it. He also wanted Makarov to just surrender to him in order to avoid a fight between the two, and he silently apologized to him when Bluenote Stinger got out onto the battlefield, as he didn't want things to escalate that far between them.

However, as the rest of Grimoire Heart is defeated and the only one left standing to take on Team Natsu he's him, he displays a more wicked and cruel side of himself, and shows that he has very little care for his former Guild, complaining that Marakov changed Fairy Tail too much since his own tenure as Guild Master. He also insults his predecessor Mavis Vermilion, and reacts with subdued anger when Natsu calls him out for abandoning Fairy Tail's ideals in order to find the "Essence of Magic", unnecessarily shooting him repeatedly with Magic shots when Natsu was already past the point of fighting back.

History
Hades, known as Purehito back then, became the second Master of Fairy Tail after Mavis Vermilion. Some time later, in the Year X736, Purehito appointed Makarov (40 years old at that time) as the third Master and his successor, much to the man's dismay. Ignoring Makarov's claims that he wasn't fit for it, he praised Makarov's love for his allies and his capability to believe, claiming that he would have made Fairy Tail into a good Guild. He then left on a journey.

On such journey, he traced the roots of Magic back to Zeref, where he saw "what can be called the Essence of Magic". It is presumably around this point that he reformed his ways and became a Dark Mage, and then founded Grimoire Heart, raised and trained the Seven Kin of Purgatory, teaching them different forms of Lost Magic, in order to acquire this "Essence of Magic". It's known that he personally recruited Ultear Milkovich, nearing her while she was a child and promising her that, in the Ultimate World of Magic, the Arc of Time Magic which he would have taught her would have allowed her to travel through time and change the sad events of her childhood into happy ones.

Tower of Heaven arc
Hades makes his first appearance after the destruction of the Tower of Heaven, although his name isn't specifically mentioned at the time. He's heard talking with a bathing Ultear Milkovich through the use of a communication lacrima, being informed of the latest events regarding the Magic Council and congratulating his underling on her good job. He asks what happened to Jellal, and is told that she doesn’t know; Ultear then proceeds to explain the deception which led Jellal to build the Tower of Heaven, believing that it would have allowed him to resurrect Zeref, a deception she was the author of. Hades goes on to list all of the events which took place as planned, such as the firing of Etherion, and states that, due to them, they managed to obtain one of the keys to Zeref's seal, something which prompts Ultear to congratulate him.

Oración Seis arc
Events take place in the Oración Seis arc in manga, but Fighting Festival arc in the anime

Hades reappears onboard Grimoire Heart's airship, sitting on his throne and discussing about Oración Seis' plan with Ultear, who asks him what should be done, to which Hades responds they should be ignored. A shadowy figure comments that, if Oración Seis were to start something, the legal Guilds would hardly ignore it, and another one states that they should take the opportunity to keep searching for the keys to Zeref's seal. Hades responds that they should hope Oración Seis does manage to eliminate some of the legal Guilds standing in their way, and Ultear naughtily asks if he's talking about Fairy Tail, to which he sneers.

Tenrou Island arc
Hades reappears on his airship when Ultear informs him that "he" has been found, commenting that he had been sleeping. She states that the time has come, which prompts Hades to sum up to those present "his" life, with him revealed to be none other than Zeref, who has appeared on Tenrou Island, where Fairy Tail is having its S-Class Wizard Promotion Trial, in a "sleeping" state. He says that they should begin, and orders his underlings to set the route to "Fairy Island", as the Seven Kin Of Purgatory are revealed standing before him.

As the airship nears its destination, Hades claims that the time has come for them to resurrect Zeref, as they possess all of the keys to his seal. Six of his Seven Kin (with only Azuma missing) make their introduction and argue a little. Hades raises from his throne and says that the whole thing is getting interesting, stating that Fairy Tail doesn't know yet of the true, complete darkness hiding in the abyss, and that during the night demons and fairies will mingle, wondering whether they'll devour and be proud, or be devoured and dissipate. He then states that the time of battle has come for Fairy Tail.

As the airship reaches its destination, a menacing, gigantic individual appears before it, surprising all of the Seven Kin (yet again aside from Azuma, who already infiltrated the island) and momentarily even Hades himself, who however smiles satisfied as he recognizes the "giant" as Makarov in his Titan form.

While his subordinates are all in shock and intimidated, Hades laughingly says Makarov's name, despite the colossal being before him. When Makarov starts attacking the airship and damaging it, Hades orders the firing of the ship's cannon, Jupiter. Makarov blocks the attack with his arm, receiving little damage in the process. As the ship starts to break apart from the damage, Hades orders Ultear to use her Arc of Time Magic to repair it, something she complies with. He then tells Caprico to take everyone to the island and that he'll personally take care of Makarov. Makarov starts counting to three and casting Fairy Law in front of the airship, and Hades calmly appears before him on the open deck, recognizing the spell. Just as Makarov is done counting and is about to cast it, Hades is shown preparing Grimoire Law, a Magic that probably has the same effect as Fairy Law, stating that, as a deterrent Magic, Fairy Law shouldn't be used so easily. He claims that the clash of the two Laws would bring the worst possible conclusion, something which prompts Makarov to nullify his spell, and to finally get a good look at Hades. Much to his horror, Makarov realizes that he is none other than Purehito, the second Master of Fairy Tail, who passed on the title to him. Hades is seen calmly greeting him, stating that it's been a while.

Hades takes advantage of Makarov's astonishment to grasp him with his Chain Magic, sending him crashing on Tenrou Island and nullifying his Titan Magic in the process. He then lands on the island himself, confronting Makarov, who asks him why he's in a Dark Guild. Hades answers by asking Makarov whet is the exterior and what the interior, and then claiming that the world is full of things which are impossible to measure as merely good or evil. Makarov berates him, saying that, no matter what, the Fairy Tail's mentality should never change, which prompts Hades to laugh out loud and to claim that Makarov has learned how to talk properly, calling him a kid, like he used to as Fairy Tail's Master. Makarov orders him not to call him a kid, no longer being part of his family, but states that he doesn't want to fight him, asking wheter he'll leave the place. Hades admits that his heart pains him a little, having to destroy Fairy Tail. Makarov cries that he won't give up his Guild to him as he starts performing hand seals, while Hades, stating that Makarov wants to defy him, starts casting as well. He surrounds Makarov with Amaterasu: Formula 028 in an instant, something which surprises his opponent. The Magical sphere explodes around the target, as Hades claims that there's no way Makarov can beat him. Fairy Tail's Master is seen emerging unscathed from the explosion, but is rapidly grabbed by Hades' chains once more and sent crashing against several trees and then on the ground, as Grimoire Heart's Master claims thet he "freely dances with Magic". Before Makarov can recover from the attack, he's surrounded by Hades' Amaterasu: Formula 100, which creates a vast explosion, damaging a large part of Tenrou Island and hurting Makarov despite his casting of Maximum Defense Seal: Three Pillar Gods.

Makarov is seen standing, receiving praise from Hades, who ackowledges his power as the man he chose to succeed him and who supported the Guild for 48 years. However, Makarov's health takes a turn fro the worst, having received serious damage, and Hades comments that they've both grown old, as he starts nearing his opponent. He states that two men who walked different paths are meeting, and wonders whether this will complete the continuum of the world. Makarov states that Hades was a great Master, who taught "harmony" to his Guild mates and led them on the proper path, asking him what happened, what changed him. Instead of answering immediately, Hades crushes Makarov on the ground with a powerful punch. He proceeds to explain that Magic was originally born in darkness, as an oppressed and feared power, but gradually became an everyday phenomenon and a part of human culture. He claims, however, that when he tracked back the roots of Magic, when he arrived at Zeref, he saw the true essence of Magic. Seeing his opponent seemingly unconscious, he tells him to sleep, stating that Fairy Tail's history is over, as he turns his back and starts walking away. However, Makarov opens his eyes and raises on his legs in a moment, charging at Grimoire Law's Master. Before he can hit him, however, Hades turns and sends him a projectile with his Bullet Magic, piercing and defeating him.

Hades is then seen standing on a beach, near his airship, having planted a pole with Grimoire Heart's flag in the sand. He states to himself that Makarov's "brats" stand no chance against the Seven Kin of Purgatory, the great Mages he spent years training, the ones he taught different types of Lost Magic, forbidden arts closest to the source of all Magic.

Hades reappears on his airship, having dinner and laughing out happily. A shadowy figure sitting not far from him comments that he's in a good mood, to which Hades replies that "Makarov's kids" are really something, having already defeated three of the Seven Kin. His interlocutor asks Hades when his turn will be, to which he replies that isn't the kind of battle the shadowy man needs to take part in, revealing him as Bluenote. The latter nears the table, stating thet he wants to play a little more and that it isn't good to let the body get lazy, and, putting an hand on it, uses his Gravity Magic, visibly shaking the entire airship. Hades asks wheter that's alright, and when Bluenote claims that, with the ship submerged, they won't be able to find the Fairy Tail's Mages, Hades comments that they'll gather Makarov's kids there, unaware that they'll be staying in the mouth of the devil. Bluenote states that, if they didn't take the food to their mouth, they wouldn't eat it, and adds that, if it were him, he'd go on a feeding frenzy. Hades orders him to stay in the airship, stating that, if he were to go, the noisy battlefield would suddenly turn quiet. Bluenote comments that only four of the Seven Kin are left, and nonetheless resolves to go after another one falls.

A while later, Hades says that it's incredible that even Meredy has been defeated. He calls Bluenote's name out, but to no response,as his Ace already left for the battlefield. He then apologizes to Makarov, saying that he hadn't intended to use Bluenote again, and that the war will soon be over. Hades is then seen talking about how surprised he was that someone besides him could stop Bluenote, praising Gildarts Clive's skills, and then laughs as he says that Fairy Tail has lost all chances of winning now that their Great Tenrou Tree has been destroyed by Azuma. After Ultear is defeated, Hades, standing on his ship's open deck, expresses his disbelief that all the Seven Kin of Purgatory and even Bluenote were defeated, and praises Makarov's "soldiers". He then prepares to fight Team Natsu and Wendy Marvell as they reach Grimoire Heart's ship, stating that, at last, the devil shall play with the fairies.

Hades invites the Fairy Tail group into his ship, not knowing that the Exceeds Happy, Pantherlily and Charle are infiltrating it, searching for its power source. Team Natsu then readies to confront him: having boarded the airship trough the use of Gray's ice stairs, Natsu Dragneel delivers the first blow, sending a column of fire at Hades while crying out for him to taste Fairy Tail's power. Hades easily blocks the attack, casually asking about that power. However, from the clearing fire, Erza Scarlet and Gray Fullbuster appear, taking Hades by surprise, and assault him in melee with, respectively, Black Wing Armor's Moon Flash and Ice-Make: Cold Excalibur. Hades is not given time to recover, as Lucy Heartfilia summons Taurus, who strikes at Hades with his axe. Wendy Marvell empowers her teammates' attacks with Arms X Armor X Vernier, with Gray and Erza proceeding to attack Hades again. He dodges and, berating their relentlessness, grabs Erza with his chain and throws her against Gray, sending both crashing. However, he's rapidly attacked again by Natsu's Fire Dragon's Wing Attack. He grabs Natsu's head with his chain in retaliation, and is on the verge of smashing him away, but Erza cuts the chain clean. Natsu, with the help of Gray's Ice-Make: Hammer, is sent flying at Hades again. In the meantime, Wendy uses her Sky Dragon's Roar and Lucy summons Scorpio and has he use his Sand Buster. The two attacks merge together around Natsu through Unison Raid, something which greatly surprises Hades. Through the added speed granted by his comrades' attacks, Natsu manages to strike Hades with his Fire Dragon's Sword Horn, sending him crashing against a wall and raising a blanket of smoke. However, Hades' voice is clearly heard: he says that, usually, mistakes get to be labeled as experience; but with a true mistake, there won't be experience to be gained. He claims the mistake of taking him on as their opponent will leave them with no future, as he appears from the smoke, completely unharmed, with only his cape torn, something which amazes Team Natsu. He asks them wheter they're done with their warm-ups, and then cries out the word Katsu, causing Wendy to mysteriously disappear into nothingness, leaving only her clothes behind, something which again surprises and horrifies his opponents.

As Team Natsu is in shock over Wendy's disappearance, her voice is heard from above, as the group and Hades look up in surprise and see that Horologium, who was set to "Automatic Danger Response Mode", has saved her, judging Hades' attack as the most dangerous he had ever seen. He states that this is the one and only time he can save her and disappears, as Wendy descends back down in new clothes and the team thanks him for his help. After commenting on Makarov's kids being interesting and being asked if he knows Makarov himself, Hades reveals that he was the second Guild Master of Fairy Tail, Purehito, the one who nominated Makarov for the position of third Guild Master, angering Natsu who believes he is lying. The Dragon Slayer rushes at him, but he's rapidly engulfed by Amaterasu and blown away. Hades then similarly attacks Gray and Wendy, and proceeds to tie Erza and Lucy up together with his chains, subsequently hitting them with an explosion as well. When Natsu tries rushing at him again, he pierces his leg with his Bullet Magic, hampering his charge. He proceeds to attack his other opponents in the same way, laughing out loudly and screaming for them to dance with his Magic. With all of them lying on the ground, he states Fairy Tail's eternal question and mystery, whether fairies have tails, claiming that the Guild's name probably stems from it. He stomps on Natsu's head, stating that their journey is over, and that, having been entrusted with the first Master Mavis' will, it was a mistake of him to entrust his own will to Makarov, as he changed the Guild. Natsu angrily asks what's wrong about change, to which Hades calmly replies that too much light shone on Magic. Natsu proceeds to say that the current Guild is their Fairy Tail, and that they live with their lives on the line and not as if they were already dead, like Hades. He then cries out that, if Hades hasn't got the courage to change things, he might as well die. Grimoire Heart's Master calls him an annoying brat and starts torturing him by shooting him in different body parts with his Bullet Magic, as Natsu's allies plead for him to stop. Hades, ignoring them, tells Natsu that, if he has to hate someone, he should be hating Makarov, whose fault forces Natsu to suffer and die. Natsu recognizes Hades as Makarov's enemy, as Hades readies to finish him off with a powerful bullet. Before he can do so, however, a powerful thunder breaks through Grimoire Heart's ship, striking Hades' arm and preventing him from killing Natsu. From it emerges Laxus Dreyar, asking a relieved and surprised Natsu is Hades really is Makarov's enemy. Hades is surprised at Laxus' appearance, mistaking him for a younger Makarov, but is rapidly headbutted by an angry Laxus.

Hades, surprised to see Laxus, asks if he's related to Makarov. Laxus berates Hades for his disrespect towards Mavis, menacingly saying that they should be making a grave for Hades too in order to pay their respects, and Hades simply states his surprise that Makarov still has such relatives, before they stare one another down. Laxus quickly delivers a kick to Hades head, followed by a first punch, and then he smashes him in the ground with a second punch. The third misses, with Hades jumping high to evade and then barely avoiding Laxus' Lightning Dragon's Roar. Hades fires his chain at him, but Laxus dodges, and avoids an incoming, large globe Hades drags back with the chain as well. Hades quickly hits Laxus with his a ranged spell and manages to surround him with an Amaterasu attack, which explodes, blowing several meters away the injured Team Natsu. However, Laxus rapidly emerges from it in his lightning form, reaches Hades' back and kicks him. However, he then starts to feel Amaterasu's after effects, claiming that his opponent is really monstrous and that he still has a ways to go in order to be strong as Hades, which prompt Grimoire Heart's Master to asks if he has finally learned his place before attacking him with a powerful blast. After a brief exchange of words with his injured, former guild mates, and having punched the ground with his lightning-enhanced fist, something which surprises Natsu, Laxus receives Hades' blow, which partially destroys the ship, and is sent flying several meters away, injured. However, as it turns out, he's revealed to have transferred his remaining Magical power to Natsu, who's now electrified, much to Hades' dismay. Spurred by Laxus, Natsu claims he'll give back to Hades all of the pain he caused to Fairy Tail 100 fold.

With Laxus's lightning surging inside him, Natsu begins to attack Hades with a combination of Fire Dragon Slayer Magic and Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic. Hades appears shocked and overwhelmed by Natsu's new found power. In retaliation, he attempts to use his Chain Magic to bind Natsu's hands. However, to his surprise, Natsu breaks free easily and continues assaulting him, willing to make him pay for what he did to his guild. After Natsu's Lightning Fire Dragon's Roar strikes him directly, Hades seems to be defeated. However, much to his opponents' dismay, he rapidly recovers from Natsu's attacks, unaffected. He comments that it has been decades since he received so much damage, and once again praises Makarov for raising such incredible "brats". Hades then requips his undamaged cape, stating that it would be too simple to finish the fight in his current state, and that he wants to thank his opponents for the entertainment. Thus, he unleashes Demon's Eye by removing his eyepatch, stating that he'll show Fairy Tail the "Abyss of Magic", which he says is far beyond their wildest imaginations. With his powers continuously increasing, Hades prepares to attack the Fairy Tail members.

Hades then creates demons from rubble and Team Natsu is shaking in fear. Natsu remebers Gildarts's lesson about how fear is not evil, but it aids in showing your own weakness. Natsu is determined to win and persuade his friend not to give up and charges straight forward to Hades as his friends give him a boost causing an explosion. Natus manages to launch a barrage on attacks on Hades. Hades now takes damage, thanks to Happy and Charle managing to destory Hades's source of Magic, which turned out to be his actual heart. Natsu continues to attack, but Hades is unwilling to admit defeat and retaliates. He punches Natsu, but Laxus intervenes and punches Hades and tells Fairy Tail to finish him off. Team Natsu all launch attacks and Natsu finally ends the fight with Crimson Lotus: Exploding Lightning Blade.

After Hades is defeated by Fairy Tail, Makarov then walks up to a defeated Hades. Hades asks Makarov to kill him, but Makarov refuses, and tells him to get off the island. Makarov then asks Hades why he fell into the darkness. Hades explains he went on a journey to find out the truth about Magic, and found that the true nature was "darkness". Hades felt the world he was living in was a lie, and wanted to live in the Ultimate World of Magic, and obtain the "Magic of One". Makarov tells Hades it never mattered if Magic did come from darkness because either way, Magic is alive, and can be felt as anything, whether its lightness, darkness, red, or blue. Makarov concludes his speech by saying he learned this all from Hades himself, and then walks away. Hades later returns to his ship with only Rustyrose and Kain Hikaru left who mourn over how they were close to achieving their objective. Zeref then arrives on Hades ship who has now awakened. Angered by Grimoire Heart's actions, and blaming them for the use of Acnologia, Zeref then tells him to repent and activates a spell, destroying the ship and sending Hades to his death.

Magic and Abilities
Chain Magic (連鎖魔法 Rensa Mahō): This Magic allows Hades to shoot long chains from his hands, complete with grappling hooks at the ends. These are capable of piercing through foes without actually hurting them, allowing him to grasp opponents and smash them around against surrounding objects.

Demon's Eye (悪魔の眼, Akuma no Me): Seemingly based around the use of Hades' right eye, which is usually covered by an eyepatch, this Magic has to be "awakened" in order to activate its yet unknown effects. Its use prompts Hades' hair, beard, moustache and eyebrows to jut out, and releases a vast amount of Magical power around him. He claims that, through the use of it, he can show his opponents the "Abyss of Magic".


 * Immense Magic Power: The Demon's Eye further enhances Hades' presumably already great Magical power, creating a dark aura around him which keeps gradually increasing in might, and which terrified Team Natsu.


 * Living Magic (生活魔法 Seikatsu Mahō): Through the activation of Demon's Eye, Hades is capable of using one of Zeref's infamous Black Arts.
 * Nemesis (裏魔法・天罰 (ネメシス), Ura Mahō : Tenbatsu (Nemishisu), lit. Reverse Magic : Divine Punishment): He was shown creating numerous powerful demons from the debris of his wrecked airship. These can perform damaging long-ranged attacks through the use of dark, tendril-like protrusions and similar, elongated dark globes.

Enhanced Reflexes: Hades was able to easily counter an attempted attack by Makarov despite him having his back turned walking away.

Immense Strength: Despite his age, one that is presumably decades older of Makarov, Hades has immense physical strength, first demonstrated in all of its greatness when Hades launched his chains into Makarov's Titan form and easily swung him crashing onto one side of Tenrou Island. Afterward, his massive physical strength was again displayed when he walked up to Makarov and smashed him into the ground with a simple fist. He's also shown commonly lifting opponents with his Chain Magic and smashing them around, breaking down solid objects like trees and the ground effortlessly.

Immense Durability: Despite his old age, Hades has shown a tremendous amount of durability: he was capable of emerging unscathed from a combined group attack performed against him by Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza and Wendy, with only his cape having been torn. He received no considerable damage from his fight with Laxus Dreyar either, despite having been struck different times, and yet again remained unharmed despite the barrage of damaging attacks he received from Natsu after the latter was empowered by Laxus' lightning.

Major Battles

 * Makarov vs. Hades
 * Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster, Erza Scarlet, Wendy Marvell & Laxus Dreyar vs. Hades
 * Zeref vs. Hades