Erik

Cobra (コブラ, Kobura), whose real name is Erik, is a former member of the now-disbanded Oración Seis, a Dark Guild composed of six powerful Mages. He, along with the other Oración Seis members, sought to find Nirvana, a destructive Magic that was sealed long ago. He is among the few remaining members who form the Reborn Oración Seis.

Appearance
Cobra is a slim man of average height with spiky crimson hair which is styled upwards, aside from a tuft covering his forehead and two bangs framing his face. He’s noted to have snake-like features, with slanted eyes somehow similar to Natsu’s, a rather flat nose, and prominent canine teeth. He also sports a simple circular earring on his left ear. When he makes use of his artificial Dragon Slayer Magic, activating Dragon Force, his hands and forearms becomes covered in crimson dragon scales, while the front becomes light-colored and smooth, the fingertips spanning sharp claws.

His outfit consists of an elaborated whitish coat with purple inner lining and cuffs intricately decorated by silver-colored motifs, and many studs lined up the chest, the high collar and the sleeves, which have armbands seemingly made of metal around them above Cobra’s elbows. Below it he wears a dark shirt, and he also sports a pair of crimson pants apparently composed of leather held up by a studded belt, with more similar belts circling diagonally the upper parts of his legs, and simple brown shoes.

His attire received some changes in the anime. His coat doesn't have the intricate motifs on the purple parts nor any visible studs, and is given light bluish edges and modified armbands, being dark and each sporting a large, red gem.

In X791, Cobra has a scar across his right eye, result of the sacrifice of his sight he made in order to attain new powers. His ears are also noticeably more pointed and elf-like; in addition, he appears to no longer wear an earring on his left ear.

Personality
Like the other members of the Oración Seis Guild, he is quite self-confident and likes to see his opponents suffer. He seems to have his own view about Dragon Slayers, believing that new-style Slayers are superior to the old-style, and that the latter sort's existence is somewhat questionable, since the original Dragons from whom the old-style Slayers learned their Magical arts are generally thought to be non-existent. He is also quite easy-going, as he was able to laugh at a joke during a battle.

Cobra has a deep affection towards his snake Cuberos, considering her to be his greatest friend, and being willing to dedicate his prayer to hear her voice, which is something impossible even for his astonishing hearing.

In X791, Cobra seems to take on a more quiet, angry, and hostile personality. He constantly belittles Erza Scarlet and the Fairy Tail guild for their belief in friends. He is also in inner turmoil about the Reborn Oracion Seis, and how much they had to give up. He believes that Fairy Tail is undeserving. Until he is defeated by Erza, he finally realizes the value of friendship after he sees Kinana again.

History
As a child, he was enslaved in the Tower of Heaven under Jellal's reign until Brain came and selected him to become a part of his guild with Jellal's permission. He became a member of Oración Seis, one of the most powerful dark guilds, and like his fellow members, began seeking out Nirvana, an incredible destructive magic sealed long ago.

Oración Seis arc
He, along with his group, attack the alliance consisting of Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and Cait Shelter and easily decimates them. His target throughout the battle is Erza Scarlet who manages to hold her own against him and three other members of Oración Seis consecutively until Cobra uses Cuberos to bite her arm, poisoning her, though he mentions it would not kill her outright just very slowly, as the poison effect doesn't immediately start.

He is later sent by Brain to follow Jellal to find Nirvana which he not only he succeeded, but also bore witness at Nirvana's first stage activation. As Cobra continues watching, Erza shows up, without him realizing it due to spending too much focus at the activation that Jellal conducted. Cobra thinks that there is no way she could have survived and that he must stop her from harming Jellal, but overhears about Jellal's amnesia.

As he confronts Jellal about Nirvana, he learns that Jellal has placed a self-destruction spell on it and he tries to undo it. He tries to also regain Jellal as an ally but he becomes horrified as he sees that he placed a self-destruction spell on himself. However, Brain soon appears and easily cancels the self-destruction Magic and activates the second stage of Nirvana with a triumphant Cobra. Nirvana then sprouts legs before stomping over the land. Unbeknownst to them the, Fairy Tail members (along with Jellal), are climbing along the legs trying to stop them. Natsu Dragneel, carried by Happy, manages to make his way to the center of Nirvana and attack Brain but is met by Cobra who too can fly, thanks to his pet snake that can grow wings. A mid-air battle commences leading to Natsu having trouble fighting Cobra since he can see his movement. However, Natsu starts to get serious which Cobra begins to realize.

Despite this, Natsu still can't land a blow on him which Cobra reveals is due to his Listening Magic, allowing him to listen to Natsu's thoughts and his movements. Natsu then decides to just charge in and fight blindly. Cobra manages to dodge the moves at first but they suddenly begin to connect due to Natsu shutting off his mind and fighting on instinct. After taking a few hits, Cobra decides to get serious and reveals his Poison Dragon Slayer form, much to Natsu and Happy's surprise.

Cobra proceed to go on the attack, knocking Natsu and Happy through the air with physical attacks then blasting them with poisonous breath, affecting them with poison and hampering their movements. Natsu still nearly manages to hit him regardless, prompting Cobra to comment on Natsu's "old-style" way of Dragon Slaying. Cobra then goes on to reveal that he is not a true dragon slayer, having implanted dragon lacrima into his body, dubbing himself a new generation of Dragon Slayers. He also commented that it was impossible for a human to learn real Dragon Slaying Magic since he believes that dragons are all extinct.

Natsu goes on the attack once more after hearing this but is knocked into the air. He then has Happy drop him down on Cobra, opting to blast him with a fire breath. But Cobra of course, hears the plan and gets behind Natsu, preparing to finish him. In frustration, Natsu unwittingly lets out a high pitched dragon roar which can be heard all around Nirvana. Cobra's strength soon becomes his weakness as his Magic magnifies the roar tenfold in his ears. He plummets to Nirvana trying to block out the sound until the impact from the fall knocks him unconscious.

However, like Racer and Angel before him, he manages to get back on his feet despite falling from such a high height and prepares to finish off the incapacitated Natsu (who is weakened from Cobra's poison). Before he can strike, he is struck from behind by Brain. Surprised by this betrayal, Cobra listens into Brain's heart and finds out that the Oración Seis leader thinks Cobra and the rest of the members as weak for being defeated by a "common guild." Cobra then collapses from the injury, thinking of his prayer to listen to the voice of his one friend, his pet snake.

Key of the Starry Sky arc
Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material.

Magic and Abilities
Poison Dragon Slayer Magic (毒の滅竜魔法 Doku no Metsuryū Mahō): By having Dragon Lacrima implanted into his body, Cobra obtained the ability to use this Magic. It grants him the power to produce poison from his body and to consume the one produced from external sources to heal and strengthen himself, which, as a result, grants him immunity from poison. The poison that he produces from his skin is so corrosive that it is said to be able to decay all that it touches, but can also act after a given amount of time: Cobra stated that its effects are first visible in a progressive weakening of the victim's body, which then results in death.

Dragon Force (ドラゴンフォース Doragon Fōsu): Cobra has been shown capable of achieving this advanced Dragon Slayer's condition, likely due to his powers being artificial. Dragon Force turns Cobra's arms into deadly, poisonous dragon's claws, which grant him the ability to perform various attacks.
 * Poison Dragon's Twin Fang (毒龍・双牙 Dokuryū Sōga): Cobra moves his arms forward in a cross, forming a very large amount of poison in two massive waves shaped like fangs, which he uses to attack his opponents with great blunt force. In the anime, this spell was portrayed differently, with the generated poison being split in many elongated, snake-shaped masses, which all move towards the opponent at once.
 * Poison Dragon's Roar (毒龍の咆哮 Dokuryū no Hōkō): Cobra's exclusive Dragon's Roar, incorporating the element of poison. Cobra generates poison in his mouth and then rapidly lets it out in the form of a poisonous breath that, when it hits, aside from blasting the target a great distance away from Cobra, injects virus into their bodies, slowing down their movements, weakening them and and slowly killing them. He was shown employing this technique right after consuming Cuberos' poison.
 * Poison Dragon's Fang Thrust (毒龍・突牙 Dokuryū Totsuga): Cobra summons forth his Magic Seal in front of him, from which a wave of poison shaped like a snake's head, with large fangs, is generated. Such wave moves towards the opponent, and is capable of stopping their incoming attacks by "biting" them. It was strong enough to overwhelm Natsu's Fire Dragon's Iron Fist. (Anime Only)
 * Poison Dragon's Spiral Jaw (毒龍・螺旋顎 Dokuryū Rasengaku): Cobra jumps in the air and, when he is upside down, gathers poison on his legs and kicks the opponent by performing a rotation. This attacks is highly reminiscent of Natsu's Fire Dragon's Claw, and was notably employed against it. (Anime Only)
 * Poison Dragon's Scales (毒龍・鱗 Dokuryū Ringa): Cobra uses his Magic Seal to generate a very large number of scale-shaped masses of poison, which he rapidly sends flying at the opponents in consecutive reprises. (Anime Only)
 * Poison Dragon's Guard: Cobra moves his arms forward in a cross, generating a large shield of poison that defend him from the opponents attacks and in the same time give him the opportunity to attack them without being intercepted by crossing the shield. (Anime Only)

Sound Magic: Cobra has the uncanny Magical ability to hear a person's very soul, allowing him to tell if they are scared, what are they going to do next, and even their thoughts. This ability is so accurate that it was actually confused as mind reading. With it, Cobra was able to foresee all of the attacks performed against him and to react accordingly, evading them without effort. His use of this Magic is so great that he was still able to counter each of Natsu's moves even when he tried to hide his thoughts (though Cobra only achieved this after accessing his artificial Dragon Slayer powers). Though this only seems to work when the person's "voice" he is listening to is thinking, or has memories. The Magic can also act as a doubled edged sword, as high pitched attacks, such as Natsu's roar, can affect the user greatly. By sacrificing his right eye's sight, he was able to use this Magic offensively, mostly by emmiting strong sound waves.


 * Sound Wall: After seven years of training, Cobra is able to manipulate sound into forming walls of pressure that can destroy everything in the area.


 * Sound Palm: Cobra generates a powerful sound shockwave from his palm and unleash it against the targets after touching them.

Enhanced Durability: Cobra has proven himself a very durable fighter, enduring a barrage of powerful melee strikes from Natsu, enhanced by his Fire Dragon Slayer Magic, seemingly without receiving major injuries, and continuing the battle afterwards as if nothing happened. He also survived a fall of several meters which saw him coming crushing down to the ground, and stood back on his feet moments after.

Enhanced Strength: Cobra has displayed a high degree of strength: he is shown capable of effortlessly sending Natsu flying several meters away with seemingly casual attacks in two different occasions, the first with a simple slap, and the second with a knee.

Expert Hand to Hand Combatant: Cobra has been shown to be proficient in unarmed combat, employing fluent motions to rapidly strike his opponents. His hand-to-hand skills are complimented by a high degree of agility, with Cobra being capable of perfectly maneuvering and dodging attacks while remaining on Cuberos' back. The power of his strikes is greatly increased when he uses his Dragon Slayer powers, which allow him to also poison opponents on contact.

Video Games
Cobra appears as a playable character in the DS Game, Fairy Tail Gekitotsu! Kardia Daiseidou, upon being unlocked.

Fairy Tail Gekitotsu! Kardia Daiseidou
In the video-game Fairy Tail Gekitotsu! Kardia Daiseidou, Cobra is a playable character. In this game, Cobra possess the following moves:
 * Main: Poison Dragon's Roar
 * Sub 1: Poison Dragon's Fang Thrust
 * Sub 2: Cuberos: Poison
 * Sub 3: Cuberos: Typhoon
 * Super: Poison Dragon's Twin Fang

Fairy Tail: Zeref's Awakening
Cobra appears as a mini boss twice in the PSP Game, Fairy Tail: Zeref's Awakening. He can be unlocked as a playable character with a password. His following spells are:


 * Poison Dragon's Twin Fang: Cost 40 Vp, Cobra is having that spell from the beginning of the game.
 * Poison Dragon's Spiral Jaw: Cost 60 Vp, Cobra must buy that spell in the shop.
 * Poison Dragon's Roar: Cost 80 Vp, Cobra must buy that spell in the shop.
 * Cuberos: Cost 120 Vp, Cobra must buy that spell in the shop.

Quotes

 * (To Erza Scarlet) "To receive our new powers, each of us lost something irreplaceable! What you, slags, don't have is the determination to lose something important! No one can overcome the weight of our hearts!"
 * (To Erza Scarlet) "I have nothing more to lose. I threw it all away, so I'm not afraid. There's nothing you can do, Titania!"

Battles & Events

 * Light Team vs. Oración Seis
 * Natsu Dragneel & Happy vs. Cobra & Cuberos
 * Fairy Tail, Lyon Vastia, Byro Cracy & Dan Straight vs. Reborn Oración Seis
 * Reborn Oración Seis vs. Kingdom of Fiore's Guards
 * Erza Scarlet, Evergreen & Max Alors vs. Cobra
 * Sugarboy (Earth Land) vs. Cobra

Censorship

 * In the manga, when Brain shot Cobra, the attack went through his shoulder, while in the anime it only burned through his coat and his back slightly.