Aria

Aria (アリア Aria) was an S-Class Mage belonging to the former Phantom Lord Guild. He was also a member of the Element 4, four of the strongest members in the guild. He is considered the strongest member in the group, and his element is Air.

Appearance
Aria is an extremely tall and massive man with tan skin. He doesn't seem to have visible hair, and possesses a rectangular, elongated face with prominent cheekbones, which has his rounded chin jut downwards, something that somehow negates the somewhat angular look his face would have otherwise. A thin, vertical dark line is present on the chin, crossing its whole length up to his lower lip, and his nose is flat. Aria possesses wide dark eyes topped by thin dark eyebrows, which are usually hidden away by a simple, light blindfold, which he uses to restrain his power. His limbs are quite small and especially thin in comparison to the large mass of his body; nonetheless, his hands seem to be more well-proportioned.

Aria's massive upper body is covered by a large, loose green coat sporting white edges, which is closed around his neck, sporting a wide and high collar, but left open on the front below it, revealing a pale red, similarly loose and ruffled pale red shirt, with its high collar, split in three horizontal straps circling Aria's neck, being held closed by an equal amount of buttons, one for each strap. Appearing from below such shirt is a similar robe, seemingly yellow in color, which almost reaches down to Aria's feet, revealing an extremely loose pair of pants with prominent hems and a pair of simple, dark shoes. Aria's attire sports a pair of distinctive elements: circling his neck is a large, orange-colored necklace composed of several crosses linked together by small beads, which on the front, right below Aria's neck, bears a small skull, with its eyes obscured by a blindfold not unlike that usually covering Aria's own eyes; passing over his shoulders and hanging on the front is instead a wide stole, which is purple and white in color, being covered in intricate motifs. Aria's outfit is completed by a top hat sitting on his head, matching his coat in color.

Personality
Aria appears to see the world in a sad way, usually commenting on how sad things are, with his catchphrase being "Sorrowful", and being often shown crying profusely about a numbers of facts, which, surprisingly, tend to be a result of his own actions: while he was attacking Makarov Dreyar with his Metsu spell, something which deprived the man of his Magic Power, Aria went on to wonder whether his tears came from the downfall of such a powerful Mage; later on, when Natsu Dragneel and Erza Scarlet were facing him in battle, he noted it was very sad that the two of them were handing their necks to him. He seems to enjoy talking in a dramatic way, using a series of metaphors related to Dragons to describe Natsu, a renowned Dragon Slayer, while he was battling him.

In stark contrast to such traits, Aria enjoys fighting, urging Erza to battle him after he removed his blindfold to "have some fun", and appears to be willing to take others' life through the use of his Magic. He also doesn't disdain sneak-attacking foes, having assaulted Makarov from behind while Jose Porla was distracting him, and having attempted another assault to Makarov's detriment following Jose's defeat.

Phantom Lord arc
After Phantom Lord declares war on Fairy Tail Guild by damaging their guild and then hurting the Shadow Gear team, Fairy Tail responds with an attack of their own on Phantom's base. As the other Fairy Tail members battle with the lower members, an angry Makarov uses the Giant Wrath and proceeds ahead to battle the guild's Master, Jose Porla. However Jose sets a trap for Makarov by distracting him with a hologram of himself while Aria sneaks behind him and hits him with Metsu, which drains his Magic and knocks him out to the lower levels. After defeating Makarov, Aria cries saying it's sad to lose a member of the Ten Wizard Saints. Due to Makarov's defeat Erza asks her comrades to retreat.

As Phantom Lord attacks the Fairy Tail guild house, Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster and Elfman (who are inside the Phantom Lord's guild) proceed to split up and find the Phantom Lord guild's power source to stop the chanting for Abyss Break. Natsu runs into Aria and tries to fight him but is no match for him. Just as Aria is about to drain Natsu's Magic using Metsu, Erza Scarlet shows up and saves Natsu before taking over the fight. Mirajane explains to Gray and Elfman that if Aria removes his blindfold, he will release an immense power and they may lose the battle. Unfortunately Aria removes his blindfold and attacks Erza in full force. However Erza slashes her way through his attack and hits him dead on, beating him and commenting that Makarov would never lose to the likes of him.

Near the end of the arc after Makarov recovers and defeats Jose with Fairy Law, Aria tries to attack him again from behind just like the other time. Using his Teleportation, he sneaks behind Makarov and attempts to use Metsu. However, Makarov knocks him out with a stretched punch, this time without even looking, telling him to take Jose away and to never threaten Fairy Tail again.

Magic and Abilities
Airspace (空域 Kūiki): As the member of Element 4 representing "air", Aria employs this variation of Air Magic, which grants him control over "airspaces", allowing him to use them for different purposes. The attacks produced by Airspace, most notably, are invisible, making them harder to escape, and their power seems to mostly revolve around the blasts of various magnitude which Aria can produce by making them explode, which are invisible as well. Such Magic has been described as immensely terrifying, enough for Aria to be acknowledged as the strongest member of Element 4 due to its use, and seems to be related to the man's eyes in a way: Airspace is so powerful that, in order to keep it contained, Aria is usually shown wearing a blindfold, which he only removes when pitted against top-tier opponents. Even Mirajane, an S-Class Mage from Fairy Tail, was afraid of Aria's power, claiming that him removing the blindfold might have potentially shifted the tides of battle in Phantom Lord's favor (though it should be noted that she was unable to use her real powers at the time). Through the use of such Magic of him, Aria was able to easily keep the upper hand over Natsu Dragneel, one of the strongest S-Class candidates from Fairy Tail.


 * Metsu (滅 Metsu): One of the most powerful and feared uses of Airspace. Aria nears the target, places his hands before him, their open palms facing each other, and then moves them towards the target. This envelops the target in an airspace, which completely drains their Magic from them in an instant, or, in other words, makes them "void", at the same time sending them flying away with great force. The drained Magic then floats in the air for a while, before eventually dissipating. The damage is based on the target's Magic Power: the more Magic Power the opponent has, the more damage they'll suffer. When Metsu was employed on Makarov Dreyar, an immensely powerful Wizard Saint, it brought him to the brink of death. However, gathering the floating Magic Power and giving it back to the victim would drastically increase the rate at which the victim would recover from the effects of Metsu.
 * Zetsu (絶 Zetsu): Aria extends one of his hands before him, its palm open, something which prompts a series of airspaces to be fired at at the target. This barrage then explodes on contact, generating small and yet powerful blasts, which damage the opponent. These airspaces, while not visible in the manga due to the properties of Aria's Magic, were portrayed as visible and purple in the anime, being generated and fired from Aria's Magic Seal.
 * Zero (零, ゼロ, Zero): A powerful spell which Aria can seemingly employ only after removing his blindfold. His eyes start shining brightly as he readies to cast it, bringing his relaxed hands before him, the right one on top and the lower down, with their palms facing. This prompts a very large, spiralling airspace to be generated before him, made visible by a large, smoky whirlwind, which he described as "the airspace of death", capable of consuming all life. While surrounded by this airspace, Aria can fire barrages of smaller airspaces related to the main one. However, the full effects of Zero are unknown, as Erza Scarlet sliced the airspaces up and defeated Aria before Zero could affect Natsu Dragneel or herself.
 * Teleportation: Through the use of Airspace, Aria is capable of turning his body into an airy form, which allows him to travel around unseen in the air, only manifesting himself as he "recomposes" his body in place through the air currents composing it, as well as to appear from one place to another in mere seconds, making it look like he is teleporting, something which comes useful from moving around large locations. This spell also grants Aria intangibility, making him impervious to both physical and Magical attacks. (Unnamed)

Enhanced Perception: Aria seems to possess extremely sharp senses: he was shown capable of freely moving around and fighting while wearing his blindfold and keeping his eyes closed, thus being incapable of seeing, but acting as if he could perfectly see what was surrounding him. He could also flawlessly recognize individuals and distinguish them from one another. It is unknown whether those perceptive skills stem from Magic or are indeed a product of trained senses.

Fairy Academy - Yankee-kun and Yankee-chan!
Aria can also been seen in Fairy Academy - Yankee-kun and Yankee-chan! the second OVA for the Fairy Tail series by Hiro Mashima.

Fairy Tail Portable Guild
Aria appears as a playable character in the first Fairy Tail Video Game, Fairy Tail Portable Guild, and is playable from the beginning of the game. His element is wind and he possesses the following Spells in the game:
 * Zetsu: Cost 1 MP, Default Technique
 * Metsu: Cost 2 MP, Aria must be at lv38 to purchase it in the shop.
 * Zero (Spell): Cost 2 MP, Aria must be at lv45 to purchase it in the shop.
 * Airspace: San: Cost 4 MP, Aria must be at lv55 to purchase it in the shop.

Quotes

 * (To Makarov Dreyar) So... So... Sorrowful, it's too sorrowful! Where does this sorrow cometh from...
 * (To Natsu Dragneel) The wings of flames, clipped...Falling to the ground...Ah,and all that's left is the corpse of a dragon.
 * (To Natsu Dragneel)  I am called Aria... Pinnacle of Element 4. I have come to slay the dragon
 * (To Natsu Dragneel) In the face of my Airspace Magic, there is nothing you can do !
 * (To Erza Scarlet) Activate the Airspace Death, Zero ! This Airspace will consume all life within it !

Battles & Events

 * Makarov Dreyar vs. Aria
 * Natsu Dragneel vs. Aria
 * Erza Scarlet vs. Aria