Jackal

Jackal (ジャッカル Jakkaru) is an Etherious of the Dark Guild Tartarus and a member of the Nine Demon Gates.

Appearance
Jackal appears as a young muscular Etherious who, living up to his name, possesses a number of animal features: his dark blond hair, reaching down to his shoulders and covering the left side of his face, perpetually hiding his left eye from sight, juts upwards on top of his head in a pair of prominent protrusions shaped like ears (and which might actually serve such purpose, seeing as the Demon's human ears aren't visible), his nose is small and black like a canine's; he has a furry tail protruding from his lower back, colored the same as his hair, and pointed, triangular fang-like teeth. His one visible eye, complete with a dark slit pupil, bears a thick dark outline, and black spots are present both below it and above its linear eyebrow; Jackal's forearms and hands are covered by a larger variety of similarly colored shapes, getting closer and closer in position as they approach his wrists, in correspondence to which they fuse together to leave his hands completely black. Following his rebirth in Hell's Core, Jackal's appearance remains largely unchanged, with only his tail's shape being different, having gotten noticeably more thick and furry, like a squirrel's. In addition, his second attire reveals his legs as animal-like appendages, covered in light fur and sporting dark claws instead of toes, placed in a grappling position; his previous use of footwear prevents from knowing whether this was their original appearance. Tartarus' guild mark is also visible on his now bare right pectoral.

Jackal wears a striped tank top on his torso (portrayed at times as being light blue, at others as dark green), paired with a brownish bandanna adorned by pale yellow spots (not unlike those found on his own body) circling his neck, arranged to form some sort of collar, which together with the main part makes for three ends left hanging downwards. He sports a blue garb around his waist, secured by a large knot with hanging edges on the front (initially shown as held closed by a button on the front of its belt-like part) and split in two tails on the back, each adorned by a series of dark rectangles near their lower edges. Jackal's pants, reaching down below his knees, are noted for being extremely loose and baggy; while mainly whitish beige in color, they sport blue sections on the thighs' front and on the calves' back, the latter ones reaching to the clasp-like ornament located in correspondence to each knee. His outfit is completed by plain black boots with light soles. After his rebirth, Jackal goes around bare-chested, instead sporting loose light gloves, almost reaching up to his shoulders, each secured on top by two light buttoned bands, and bearing an ornamental motif consisting of large, dark rhombuses linked together on the outer sides; these gloves appear to reveal his dark fingers. Jackal retains a garment identical to his former one tied around his waist and sports calf-length pants similar to his previous pair, but dark in color, complete with both light hems and light ornamental bands located on his thighs, with jagged lower edges. His furry calves and feet are left exposed, save for a dark band circling each of his ankles. The Etherious still sports neckwear, this time coming in the form of a long dark scarf with light edges, circling his neck twice, which has its ends left hanging over Jackal's back, reaching down to his knees.

Personality
Jackal has shown to be an extremely sadistic and cruel character, having no qualms about destroying the entire Magic Council, taking away countless lives in the process, and instead showing pride in doing so. During his assault on Michello's house, he destroyed much of the surrounding city with his Curse for no other seeming reason than his own amusement, showing his penchant for causing unneeded casualties while out on missions. Jackal feels great pleasure in torturing his opponents before murdering them, ignoring their pleads to stop and instead toying with them until the very end, as seen when he had Lucy decide which of his victims (Michello or an innocent pregnant woman) should live, and which one should die. His sadistic tendencies towards humans appear to partly stem from his belief that humans, beings much inferior to Demons, are corrupt and merciless creatures themselves, thus leaving him free to treat them as nothing more than playthings, rejoicing in seeing them suffer and act according to their own nature. He is also prone to make evil jokes, claiming to be a "considerate guy" because, had Michello handed over the information Tartarus needed, he would have simply given his granddaughter a horrible death.

In battle, the Etherious poses himself in a calm, arrogant manner, having the uttermost trust in his Curse, and going so far as to calmy explain its powers while foes are assaulting him.

When feeling overwhelmed by an oppenent, Jackal may experience fear and anger; feelings that made him unleash his Etherious Form in his battle against Natsu Dragneel, when the later was starting to gain the upper hand. He is also very resentful and prone to hold grudges, wanting revenge on Natsu and Happy for his defeat at their hands; these very same grudges can be transferred to his offenders' friends, should Jackal believe the former ones to have died.

Jackal shows to be quite intolerant towards goofy behaviours, such as Lamy's fawning habits towards his newly reborn body. He is also perfectly capable of threatening or even killing his own comrades, should he feel annoyed by them, as in Lamy's own case. Despite his intolerance, Jackal is quite stubborn himself, always doing what he wants, even if someone as strict as Torafusa tells him to stop playing around with his victims. In stark contrast, he has displayed a degree of loyalty towards Kyouka, apologizing to her for his defeat at Natsu's hands before turning his own body into a bomb in a last effort to kill the Dragon Slayer and his comrades.

Tartarus arc
As the Magic Council is having a meeting at their headquarters, Jackal attacks the building with his Curse, causing a hefty explosion that destroys the building. Many individuals inside die, including most of the seated members of the Council. Jackal, finding Org has survived the attack, pins him head down on the rubble, stating that letting him live is not an option. With his hand on Org's head, Jackal starts charging his Bomb Curse while introducing himself as the man who massacred the entire Magic Council, and then finishes him.

Jackal later attacks Michello's home, aiming to kill the former Council member with a huge explosion. He appears in front of Lucy, Natsu, Happy, Carla, Wendy, Michelia, and Michello, commenting that he expected them to be in pieces after that explosion. As Natsu says the name Tartarus, Jackal glares at him questioning the Mage's identity. The former then exclaims that he is Natsu from Fairy Tail and that he is going to start putting Tartarus in body bags.

As Jackal snickers at Natsu's incredibly serious attitude, he notices Lucy and Wendy trying to help Michello and Michelia evacuate to the nearby village. Spreading his arms wide and spinning, Jackal utilizes his Curse to blow the surrounding town to pieces, angering Natsu deeply. As the Fire Dragon Slayer launches himself at Jackal, the man raises an arm, sending out an explosion around Natsu's body, only to be shocked when Natsu merely consumes the flames. Not having enough time to react, Jackal takes a hard hit to the face, and stumbles backwards admiring Natsu's fiery talents. However, he underestimates Natsu's resolve, and takes another bout of harsh blows. Skipping backwards, Jackal asks Natsu to pause momentarily so that he can tell him something, though Natsu refuses to listen, catching the Tartarus Mage off-guard and seemingly grounding him for good.

However, Jackal soon stands moments later when he hears Michello denying that he knows any valuable information, walking up to the group and accusing the old man of lying. As Natsu moves to once again intercept him, Jackal then points an accusing finger, stating that Natsu should listen when people talk to him. As he finishes his sentence, a number of strange patterns appear on Natsu's skin, and Jackal explains that he possesses a Curse of sorts that turns anyone who touches him into a human bomb - something he tried to warn Natsu of before the Dragon Slayer landed blow after blow. Seeing himself begin to glow, Natsu shortly explodes and falls to the ground, Jackal laughing as he steps over Natsu's fallen form to continue his attack on Michello, demanding information from the ex-councilor and threatens to kill his granddaughter if he refuses to comply.

At that moment, Michello decides to flee so Jackal tries to follow him, but Lucy and Wendy stand in his way. He makes a quick work of their Sky Dragon's Roar and Scorpio's Sand Buster, negating them with his explosions and proceeds to claim that Tartarus' power, Curses, is a greater power than Magic, it being something that a mere Mage cannot stand against. He finishes the job with Exploding Spiral and continues pursuing Michello. After finding him, Michello begs him to stop, but Jackal laughs that he even ditched his granddaughter. They are then approached by Lucy, but Jackal is ready - the Celestial Spirit Mage is caught in a Landmine Curse, unable to move without causing an explosion. Jackal then makes two bombs out of Michello and an innocent pregnant woman, having Lucy to choose which of the two will live and which will die. He continues urging Lucy to pick, while laughing about humans being just toys. However, out of nowhere, Natsu appears to perform a destructive attack, successfully defusing the bombs. Jackal notes that Natsu touched him again, but is then surprised to hear that Natsu has figured out the trick behind his bombs as he shows it off.

Utterly confused at how Natsu managed to swallow the explosion coming from his body, Jackal asks Natsu who he is, and upon being swiftly punched in the face, the Dragon Slayer screams his name. Laughing at the fact that Natsu has touched him again, Jackal shouts for Natsu to explode as he engulfs the man in an explosion; Jackal's laughter doesn't last for long, however, as Natsu reveals himself to be relatively unharmed. Shaking in fear, Jackal backs away and ponders if Natsu truly is human; internally screaming that him being afraid of a human is impossible, Jackal shifts into his Demon form and immediately lunges at Natsu, striking the Mage and creating a sizable explosion upon impact. Jackal then proceeds to continue by striking Natsu once more (and creating another large explosion) whilst stating that humans are incapable of besting Demons such as those from Tartarus. Screaming for all humans to perish, Jackal moves to envelop Natsu in another explosion but his attempt is negated by the delivery of a swift kick to the jaw, surprising the Dark Mage. Jackal is then sent violently hurdling through several buildings, courtesy of Natsu, who has entered Lightning Flame Dragon Mode.

On the ground, defeated and immobile, Jackal laughs as light begins to encircle both the town and himself, whereupon he states that it's the first time he's been overpowered to such a degree; the pillars of light grow taller and vaporize the surrounding architecture, all as Jackal apologizes to Kyouka and states that at the very least, he'll take everyone down with him. Being asked to stop, Jackal replies that he cannot, as he, himself, is the explosive, and even if he were to die, it cannot be stopped. Laughing maniacally, Jackal shouts that he'll see them all in Hell, however Happy grabs Jackal's scarf and takes him to the skies, prompting Jackal to Curse the Exceed. Ignoring Happy's snear, Jackal screams in anger as he explodes in the sky, unable to accomplish his final objective.

Some time later, Jackal's body is created anew, and he awakens in the Tartarus headquarters. Climbing down from around one of the regeneration tanks, he scoffs at Lamy, who is fawning over Tempesta's new body nearby, complaining that she is giving him all of the attention. However, his appearance only causes Lamy to rush to his side, hugging him as she exclaims that she always makes him good-looking, as Tempesta tries and struggles to remember his fellow guild member's face. Questioning what's up, Jackal listens as Lamy explains that Tempesta never seems to have any memories when he is given a new body, this causing the Demon to remember Happy and Natsu, and what they did to him. As he vows revenge, the group are approached by Minerva, who has also just finished being converted into a Demon. Seeing her steely expression, Jackal smiles her way, happily accepting the new ally.

Due to Fairy Tail's continued infiltration of Cube, Mard Geer uses Alegria to transform the floating island and turn it into a humongous monster, simultaneously trapping all of the Fairy Tail members besides Lucy. Sensing that she wasn't captured, Mard Geer offers a reward to the Tartarus member, Demon or otherwise, who finds and kills her. Heading out to search for the Celestial Spirit Mage alongside Torafusa, Jackal succeeds in locating Lucy, who is fighting both Torafusa and Lamy with the help of Virgo and Loke. After Lucy's initial shock that he is still alive, she tries to attack him with her Fleuve d'étoiles, though Jackal, reminding her of his Curse, merely blows the whip up. Ignoring the Celestial Spirit Mage's questions about what happened to her friends and Torafusa's demands that he cease playing and just kill her, Jackal continuously attacks Lucy with his explosions, knocking her into a pool of water. However, much to his surprise, an already exhausted Lucy uses the water to summon Aquarius, collapsing as the third Spirit appears to face Jackal in her place.

Surprised at the appearance of the water Spirit, Jackal is caught up in a whirlpool as Aquarius launches her assault. As he is sent flying backwards, Torafusa advances on Aquarius, slashing her open as Jackal decides to attack Virgo and Loke instead, blasting the two Spirits away. With her Spirits gone and Aquarius injured, Lucy lies helpless on the ground, prompting Jackal and Lamy to approach and begin torturing her. Setting off a small explosion on Lucy's leg and threatening Torafusa when he tries to get them to stop, Jackal becomes annoyed with Lamy's ecstatic ravings and decides to blow her up as well. With Lucy now left just for him, Jackal prepares to torture her further, though, just before he can, he is caught by a wave once more as Aquarius once again comes to her aid her owner. Cursing the Spirit's water, Jackal tries to make his way back to the duo to attack once more, angrily blowing things up around him as Lucy smashes Aquarius' key to summon the Celestial Spirit King. With Aquarius' water disappearing after her key is broken, Jackal makes a run for Lucy, but is flung backwards when the Celestial Spirit King appears and uses his sword to slice through Cube. Shocked as the building begins to crumble around them, Jackal questions what Lucy managed to do, cursing her once more.

In his anger, the Demon moves to blow Lucy up as the blonde lies on the ground crying over her broken key; however, as he sets off an explosion around her body, Lucy is guarded by a sphere of water. Shocked, Jackal watches as Lucy's body begins to heal, the Celestial Mage having been transferred the last of Aquarius' Magic power by the Celestial Spirit King as she vanished. Now back at full strength, Lucy stands to continue her fight, frightening Jackal, who sets off a large amount of explosion in her direction. Lucy emerges unscathed though, and proceeds to use her regained Magic power to cast Urano Metria, striking Jackal with the power of the stars. After the mighty attack fades, Jackal falls to the ground, defeated, his magical presence having disappeared.

Curse and Abilities
Bomb Curse: Jackal, much like the other members of Tartarus, doesn't employ Magic, instead relying on a Curse, a power which he describes as standing above Magic. His Curse, in particular, revolves around the use of heat-based explosions, and is quite possibly the most destructive one out of all the Nine Demon Gates': Jackal has proven himself capable of effortlessly generating blasts of huge magnitude, wreaking havoc over both large buildings and entire towns, slaughtering individuals as powerful as Magic Council members in the process. Its use appears to be focused around the Etherious' blackened arms, either through direct physical contact with his target or through arm gestures, the latter ones demonstrating the Curse's extreme casting range (at least a seeming kilometer). This Curse can also be employed defensively, allowing Jackal to dispel offending spells by tearing them apart with explosions before they have a chance to connect with him. One more aspect of Jackal's power (as well as, according to him, its real essence) resides in it manifesting complex markings on the body of anyone who has touched him, in correspondence to the point/s of contact: such markings turn the victim into a living bomb, having them burst into an explosion whose size depends on the number of times they have touched Jackal or he has touched them; discouraging physical attacks against him.
 * Exploding Spiral (爆螺旋 Bakurasen): By first moving one arm backwards with the hand open, describing an arc in the air, and then rapidly bringing it back before him with a now closed palm, Jackal enfulfs the area in front of him into a massive explosion, surging up high and extending vertically, which is notable for taking the form of a spiralling column. This causes great damage to the targeted spot; at the same time, the blast sends nearby objects and people alike flying away, scattering them in the surrounding area. The Nine Demon Gates member employed Exploding Spiral against Lucy and Wendy, leaving them momentarily incapacitated, in order to chase after Michello without further hindrances on their part.
 * Landmine Curse (地雷呪法 Jirai Jūhō): Jackal is capable of imbuing surfaces with his Curse's power by leaving circular, complex markings on them, at the same time turning the affected spot dark. These enchantments, as the name implies, act in a similar way to a landmine: once someone steps on them, they will explode on further movement, causing the victim to remain frozen in place to avoid being blown up. If Jackal is attacked while his Landmine Curse is still unexploded, the markings (and thus the threat they pose) disappear. While chasing Michello and being chased by Lucy, he proved himself capable of not only setting up the trap with remarkable speed, but also to foresee where Lucy would have appeared from, thus catching her in his enchantment. It's unknown whether Landmine Curses are manifested at Jackal's will or require physical contact to be placed.
 * Bomb Orb: With a simple flick of his arm, the thumb, index and middle finger outstretched, Jackal traps a target in the range of several meters into a transparent, floating orb, seemingly inescapable even for a former Magic Council member. This sphere is actually a bomb, exploding at Jackal's command, and obliterating the trapped victim. The Etherious is capable of creating at least two at the same time, using them on Michello and a pregnant woman in order to play a sadistic game with Lucy, having the girl choose which bomb should go off. Natsu's brutal assault on Jackal caused the orbs to disappear, leaving their victims free and unharmed. (Unnamed)

Etherious Form (エーテリアス フォーム Ēteriasu Fōmu): As an Etherious, Jackal has acces to a larger, grotesque and more muscular lycanthropic form, entering it during his battle with Natsu due to the shock of finding himself overwhelmed by a human. In such state, he grows fur over most of his body and gains a canine snout and face, complete with pointed fangs and a long tongue, mostly shown dangling down from the sides of his mouth. He grows massive dark claws on both his black hands, with his forearms having had their spots enlarged to accomodate their new size, and his now animal-like legs; his tail becomes longer and bushier. The disappearance of his hair exposes his left eye, crossed diagonally by a small scar; in this form, both of the Etherious' eyes are shown as blank and pupil-less, with more spots surrounding them. Jackal's sudden increase in mass causes his tank top to be torn and his boots to disappear, while the rest of his outfit is left intact.
 * Enhanced Strength: Jackal's larger frame grants him considerable physical stregth, causing a burst of debris all around him (as well as behind his target) upon assaulting Natsu with a punch; this very attack forced the Dragon Slayer to parry with both hands.
 * Bomb Impact: While in his transformed state, Jackal retains the ability to activate his Curse through physical contact, at the same time enhancing its already formidable destructive qualities: by having his clawed hands glow as they strike the enemy, he can unleash terrifying explosions, which create massive shockwaves, sending onlookers off their feet, and destroy the surroundings, all while leaving him perfectly unharmed; he is also able to boost his already powerful melee strikes by accompanying them with blasts, causing each assault to devastate the area behind his target upon hitting them.

Master Infiltrator: Jackal appears to be particularly talented in stealth and infiltration, approaching the targets of his missions unnoticed before rapidly disposing of them with his Curse: he managed to breach the Magic Council Headquarters' security, being only noticed the moment before he revealed himself by tearing the building apart with explosions, and was able to enter Michello's house, a building located in the middle of a lake, linked to the mainland by a single, thin line of earth, with only Natsu, thanks to his Dragon Slayer smell, noticing something was strange.

Immense Durability: Jackal appears to be incredibly resistant to damage, suffering a heavy beating from Natsu, enduring a prolonged barrage of attacks enhanced by his Fire Dragon Slayer Magic, only to stand back on his feet seconds later, following a brief moment of unconsciousness, showing only slight bruises and acting as if nothing happened.

Enhanced Reflexes: Jackal has shown to possess sharp reflexes, managing to both evade his opponents' attacks physically and to prevent them completely by anticipating them with his Curse, dispelling offending Magic with explosions.

Quotes

 * (To Doranbolt) "The name is Jackal. One of the Nine Demon Gates of Tartarus. Remember that in hell... as the name of the man that massacred the entire Magic Council."
 * (To Natsu Dragneel) "You really need to let people finish talking when they are speaking to you!"
 * (To Michello) "If you hand over the information I'll just give your granddaughter a horrible death. I'm a considerate guy after all..."
 * (To Lucy Heartfilia) "Gain? Nothin'. Humans are simply playthings for me, that's all."