Franmalth

Franmalth (フランマルス Furanmarusu) is an Etherious of the Dark Guild Tartaros and its team: the Nine Demon Gates.

Appearance
Franmalth is a short, round, humanoid creature, with his most noticeable feature being a single eye under the helmet he dons, which hides the rest of his upper face. Another noticeable feature of Franmalth is that he lacks ears, and possesses three small holes on the side of his head instead. He also dons a cheerful, grinning expression most of the time. In addition, he has a necklace and various body paintings around his neck. Along with the helmet, the creature's shoulders are protected under shoulder plates. Franmalth's appearance is completed by a rod, which is used by the creature to walk. Also, his arms' colors change between yellow and red in a striped form, and also wears matching striped pants. After shedding his armor, Franmalth reveals a number of spikes on his back, which vary in size.

Personality
Franmalth's role in Tartaros is usually that of Kyôka's right hand man. As such, he is calculative, cold and resourceful, as demonstrated during his interaction with Crawford Seam, and Kyôka, who often turns to him for answers that regard intel. Apparently he, as the other Demons, longs for a world that is shaped according to Zeref's wishes. However, not unlike the other Demons, he is also cruel and devoid of compassion towards humans, thinking of them as inferior and often wondering in amusement how many souls they are cost, or even smiling when Crawford, his supposed ally, is killed by Kyôka. Despite that, he knows very well how to manipulate the human nature, as depicted when he led Crawford to reveal to him that he has transferred the last seal to himself, or even when he had the common sense to take on the form of Aries, an ally of Natsu, in order for the latter to waver and not hit him, giving him the advantage.

Franmalth also has his own unique personality traits. He's usually excited, cheerful and impatient, even when he is in a fight, and has the habit of assessing the worth of objects, often asking how much they are worth, usually twice over. This habit is so strong that it can be used against him, as he gets duped by Minerva Orland into revealing his presence when she provokes him to blurt out his catchphrase. However, he is also very easy to anger or annoy and has constant mood swings. In addition, despite being considerably strong and apparently unaffected by most attacks, he easily gets shocked or anxious when he is about to be hit. Also, Franmalth treats the other Nine Demon Gates members with much respect and appreciation, as opposed to the way he treats humans, referring Silver as "Silver-sama", congratulating Ezel for Face's activation, and even defending Jackal to Natsu, telling him to not underestimate Demons.

History
Franmalth is a Demon from the Book of Zeref, created as a biological weapon capable of wiping out entire armies. At one point, when he was following Zeref after the latter's awakening from his slumber, Franmalth encountered Hades' body and, knowing who he was, absorbed his soul.

Tartaros arc
Under the orders of the Guild Master, Franmalth and the other Nine Demon Gates members begin to gather at the Tartaros headquarters. Joined by Kyôka and Silver, Franmalth and the other Nine Demon Gates move out to put their plan into motion, as Jackal and Tempester have already gone ahead of them.

After learning about the destruction of the Magic Council, Franmalth congratulates Jackal on his mission, and then wonders how much the lives of the Council members could be worth. Later, Franmalth appears during Tempester and Kyôka's conversation about the recently captured Minerva Orland, where he states, rather crudely, that he hopes that, unlike Doriate, she won't turn out to be a failure, citing that he cost them quite a large amount of money. Franmalth then turns around to face Tempester and scolds him for using his Magical Barrier Particles, as they are expensive and they cannot simply use them whenever they wish. The armored Dark Mage then amusedly watches as Minerva reacts to Kyôka's mention of Fairy Tail.

When Crawford Seam brings Erza Scarlet and Mirajane Strauss from Fairy Tail to the Tartaros headquarters, while Kyôka tortures the girls, Franmalth converses with Crawford, telling him to calm down when he complains about the destruction of his house and assuring him that the female Mages will have a horrible death, with no one able to reveal the ex-Council members's betrayal. Ironically, when Franmalth mentions that no one will ever find their hideout, the two notice someone flying to their direction and, much to Franmalth's shock, Natsu Dragneel from Fairy Tail drops on Crawford, knocking him out.

Shocked to see an intruder, Franmalth expresses dismay over the damage Natsu has caused and deduces that the intruder is from Fairy Tail, only to be sent flying by the enraged Fairy Tail Mage. Shaking off Natsu's attack, Franmalth casts off his armored shell to employ his Curse, stretching his arm and latching it on to Natsu. As Franmalth proceeds to drain Natsu's power, Happy intervenes and bites Franmalth's arm, forcing the Dark Mage to release the Dragon Slayer. Enraged, Franmalth swats the Exceed off his arm and launches a barrage of punches at Natsu but to no avail, as Natsu dodges the attacks and gives Franmalth a point-blank assault. After the assault, Franmalth emerges unscathed until Silver suddenly arrives, with the latter ordering Franmalth to take away the unconscious ex-Chairman. Nervous, Franmalth complies as he drags away Crawford and states that the ex-Chairman will continue with a protocol as soon as possible.

With the ex-Chairman looking for Jellal with his Super Archive, Franmalth asks if he'll find him soon, but is silenced by the man and told that his Real Time Link is searching through the Mages of the continent. Later, as Crawford finds Jellal, Franmalth asks Crawford if he succeeded, to which he is told that he's done more than simply find the Crime Sorcière Mage. Crawford explains that he managed to transfer Jellal's key to himself using his Super Archive, and that he intends to transfer it to a random person to kill. When Franmalth asks the former Chairman who the random person is, Crawford says that he can be anyone. Franmalth is astonished by the fact that such a securely hidden key could be transferred with such ease, but soon witnesses Kyôka stab the Chairman from behind, seemingly killing him as the last seal is erased and Cube starts shaking in reaction.

Searching for the newly-released Face, Franmalth explains that it is rather far from the point they expected it to emerge from. Asked to activate it, Franmalth states that such is not possible for him and it has to be activated manually, with only Crawford having been able to activate the device remotely. Told to send someone to the device's location, Franmalth comments that he hopes that Fairy Tail does not intervene, and Seilah reassures him that it won't.

After Fairy Tail's guild building explodes, Franmalth wonders in ecstasy how much all those lost lives will cost. His happiness is short-lived, however, as he soon gets a high volume of Magic signal on his archive, which according to him belongs to three or possibly more Mages. Much to his and Seilah's shock, the Demons notice the three Fairy Tail's Exceeds flying towards Cube while holding some cards, and Franmalth speculates that it is Silver who let them escape. Franmalth is astonished when he realizes that the cards are in fact all Fairy Tail Mages.

With his guildmates all heading off to engage Fairy Tail as they infiltrate Cube, Franmalth stays in the guild's control room, calculating the location of Face for manual activation. Finding the device and pondering on the fact that it seems to be quite far off from where they thought it would be, the Demon hears people approaching, and hides just as Lucy, Wendy, Carla and Happy enter the room. Listening in as the group looks over the control panel and talks about Face, Franmalth hears that the device has been manually activated on-site, and quietly congratulates Ezel on his swift actions.

Franmalth decides to appear next to Keyes, mocking the Fairy Tail Mages about their current situation. Lucy then proceeds to summon two Celestial Spirits, Aries and Taurus, much to Franmalth's shock, who soon gets swept away by a hurricane of wool created by the two spirits. However, he somehow manages to absorb the souls of the Spirits and goes after the two girls, using Aries' wool to trap Lucy and Happy. He then extends his now woolen arm to catch Carla and Wendy, but Natsu interferes and thwarts his attack. This enrages Franmalth, who uses his Revolution to take on the form of the newly absorbed Taurus.

Franmalth then explains that he can use the souls he absorbs as ingredients for his Revolution. After he wonders how much Wendy's soul would cost, calling her a rat, Natsu points out that she is human, insulting his intelligence, but Franmalth replies that he can very well tell the difference between humans and rats. Lucy then demands that Franmalth gives her back her Celestial Spirits, but Franmalth makes clear that he doesn't intend to do so. Natsu then proceeds to attack Franmalth, but he takes the form of Aries, surprising Natsu, and Franmalth uses this opening to attack Natsu. He then tries to absorb his opponent's soul, but Natsu attacks the Demon again. The latter tries to trick Natsu, taking the form of Taurus, but Natsu hits him anyway, saying that he has no problem beating that one. Furious, Franmalth decides to use the strongest soul in his arsenal, taking a form that spreads fear to the Fairy Tail Mages.

Franmalth takes the form of Hades, second Master of Fairy Tail, albeit with a more bizzare appearance compared to the original. Although Franmalth is offended at first by the Mages, he proceeds to explain that he found Hades' body seven years ago, expressing his disbelief and amazement at the huge amount of Magic Power that his body held. He is shocked, however, when Natsu tells him that it is he who beat Hades in the first place, and then gets punched. Unscathed, however, the Demon jumps back and attacks Natsu, saying that despite the bizarre appearance, he still has Hades' powers. He then manages to get a hold of Natsu and tries to absorb him as well, but Natsu shoots a fireball at his face and proceeds to utilize his Lightning Flame Dragon Mode to finish his opponent. Franmalth, although apparently swept away at first, somehow manages to absorb the soul of the Magic itself, allowing himself to use the Lightning Flame Dragon Mode and transform to a more menacing opponent. He then reminds Natsu not to underestimate Demons, as they're all biological weapons of war created by the legendary Black Wizard Zeref. Continuing, Franmalth remarks that he doesn't believe mere Magic can defeat something on the level of Curses, adding that soon - due to Face - the Mages of Fiore won't even have their Magic to rely on at all. Smiling at Natsu and Lucy's reactions, Franmalth begins to farewell the era of Mages.

When Cube starts shaking, Franmalth says that the age of Magic is coming to its end. He then proceeds to explain to his opponents that Cube is reacting to Face's activation, since only 3 minutes remain before the process is complete. After a small amount of time, Franmalth says that Face has activated, only to discover that Natsu can still use Magic, shocking the Demon. He then proceeds attacking Natsu, saying he will take their souls as compensation. In order to absorb the souls of the Mages, Franmalth then proceeds to casting Hades' Amaterasu, heavily injuring the three Fairy Tail Mages with the blow. Grabbing the chance to finally absorb the everyone's souls, he begins the "connection", at the same time draining the Mages' Magic Power. Natsu, on the other hand, refuses to give his soul, using his desire to meet Igneel once more as a resistance, and tells his teammates to do so as well. Through the help of Lucy's Forced Gate Closure, the Celestial Spirit Mage was able to free Aries and Taurus from Franmalth, consequently fooling the Demon as she did the same thing to Natsu. Fooled, he then releases his grip from Natsu and receives a punch from the Dragon Slayer. He then stands up again, confident, saying that Magic won't work on him. Once again shocked, Franmalth discovers that Natsu is planning on defeating him with a huge boulder, that of which he can't absorb. Unable to dodge the attack, Franmalth lies on the ground back to his original form, releasing all of the souls he has absorbed.

As the victorious Mages leave, Franmalth discloses that he and the other Demons are immortal as long as their lab remains. After his body vanishes, he later appears within the lab and requests to be revived, only for Mirajane Strauss to destroy all of the tanks and put an end to his rebirth. However, Franmalth later reveals that he has managed to live on by using his Curse to force Happy's body to partially absorb him, forming a mushroom on Happy's head and allowing the Demon to remain dormant until he can fight once more. As Panther Lily and Happy attempt to remove the mushroom and eventually give up and search for their comrades, Franmalth ponders Mard Geer's earlier words that Tartaros would proceed with the Face operation. As he thinks, he suddenly recalls how he had earlier been surprised by Face's location, coming to the conclusion that there is more than one Face device.

Later, while Franmalth is still connected to Happy's body, the Exceeds come across Erza, Minerva, Lector, and Frosch. Lector comments on how the "mushroom" looks fashionable on Happy's head, but Minerva recognizes Franmalth and plucks him out of the Exceed's head. She then explains that he's one of the Nine Demon Gates, and that he probably knows where the control room is. As his captors walk on, Franmalth, intimidated by Erza, reiterates in response to her question that they are indeed on the correct path to the control room.

Franmalth guides Erza and the others to the control room, where the former chairman is located, operating Face. As Erza attempts to attack him, Franmalth points out that it looks like the man's corpse is not manipulated by Keyes' necromancy. After Seilah and Kyôka arrive and the latter reveals that it's now only a matter of seconds before the 3,000 Faces activate, Franmalth is overjoyed that they were successful. When Seilah asks for Kyôka to absorb her powers, Franmalth wonders in shock how much her powers are worth, later claiming that absorbing is his own ability. Shortly afterwards, Franmalth hears a loud voice, leading him to question its significance.

Franmalth is in shock as he witnesses Kyôka being killed by Minerva. However, as the timer reaches zero and Face is seemingly activated, Franmalth jumps around in delight. His happiness is short-lived though, as he despairs at the sight of Dragons attacking the several Faces, leaving none in-tact.

Curse and Abilities
Absorption Curse: This Curse allows Franmalth to stretch his body parts, such as his limbs, to long proportions, even being able to form spikes from his back and arms. He can then manipulate the extensions and latch them into his opponent's body, draining them of their Magic Power and soul and absorbing them for himself. Franmalth is adept enough in the utilization of this Curse that he is able to stretch and retract his extensions at great speeds, attacking with a barrage of punches. However, this could not keep up with the speed of Natsu Dragneel. He can also absorb Magical attacks' souls by touch. This Curse also allows Franmalth to absorb anyone.
 * Connection (接続 Setsuzoku): This spell enables Franmalth to absorb the soul of a certain person. By extending his arms, and "connecting" them to such person, he is able to employ their Magic and abilities, at the same time draining their Magic Power. Furthermore, it allows him to transform to those souls he already absorbed, through the use of Revolution.
 * Revolution (進化, レボリューション, Reboryūshon): This spell allows Franmalth to take on the appearance of any soul he has absorbed as well as have access to their abilities. The soul whose form he takes can be any human, Celestial Spirit, or type of Magic (taking the effects of the Magic in this case).
 * Aries Transformation: Franmalth utilizes Revolution to take on the form of the Celestial Spirit, Aries. In his hybrid form, Franmalth possesses Aries' horns, and can coat himself in a cloak of wool. Should he choose, he can also take on Aries' face completely.
 * Wool Magic (羊毛の魔法 Yōmō no Mahō): Using Aries' soul, Franmalth utilizes this Magic to send out large waves of wool, which he uses to surround and trap his opponent. Revolution.gif
 * Taurus Transformation: Franmalth utilizes Revolution to take on the form of the Celestial Spirit, Taurus. Franmalth's body mass grows rapidly, and also his color changes to black and white, so his big, muscular form is reminiscent of Taurus'. His face becomes more rectangular so that its shape is also according to Taurus' head shape. Like with Aries, he can completely copy Taurus' face as well.
 * Enhanced Strength: Using Taurus' soul, Franmalth has possessed the strength of Taurus, being able to pummel Natsu hard into the ground after tricking the Fire Dragon Slayer with Aries' face.
 * Hades Transformation: Utilizing the most powerful soul in his arsenal, Franmalth transforms to a more bizzare version of Master Hades, completely copying him from the neck and up but keeping his own body type underneath that.
 * Chain Magic (連鎖魔法 Rensa Mahō): Using Hades' soul, Franmalth has access to this type of Magic, having used it to shoot long chains with grappling hooks from his hands to ensnare Natsu Dragneel.
 * Bullet Magic: Using Hades' soul, Franmalth has access to this type of Magic, which allows him to produce various types of Magical ballistic projectiles out of his hands to attack opponents. Franmalth positions his hand to mimic the appearance of a gun, something which allows him to fire Magical bullets from his stretched out index and middle finger in rapid succession.
 * Amaterasu (天照 Amaterasu): Using Hades' soul, Franmalth has access to this type of Magic that allows him to create Magic formulas in the air, making the targeted area engulfed by a massive spherical shockwave.
 * Formula 28 (天照二十八式 Amaterasu Nijūhachi Shiki): Franmalth moves his hands in a strange pattern and three Amaterasu seals appear around the target that is engulfed along with the surrounding area in a massive spherical shockwave.


 * Absorption (吸収 Kyūshū): By outstretching his arms, Franmalth is able to absorb Magic and use it for himself.
 * Lightning Flame Dragon Mode Transformation: Having absorbed the soul of Natsu's Lightning Flame Dragon's Roar, Franmalth can enter Lightning Flame Dragon Mode himself, with the same effects on him as when utilized by other Mages, namely Natsu.


 * Ejection (排出 Haishutsu): By saying the name of a soul he previously absorbed and raising his arms, Franmalth is able to reject that soul losing also the abilities that were possessed.

Enhanced Durability: Franmalth has a highly durable body, being completely unaffected by Natsu's Fire Dragon's Grip Strike. When attacked by said spell he was been able to stand back on his feet, scolding the opponent as if nothing happened. In addition, he was completely unaffected by a combination attack betwen two Celestial Spirits of the Zodiac, Taurus and Aries, and even by fighting Natsu on Lightning Flame Dragon Mode, simply using his Absorption Curse to absorb the Magic for himself.

Enhanced Speed: Franmalth is very agile, being able to fight on par, and at times overpower, Natsu Drageel in a one on one fight, not even giving him enough time to protect himself from his attacks. This was also previously explored when Lucy used 2 of her Celestial Spirits to stall him, but he easily and swiftly managed to keep up with her, despite Happy's high speed of flying, who was carrying her.

Expert Hand-to-Hand Combat: Franmalth is proficient in hand-to-hand combat, utilizing his Absorption Curse to execute a series of fast punches with his stretched arms.

Equipment
Staff: Franmalth used to carry a short staff with a round handle with Tartaros guildmark on it, which he used while walking until Natsu destroyed it after attacking the Demon Gate although, he was perfectly able to move without it.

Trivia

 * The basic attributes of some members of Tartaros have been compiled in the form of game cards. Franmalth's stats are as given in the table:

Quotes

 * (To Natsu Dragneel) "Looks like I've been punched! How much will that sin cost you, I wonder?"
 * (To Natsu Dragneel) "I'll be taking that soul of yours now!"
 * (To Natsu Dragneel) "You're the one that defeated Jackal, wasn't it? However, I'd appreciate it if you didn't take us too lightly..."
 * (To Natsu Dragneel) "We are the Demons of Zeref's books. Biological weapons of war born of a demonic book written by the Black Wizard Zeref. Just one of us is enough to take on an entire country's armed forces. Keep that in mind."

Battles & Events

 * Natsu Dragneel & Happy vs. Franmalth
 * Natsu Dragneel & Lucy Heartfilia vs. Franmalth