User blog comment:Mangetsu20/Cliches and Build-Up (FT - 484-485)/@comment-3030647-20160518042517/@comment-30807545-20160518043224

Hate to do this to you Ash, but gonna have to go with the first one. Hiro has a tendency of coming up with the most convoluted ideas, only for it to be sloppily explained later on; look at that 400 year plan.

Anyways, Erza's the Mary Sue to Natsu's Gary Stu. And Neinhart stated her and Irene are the same. This would make the first option more viable. And she's considered to be "on par" with August, hailed as the strongest spriggan and both of whom are feared as "living disasters" in Alveraz (yeah I spelled it wrong on purpose. Sue me =w=).