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The Black Dragon (黒龍, Kokuryū) The Unbreakable Dark (示覇王龍, Za Anbureikaburu Dāku lit. Apocalyptic Wicked King Dragon) Dragon King (竜王, Ryūō) Níðhöggr Replicant (ニーズヘッグ・レプリカント, Nīzuheggu Repurikanto) Níðhöggr SIN (ニーズヘッグ・シン, Nīzuheggu Shin)
Níðhöggr (ニーズヘッグ, Nīzuheggu; Malice Striker), also referred to as The Black Dragon (黒龍, Kokuryū) and The Unbreakable Dark (示覇王龍, Za Anbureikaburu Dāku lit. Apocalyptic Wicked King Dragon) is the Dragon King (竜王, Ryūō) before Vritra and Indra, before being defeated. He was the original Dragon who wished to dominate humanity, setting the stage for the Human-Dragon War, where he ordered his brethren to slaughter humans until their enemies realized that dragonkind was a "superior race". However, Níðhöggr was soon slain in an unexpected turn of events by the one known as Elucifer Mercury; who displayed the overwhelming power of the Soul Armours, allowing Vritra and Indra to take his place as the rulers of dragonkind. From what could be seen, the original Níðhöggr utilized a special type of Dragon Slayer Magic referred to as Black Dragon Slayer Magic; a highly advanced darkness element that also covers more obscure aspects of the element.
In the Daybreak era, Níðhöggr was cloned by the Magic Council to be used against their enemies from the DNA of the original and brought to life by Arc of Embodiment in a similar manner to Wendy Marvell and Chelia Blendy in the Dawn era; this iteration is known as Níðhöggr Replicant (ニーズヘッグ・レプリカント, Nīzuheggu Repurikanto). Originally, Alexis had expected this supposedly dumb muscle to follow her orders without question, but this Níðhöggr has shown that he is far more than meets the eye. Since revealing his possession of a Dragonar Mode, Níðhöggr Replicant has made it very clear that he is as intelligent as any of the council's forces.
Even after the defeat of his cloned self, the original Níðhöggr returns once more as a cybernetically-enhanced dragon referred to as Níðhöggr SIN (ニーズヘッグ・シン, Nīzuheggu Shin) during the Ragnarok Arc of Fairy Tail: Dawn; indeed, one of the Black Dragon's trademark traits is being very defiant and persistent; though he has been defeated multiple times, he always manages to return to attempt to force dragon supremacy, either through his healing abilities or numerous robotic enhancements.
Níðhöggr Replicant can harness the power of Dragonar Mode to become a form known as Abyssal Dragonar Knight (天地晦冥の真龍騎化, Abisuaru Doragunā Naito lit. World-Covering Darkness True Dragon Knight Transformation).
Before his death at the hands of Elucifer Mercury, Níðhöggr took the form of a rather sleek looking dragon, with a thin body. Níðhöggr's textures were mainly in blacks, purples, and silvers- it possessed noticeable armour of varying colours on its shoulders, legs, and chest. Its wings appeared almost completely mechanical, with purple orbs of darkness closest to its body, and the rest of the wings completely black- split into two on each side. It has three toes and four fingers on each foot and hand, with a long serpentine neck. The Dragon King also possesses three scythe-like appendages curving backwards at the top of its head as well as its mouth, though those point forwards. Its eyes shine emerald.
After being 'revived' by the Magic Council in Daybreak S2 via cloning, Níðhöggr has a much more horrific appearance. With most of its body gone, the former Dragon King has been reduced to a sad shell of its former self. Most of its body is now composed of darkness, with its entire lower body more or less missing. Its arms are connected to its shoulders via this same darkness, with several golden fangs protruding from its still-armoured abdomen. Its eyes shine gold in its degraded head, and eight wings protrude from its back.
At an unspecified time and date, the remains of the original Níðhöggr were properly excavated and the Black Dragon was resurrected, enhanced by countless cybernetics. In this form, Níðhöggr has an almost entirely mechanical body, his cybernetic modules and armour plating are textured in black, his wings resembling their original form- overall, the Dragon King now has a rather skeletal appearance. He has a very durable, Orichalcum-enhanced armour-skin and protective armoured plating. However, the injury that Elucifer used to destroy him- the beam blade of the Magatsuken right through his shoulder- has not yet fully healed, which is his only weak point.
Personality and Traits
Originally, Níðhöggr was a subordinate to the Dragon of Dragons; with dragon-kind in general ruling the lands and going about life however they pleased. However, once they discovered the existences of sentient other races and the Dragon of Dragons advocated for an equal existence between all races, Níðhöggr lost all respect for his leader and backstabbed them, allowing him to take up the mantle of Dragon King. From there on, Níðhöggr pushed his anti-human spiel, fully believing in the superiority of dragons over all others, ranting endlessly to his fellow dragons that they had the right to rule over all and treat others however they wanted to; seeing the "lower races" as something only to exterminate and toy with as much as he pleased.
Níðhöggr, starting the Human-Dragon War, saw it as an opportunity to revel in the bloodshed about to occur. When numerous dragons began to turn against him, he killed any that he could, ignoring the fact that they were of the same race and were once his comrades. There was nothing else he wished more than to reign supreme, as it was quickly made clear as day that Níðhöggr cared for nothing but himself, wishing the world to revolve around him more or less. He desired the chance to fight an opponent strong enough to give him a real challenge- something he soon regretted, as Elucifer Mercury showed him the power of the Soul Armours and annihilated him with ease.
Despite his fearsome and bestial appearance, Níðhöggr is known to be highly intelligent and is shown to even be capable of speaking; though given his dislike of anything that's not a dragon, he rarely, if ever, speaks to others. However, from what is seen when he does, he talks in a rather eloquent manner, often resorting to sesquipedalian loquaciousness; though his quick temper and his arrogant belief that nothing can defeat him often undermines this supposed erudite behaviour, leading to a rather jarring character indeed. Interestingly, many of these traits seem to be embedded on a genetic level, as his clone in S2, who was feral as a result of lacking any civility, generally acted the same as the original Níðhöggr did, albeit with a slurred and constantly shouting speech pattern.
History
Níðhöggr was born at an unknown time and date- however, at some unspecified date; he met up with the rest of his brethren, with all of dragon-kind going about their business however they pleased. However, one day, an Emerald Dragon happened upon several humans. Instead of doing anything about it, surprised, he flew back to the pack, informing the others. What then happened was an intense debate between all of them; the Dragon of Dragons, essentially the Dragon King of the Dragon Kings, was the very first dragon who advocated for an equal existence between all races. Níðhöggr, devastated with his superior's decision, lost all respect for the Dragon of Dragons, resulting in two factions forming between dragonkind, leading to a civil war, where the aspiring Dragon King Níðhöggr, along with his temporary ally Vritra, attacked the Dragon of Dragons when their guard was down and forced their previous leader to utilize Compact Regression to hide their identity moments before the crash into the forest caused by Níðhöggr's Black Megaflare caused them to suffer so much damage that they contracted amnesia.
With that done, Níðhöggr forcibly conscripted the Dragon of Dragons' allies into his anti-human faction, forcing them to serve as soldiers for his conquest of everything that stood before him, which he dubbed the Dragon King Festival (竜王の祭, Ryūō no Matsuri). With his army, he razed numerous cities, at one point single-handedly burning the continent of Bosco to the ground, killing untold amounts of people. Disgusted with his actions, several dragons defected to the side of humanity and began to teach them how to kill their own kind- however, Níðhöggr simply slaughtered anyone that came into conflict with him, even his former comrades. At this point, it became apparent that all he wanted to do was either wipe everything out, or rule no matter the cost. While he heard of the Two Dragon Kings, two Dragon Slayers who had become dragons themselves from murdering every dragon they could, Níðhöggr did not see them as a threat, continuing his conquest.
Near the end of the war, believing that nothing could possibly challenge him, The Unbreakable Dark decided to attempt to travel to other dimensions, hoping to find a satisfying conquest there as he had destroyed ninety percent of Earth Land by that point. However, his evil ambitions were wounded when a mysterious man appeared before him, warning him that if he continued to kill innocents, then the man would crush him like the ant he was. Scoffing at this, Níðhöggr attempted to blast the man with his Black Megaflare...only for it to have no affect- the man, using an odd belt, had transformed into a white and gold winged armoured figure- he had become a Soul Armour Knight. Brutally and efficiently, the man, Elucifer Mercury, followed through on his word, destroying the Dragon King with his Devilize Kick after a swift battle that was solely in Elucifer's favour.
What was left of Níðhöggr's corpse fell into the depths of the ocean, where they would be found several centuries later and a clone, referred to Níðhöggr Replicant, was created to be used as the Magic Council's muscle during the Nega End; this version was destroyed by Tsuruko Sejren as Soul Armour Knight Gaiki using the DB Armament: Dragonic Lance, which was formed from Berserk Light Dragon Indra's spirit. The actual Níðhöggr was "resuscitated" by the Absolute Toxicity Dragon, Culebre and had to go through a painful metamorphosis to become the cyborg behemoth known as Níðhöggr SIN some time prior to the arrival of Ragnarok. Níðhöggr SIN was finally destroyed for good by the child of the Dragon of Dragons, Charlotte Merquise.
Synopsis
Powers and Abilities
Physical Abilities
Ways of Combat
Master Combatant: Níðhöggr is one the deadliest fighters among dragonkind; due to his dislike of non-dragon forms of combat, he has trained his entire body to serve as a multi-purpose weapon of sorts. Even without his special Dragon Slayer Magic, the Dragon King is capable of putting up an extremely tough fight, with his claws, fangs, wings, and tail dominating the opposition with ease. When in battle, Níðhöggr fights in a similar manner to that of a berserker from Norse legends, attacking ferociously and without pause, ignoring minor inconveniences such as injuries in favour of an overwhelming offense that can break down enemy defenses due to the continued assault that the Black Dragon unleashes. When invoking his special Dragon Slayer Magic, Black Dragon Slayer Magic, Níðhöggr is capable of utilizing his absolute dominance over the element of darkness to its fullest extent, displaying the tremendous power of his lungs capable of spewing darkness, scales that grant protection against darkness, and razor-sharp nails covered in his element. Indicative of his rampant dislike of anything other than what came from dragons, Níðhöggr's fighting style does not resemble any form of martial arts or anything of the sort in the slightest- it's more somebody swinging their limbs around in any direction with the force of a meteor hoping to hit somebody than somewhat that can be referred to as a "fighting style". In layman's terms, Níðhöggr's fighting style can be described as 'some autismo swinging their arms around in circles while running around like a fuckin spaz'. Because of this "style", The Unbreakable Dark can be considered more a force of nature within the heat of battle than an actual combatant; as silly as it is to imagine in action, the sheer effectiveness of the Dragon King's combat methods cannot be denied.
Physical Prowess
Immense Strength: Given his absolutely immense size, it should come as no surprise that Níðhöggr is as strong as he is big. By making even a single move, the Black Dragon's movements send shockwaves throughout the immediate area, devastating the environment more or less through its presence as Níðhöggr's steps cause enough of a tremor to release small fissures. Indeed, simply by landing, he is capable of reducing a substantially-sized area to rubble. In addition, during the Human-Dragon War, Níðhöggr was shown to be capable of effortlessly destroying any and all dragons who attempted to oppose him, tearing their bodies apart with its vicious implements. Numerous Dragon Slayers couldn't seem to scratch the Dragon King, even the Darkness-aligned ones; even without the assistance of his element, Níðhöggr is capable of splitting the hydrogen in the air just by swinging his claws downwards, enabling the Black Dragon to unleash a small explosion that can blow his opposition away. Smashing through all sorts of metals simply by running into them at full-speed, shattering their very foundations, it is shown that Níðhöggr never held back in the heat of battle, constantly displaying his fearsome power for all to see; it is stated that if Elucifer did not stop him, the Black Dragon could have actually achieved his desire to conquer the world.
Immense Speed: Despite his large size, the Dragon King is also deceptively swift; he can move great distances in an instant as if to displace himself, moving so fast that his enemies are unable to register his movements. He seems to flicker from place to place using a flash of darkness when engaging in acts of speed; capable of dematerializing himself from one place and re-materializing himself at a distance by literally breaking down into darkness and reassembles himself, making a strange phaser-like sound when in motion; he is capable of completely evading an attack from Jeanne Sejren in her Corpse Shell form; additionally, he has shown to move fast enough to sucker-punch another dragon in the span of a second, moving from ten kilometers away to strike the dragon directly. Even if someone could detect his trajectory, generally, it is near impossible to catch him.
Flight: Níðhöggr is capable of using its wings to fly. Such wings are reminiscent of a robot's, and come with small spike-like protrusions on their upper edges. The wings allow Níðhöggr to travel across rough terrain, moving through areas where flying is the only method of passing through, or even just getting to higher places. When in flight, Níðhöggr can move at incredible speeds, reaching that of 768 Mph. When not using its wings to move through the air, Níðhöggr can also use its wings to give itself a speed boost when moving along the ground, by using them to propel itself forward at breakneck speeds. When using its wings to travel this way, Níðhöggr stands on its tip-toes and beats its wings to propel itself forward at high speeds. When facing enemies in combat, Níðhöggr can also use its wings for defensive and offensive purposes, by using them to attack its foes by twirling around or swinging them like a whip.
Immense Durability: Befitting its status, Níðhöggr is capable of shrugging off attacks from very powerful magicians, even downright ignoring the effects of several high-powered spells such as Abyss Break and even a blast from an ancient version of Etherion, which had enough power to destroy two adjacent cities. Generally, the body of the Black Dragon is highly resistant to physical injury, capable of withstanding assault from numerous weapons as well as attacks from super powered individuals; the scales of the dragon absorb any and all sources of darkness in order to reduce damage and knockback even further. Against a non-Soul Armour-equipped opponent, Níðhöggr can withstand impacts, such as falling from several stories, being repeatedly struck with superhuman force or by several powerful energy blasts, that would severely injure or kill a normal dragon with little to no injury himself. Even repeated assaults launched by numerous Dragon Slayers; who, as everyone and their mother knows, can supposedly slay dragonkind, have absolutely no effect on the Black Dragon. Going one step further, very few dragons can properly harm Níðhöggr- as only Rosa's Stardust Indra Promotion and the Dragon of Dragons have shown to be capable of inflicting any lasting damage upon the Dragon King among their own kind, even taking the Fire Dragon's Roar of the Fire Dragon King, Bahamut, and emerging unscathed as if nothing happened.
Dragon Scale (竜鱗, Ryūuroku): Dragon Scales are a natural part of a dragon's biology; they can be said to be a "defensive shell that surrounds the flesh underneath"; it is a natural strength that all dragonkind possesses and a major reason why many of them are considered nigh-unkillable- there are eighty-one scales in total on a dragon's body. It is touted as a "supreme defense", however, it is born from the effects of their scales when charged with magical power. It is activated by the dragon projecting the pressure of their innate magical power outwards, applying a thin layer of pressure onto their scales, the power of their magic is expelled through the thin layer, generating a personal force field around their bodies, extending to about one foot in diameter from their body- this ability is near constantly active. A dragon can use their scales for many purposes, such as preventing physical contact, keeping debris and unwanted materials off of their body, erecting their force field to escape piles of debris easier, and a few other purposes as well. The scales are also particularly resistant to foreign materials in the first place, as they would slide off much faster and more smoothly then it would from the dragon's body alone, due to the fact that they are dragon scales charged with magical power- this allows the dragon to resist magical attacks better than other races due to their natural toughness. Because of their scales, each dragon possesses incredible magical resistance, casually shrugging off all sorts of high-tier spells even from those who have dedicated their lives to mastering the art of the arcane; though a dragon also receives double the damage from powers that specifically target dragons; such as Dragon Slayers and anti-dragon weaponry such as Balmung.
Magical Abilities
Immense Magical Power: As a dragon, Níðhöggr is in possession of a truly staggering amount of magical power. Magic originates from a Magic Origin (魔原, Magen), which is exactly what the wording indicates—it is a special organ that is located within the body of a magician, that absorbs eternano and bunches it up into clusters, which is processed into magical power. Every Mage has a container inside their body that determines the limits of their Magic Power; this is precisely what a Magic Origin is. If the case becomes empty, eternano will come from the atmosphere and enters the magician's body and after a while, their Magic Power is restored. A Dragon's Magic Origin is drastically different than any other race's; it is referred to as the Factor of the Dragon (竜の因子, Ryū no Inshi); the dragon's origin produces a unique magical power that transcends what could be achieved by normal humans. Normally, a magician's body could be considered a machine which created magical energy, a Dragon's magic origin acts as a factory which created magical energy. It functions as an enormous magic core with tremendous capacity that generates energy independent from their body simply through breathing. To this extent, when flared up to its greatest extent, the magical aura of the Black Dragon is capable of disrupting all forms of defensive-based magic. As a byproduct of his immense power, Níðhöggr is immune to the effects of manipulation-based magics, including the non-existentDragon Supremacy Magic. Like all dragons, Níðhöggr is capable of calling upon the power of the Ley lines (竜脈, Rei Rain lit. Dragon's Vein), a virtually untapped, raw source of magical power that has filtered through the depths of the earth for years on end- they are alignments between places of magical power that only Dragons and Dragon Slayers can tap into them to bolster their powers.
Black Dragon Slayer Magic (黒の滅竜魔法, Koku no Metsuryū Mahō), also referred to as Darkness Dragon Slayer Magic (冥の滅竜魔法 Yami no Metsuryū Mahō), and Shadow Dragon Slayer Magic (影の滅竜魔法 Ei no Metsuryū Mahō) by its main user, Níðhöggr, is a Caster Magic, Lost Magic, obviously a Slayer Magic, and last, but not least, a Dragon Slayer Magic which revolves around the element of darkness, which is the polar opposite to brightness, the result of the condition of a very small amount or even an absence of visible light; beings are incapable of distinguishing colours in conditions of either high brightness or darkness, and in conditions of insufficient light, perception is achromatic and ultimately, black; not only this, Black Dragon Slayer Magic encompasses shadows, which is a space where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object, occupying all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it; but Black Dragon Slayer Magic enables the caster to absorb, manipulate, and generate the element of darkness and shadows, effectively allowing the user to turn into a draconic figure in synchronization with dark energy.
A Dragon is to be the embodiment of ultimate power- and as such, they are revered and feared by all who know of their existence. More importantly, as "ultimate power made physical", they would need an "ultimate magic" to suit their very nature as power manifested in the mortal plane of existence; something that would be far above most magicians in the era that they made their mark on mankind. They could be thought of as "Elemental Magic made manifest", though while a personification of the strongest power imaginable; the chains known as a "mortal body" do not hinder their performance in battle in the slightest. The dragon who passed on this magic to the user actually created a magical change in how the body's Magic Origin functioned, therefore causing their body to possess the magical powers of a Dragon - otherwise known as Dragon Slayer Magic. Continuing with this process, the user's magical power acts alongside the energy of the body in order to catalyze a variety of bodily processes when younger, therefore allowing the morphing of their physiology to a point where the user has adopted some physical traits, as well as the element, from the said Dragon. In the case of a user of Dragon Slayer Magic, the darkness-aligned dragon would grant them the ability to manipulate, generate, and absorb darkness and shadows in a similar manner to itself; however, as Níðhöggr is the Black Dragon and possesses a burning hatred of any race other than dragonkind, Black Dragon Slayer Magic will never be passed on to another user, unless it was from a Ryū no Lacrima (竜の魔水晶, Ryū no Rakurima lit. Magic Crystal of Dragons); an rare and extremely expensive Lacrima which is a magic crystalline substance found in both Earth Land and Edolas that gives individuals artificial Dragon Slayer Magic when implanted, thus making any potential inheritor a Second Generation Dragon Slayer Magic (二世滅竜魔法, Nisei Metsuryū Mahō) by default.
In the case of the Black Dragon Slayer Magic when used by a dragon, the dragon of darkness takes blatant advantage of the fact that their mortality and physical form enables her to utilize their unique draconic Magic Origin alongside the perks that their biology normally gives them; the dragon's biological structure has been perfectly attuned to how their Factor of the Dragon functions; more specifically, since with every breath, the diabolic dragon generates energy independent from their body; which, through application of magical manipulation, grants this existence the ability to reinforce the sheer power of their own body with the demonic dragon's signature element- by taking the 'magic = feelings' concept to the fullest—by fuelling this magic with negative feelings in a manner that's not dissimilar to the Black Arts or a Curse, the user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic is capable of initiating the usual fusion of eternano and magical power, but only manifesting their magical powers in a dark and malefic nature that's said to be a variant of dark energy, a unknown form of energy which is hypothesized to permeate all of space, tending to accelerate the expansion of the universe, all while drawing any source of darkness towards them, placing outside sources under their thrall while drawing from the inner feelings of humanity that they kept locked away, afraid of all of those hypocritical judgmental types whom are no different than themselves – this is recognized as the "way of the wicked" (邪道, Jadō), connoting the presence of shadows, darkness and foreboding - by itself, darkness is mostly used to cloud everything into total darkness, but by accessing a dimension of dark energy it can be channeled to a variety of effects, both as an absence of light and a solid substance.
Effectively, this grants the user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic the ability to manipulate, modify, consume, and generate from their body both shadows and darkness which themselves are byproducts of dark energy to their fullest extent- they have absolute dominance over anything considered "dark, and everything related to and dwelling within all aspects which compose this Dragon Slayer Magic's element. As a result of the magic's mechanics, the user of this magic can transform their body with features of dark energies, utilizing both offensive and defensive styles, resulting in lungs capable of spewing rays of darkness, scales that grant protection against all negative effects of darkness, and nails covered in darkness; effectively giving the user the ability to use darkness and shadows in any manner that that they deem suitable alongside their body in combat, transforming their very form into a make-shift weapon unique to themselves, thus greatly increasing the damage of their blows in all ranges- though close-combat is where the Dragon Slayer Magic usually shines, as the magic massively bolsters the power of their unarmed blows, empowering their physical attacks with wakes of highly destructive darkness which wreak havoc on anything and everything that they come into contact with. By transmogrifying and synchronizing their existence with dark energy, the caster of Black Dragon Slayer Magic becomes the physical personification of darkness, acting as the all-encompassing void which acts as the counterbalance to light. The darkness manifested is essentially made of pure negativity and not from the lack of illumination, essentially tapping into the core of different forms of darkness itself to assert their dominion. These dark energies are capable of being employed in almost countless other ways, with the user being capable of manifesting the three distinct parts of a shadow, emitting it in vast amounts, enough to cover a wide area, and by invoking similar process to Crystallos Forge of Crystal Dragon Slayer Magic and Photonic Forge of Photon Dragon Slayer Magic, the caster is capable of using Shape Transformation on their dark energies as to forge it in the shape of constructs, which can be utilized in various manners in a manner not dissimilar to Molding Magic, these tools and familiars used for offense and defensive maneuvers to keep the opponent on their feet; a user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic can also control and manipulate beings of shadow and darkness, create and dispel shields and areas of total darkness.
Because of the properties of Black Dragon Slayer Magic, the energies that this form of Dragon Slayer Magic releases is automatically empowered by strong feelings, albeit the likes of dark-associated magics such as Darkness Magic, the Black Arts, and Curses, which allows the caster to use darkness in a physical form for attacking, allows the user to manipulate life and death, and are the main form of combat commonly utilized by demonkind, respectively - Black Dragon Slayer Magic incorporates theories and properties of the above-mentioned trio of diabolic arcane skills in order to produce a "supreme evil", as Black Dragon Slayer Magic runs off of negative emotions in order to empower the base ability of the magic; drawing upon the user's negative emotions in order to bolster its own power and manifest their negativity in a physical form, in that way, Black Dragon Slayer Magic could be considered a Dragon Slayer Curse (滅竜の呪法, Metsuryū no Jūhō), as while magic runs off positive emotions, Curses run off the exact opposite, with their power holding an origin in negative emotions displayed by humans, mainly greed, envy and hatred, making it far more powerful as no matter how many people would display positive emotions, negativity would always be there in a greater quantity- Black Dragon Slayer Magic is no different; gaining strength from all negative emotions such as anger, fear, disgust, jealousy, sadness, and all sub-categories of said emotions. Through their power over negative emotions, the caster's darkness can be considered a manifestation of negative energy and can use negative feelings or behaviours of others, controlling all negativity, whether it be physical or spiritual as to use different forms of emotions to boost the power of this Dragon Slayer Magic seem to bestow upon the magic various properties, such as anger having the dark energies burn through everything in their path as well as giving the dark energies powers akin to anti-matter, nothingness, as well as the unique property of gravity, bestowing the wielder with immense destructive potential overall.
Even so, like its parent magics, despite drawing upon negative feelings and a force commonly seen as 'evil', Black Dragon Slayer Magic is not inheritable evil in a sense, as like most other magics, what the power of this arcane fragment doesn't indicate whether the power is good or evil, heroic or villainous etc, and darkness and shadows don't necessarily symbolize evil, ungodliness and corruption. But still, the more that the caster harnesses the power of this Black Dragon Slayer Magic, the more risks that continuously using it has a chance of seriously endangering the user's mental state – once the first crack in their psyche has been formed, something certainly out-of-the-ordinary for a Slayer Magic begins to manifest. The sign of Black Dragon Slayer Magic's negative emotions empowerment mechanic beginning to affect the user's mental state manifests itself in the form of a demonic creature born from the negative emotions they have experienced from their soul known as a Darkside (悪性幻の鏡像, Dākusaido lit. Malefic Phantasmal Mirror Image) that commonly appears in the form of their own shadow. It is known that this demonic existence can influence the caster's mind and coerce them into morally questionable actions; while the user can initially ignore the suggestions of this twisted mirror image of themselves, but as the darkside continues to offer them more power by making a deal with it, it becomes harder and harder to pretend this being doesn't exist; though the Darkside and the negative emotions empowerment of the magic, as well as such a strong ability, the sheer weight of Black Dragon Slayer Magic's power will normally slowly erode the user's morality, with 'absorbing it into the shadows' becoming their solution and reaction to everything. The user slowly drowns in their immense strength, and even the noblest of souls can gain hearts as black as pitch—essentially, one way or another, a user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic will fall to the side of darkness without any way out. However, as a very small consolation prize, the further they fall, the stronger the user becomes. But, of course, it should be noted, those with a clear mind are capable of bringing out the full potential of this magic without succumbing to the Darkside and corruptive element.
Thanks to its association with the concept of "evil", Black Dragon Slayer Magic's dark energies possess properties that induce a decomposition effect on anything that it happens to come into contact with, as both organic and inorganic substances are broken down into much simpler forms of matter, rotting everything in its path, functioning similarly to a deadly miasma, a poisonous vapor filled with particles from decomposed matter that causes all sorts of illnesses, the deadliness of such increasing in the presence of environmental factors such as contaminated water, foul air, and poor hygienic conditions, and these dark energies are known to be able to spread through airspace in a slow rate but with equal effects on the surroundings, turning the caster's body into a walking wasteland. Something interesting to note is that Black Dragon Slayer Magic has a side-effect known as Hades Charge (常闇上, Hadesu Chāji lit. Everlasting Darkness Escalation) which enables the user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic to bolster the power of their attacks; when inducing their regular attacks, the caster is capable of adding more power when they is initiating the attack to achieve a higher level of power; this process, while it does result in the spell being launched at an ever-so-slightly later date, it can drastically enhances the power, width, and size of spell, and as such, the option of charging can mean the difference between victory and defeat in the heat of battle. Generally, the charging speed of any dark-based spell takes about two seconds down to the letter, and when increasing the spell's power, the caster adds more and more of their darkness into the spell, drawing it from outside sources such as the negativity in the atmosphere, the night sky, or the ambient eternano in the immediate vicinity. The caster is also capable of continuing to hold the spell in its magical energy compressed form and move around as normal; this can serve as a way to take advantage of extra power while taking evasive action. Finally, Black Dragon Slayer Magic also has a side-effect known as Shadow Erosion (魂窃闇, Shadō Erōjon lit. Soul-Stealing Darkness), which, as its name would indicate, can absorb the life of living beings and even Níðhöggr's fellow dragons, absorbing their power for the Dragon King's own use through engulfing their existences in the malefic shadows that break their bodies down to the atomic level and then convert these particles into that of shadows, enabling Níðhöggr to absorb them into his Dragon Factor, resulting in him receiving a notable boost to his physical and magical parameters. Because of this devious power, with the exception of the Dragon of Dragons, Níðhöggr is regarded as the strongest of the anti-human faction, if not dragonkind in general.
As with most Slayer Magics, Black Dragon Slayer Magic has virtually unlimited customization options in regards to the darkness and shadows formed through simple magical manipulation- the colour, properties (not limited to but including heat, smell, and taste), and "feel" is capable of being modified to the user's liking for countless different effects and powers, more often than not being attuned to their own personality and ambitions; their "type" can be changed at will, and they can even be given a material consistency; they are capable of utilizing the darkness in any way they wish, whether for offensive, defensive, evasive, or supplementary techniques- as long as they can imagine it being doable, then the sky is the limit, more or less. In its normal state, Black Dragon Slayer Magic seems to have a "bludgeoning" effect to it, seemingly causing armour-pulverizing damage alongside the user's burning ambition given a corporal form in their element; but they can be used in several other different ways, allowing for a high level of adaptability; the shadows are able to be released in freeform, as condensed, or even molded into the shape of a weapon, taking on the properties of said chosen shape. The shadows and darkness that are produced by Black Dragon Slayer Magic is far swifter and powerful than any normal dark-based powers; it is shown on multiple occasions that Black Dragon Slayer Magic is superior to any Slayer Magic or any other Lost Magic-based darkness- in addition to darkness-based Curses. Not only this, the user has such mastery over the element of darkness and shadow that they are capable of utilizing it in any way that they wish, whether for offensive, defensive, evasive, or supplementary techniques- as long as they can imagine it being doable, then the sky is the limit, more or less, making this magic akin to a much lesser Arc of Embodiment. For this, Black Dragon Slayer Magic's level of control over the concept of "dark" is regarded to be nothing but a pipe-dream for other dark-manipulating magicians to achieve. It seems that the energies that are produced by Black Dragon Slayer Magic are capable of absorbing opposing sources of darkness, even moonlight, in order to make it both phenomenally faster and stronger; making it near-invincible and making the user an absolute terror to fight against, with the user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic possessing a certain ability to sniff out darkness and negativity; since darkness can be found in the hearts of others, and, because of that, the user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic can consume the dark energies inside of others to increase their powers and restore their stamina and magic capacity. However, those with a pure heart are immune to the dark influence of this magic, even though according to the user; there is no such thing as a "pure heart". In addition, the user can consume external sources of darkness and shadows to restore their body to a healthy state and regain their reserves of strength, something that also makes them immune to all types of darkness and shadows, due to their capability of nullifying dark-based attacks by sucking them in and eating them; the consumed element also seems to possess a different "taste" according to its "quality". However, the user can't eat their own darkness/shadows, or imbued with dark by themselves, to reinvigorate themselves. The Unbreakable Dark was one of the few dragons who fought with all of his strength from the beginning, refusing to even give humans the time of day and teach them his powers. As a result, Níðhöggr's Dragon Slayer Magic is unique to him and him alone; not even cloning could allow anyone to pry this amazing power from the Dragon King's hands, er, claws.
Gekirin (降臨の逆鱗, Gekirin lit. Advent of the Imperial Fury): Gekirin is a peculiar ability which can be accessed by any and all of dragonkind; it is the ability to become stronger through harvesting the blood of their enemies. Gekirin is perhaps the power that burnt their presences into the minds of humanity even before the Dragon Civil War- but after which, it was soon forgotten as their Dragon Slayer Magic took prominence over it. The Imperial Wrath stems from a difference in how dragonkind was seen from two different continents- in the west, dragons were considered monsters, in the east, dragons were a god-like existence; but even so, they had a rather terrifying defect- out of the eighty-one Dragon Scales, a single scale is inverted; digging into their skin, while normally it's something that can be brushed off, if this irregular scale is so much as touched, then a dragon would immediately lose their already ferocious temper, flying into a rage which seems impossible to calm- this resulted in the dragons receiving a rather noticeable boost in power, enabling the dragon to greatly increase their own power through simply killing somebody of supernatural origin. By their own claim, they will continue to grow stronger the more that they kill, regardless of what form the life actually takes—however, it will not work if they kill humans who are not users of Slayer Magic; as the Gekirin has an aversion to the magical energy of human bodies. Interestingly, the Gekirin works in order to increase both physical and magical power—upon landing a kill, the dragon's Magic Origin, their Factor of the Dragon absorbs their victims' energy into their dragon scales, absorbing the diminishing magical power of those who they kill by breaking it down into simple eternano, allowing them to use their mastery over their magical energy to command the eternano into their Factor of the Dragon, which finds its way into their body and enhances it, increasing their physical strength while the remaining eternano will be sent into their Factor of the Dragon subconsciously, increasing the quantity and intensity of the energies produced by their Dragon Slayer Magic and draconic-related powers. Interestingly, the Gekirin will only raise the dragon's power by twice the amount for every twenty kills, as to prevent them from becoming overly powerful, but it is noted that the changes in power are permanent, with their power only rising and rising. Effectively, the Gekirin drains the life out of everything that the dragon's claws, fangs, tail, wings, and the rest of its body comes into contact with, turning living organisms into dried husks of their former selves and devastating the environment. The Gekirin will not be activated by indirect damage, such as through a projectile spell—the user is required to strike the enemy down in close-combat in order to engage it; the Gekirin is said to be capable of enabling the dragon to devour the souls of opponents that they kill. Once enough power has been gathered, an extension of Gekirin becomes available for the dragon to harness.
Níðhöggr in Outrage Mode.
Outrage Mode (反旗の逆鱗, Autoreiji Mōdo lit. Imperial Fury of the Revolt Banner): Outrage Mode is the expansion of the Gekirin power – it is the idea of "fury empowering this already fearsome existence" taken to the extreme. As the dragon slays more and more opponents who foolishly continue to attempt to oppose them in the hopes of worldwide recognition, bravery, or just plain stupidity, this scaled creature gains more and more power, with their bodies becoming soaked in the blood of their enemies while the arcane energies of their felled foes seep into their Factor of the Dragon. These energies, after a while, begin to affect the dragon's body, with the dragon absorbing more and more magical energy into their Factor of the Dragon through the inverted scale, causing an evolution that results in the dragon's appearance and attributes changing, making it significantly stronger than it was before, transforming into an expansion of their current form- a temporary evolution of sorts. Despite the extreme modifications to the dragon's bodies, their consciousness remains unchanged. After undergoing transformation, the dragon gains various additions to their form, such as armour or weaponry- or their body may just change completely to the point of being unrecognizable. A dragon can only stay in their transformed form until their energy is depleted, and if a dragon does not absorb enough magical energy needed to maintain the form, it will not be able to retain that form for long and revert to their previous form in a matter of time. Because of the Gekirin and the Outrage Mode, it was known that people would warn others to simply stay the hell away from dragons as once their rampage had ended, entire maps had to be redrawn. The name of these powers, Gekirin (逆鱗, Imperial Fury), can be translated to mean imperial wrath or the wrath of one's superior, and appears in the idiom 逆鱗に触れる gekirin ni fureru, which means to infuriate one's superior. Additionally, term "Reverse Scale" (逆鱗, Gekirin), usually refers to a dragon scale growing in the opposite direction in Japanese and Chinese mythology – it is one particular scale out of eighty-one scales covering the body of the dragon. This scale, unlike others, is inverted. It is said in Japanese legends that if one were to touch the dragon’s gekirin, it would result in the wrath of the dragon.
Supplementary Abilities
Shade Forge (偽性・闇の造形魔法, Shēdo Fōji lit. Pseudo-Darkness Molding Magic): Shade Forge is a special sub-ability of Black Dragon Slayer Magic- it can be considered an existence similar to that of the Darkness-MakeMolding Magic. Shade Forge is the main usage of Black Dragon Slayer Magic other than simply using it to bolster the user's close-quarters capabilities; in any case, Shade Forge is triggered by the user taking the 'magic = feelings' concept to the fullest—by fuelling this magic with negative feelings, the user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic is capable of initiating the usual fusion of eternano and magical power, but only manifesting their magical powers in a dark and malefic nature while drawing any source of darkness towards them, placing outside sources under their thrall while drawing from the inner feelings of humanity that they kept locked away, afraid of all of those hypocritical judgmental types whom are no different than themselves – this is the way of shadows; however, unlike regular Black Dragon Slayer Magic, the user can only manifest it lightly, that is to say, that they are only able to project the darkness one or two feet ahead of themselves. However, that is where Shade Forge's full power comes into play—if the user understands the inherent structure of the properties about to be reproduced in their mind; including the flow and balance of magical energy within, they can use the darkness in order to perfectly replicate the structure of the identified material, using the darkness to cause the manifested item in a more malleable state, completely unlike its regular version, as to allow it to be easily reshaped into a new form, reforming the material into a new shape that they deem suitable in a matter of seconds. The shadowy structures that the caster manifests all carry the natural overwhelming power of Dragon Slayer Magic, even when the user isn't touching them, making them a cut above most other forms of structure-creation magic; indeed, the only limitations are the user's own imagination, and it requires no prior movements which are all in-born with Molding Magic, instead, the user can form countless items simply by shaping their magical power and thinking about it, not even using the proper modification technique known as Shape Transformation in order to bring their thoughts into reality; for this reason, it can be said that Shade Forge is far more effective than bog-standard Darkness-Make or powers similar to it. With Shade Forge, the user is able to draw any darkness or shadow from any source, including the night sky and their own shadow; though they able to manifest darkness from their own magical power, but this is relatively taxing on their body and magic reserves, which is why it is preferable to draw their element from natural sources. Like regular Black Dragon Slayer Magic, Shade Forge's substance is known to be extremely destructive, capable of obliterating almost anything in its path as the eternano composing the darkness accelerates the moment of contact with a physical being, causing it to explode momentarily, before reverting to its previous state and continuing to travel forward. As the user is capable of molding darkness from the night sky, Shade Forge becomes exponentially more powerful at night—making a user of the magic considered nearly invincible, with only a few weaknesses to exploit. With high-level Shade Forge, it is possible to manufacture an exact replica of objects using darkness as the primary material. Despite all of its near invincibility as darkness can be procured from nearly everything and anywhere, Shade Forge's greatest weakness is that by drawing upon the element of the night sky; darkness, the user subjects themselves to the full brunt of the negative emotions that compose Black Dragon Slayer Magic. There are two forms of Shade Forge; the first is called Static Shade Forge. This type of Shade Forge is characterized by the creation of inanimate objects, such as weapons, or by affecting the environment around them. The second type is called Dynamic Shade Forge. This type of Shade Forge focuses on creating animate shadowy sculptures, usually in the form of animals; though human body parts and the like can also be formed. Dynamic Shade Forge is said to be more quickly cast than Static Shade Forge. While both styles of Shade Forge have their own pros and cons, there is no clear "superior", leaving the matter of which style is "stronger" up to how much both versions evolve.
Static Shade Forge (具鍛・偽性・闇の造形魔法, Sutateikku Shēdo Fōji lit. Tool-Forging Pseudo-Darkness Molding Magic): Static Shade Forge is one of two methods to utilize Shade Forge- it is characterized by the creation of inanimate objects, more often than not weaponry and tools to suit the situation at hand. In terms of use, Static Shade Forge is known to be the user's preferred method of using the sub-ability, as weapons are relatively easier to manifest and keep in-action for long periods of time in contrast to the summoning constructs of the Dynamic version of Shade Forge. Generally, each construct is capable of matching a real steel weapon blow-for-blow without shattering- Static Shade Forge can be utilized to form almost any weaponry at all, and the user capable of conjuring anything from nothing. Close combat weapons such as swords and spears can be created effortlessly, though due to the intricate workings of existences such as guns, they are slightly more difficult; shields and staves can be reproduced with a much greater struggle, as the cost in magical energy is high, two or three times greater than a bladed weapon. As the user's most favoured method of utilizing Shade Forge, Static Shade Forge has reached the point where it can be considered mastered already. During the heat of battle, the user more often than not forms various weapons with a single snap of their fingers or by affecting the immediate vicinity where combat is ongoing, granting advantages to them and hampering their opponent(s). One of the user's most common uses of Static Shade Forge is to affect the ground beneath them by jabbing darkness whether it has already been shaped or not into the soil below, inducing Shadow Erosion upon the surface and everything that entails in order to convert everything into darkness in the environment around their figure, reducing the soil to nothing, at which point, the user can manipulate and shape these newly-formed shadows in any manner that they please- effectively, because of this, when combined with the elemental consumption method of Dragon Slayer Magic, enables the user to permanently possess freedom of movement no matter what as well as devour everything in sight to regenerate.
Dynamic Shade Forge (実降・偽性・闇の造形魔法|ダイナミック・シェード・フォージ}}, Dainamikku Shēdo Fōji lit. Entity-Summoning Pseudo-Darkness Molding Magic): Dynamic Shade Forge is the second form of Shade Forge; it involves the user creating familiars forged from darkness. These familiars are formed when the user focuses more magical energy into the formation of their Shade Forge magic seal while envisioning a proper 'guardian', at which point, the user can manifest them from their magic seal- these beings of darkness take upon a black smoky colouration and emit a soft glow and generally have hundreds of eyes emblazoned upon their existences. While Dynamic Shade Forge focuses on animals of darkness, human body parts and the like can also be formed; the user can also manifest full humanoid beings; the user more often than not utilizes the creations made manifest by Dynamic Shade Forge in order to assist them in battle, be used as diversions from all sorts of incoming blows, and last, but not least, as a means of transportation to reach heights that would normally be considered impossible or to evade an enemy's onslaught. Dynamic Shade Forge is said to be more quickly cast than Static Shade Forge; though they generally cost more magical power to maintain due to Dynamic Shade Forge summoning beings which more often than not requiring the user to direct and command them; though after a while, these demonic guardians are capable of displaying free will and thought, making all sorts of movements on their own judgments based on the current situation, allowing them to take appropriate action in many cases. With Dynamic Shade Forge and a good memory, the user has the ability to summon avatars of the foes that they've defeated, the stronger they are the better. The user is said to not really be interested in Dynamic Shade Forge as they prefer to fight their battles themselves, but the original dragon who used the magic was noted to be an absolute master of this version of Shade Forge, manifesting entire armies from nothing to run wild upon those who opposed them.
Shadowsinker (黒竜の闇体化, Shadōshinkā lit. Black Dragon's Darkness Body Transformation): Shadowsinker is a core aspect of Black Dragon Slayer Magic and one of the magic's most powerful assets; effectively, it's a drastically more effective version of the Shadow Body spell, which is a darkness-based version of the Elemental Body ability of Elemental Magic, which allows the user to let physical and magical attacks pass harmlessly through their body when they're transformed; but Shadowsinker is a permanently available ability - Shadowsinker enables the user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic to transform their body into shadows, allowing them to sink into the ground in order to roam around freely at high speed and teleport. When inducing Shadowsinker, the user takes the 'magic = feelings' concept to the fullest—by fuelling this magic with negative feelings, the user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic is capable of initiating the usual fusion of eternano and magical power, but only manifesting their magical powers in a dark and malefic nature which now begins to surround their body, enveloping the caster in its entirety before the malefic powers of the shadows reduce their existence to black wispy smoke and embers – this is actually their own magical energy influenced by Black Dragon Slayer Magic, essentially transforming their very body into that of shadows, which cannot be touched by normal means. This shadowy from grants the caster near unparalleled speed and an immunity to harm when transformed; essentially granting them the status of semi-flight. With Shadowsinker, the user is capable of closing the distance between themselves and their enemies, and can even use it go through them, attacking and then re-materializing continually as a form of a 'speed blitz'. Since the user is capable of transforming their body into shadows, the user can use the shadow dash to go through structures with openings, like chain-link fences, iron bars and pipe-like structures; they can simply escape through ventilation systems and anything that has the smallest of openings, making the user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic virtually impossible to corner unless under specific circumstances. With Shadowsinker, the user can squeeze through tight passages, or move objects about –they could pull a person out from under a mob attacking them by dispersing and reforming them nearby, or steal their opponents' weapons by vaporizing them into their hands and bringing them to their own. The user can move around with a partner, or send objects to a new location within traveling with them, providing they can visualize the new location in their mind; an extension of this is that the user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic is capable of engulfing a target with shadow by sending it towards them instead of using it to surround themselves, this causes the target to float above the ground, being guided by their hand in a similar manner to that of Telekinesis. More often than not, the user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic milks Shadowsinker for all it's worth, and, in a fight, uses the ability to constantly disappear and appear at will, hitting, running, and flanking without any effort at all and barely any threat of counterattack. While in this state, all physical and magical attacks are negated, and, this renders others' ability to track the user null and void- not even some form of Sensory Magic can notice the user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic; with Shadowsinker active, the user often only appears as a black shimmer of energy, with only the fastest foes even catching sight of their true figure during a battle as they dodge efficiently and make surprise attacks from all angles available; they are also capable of sinking others into the depths of their shadow, enveloping them with Black Dragon Slayer Magic's Shadow Erosion power; one of the most dangerous abilities that Shadowsinker bestows upon the caster is the power to link to the shadow of the opponent, allowing them to never miss with their attacks as every strike that the Black Dragon Slayer Magic user performs would involve them quickly emerging from the opponent's shadow and then striking them with any type of power in the back. The user can also perform maneuvers such as creating a swirling vortex that pulls in and "devours" any and all targets they deem suitable, as well as causing shadows to erupt from the ground in a singular burst that blows the target into the air as they receive a fair amount of damage. However, as a bit of a downside to the great versatility offered by Shadowsinker, if the user is caught while in a tangible form, or by another person in shadow form, they are then vulnerable to any sort of attack. An Elemental Body spell always takes some "phase time" to complete the transportation, during which the user cannot do anything else: for this reason, it is seldom used in combat. Shadowsinker however, is a power which can reduce the phase time to a level suitable for combat down to zero. The caster can perform Shadowsinker mid-combo as well, causing the enemy's attacks to miss while simultaneously acting as attack cancels for themselves; and with it, they can move at speeds up to one hundred and twenty kilometers per hour, the maximum velocity at which they are still able to breathe. However, the weakness of Shadowsinker is that it normally takes the user a split second to transform their body into shadows, preventing the caster from moving out of the way of enemy attacks if they are too slow to activate Shadowsinker.
Basic Spells
Níðhöggr casting Umbra Erga.
Umbra Erga (黒竜の咆哮, Anbura Eruga lit. Black Dragon's Roar): Umbra Erga is the hyperresonance ability of a dragon, attuned to the element of darkness and shadows - as such, it works best with Black Dragon Slayer Magic. When performing Umbra Erga, Níðhöggr utilizes his enhanced lung capacity in order to gather and condense ambient eternano from within the atmosphere and store it momentarily within his mouth- from here, Níðhöggr attunes the eternano gathered by merging them with his energy in order to induce the usual fusion to being power into the current realm; this results in the Unbreakable Dark going the opposite of the 'magic = feelings' concept—by Níðhöggr fuelling his magic with negative feelings, he is capable of initiating the usual fusion of eternano and magical power, only manifesting magical power in a dark and malefic nature; he draws more and more darkness into his massive jaws from which no flying, talking cats have ever seen the light of day until he has gathered enough to the point that just by propelling it outwards, he could cause a bombardment of malefic energy that covers an entire continent. When charging the Umbra Erga, Níðhöggr's mouth begins to glow red as his veins light up, but in any case, once this is done, in order to unleash the magical energy, Níðhöggr utilizes the Dragon Cords (竜帯, Ryūtai), a dragon's equivalent of vocal cords which produce a louder and harsher sound while amplifying anything emitted from his mouth tremendously, resulting in a massive blast of energy spewing forth from his mouth towards the target; in the case of Umbra Erga, the form it takes is one of a powerful chain reaction akin to nuclear fission; as the magical energies in the Black Dragon's mouth will rumble violently as they quickly spiral outwards before manifesting as upon release, the magical energy collapses in on itself then expands outwards rapidly towards the enemy; a flare is a contained release of energy, which fully exposes the enemy to the source rather than blow them away from it after a while. When charging the Umbra Erga, Níðhöggr's mouth begins to glow red as his veins light up, unleashing this energy in the form of an enormous black beam of darkness, at least three kilometers in width, that has a red outline. The trajectory of the laser can be altered, allowing the Black Dragon to strike more than one opponent. The whiplash of the attack can be quite huge, usually blowing apart anything behind the Dragon King at the time of attack. Along with its astounding destructive power, the attack has a delayed effect if the initial blast should fail, wherein the target will be blasted by residual effects left over by the beam; which manifests in the form of orbs of darkness, which lock-on to Níðhöggr's opponents no matter their position, chasing after them. They can dodge obstacles in their way, unless it is not physically possible, never ceasing their hunt until they catch their prey. As it darts through the air, the blast released by Umbra Erga is capable of inducing a decomposition effect on anything that it happens to come into contact with, as both organic and inorganic substances are broken down into much simpler forms of matter, rotting everything in its path - as per the traits of Black Dragon Slayer Magic, Níðhöggr's Umbra Erga can function similarly to a deadly miasma, a poisonous vapor filled with particles from decomposed matter that causes all sorts of illnesses, the deadliness of such increasing in the presence of environmental factors such as contaminated water, foul air, and poor hygienic conditions, and it is able to spread through airspace in a slow rate but with equal effects on the surroundings. It goes without saying that the Dragon's Roar of Níðhöggr can deal a great amount of damage to any opponent with an enormous explosion upon contact, leaving huge mushroom cloud; similar a nuclear bomb; this effect spreads out to a fan-shaped area, and is easily capable of destroying several buildings in a single strike; reducing an entire desert to naught but a long-spanning sheet of molten glass; at full power, Umbra Erga can completely eradicate an island, imprinting a giant crater into the ocean.
Umbra Erga – Condenshot (黒竜の咆哮・集束砲号, Anbura Eruga – Kondenshotto lit. Black Dragon's Roar: Focused Ordinance Edition): Umbra Erga – Condenshot is a variant of the standard Umbra Erga attack of Black Dragon Slayer Magic; in this case, Umbra Erga – Condenshot is a compression of the innumerable quantities of shadow launched out of Níðhöggr's mouth into the form of a gigantic orb of swirling shadow that devastates everything in its path. When performing Umbra Erga – Condenshot, Níðhöggr first inhales, gathering eternano within his mouth to gather and condense ambient eternano from within the atmosphere and store it momentarily within his mouth- from here, Níðhöggr attunes the eternano gathered by merging them with his energy in order to induce the usual fusion to being power into the current realm; this results in the Unbreakable Dark going the opposite of the 'magic = feelings' concept—by Níðhöggr fuelling his magic with negative feelings, he is capable of initiating the usual fusion of eternano and magical power, only manifesting magical power in a dark and malefic nature. At this point, Níðhöggr initiates the usual fusion of eternano and magical energies, causing the combined mass of energy to become the embodiment of negativity as the gathered energies combine to act a propellant to the shadowy attack, charging it up for a few moments; this also induces a gravitational attraction that begins to pull objects towards Níðhöggr as the energy contained within his mouth becomes larger. Once the charging phase has been completed, Níðhöggr unleashes a mighty roar that doesn't release a gigantic laser of darkness, but rather, a pitch-black and purple pulsating orb of energy with black static around it shoots forth with a speed and force beyond that of a bullet, destroying everything that the sphere of darkness so much as passes while in motion, focusing on dealing smashing damage which can bust through and completely flatten anything and everything in its way; but upon contact with the designated target, Umbra Erga – Condenshot explodes viciously, blasting away everything in the immediate vicinity.
Banishing Fang surging forth.
Banishing Fang (黒竜の鉄爪斬撃, Banishingu Fangu lit. Black Dragon's Slashing Iron Claw): Banishing Fang is the basic close-quarters spell of the Black Dragon Slayer Magic, akin to Fire Dragon's Iron Fist, Iron Dragon's Hard Fist, Shadow Dragon's Slash, and Solar Dragon's Firing Hammer; effectively, with Banishing Fang, the user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic covers their arm with shadows before slashing at their target. In any case, when performing Banishing Fang, the user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic begins to invoke their dark-based powers by taking the 'magic = feelings' concept to the fullest—by fuelling this magic with negative feelings, the user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic is capable of initiating the usual fusion of eternano and magical power, but only manifesting their magical powers in a dark and malefic nature while drawing any source of darkness towards them while focusing it around one of their arms, resulting in a compression of pulsating shadows around their hand that's mainly focused around their palm, giving off the appearance of a black aura with a purple outline – these shadows constantly flow outwards and their specks of black scatter to the winds for the brief duration that the spell is in its preparation stage. From here, the user charges immense amounts of darkness within one of their hands, with their hand assuming an open-palm formation, the tips of their fingers pointing downwards palm-wise. With this, the user slashes forward with their "claw" at high speeds, inflicting major damage and launching them far away, creating an impact force which is powerful enough to propel the unlucky recipient several meters away. The incredible speed both makes the strike far more powerful, and harder to dodge. Once Banishing Fang makes contact with the opponent, the searing, unholy properties of the darkness manifest fully, spelling bad luck or even worse for the enemy, as the sheer force and velocity of the user's hand movements only bolster their elemental attack, granting a powerful attack capable of gouging a hole in the enemy's body, no matter how resilient they are, even if they're harnessing any form of power booster- countless fellow Dragon Slayers, especially Second-Generation Dragon Slayers, have fallen to the overwhelming power of this spell, despite how deceptively simple it looks. The amount of time in which these actions transpire make it seem as if the opponent has been slashed with the force that could cleave several skyscrapers in a row in twain effortlessly, blowing them away instantly after the spell has been performed. The caster is also capable of projecting the shadows of Banishing Fang outwards by thrusting forward with their hand after manifesting the shadows on their hand, launching it as a claw-shaped aura at their target which serves as an impromptu projectile attack.
Banishing Fang: Raid (黒竜の鉄爪斬撃・砕牙, Banishingu Fangu: Reido lit. Black Dragon's Slashing Iron Claw: Crushing Fang Devoured by the Darkness): Banishing Fang: Raid is an extension of the regular Banishing Fang Black Dragon Slayer Magic spell; it's a version of the standard Banishing Fang where the caster lashes out at the target with an open palm before dividing the shadows on their hand into numerous thin tendrils to bombard the target; functioning similarly to Shadow Dragon's Crushing Fang or Fire Dragon's Crushing Fang. When inducing Banishing Fang: Raid, the caster can either use it once in close-range with the original Banishing Fang spell already activated, or begin a new Banishing Fang. But when invoking Banishing Fang: Raid, the user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic takes the 'magic = feelings' concept to the fullest—by fuelling this magic with negative feelings, the user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic is capable of initiating the usual fusion of eternano and magical power, but only manifesting their magical powers in a dark and malefic nature while drawing any source of darkness towards them while focusing it around one of their arms, resulting in a compression of pulsating shadows around their hand that's mainly focused around their palm, giving off the appearance of a black aura with a purple outline – once this is done, the user strikes forward with all of their might, unleashing the concentrated shadows upon their arm towards the foe, resulting in the caster momentarily placing their hand upon the enemy's body in a grabbing motion as they unleash their darkness, causing a powerful surge that splits the shadows condensed upon the user's arm into a dozen tendrils that bombard the opponent with vicious lashings that transfer the user's own darkness into the opponent's body. While the attack is being performed, Banishing Fang: Raid has the unique ability of allowing the user to grab onto an opponent in midair; and in any case, once grabbed, the user is capable of throwing the opponent in two directions, forwards and backwards. If the user hits their enemies farther away, then their opponents will be sent upward with high vertical knockback.
Banishing Fang: Spike (黒竜の鉄爪斬撃・噴火柱, Banishingu Fangu: Supaiku lit. Black Dragon's Slashing Iron Claw: Erupting Pillar): Banishing Fang: Spike is an extension of the regular Banishing Fang Black Dragon Slayer Magic spell; it's a version of the standard Banishing Fang where the caster gathers the shadows amassed around their hand and surges them into the ground, resulting in a powerful pillar of darkness that erupts from the earth, damaging anything in its area-of-effect in a manner similar to Shadow Dragon's Eruption. When performing Banishing Fang: Spike, the user takes the 'magic = feelings' concept to the fullest—by fuelling this magic with negative feelings, the user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic is capable of initiating the usual fusion of eternano and magical power, but only manifesting their magical powers in a dark and malefic nature while drawing any source of darkness towards them while focusing it around one of their arms, resulting in a compression of pulsating shadows around their hand that's mainly focused around their palm, giving off the appearance of a black aura with a purple outline – once this is done, the caster slams their open shadow-clad palm into the barren earth, transferring the darkness imbued upon their arm into the ground itself, resulting in a minor earthquake resonating throughout the area and shaking the surface for the briefest of moments – the earth bursts open as a torrent of darkness that swirls around at high speeds in the shape of a pillar erupts upwards. As per being oriented towards offensive measures, the pillars are known to possess immense slashing power if used in such a manner, and can pierce all sorts of defenses, whether they are natural or supernatural in nature, ranging from Magic to Curse-derived. Generally, the user harnesses Banishing Fang: Spike by launching it towards his enemies- by simply stomping smashing their palm into the ground, they release two pulses of magical energy from their shadowy hands, resulting in fissures erupting from the earth, travelling in the direction of their opponent- while in motion, the fissures generated cause the earth to shake violently with a force akin to a minor tremor that ends with absurdly sharp pillars of darkness erupting in a continuous row while they rush towards their opponent like a multitude of sharks submerged within the earth, leaving only their fins visible, chasing the enemy until certain doom is met; even after the strike, the pillars of darkness persist in rising before dissipating into the skies. This variation is so incredibly powerful that it is able to plow through several buildings in one shot.
Doom Bringer annihilating everything in its path.
Doom Bringer (黒竜の連雀閃, Dūmu Buringā lit. Black Dragon's Waxwing Flash): Doom Bringer is a Black Dragon Slayer Magic spell which enables the caster to unleash a powerful and far-spanning shockwave of darkness and shadow that envelops everything that it comes into contact with and subjects them to Shadow Erosion all in a manner akin to Shadow Dragon's Waxwing Flash. When performing Doom Bringer, the user takes the 'magic = feelings' concept to the fullest—by fuelling this magic with negative feelings, the user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic is capable of initiating the usual fusion of eternano and magical power, but only manifesting their magical powers in a dark and malefic nature while drawing any source of darkness towards them while focusing it around their entire frame for the briefest of moments as the caster raises their hands above their head, turning their shadows a pulsating crimson as it starts constantly being compressed as it collects and concentrates the light of the moon and the stars into its structure, which produces such a radiance that it illuminates the area but is quickly drowned out by the negative emotions of Black Dragon Slayer Magic; all focused around the caster's hands which increases in both quantity and intensity with every second, gathering and condensing more and more magical energies to add to the mass. Once enough energy has been gathered to the caster's liking, they slam their arms into the earth palm-first, sending the shadows compressed upon their arms into the ground below, causing the immense amounts of darkness compressed into the user's hands to be unleashed at full power in the form of a crimson and pink pulsing and glowing shockwave of feather-like shadow to ripple outwards from the caster's body at speeds beyond mortal comprehension, propagating through the point of impact, shaking both the medium and anything around it, causing the objects around the point-of-impact to vibrate erratically in an extremely hard and fast wave, which causes other things that the material touches to vibrate too, resulting in a powerful explosion that does even more damage – it is called a "shock wave" because the wave of concussive force reverberates up and down like a crashing wave in the ocean. Doom Bringer's release damages the surrounding environment, blasting through the medium it was transferred through at astounding speeds in any direction that the caster chooses upon release; these shockwaves of shadow can ripple through the ground or in the atmosphere, bringing mass destruction to anything that they come into contact with- they can repulse enemies away with incredible force while pushing over those on the fringe of the glowing shockwave and shattering delicate substances; at the highest point, Doom Bringer can even cause minor earthquakes by shaking the ground or dislodging underground tectonic plates. The power of this spell can uproot trees, rend the earth, cut the skies, and smash small buildings, radiating throughout the vicinity, even disrupting enemy spells if they are being cast at the time, sending them careening across the landscape in the blink of an eye. Interestingly, the thicker the aura is around the caster's arms, the more powerful the attack becomes.
Supplementary Spells
Shadow Drive (三代竜力演・深淵なる極限の闇, Shadō Doraibu lit. Third-Generation Dragon Power Amplification: Darkness of the Outer Limits): Drive is a Dragon Slayer ability is a type of Magic-amplification technique used by Third Generation Dragon Slayers that brings out the true power of their capabilities as a user of Dragon Slayer Magic, excluding the power boost granted by Dragon Force, yet, at the same time, seemingly enhancing the user's physical prowess to a degree, particularly the user's speed. In the case of Shadow Drive, and by extension, a Black Dragon Slayer Magic user, Shadow Drive infuses the darkness that each user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic can generate with their magic into their bloodstream, which reaches their brain, resonating with the adrenaline that the user experiences in the heat of combat. This, in turn, reacts with the Black Dragon Slayer's own body and their Magic Origin, and their Lacrima begins to distribute the Dragon Slayer Magic Particles stored within the crystalline orb at a swifter pace, accelerating the output and flow of magic from the Lacrima to the user's body in order to enhance all of their fortes, increasing the strength, speed, and potential that the user possesses tenfold, allowing them to take on even foes much more powerful than themselves; entering a state of enhanced awareness and peak physical ability as shadow and darkness cloaks around them. When this process is occurring, alongside it, the darkness ever-so-signature of Black Dragon Slayer Magic begins to automatically activate, taking the 'magic = feelings' concept to the fullest—by fuelling this magic with negative feelings, automatically initiating the usual fusion of eternano and magical power, but only manifesting the caster's magical powers in a dark and malefic nature while drawing any source of darkness towards them, granting them an aura of shadows that completely cloaks and continuously rises from their body while simultaneously whirling around the caster in a rippling manner; activating Shadow Drive, the user's eyes become obscured by shadows, leaving only their round and blank irises visible. Essentially, Shadow Drive causes the user to become cloaked in intense shadow, allowing the user to better employ their Dragon Slayer Magic whilst at the same time massively enhancing their physical prowess to a degree, particularly their speed; while it is said that Drive channels the powers that "kill dragons", this is particularly unknown as it has never succeeded. Shadow Drive has a notable amount of startup invincibility, so if their opponent is attacking the user while they are activating the skill, the user will be capable of counterattacking immediately as to turn the tides instantly. As a result of Shadow Drive, the user's base power level, strength, speed, and senses greatly increase; tripling their already impressive power, allowing for a massive boost all across the board.
Shadow Drive – Phantom Pain (深淵なる極限の闇・悪性幻の鏡像示現, Shadō Doraibu – Fantomu Pein lit. Darkness of the Outer Limits: Malefic Phantasmal Mirror Image Manifestation): Shadow Drive – Phantom Pain is an extension of the bog standard Shadow Drive power; it enables the caster to manifest their personal Darkside into the mortal plane and have them fight alongside the user. When invoking Shadow Drive – Phantom Pain, the caster takes the 'magic = feelings' concept to the fullest—by fuelling this magic with negative feelings, the user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic is capable of initiating the usual fusion of eternano and magical power, but only manifesting their magical powers in a dark and malefic nature while drawing any source of darkness towards them, pooling it at a singular point – their own shadow. The negative feelings hidden within their shadow – the caster's dark side – reacts to this mechanic, accepting the power gleefully as the user's magical energies link with that of the shadow's existence, causing it become shrouded with a glyph composed of magical energy, textured in black and red as it undergoes a grotesque transformation into an exact replica of the user, flanking the caster's side; however, what is different about the Darkside in comparison to the user is that the shadow is completely black with the exception of its red eyes; also wisps of darkness constantly scatter from its form. The shadow can even move and fight like them also, with the similar amount of strength as its wielder; due to the user's magical power giving it extra strength. When this is done, the shadow is linked to the user's mind. Once an exploitable opening presents itself, it can and often will lead to lengthy and unbelievably high-damage combos. The user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic can use the Darkside as a pressure and confusing tool, forcing the opponent to switch between dodging and blocking until they make an unfortunate mistake. When Shadow Drive – Phantom Pain is active, the user impossible to counter or predict without the use of clairvoyance, as the shadow does nothing, remaining in a hunched position, until commanded, meant to be as close as possible to the opponent. Many of the user and their shadow's attacks chain together; capable of dealing tremendous damage to the foe via numerous heavy blows; dodging many attacks as well as faking out the opponent, disorientating them even more. The user can also summon and recall their Darkside; however, the shadow is also automatically summoned through many of Black Dragon Slayer Magic's more powerful spells. The main purpose of the shadow is to add damage to the user's combos and to force disorientation on the opponent if they block. However, the main weakness of Shadow Drive – Phantom Pain is that when utilizing this, for stronger attacks, the user cannot use or move their body and has to have someone guard them so that they won't be harmed.
Shade Forge Spells
Shade Forge: Discalibur (偽性・闇の造形魔法・卑王の漆黒剣, Shēdo Fōji: Disukyaribā lit. Pseudo-Darkness Molding Magic: The Jet-Black Sword of the Vile King): Shade Forge: Discalibur is perhaps the most basic Shade Forge creation of the Static Shade Forge line; it enables the caster to shape a sword from darkness that can be used for close-to-mid ranged combat. When performing Shade Forge: Discalibur, the caster activates Shade Forge by going to the extremes of the 'magic = feelings' concept— by fuelling this magic with negative feelings, the user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic is capable of initiating the usual fusion of eternano and magical power, but only manifesting their magical powers in a dark and malefic nature while drawing any source of darkness towards them, before they utilize their imagination in order to mold the darkness and shadows created through Shade Forge into the form of a single-edged sword composed completely from shadow, meaning that it does not possess a solid form. The Discalibur is mainly in blacks with lighter shades of grey in various places, possessing a spear-like handle that has a red diamond to serve as a pommel, and a curled and elongated hilt fashioned in the shape of a dragon's head with red eyes. The sword's blade is double-sided and shaped like a stylized 'Z'. The design of the Discalibur was made to take down enemies in a single swing, but due to its unwieldy size and a weight decidedly greater than any other sword, it is said that no one has even been able to brandish this unusual blade to its full capacity. The sword is highly sharp and durable, capable of slicing through magical barriers, and its slashes are capable of trailing large amounts of darkness in its wake, which can damage the opponent. Shade Forge: Discalibur is so deadly precisely because it's capable of being utilized in countless ways- it's almost mesmerizing that somebody can get so much mileage out of a simple sword of darkness. Shade Forge: Discalibur take the form of any type of sword formed from shadow, such as a regular sword and alter its properties to transform it into another version, such as a rapier or katana. The moment that the weapon makes contact with the foe via impaling them, the composition of the weapon is altered to cause additional, smaller blades to protrude from the blade inside of the foe's body, drastically increasing the number of wounds dealt to the foe. The weapon itself can endure even the strongest of attacks, making it quite effective in blocking and deflecting incoming attacks; and it can withstand getting crushed by force. The armament is strong and sharp enough to cut clean through pure metal weapons as well; the power of Shade Forge: Discalibur is capable of inflicting a deep cut into the opponent's body, even if they had erected a magical defense beforehand, severely damaging them- it can defeat an Etherious compared to a Guild Ace in power in a single strike.
Extension: Rumbling Discalibur (追加攻撃・卑王の漆黒剣・乱舞爪竜影縫い , Ekusutenshon: Ranburuingu Disukyaribā lit. Additional Attack: The Jet-Black Sword of the Vile King: Fervent Dancing Dragon Clawed Shadow Stitching): Extension: Rumbling Discalibur is an extension of the regular Shade Forge: Discalibur spell which involves the caster physically throwing the Discalibur at the opponent, which can pierce them and pin them to the ground afterwards. When performing Extension: Rumbling Discalibur, the user uses their Black Dragon Slayer Magic to create a sword made of darkness and shadows for melee combat; but instead of being harnessed for close-range battle, it is capable of simply being thrown, with the user launching the weapon like a high-speed projectile at the opponent, impaling them if it makes contact- the Extension: Rumbling Discalibur spell is launched forward in a similar manner to that of a rocket. These swords of darkness aim to impale the opponent with incredible speed and force. Extension: Rumbling Discalibur, when in motion, is able to cancel any type of other dark-element attack while continuing to hit the opponent; it always contains the properties of targeting and propulsion, always condensing the magical particles that compose it, before spreading them out to the tip, coating the outer surface of the swords, enhancing its penetrative qualities. Upon contact with the foe, the Extension: Rumbling Discalibur releases all of the darkness and magical particles that compose it—the foe's own magical pressure serves to contain and amplify the destructive power of the blade of darkness, piercing through anything in its path. If it, by any chance, misses, the Extension: Rumbling Discalibur expands shadows into the enemy's shadow and transforming the energies into those of the darkness of Black Dragon Slayer Magic themselves, giving Extension: Rumbling Discalibur a "stopping" effect which pins the opponent down by turning the shadowy blade into a pivot which has caught their shadow, rendering the opponent unable to move as the shadow cannot separate from the body, and in such a case only the user can remove the enemy from their bindings- it is "stitching" the opponent to the ground through Black Dragon Slayer Magic. It should be taken into consideration that in mid-flight, the blades veer off wildly in different directions, homing in on different targets in order to attempt to take out multiple opponents at once —these lock on to the target, tracking their heat signature; it is a spell that is effective for quick, widespread, and massive amounts of damage. This attack has several other versions, such as a midair version, and a variant that shoots a trio of shadowy blades at once. Something native to this spell is that even when the user is not holding the weapon, it will not vanish- multiple swords launched can be directed telekinetically. Even so, the user has a limit to how much Extension: Rumbling Discalibur shots that they can use; even if the user runs out of magical power, they can still fire a single shot; however, it loses its rapid-fire capability and it will not fire up or downwards as it did when they had magical energy, instead it will fire only straight across.
Extension: Discalibur – Absolute Domination (追加攻撃・卑王の漆黒剣・闢魔神王剣の浄破滅焼闇, Ekusutenshon: Disukyaribā – Abusoryūto Dominashēon lit. Additional Attack: The Jet-Black Sword of the Vile King: Open Devil God King Sword of the Raining Darkness bringing Pure Ruination): The second and final extension of Shade Forge: Discalibur, Extension: Discalibur – Absolute Domination is a serial of seventeen slashing attacks that end with the complete eradication of the opponent, though it can be extended to grant an additional hit. In any case, when performing Extension: Discalibur – Absolute Domination, the caster activates Shade Forge by going to the extremes of the 'magic = feelings' concept— by fuelling this magic with negative feelings, the user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic is capable of initiating the usual fusion of eternano and magical power, but only manifesting their magical powers in a dark and malefic nature while drawing any source of darkness towards them, before they utilize their imagination in order to mold the darkness and shadows created through Shade Forge into the form of two single-edged swords; shadows scatter off of both weapons in this state. Once both Discaliburs have been formed, the caster surges their magical energy upwards to unleash a jet-burst thrice the potency of when they move normally, resulting in a rocket boost that blasts the user towards the opponent in the blink of an eye; transcending such concepts as 'evasion', 'defense', and 'countering'. Catching the foe off-guard, the user begins their assault by slashing the enemy from all directions as the speed of their slashes gradually increases, becoming quicker and more furious with each strike; each blow results in darkness erupting from the corresponding blade to cause extra damage, also having the side-effect of causing a dark sphere that blackens the area for the briefest of moments- the flurry of strikes pierce the enemy's Magic Pathways, thus resulting in the enemy having no actual way to defend against the final strike. After several slashes, the user dashes through the enemy with a single, two-handed powerful strike that is near-impossible to react to, attacking with enough force to split the earth, pierce the skies, and part the seas- it's much less a "final attack" as it is a force of nature being brought down upon their bodies, dealing overwhelming damage and blasting the opponent away. There are seventeen strikes in this deadly combo, with sixteen being the flurry of steel and the final serving as the coup de grace. Extension: Discalibur – Absolute Domination also has an extension- while unnamed, after the final strike of the initial combo, the user leaps into the air, aiming down at the opponent before slashing with both swords in an overhead swing, unleashing two blast spells at once which raze the ground near the opponent while exposing the enemy to the sheer intensity of the darkness released by the projectile upon impact which is capable of wiping out almost anything it its path.
Advanced Spells
Dragon Slayer's Secret Art (滅竜奥義, Metsu Ryū Ōgi): The strongest techniques of a Dragon Slayer.
Black Lotus: Slashing Shadow Array (黒蓮・斬影陣, Kokuren: Zan'eijin): TBA
Jörmungandr: Eternal Requiem (蛇顎神帰り・千魂冥烙, Yorumungando: Etānaru Rekuiemu lit. Serpent's Maw Divine Return: Thousand Souls Dark Branding): Jörmungandr: Eternal Requiem is one of Níðhöggr's two Dragon Slayer's Secret Arts, the strongest techniques of a Dragon Slayer; in the case of this spell, Jörmungandr: Eternal Requiem creates a pulsing crimson wave of shadow that cancels out all power-ups currently activated while dealing serious damage. When performing Jörmungandr: Eternal Requiem, Níðhöggr gathers and compresses magical energy from the vicinity upon one of his claws before he takes the 'magic = feelings' concept to the fullest—by fuelling this magic with negative feelings, Níðhöggr induces the usual fusion of eternano and magical power, but only manifesting his magical powers in a dark and malefic nature while drawing any source of darkness towards him while focusing it around his hand, compressing it completely to the point that it can be visually described as specks of crimson and black molting off of his large claw like they were feathers; however, from here, the Black Dragon thins out the energy focused on his claw in order to result in not an overwhelming amount, but not a miniscule amount either; essentially, it is just the right amount; at least to oppose the foe's offending spell—it calls upon the theory of Mao-Dun in order to function. The Mao-Dun theory concerns a blacksmith who makes both shields and spears. He first pitches a customer the spears, claiming that they are so sharp, no shield can block them. He then pitches the shields, saying they are so hard, no spear can pierce them. The customer then asks what would happen if he threw one of the blacksmith's spears at one of his shields...and received no answer. This is the source of the Chinese word for paradox (矛盾, máodùn lit. spear-shield). The darkness collection in the Black Dragon's hand is concentrated to a single point; and with a single throwing motion, Níðhöggr launches the collection of darkness forward in the form of a spiralling pulsing horizontal shockwave of crimson darkness that barrels through the opposing collection of supernatural particles that composes the offending supernatural powers, causing everything else to be shoved aside into fragments of shadow, essentially breaking it into pieces, nullifying the enemy's supernatural abilities and negating their supernatural powers at the point of contact while producing enough force to blow the opponent away.
Jörmungandr: Damned Charging Lance (蛇顎神帰り・常闇砲撃の猛覇魂吸収槍, Yorumungando: Damudo Chājingu Ransu lit. Serpent's Maw Divine Return: The Tyrannical Soul-Sucking Spear of Absolute Darkness Bombardment): Jörmungandr: Damned Charging Lance is the name of Níðhöggr's only Dragon Slayer's Secret Art and his absolute strongest attack. However, the end result of the attack is unknown, as Ashur was capable of stopping it and countering with her own Secret Art, Ultimate Ascension Wave. As the name and the rest of Black Dragon Slayer Magic's power would suggest, it could destroy everyone nearby. It was said that this was the move that was used to defeat Ashur the first time. However, in Daybreak S2, Damned Charging Lance is finally utilized – more than living up to its potency. When activating Damned Charging Lance, Níðhöggr activates his Black Dragon Slayer Magic by taking the 'magic = feelings' concept to the fullest—by fuelling this magic with negative feelings, Níðhöggr is capable of initiating the usual fusion of eternano and magical power, but only manifesting his magical powers in a dark and malefic nature while drawing any source of darkness towards him, gathering and condensing darkness around his body momentarily as it flows out and around his large frame, obscuring everything and anything as day turns into night with blood red fog while darkness pulsates throughout the atmosphere, followed by Níðhöggr's words, "Let me show you fear and despair..." (恐怖と絶望を味わってみよ… Kyoufu to zetsubou wo ajiwattemiyo...). The blood red fog and darkness shrouding the vicinity intensifies as vicious winds are stirred up, signifying the absolute hell that is about to be unleashed on earth. With the crimson skies glowing above, Níðhöggr lets out a mighty roar - this gesture acts as a conduit which focuses and dictates the flow of magical energy, tapping into the magical energies that already exist within the earth and matter; representing the cyclical flow of eternano and turns that power to manipulable ends; allowing the Black Dragon to mold and initiate the fusion of magical energy- however, as per the usual aspects of Black Dragon Slayer Magic, the magical energies brought into this plane of existence are a darker shade of energy that is an embodiment of sheer, unrelenting hatred that manifests a serial of dark red and black ethereal spears from thin air using the above mentioned process- the lances possess long and hollow concave edges, with a cross-shaped "handle" and a diamond-shaped gap in the center. The "handle" is connected to a guard that has two spikes on either side of sorts that is an extension of the sides of the blade. Floating around Níðhöggr in a circular formation at high speeds, the Black Dragon then mentally commands the lances to shoot towards his opponent; causing the spears to expand while surging forth in the blink of an eye, tainted a pulsating raven as bleeding scarlet discharges of electricity arc around the spears. All these volley of spears dart through the air, they create a gravitational field around themselves which possesses immense attraction force, drawing in everything in the vicinity including ambient supernatural energies that are suspended within the atmosphere, gradually getting larger, as well as growing stronger and stronger and faster- the almost magnetic pull never ceases, only becoming more and more powerful as moments pass. Not only this, as pure shadows influenced by Black Dragon Slayer Magic, it possesses an immense corroding influence, as anything that that any Damned Charging Lance passes by is instantly disintegrated into nothingness, eradicating anything upon contact by busting it into numerous black cubes of shadow. The Damned Charging Lance effect is not only a relentless attack, but Níðhöggr possesses pinpoint control over the spell, and his unerring aim allows the lances of destruction to travel in straight lines or bend, twist or curve around corners; upon impact, and everything inside the Damned Charging Lance's blast radius is devastated, while nothing outside of it is even touched; tsunamis, shockwaves, and ring clouds form for every living second that the spell is in motion. Upon contact with the attack's target, the lances induce nuclear fission through sheer evil upon the masses of particles in the vicinity, breaking the particles apart with the process of a nucleus of eternano splitting into smaller nuclei in the blink of an eye, releasing a quantity of energy unheard of in any day and age in the form of an enormous explosion that echoes outwards for several thousand kilometers or more, the impact of the powerful surge causes a large mushroom cloud of darkness to quickly rise upwards at the point of casting the spell.
Extension: Lance Discharge ZERO (常闇砲撃の猛覇魂吸収槍・追加攻撃・魔神煉獄殺滅導無影衝陣, Ekusutenshon: Ransu Disuchāji ZERO lit. Tyrannical Soul-Sucking Spear of Absolute Darkness Bombardment Additional Attack: Demon God Purgatory Killing Shadowless Piercing Array): TBA
Dual-Element Dragon Mode
Níðhöggr in Hopeless Aurageyser Mode.
Hopeless Aurageyser Mode (二要素竜変形・白影竜超融合化, Hōpuresu Ōragaiza Mōdo lit. Dual-Element Dragon Metamorphosis: White Shadow Dragon Super Fusion State): Hopeless Aurageyser Mode is a special transformation known as a Dual-Element Dragon Mode available to a user of Black Dragon Slayer Magic if they somehow manage to consume the light produced by a light-element Dragon Slayer, preferably a user of White Dragon Slayer Magic; Hopeless Aurageyser Mode combines the elements of light and darkness to form twilight and dawn intermingled with one another while inducing a physical metamorphosis.
Initially, upon learning of the existence of the "strongest dragon magic" sometime after defeating the Ashley Briett through a sneak attack, Níðhöggr realized that combining two opposing forces would produce a power beyond the limits of a regular Dragon Slayer Magic – and thus, the two strongest, light and darkness, would result in a power that transcended divinity and entered a dimension of its own. During the Dragon Civil War, Níðhöggr searched for Ashur, the only known user of the formidable Photon Dragon Slayer Magic after he had defeated her in order to devour her and combine their powers; however, before his plans could come to bear fruit, Elucifer Mercury slew him. In the time of Daybreak S2, after being revived by the Magic Council as Níðhöggr Replicant, meeting Charlotte Merquise when her and Tsuruko Sejren attempted to storm the Magic Council to apprehend Alexis Tenjouin and force her to answer questions about the Nega End. Seeing that Charlotte was the "child of Ashur", Níðhöggr recalled his plans to become the "ultimate life-form".
During the Infinity Arc of Daybreak S2, Níðhöggr Replicant goes after Charlotte during Team Daybreak + remaining Allies of Justice's fight with Amadam's Empire + Magic Council with the intent of devouring her in order to gain her power – the photon power being far more advanced than other light-element, and thus it would be the most suitable to invoke the transformation into a god. However, Rosa Dimaggio pushed Charlotte out of the way before Níðhöggr Replicant could blindside her and consume her without giving her a chance to escape, resulting in Rosa becoming the "light side" of this ultimate power instead. But even so, with the powers of yin and yang coursing through his existence, Níðhöggr effectively became reborn as the original Black Dragon replaced the clone's consciousness. The miniature war suddenly became "everyone vs. the Black Dragon", with Níðhöggr putting up an incredible fight against several Soul Armour Knights and all of the Ten Wizard Saints at once, displaying the ability to harness both the elements of light and darkness simultaneously, and even giving his shadows the piercing properties of light as he zipped about at light speed; in this state, he could be said to be equal to the Dragon of Dragons, even cockily naming himself the Genesis Omega DragonＧ・Ｏ・Ｄ, Jeneshisu Omega Doragon).
However, the Black Dragon's power trip soon came to an end as Tsuruko managed to smash her hand into Níðhöggr's body with the Zero Effect as her fighting spirit flared up, allowing her to enter Soulspace to reunite with Rosa in spirit, and from there, the souls of the two linked together as Tsuruko tore the majority of Rosa's power from Níðhöggr and absorbed it, causing her to become Gaiki Dragon Formation, signified by Indra's wings, tail, and claws forming on the Soul Armour while the Berserk Light Dragon's maw manifested on the G-Circular chest plate. With the power of a draconic light flowing through her body, Tsuruko managed to finish Níðhöggr with the Victorize Dragon Kick Limit Break after every other fighter helped her ascend by launching her upwards like they were stepping stones, enabling Tsuruko to descend and use her foot to cleave the Black Dragon in two with a diving kick imbued with Rosa's Dragon Slayer Magic and her own Zero Effect.
Eternal Session (滅竜太極義・光と闇の洗礼, Etānaru Sesshon lit. Dragon Slayer's Supreme Ultimate Arts: Dedication through Light and Darkness): Eternal Session is the name of Níðhöggr's Dragon Slayer's Secret Arts while he has transformed into Hopeless Aurageyser Mode; they are said to be a duo of exceptionally powerful attacks that possess absolutely zero equals in the history of Slayer Magic, a power beyond all compare that embody the concept of light and darkness.
Xanadu Matrix (滅竜太極義・天地晦冥事により無限光, Kisanadu Matorikusu lit. Dragon Slayer's Supreme Ultimate Arts: The World is plunged into Darkness through Light without Limit): Xanadu Matrix is the name of Níðhöggr's strongest Dragon Slayer's Secret Art of the Eternal Session style; it is a ring of yin and yang that encircles the vicinity that combines the properties of a laser and gravity from light and darkness to deal naught but absolute annihilation.
Dragonar Mode
Dragonar Mode (龍騎化, Doragunā Mōdo lit. Dragon Knight Transformation) is an Ancient Spell exclusive to Dragons and those with dragon-blood. It enables the user to take upon an armoured form. Dragonar Mode is one of the very few powers related to Dragons that was developed after the Human-Dragon War; more specifically, as most Dragons had utilized Compact Regression to hide themselves amongst mankind, Dragonar Mode was developed in order to compensate for the drastic reduction of power while making sure that onlookers would not find out their origins as a dragon. It was hinted that Dragonar Mode was specifically developed in an attempt to mimic the overwhelming power of the Soul Armours, though Soul Armour Knights aside from the Phoenix Knight were a rare sight during those days. Even in an age without dragons due to all of them being slaughtered by the world famous unicyclist known as "Badass McPowerfist", Dragonar Mode is still around, albeit technically "lost"; as almost no Dragons are shown to activate its power in the current time, being known as a "mere myth". Dragonar Mode is also referred to as the "Strongest Dragon Transformation" (最強の龍変身, Saikyō no Ryū Henshin) though this cannot be backed up as a Dragonar Mode user has never properly fought a dragon or Dragon Slayer in any other form.
Essentially, Dragonar Mode is available to a Dragon who used Compact Regression and with the help of an outside source of power; it drags out their true form and compresses it into an armour to enable them to use their full power without transforming into an unwieldy full-body dragon form. However, it requires truly staggering amounts of energy gain, whether magical or metaphysical in nature, taking a small portion of the user's life force with every utilization of the Ancient Spell. Normal dragons are capable of activating Dragonar Mode by will, as long as they allow the form to consume a small portion of their life. However, in rare cases, it is available to a being with the blood of dragons—by raising their "fighting spirit" to its utmost limit (or something like that; the process is ill-defined), a half-dragon is capable of assuming a humanoid dragon form that bears a striking likeness to their dragon parent. However, this form is considered to be "flawed" and is only half as strong as a Dragonar Mode induced by a full-blooded dragon. However, this form is extremely taxing to the point that it can only last five minutes initially even with support, but with proper training, it can be maintained for longer periods of time. The original Níðhöggr never had access to Dragonar Mode, due to his distaste of anything that could link humans and dragons together- however, his clone, Níðhöggr Replicant, had the ability forcibly installed within his soul.
Níðhöggr Replicant in his dragon form's evolution, Abyssal Dragonar Knight.
Abyssal Dragonar Knight (天地晦冥の真龍騎化, Abisuaru Doragunā Naito lit. World-Covering Darkness True Dragon Knight Transformation): The Abyssal Dragonar Knight form is an evolution of Níðhöggr, which is achieved when harnessing the power of Dragonar Mode. The ability to access the all-powerful Dragonar Mode was installed within the soul of Níðhöggr's clone by the Magic Council's R&D department, and Alexis Tenjouin can invoke it at any time, even against his will. When transformed into Abyssal Dragonar Knight, Níðhöggr takes upon a humanoid appearance, donning black draconic armour with gold trim and numerous red orbs transfixed upon the armour. A tattered blue cape drapes down from the back. Níðhöggr Replicant, when activating Abyssal Dragonar Knight, regenerates the lower half of his body, though it immediately vanishes upon deactivation.
In this form, Níðhöggr Replicant's parameters have been drastically enhanced all across the board, just like all other Dragonar Mode forms. Unlike the original Níðhöggr, whom focused solely on offensive measures and just relied on his natural toughness and dragon powers to get the job done (and effectively at that), Níðhöggr Replicant in his Abyssal Dragonar Knight form automatically gains a large amount of finesse in his movements and fighting style, going from an untrained brute to a black knight who can fight like a master swordsman as the form's appearance would indicate. As Abyssal Dragonar Knight, Níðhöggr Replicant is a fast-moving mass of destruction towards his enemies, flying at mach ten and jumping as high as the skies, all while hitting even harder than what a Crash user with super strength can muster in terms of power. There are many parts of this form's strength which are unmeasured, but it has been confirmed that Níðhöggr Replicant possesses an unbelievable combat record from his countless battles in his past life.
I see you've played knifey-spoony before.
Arondight (覇王両断剣, Arondaito lit. Tyrant Bisection Sword): When Níðhöggr Replicant activates Dragonar Mode and becomes the Abyssal Dragonar Knight, he can summon an extravagant-looking sword that resembles a battleaxe more than a proper blade. The Arondight is double-edged, with each proper blade having a golden trim on the outer part and black textures on the inner parts, which are connected to two more blades that are also connected to the long staff that could be considered a "hilt" of sorts- the hilt is adorned with a stylized dagger. In any case, the Arondight is a sword that is considered limitless; capable of receiving any attack without taking damage. It is normally clad in darkness to hide its identity and increase its destructive power. The blade itself can endure even the strongest of attacks, making it quite effective in blocking and deflecting incoming attacks; and it can withstand getting crushed by force. The blade is strong and sharp enough to cut clean through the scales of other dragons as well. Interestingly, the Arondight is capable of cutting straight through Orichalcum; being touted as "being so sharp you could cut yourself just by looking at it"; but on a serious note, the Arondight was able to cleave through diamond and even magic blasts effortlessly; and on one occasion, Níðhöggr Replicant was capable of using the cold steel of the sword to absorb an energy blast before returning it to sender via another swing of the blade. Lastly, Níðhöggr Replicant is capable of channeling his Black Dragon Slayer Magic into the Arondight, endowing it with a burning red and black aura and causing runic symbols to appear along its length. The Arondight can launch Black Megaflare and its upgraded versions when Níðhöggr Replicant channels his magic into it; the normal Dragon's Roar takes the form of a crescent of darkness when unleashed through the blade.
Drago Aura (龍幻顕現, Dorago Ōra lit. Dragon Phantasm Manifestation): A special ability of Dragonar Mode is that the user is capable of manifesting parts of their old full-body dragon form upon chosen parts of their body at will, simply by mental command. This allows the user to harness a portion of their old body's power for a single attack. While the forms of the attachments vary, the Drago Skull (ドラゴ・スカル, Dorago Sukaru) summons the dragon's head for a beam attack or a vicious bite, the Drago Tail (ドラゴ・テイル, Dorago Teiru) manifests the dragon's tail to grab an opponent or to smash them, the Drago Wings (ドラゴ・ウィング, Dorago Uingu) enables flight, and the Drago Claws (ドラゴ・クロー, Dorago Kurō) drastically enhance the user's power in close combat. Not only do these attachments boost the user's offensive power, they project an aura of the user's original dragon form outwards to attack one more time- while not as powerful as the initial strike, it can catch foes offguard. The aura of their dragon form can come alive and bite down on anything when the user wills it to, and it can extend itself for a few feet to chomp on a hapless and most likely taken-back foe.
Dragoon Streiser (ドラグーン・ストライザー, Doragūn Sutoraizā): The most powerful attack of Dragonar Mode. When performing Dragoon Streiser, Níðhöggr Replicant gathers and condenses darkness into his leg; applying the high-speed movements granted by transforming his body into darkness in order to accelerate his movements to tremendous speeds—so fast that the opponent cannot see where he is moving—then, by jumping forward, he unleashes a powerful flying side kick that attacks the opponent head-on; once in the air, a projection of his original dragon form snakes around him as Níðhöggr Replicant corkscrews into a kicking position, then as he reaches the peak of his jump, the dragon projection sends him flying forward with a Dragon's Roar; causing him to slam down upon the opponent with his foot with a strike that equals over three hundred tons in weight, more than enough to completely shatter the opponent into innumerable fragments. The only major weakness of this technique is that Níðhöggr Replicant has to focus all his power into his legs, forcing him to lower his arms and enter a guard-less stance; which can allow the opponent to strike; as he focuses all of his power while maintaining his center of balance and delivers a kick at the opponent's weak spot; shattering any defenses and severely winding them.
Relationships
Trivia
When designing the Black Dragon, the author took advantage of the fact that there was no properAcnologia equivalent within the Sun Trilogy, Níðhöggr was created with that in mind; an extremely powerful, black-textured dragon whose particular form of Dragon Slayer Magic allows it to drain life to an extent, referred to as the Dragon King and went on a rampage during the Human-Dragon War, having a major role in something referred to as a "Dragon King Festival". However, since the whole "Dragon Slayers killed dragons and transformed into them" thing went to Rosa and E, Níðhöggr is different in that he is a full-blooded dragon and was the one who started the Human-Dragon War in the first place. Níðhöggr's title, The Unbreakable Dark, references this in its kanji; Apocalyptic Wicked King Dragon; as opposed to "The Black Dragon in the Book of Apocalypse".
Níðhöggr, in his final dragon form, is the single largest being seen in the Sun Trilogy (with the exception of Signa), even dwarfing Vritra in its dragon form, and the Magitek Mecha "Rayburn".
In Norse mythology, Níðhöggr was a dragon that gnawed at the roots of the world tree. The name fitted perfectly with the Sun Trilogy's version of Acnologia, as both are threats to existence.
Níðhöggr's Black Megaflare and its upgraded versions are a reference to the Megaflare attack of Bahamut, who is generally the strongest summon in the Final Fantasy series.
