List of Slayers characters

This is a list of major characters from the Japanese anime, manga and light novel series Slayers. The series of over 52 novels written by Hajime Kanzaka was serialized in Dragon Magazine, adapted into several manga titles, five televised anime series, two three-episode original video animations (OVAs), and five movies. Slayers follows the adventures of teenage sorceress Lina Inverse and her companions as they journey through their world.^[1][2] Using powerful magic and swordsmanship, they battle difficult overreaching wizards, demons seeking to destroy the world, dark lords, and the occasional hapless gang of bandits.

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Major characters

Lina Inverse

Gourry Gabriev

Gourry Gabriev (ガウリイ・ガブリエフ, Gaurī Gaburiefu) is a wandering swordsman who meets up with Lina in the first episode of the television series, and accompanies her from then on. He carries the fabled Sword of Light, known as Gorun Nova in the world of the gods.

Gourry is somewhat less than scholarly and appears to have memory deficiencies. However, his skills as a swordsman are unmatched throughout the franchise and he is nearly unbeatable. He has excellent skills of observation and can often tell when something is out of place long before anyone else in the group catches on. A characterization of Gourry from his manga profile is "as loyal as man's best friend, but not quite as smart". After he meets Lina, he decides to become the "little girl's" unpaid bodyguard (despite his disappointment at his charge's lack of development), and they slowly get to know one another. Gourry's kindness (he spares the life of his rival Zangulus on several occasions), loyalty (absolute to Lina), and consideration for others is clear throughout the franchise, but is not as quixotic as that of the Seyruuns'. Gourry has a rather high magic capacity and has the potential to deal spells in power that rival Lina's. However, due to Gourry's faulty memory and disinterest, he cannot remember spells and, thus, never uses them.

While Gourry is powerful with an ordinary sword, he is absolutely deadly when armed with his family's magic blade. He is the keeper of the Sword of Light, a mystic weapon the steel blade of which can be detached, allowing the use of an alternate blade made of pure, destructive light powered by force of will. The sword can fell lower-ranked demons on its own and absorbs magic. If magic is cast directly on the sword of the light, the sword's power becomes combined with that of the spell. Gourry takes great care of the Sword of Light, and watches it carefully to protect the valuable relic from thieving hands, especially those of Lina herself. Lina often tries to trick him into giving it to her by claiming he already promised it to her, but these are among the few times when Gourry's less-than-astute memory is crystal clear.

Gourry does allow Lina to borrow the sword in certain extreme circumstances, however. At the end of the third series, Gourry gives up the Sword of Light so that it and the other light weapons can be protected. In the following book series, he acquires the legendary Blast Sword. Manipulating the magical energies around it, the Blast Sword creates an extremely sharp blade. If not treated with care, it can slice through its sheath, and will sink up to its hilt into the ground below. An enchantment placed on it by the wielder allows them to change its sharpness to be useful again.

Gourry eventually falls in love with Lina, and he expresses this in his promise that he will guard her for the rest of his life. Although he is not as shy towards the notion of love as Lina is, he won't violently deny his feelings when the subject arises. He doesn't act on them, as he seems rather content with merely watching out for Lina's well-being instead, although they do share a kiss in the anime episode "Go to NEXT! And then Again...," although neither remember it when they return.

Voices

Yasunori Matsumoto (Japanese), Eric Stuart (TV series) & Christopher Patton (Slayers Premium) (English)

Zelgadis Greywords

Zelgadis Greywords (ゼルガディス・グレイワーズ, Zerugadisu Gureiwāzu) is a sorcerer who begins the various incarnations of the franchise as a retainer for his ancestor Rezo, opposed to Lina, but ends up in Lina and Gourry's group. He is a chimera made of rock, golem, brau (English trans. blow) demon, and human.

Zelgadis tends to become something of an enigma to his comrades, due to his quiet and asocial nature. When he was a teenager, he was transformed by Rezo, the red priest—who is his great-grandfather—into a three-part chimera.

Zelgadis specializes in Shamanistic magic, which pulls its power from the astral, or spiritual, plane. His elemental spells are formidable, and include Stone Spiker, a modified version of Ray Wing, and his trump card, the mighty Ra-Tilt. Since he is part blow demon, he is unable to cast black magic, as doing so would require him to call upon the power of another demonic being which, in the Slayers universe, is akin to willing oneself out of existence. However, blow demons are not a Mazoku, so this does not apply to them. Zelgadis casts black magic spells up to Dynast Breath in power. Though he is not as learned in the art as Lina, Zelgadis' even combination of physical brunt and magical finesse render him among the most fearsome warriors.

Zelgadis travels with Lina and company because he wants to find a spell that can change him back into a human. Despite the incredible abilities bestowed upon him by Rezo in the transformation, he dislikes his change in appearance (his skin is stone hard, tinged blue-grey, with pebbles scattered across its surface, and his hair is as stiff as steel wire) and wishes more than anything to regain human form. However, Zelgadis likes to consider himself evil, but not too evil. In one episode, Zelgadis (and the others) are described in insulting terms. Zelgadis is called "the heartless mystical swordsman," an epithet he actually likes. Lina and Gourry are called "some smartass sorceress and an idiot swordsman," while Amelia is called "a crazy girl".

During Slayers Evolution-R, Rezo informs Zelgadis that he knows of no cure to return him to human. It is unclear whether this means that Zelgadis will forever remain a chimera, or if Rezo's knowledge was simply limited in that respect. Hajime Kanzaka has, however, stated in past interviews that Zelgadis would probably eventually find his cure.

Out of everyone in the group, Zelgadis seems to gather feelings for Amelia. This becomes more clear in Slayers NEXT, as he gets extremely upset whenever she gets hurt, even going so far as to put his body between her and Gaav's sword and saving her, but nearly killing himself. In later seasons, they become quite close and he stops being closed up around her. Amelia returns his feelings and, when they part before the end credits of Episode 26, "TRY," she apparently gives him "The Lady's Favour" in the form of one of the pink bracelets (with a blue gem) that form part of her standard costume.

Voices: Hikaru Midorikawa (Japanese), Daniel Cronin (Episodes 2–10) and Crispin Freeman (Episodes 18-104, Premium) (English)

Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun

Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun (アメリア・ウィル・テスラ・セイルーン, Ameria Wiru Tesura Seirūn) is a young miko (shrine maiden, sometimes translated as priestess) and the princess of Seyruun with an unwavering, quixotic belief in justice. She joins Lina's group during the first TV series. Amelia longs to be a "hero of justice" and quixotically pursues her quest by following Lina and fighting (what appears to her as) villains. Amelia's naïve tendency to believe whatever she is told sometimes leads her to mistake friend and foe. In the novels, Amelia is the same age as Lina, but in the anime and manga franchise, Amelia is a year younger than Lina and smaller (though very busty, much to Lina's annoyance). In all incarnations of the franchise, Amelia's manner is that of a little girl playing crusader.

She initially comes across as a naive young girl who can not distinguish between the good guys from the bad guys without relying on cliched stereotypes (such as her belief that "all villains dress in black"). However, her perspective upon good and evil matures significantly as the series progresses. Although Lina is often annoyed with Amelia for her naïveté, her desire to learn the Dragon Slave, and her larger bust size, eventually Lina comes to accept her as a friend and treats her like a little sister.

Most of Amelia's lessons in justice and heroism came from her father Prince Philionel of Seyruun, the "ultimate pacifist," armed with a variety of oxymoronic but very effective attacks, whom Lina once mistook for a bandit king (TV series). Naga the Serpent is Amelia's long-lost older sister, the crown princess Gracia.^[3] This is played to comedic effect in Evolution-R, with the character "Nama" and several ironic statements made by both of them that allude to the relation. After the murder of her mother, Amelia has vowed never to use blades, though she once used the Sword of Light to channel the Ra-Tilt.

Amelia becomes close to everyone in the group, but it is clear that early on she starts to develop feelings for Zelgadis, even though their first meeting was not a very good one. They become quite close as they tend to be together during missions—enough that Amelia can tease him playing chess, or angrily beat him over his treatment of innocent forest animals and get away without so much as an angry glare.

Voices: Masami Suzuki (Japanese), Joan Baker (Episodes 11-13), Veronica Taylor (Episodes 14-104), Carmen Olarte (Spanish) and Luci Christian (Slayers Premium) (English)

Naga the White Serpent

Sylphiel Nels Lahda

Sylphiel Nels Lahda (シルフィール・ネルス・ラーダ, Shirufīru Nerusu Rāda) is a young cleric who has known Gourry before she meets Lina and the others. She becomes infatuated with Gourry to the point where she refers to him as "Dear Gourry" or "Gourry Dear" (in the Japanese version, she refers to him as "Gourry-Sama" in a show of respect). Gourry only remembers her for her good cooking.

She is weak in shamanism and black magic. However, as a cleric, her skills in white magic (healing and protection) are impressive. Her defensive magic is powerful enough to easily hold its own against an attack from Copy Rezo that requires all of Lina's efforts to hold back. Her prowess in defensive magic is also seen when she holds her own against Zanfar in the Season 1 finale.

As far as healing magic goes, Sylphiel is able to bring Lina back from the brink of death with a high level resurrection spell, mainly due to her profession as a shrine maiden. Ironically, in Slayers NEXT, she manages to get the hang of Lina's signature spell, the Dragon Slave. Her only other offensive spell, Flare Arrow, is comically pathetic: slow, weak and shaped like a carrot or beet. In the TV series, she joins the group for the end of the first series and again near the end of the second series. She reappears in Slayers Revolution during the attack on Seiryuun.

Voices: Yumi Tōma (Japanese), Stacia Crawford (Episodes 18-26, 49-52), Stephanie Sheh (Episodes 90-93, 104) (English)

Xellos Metallium

Xellos (ゼロス, Zerosu) is a high-level Mazoku, who is more than 1,000 years old. Xellos was, according to Gaav, created by Shabranigdo and given incredible powers. He seems to serve as a priest/general for various monster lords.^[4] The remaining three of the five demon lords each have priests and generals that serve them, each created by their respective masters. While most of the demon lords have at least one priest and one general, in Xellos' case, he alone serves Zelas, making him the most powerful being in the world outside of the five higher Mazoku lords and dragon gods.

Xellos serves Hellmaster Phibrizzo, another of the five demons, by request of Zelas in his attempt to destroy Gaav the Demon Dragon King. Gaav states that Xellos was given power beyond any Mazoku created by Shabranigdo, outside the five demon lords. Dragons fear Xellos and see him as their mortal enemy after he kills half the population during The War of Monster Fall.

In the sixth Slayers novel Vezendi's Shadow, Xellos says his real name is simply "Xellos the Mysterious Priest". He is also known as Beastmaster Xellos (dub only), "trickster priest" (by many, including himself) and "namagomi" ("raw garbage" by Filia) or simply Xellos.

Xellos is sometimes a hindrance, sometimes helpful to Lina and her friends. He claims to serve to goals of Phibrizzo and, in Season 3, the monster race, but his actions do not always appear consistent. His trademark response to any important question is, "Sore wa himitsu desu!" (literally: "That is a secret!"). Xellos and Lina have a mutual respect for one another, though they are far from friends. The two generally refrain from attacking one another, as they are aware that they are each perfectly capable of destroying the other. A constant duel goes on between fans whether there is a love or hate, or even a love-hate relationship between Xellos and Filia. While he usually maintains his human form during the series, his true form is that of a spinning, pitch black cone that is capable of drilling through and tearing apart enemies and can separate into multiple cones. He first appears in the second episode of Slayers NEXT.

Voices: Akira Ishida (Japanese), David Moo (Episodes 27-78), Kurt Stoll (Slayers Premium) & Michael Sinterniklaas (Episodes 83-104) (English)

Martina

Martina Xoana Mel Navratilova (マルチナ・ゾアナ・メル・ナブラチロワ, Maruchina Zoana Meru Naburachirowa) is the princess of the kingdom of Zoana who, along with her father the king, plots to capture Amelia. Lina, along with Gourry and Zelgadis], save Amelia, then use the Dragon Slave to destroy Martina's castle and kingdom. Enraged, Martina runs off and learns magic so that she can take revenge on Lina. Martina later joins forces with Lina and company.

She is fickle in her love affairs, obsessed with whatever man she happens to see first on any given day. At the beginning of the series, she is hung up on Zelgadis, but her interests switch to Gourry and even Xellos as the series progresses, before settling on Zangulus. She is obsessed with her Lord Zoamelgustar, a monster (demon) god she actually makes up. Martina specializes in curses.

She is usually an antagonist and comic foil for the other characters, but when Hellmaster Phibrizzo "kills" her during the final battle, Martina uses her last moments to encourage Lina to keep fighting and save Gourry. She eventually marries Zangulus in a fake backdrop church, as her kingdom is still rebuilding after Lina's Dragon Slave. She is a character that is exclusive to the TV series, as she doesn't appear in the original light novels or the manga. In the Slayers NEXT episode where they play "brass racquets," the announcer gives her full name, which is based on tennis superstar Martina Navratilova.

Voices: Tomoko Ishimura (Japanese), Rachael Lillis (English)

Filia

Filia Ul Copt (フィリア・ウル・コプト, Firia Uru Koputo) made her appearance exclusively in Slayers TRY. She is a priestess of the Fire Dragon King. Being a Golden Dragon, she has a huge sense of honor and is dedicated to "fulfilling her duties to the temple". She is greatly annoyed by any monster that crosses her path. This means she does not get along with Xellos at all. She carries a large mace (affectionately dubbed Mace-sama) in her garter, and uses it to end many of her arguments. Filia originally wants Lina's big sister Luna to accompany her on her quest, but Luna refuses and suggests Lina as a replacement.

As a Golden Dragon of the outer world, Filia's magic is based on an older form of white magic. Amelia]once states that the white magic used by clerics today is but an "empty shell" of Filia's ancient holy magic, implying that holy magic is a raw, more intense form of white magic. Filia displays a number of useful skills with her magic, including clairvoyance, healing, purification, transportation, and offense effective against the most powerful Mazoku.

Her spell Chaotic Disintegrate is an astral offense spell that outclasses the Ra-Tilt. Aside from being proficient in holy magic, Filia also has abilities granted to her by her race. She is able to switch back and forth with relative ease between her dragon and human forms. Her dragon's form comically wears a pink bow on the end of her tail. While in her dragon form, Filia is granted the ability of flight, far surpassing the speed of a normal levitation, or Ray Wing spell. She is never seen flying in her human form. Filia also has the ability to use a type of magic called Laser Breath, which fires an incredibly destructive beam from a dragon's mouth. She can use this in both human and dragon forms.

Filia, at the end of Slayers TRY, accepts the egg of the reborn Valgaav in repentance for what her ancestors did to his kind. In the ending credits, the glowing see-through egg is nestled in a warm basket with Filia yelling something at Gravos and Jillas while they are polishing her pottery. She later becomes Valgaav's adoptive mother. Filia does not appear in the novels.

Voices: Houko Kuwashima (Japanese), Tara Jayne (English)

Pokota

Pokota (ポコタ, Pokota), full name Posel Korba Taforashia (ポセル＝コルバ＝タフォーラシア, Poseru Koruba Tafōrashia), is an original character created exclusively for Slayers Revolution and Slayers Evolution-R, though he borrows certain elements from the character Luke seen in the Slayers novels. Pokota resembles a small stuffed animal with large ears that double as a set of functional arms used for casting spells, wielding swords, or gliding through the air. Like Lina, he is a powerful sorcerer capable of casting various spells, including the Dragon Slave. He wields a replica of the Sword of Light, which he carries in a pocket in his chest.

Pokota was born a human, but when he was an teenager, the Durum sickness plagued Taforashia. The king, Pokota's father, became very ill. Rezo the Red Priest appeared and sealed the residents of Taforashia in sleeping chambers to isolate them until a cure was found. Rezo sealed Pokota's human body in a chamber, but he used a magical jar to transfer Pokota's spirit into his current form. Years later, Pokota is searching for Rezo in order to find a way to revive his people, eventually leading to his meeting Lina and her companions.

Voices: Yumiko Kobayashi (Japanese) and Colleen O'Shaughnessey (English)

Beastmaster Zelas

Zelas Metallium, also known as Lord Beastmaster, or Beastmaster Zelas, is a Mazoku lord who rules on Wolf-Pack Island. Although the only appearance seen of her in the anime are legs and a cigarette, she did create Xellos. He serves her as a right-hand man, and everything Xellos does in the end leads back to her. She appears in the novels periodically. Her personality is mostly fan-based. Zelas is a popular character in the fandom world.

Villains

Noonsa

Noonsa (ヌンサ, Nunsa) was a fishman, who has the body of a fish and the legs and arms of a human.

He is one of Zelgadis Greywords' top four henchmen. When Lina Inverse refuses to tell Zelgadis anything about the philosopher's stone, Zolf calls Noonsa in and tells the fishman to give Lina a kiss, an idea which horrifies and disgusts Lina. Noonsa gives Lina what both Dilgear and Zolf call a "deep kiss" (which involves Noonsa sucking on her head inside of his mouth, for which she clobbers him).

Later, when Zelgadis breaks Lina out of the castle, Noonsa watches from the water and attempts a sneak attack on Lina. He is upset at her, thinking that she is cutting out on them. Noonsa rushes forward at Lina and smashes into a wall. He recovers from the impact, however, and shoots several thorn-like projectiles at Lina. Zelgadis rescues Lina by trapping Noonsa in a bubble of air and frying him with a fireball. Later, some of Dilgear's followers find Noonsa's fried corpse and bring it back to him. The followers eat Noonsa's body, which infuriates the wolf-troll mix.

In the manga version of the story, Noonsa has no romance relationship with Lina and is ordered by Zelgadis to steal the philosopher's stone. After firing all of his scales, Gourry Gabriev kills him by slicing him in two and eating him. In the novel, Noonsa has no relationship of any kind with Lina. When ordered to kiss her, he asks where the eggs are, having no concept of kissing other than it is related to mating.

Voices: Kozo Shioya (Japanese), Junior Ringenbach (English)

Dilgear

Dilgear (ディルギア, Dirugia) is a half-wolf, half-troll, a henchman of Zelgadis Greywords]and his great-grandfather, Rezo the Red Priest.

Unlike Zolf, Rodimus], and Noonsa, Dilgear is actually quite violent during battles and will even kill his foes. He first appears in Episode 4 of the anime Although Dilgear was placed under Zelgadis' rule, his ultimate loyalty was to Rezo, so it comes as no surprise to Zelgadis when the half-breed turns against the chimera. During the battle, when Zolf and Rodimus arrive, Dilgear thinks that he has been saved. However, Rodimus says that their loyalty is to Zelgadis, not Rezo. Dilgear is seriously wounded by Zolf, and his final words are: "Just wait until I come back to life!" Thanks to his half-troll regenerative abilities, he does but, instead of seeking revenge, he ends up as Luna Inverse's pet, and she calls him Spot. The exact circumstances of this radical change in Dilgear's life are unknown.

In the manga, Dilgear appears differently from in the novels or the anime. He is a bounty hunter sent along with Rahanimu and Vrumugun to eliminate Gourry Gabriev and Lina Inverse by Eris. Strangely, Dilgear vanishes shortly after his introduction. It is possible that he either flees or is simply killed off-screen.

Voices

Hirohiko Kakegawa (Japanese), Jimmy Zoppi (English)

Rezo the Red Priest

Rezo the Red Priest (赤法師レゾ, Aka Hōshi Rezo) is one of the "Five Wisemen of the Age," a world-famous priest and healer. According to Zelgadis, Rezo is over a century old. However, he does not look his age. In the first novel, Lina describes him as looking "both young and old" at the same time. Rezo's only known relative is Zelgadis Greywords, who is his great-great-great-grandson (Rezo is the grandfather of Zelgadis's great-grandfather).

Rezo was born with one of the seven pieces of Ruby Eye Shabranigdo sealed within his eyes. As a result, he is gifted with superior magic ability and cursed with blindness. Rezo took up studying white magic in an effort to cure his blindness, not realizing where his blindness originated. Once he mastered white magic, he traveled the land healing the sick and blind, performing "miracles". Although he is able to cure the blindness of others, he cannot cure his own. Thus, he studies shamanistic magic and black magic, hoping in vain that one of the two fields might provide him with a cure.

Slowly Rezo's desire to find a cure turns into an obsession, and the fragment of Shabranigdo within him begins to corrupt his soul and take over. Rezo eventually decides that resurrecting Shabranigdo is the only way to cure his blindness. He hopes that, in exchange for reviving him, the Demon King would grant him sight. He begins searching for the philosopher's stone, believing that it is the key to the Demon King's revival. He eventually obtains the stone and resurrects Shabranigdo from within himself.

In the end, Lina Inverse is able to defeat the Demon King using the incomplete Giga Slave and the Sword of Light, with help from Rezo's soul, killing the priest in the process. It is later revealed that Rezo has survived and somehow manages to transfer his soul into the Hellmaster's Pot and, with him, the ghost of Shabranigdo (which is not revealed until the Slayers: Evolution-R season). When Lina's group finally finds the Hellmaster's pot, Pokota resurrects Rezo in order to revive the people of Taforashia from their suspended state. In doing so, Rezo can keep Shabranigdo asleep as long as he does not open his eyes. After reviving the people of Taforashia, Rezo wants to see again, even for a moment, so he opens his eyes while asking Lina to destroy him once more. With the help of the completed Giga Slave, Lina destroys Rezo and the ghost of Shabranigdo with him.

Voices: Takehito Koyasu (Japanese), Peter Davis (Episodes 3-10, 23), Liam O'Brien (Episodes 3, 88-104) (English)

Eris

Eris is the servant of Rezo the Red Priest and later Copy Rezo. From a young age, she serves as Rezo's assistant and apprentice, helping him perform his miracles. She also assists in his research to cure his blindness. She may have been in love with Rezo, as she is seen to be brokenhearted over his failure to cure his blindness. After the death of the original Rezo, she hires the swordsman Zangulus and the sorcerer Vrumugun to hunt down Lina Inverse and Gourry Gabriev and bring them to Sairaag, as well as release several wanted posters of the two on the orders of Copy Rezo. She is the person responsible for cloning Vrumugun. Eris is killed in cold blood by Copy Rezo after he merges with the ancient Demon Beast Zanaffar, buried in the Holy Tree Flaggoon.

Voices: Etsuko Ishikawa (Japanese), Rachel Nanstad (English), Rossana Cicconi (Spanish LA)

Copy Rezo

Copy Rezo (コピー・レゾ, Kopī Rezo), sometimes referred to as "The Rezo Clone", is a copy of Rezo the Red Priest.

Copy Rezo is created by the original Rezo as a lab rat for experiments. The original Red Priest is seeking to cure his blindness, and uses Copy Rezo to test his experiments. However, while Copy Rezo's eyes open, the original's do not. Though neither know this at the time, the reason behind Rezo's blindness is that the dark lord Shabranigdo is sealed within Rezo. Since this is not the case with Copy Rezo, his blindness is cured.

Copy Rezo's greatest and only wish is to surpass his original. At first, he intends to kill Rezo in a fair fight. However, when Rezo is killed by Lina Inverse, Gourry Gabriev, and Zelgadis Greywords, he decides that the only other way to surpass Rezo is either to kill the ones who defeated the original Rezo (namely Lina, Gourry and Zelgadis) or withstand the Giga Slave. He uses Erisiel Vrumugun, the assistant of the late Red Priest, to lure the three of them to Sairaag with wanted posters. There, he attempts to defeat them by resurrecting and absorbing the power of the demon beast Zanaffar (which gives him an enormous amount of power). However, Lina, Gourry, and Zelgadis (along with Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun and Sylphiel Nels Lahda) kill him using the Blessed Blade and Flagoon. Shortly before his death, the Rezo clone wonders how he lost. The Slayers answer that his desire to kill the Slayers, surpass his original, and his inability to decide what he could do after that is the reason for his failure. Before dying, with a smile on his face, he asks the Slayers to bury him beneath Flagoon, where he can rest in peace and, even though he never surpasses the original red priest, he has won his enemies' respect.

In the novel series, the original Rezo becomes enraged when Copy Rezo's eyes open but his own will not. Out of spite, he conducts a number of experiments on Copy, one of which includes fusing him with a Mazoku (as opposed to Copy absorbing the power of Zanaffar, as in the anime). This gives Copy Rezo both pride and a will of his own, causing his desire to get revenge on and surpass Rezo.

Voices: Takehito Koyasu (Japanese) and Peter Davis (English)

Seigram

Seigram is a major villain of Slayers NEXT, in service to Gaav the Demon Dragon King—one of the main antagonists in the NEXT series. He is a pure evil monster who is seemingly as powerful as his active rival Xellos. He first appears as the mysterious figure that frames Tarimu and Damia for summoning magic beasts, and he makes an alliance with Halsaform. However, when confronted by Xellos, he retreats without a fight. e later attacks Lina in the temple of the Claire Bible manuscript, revealing that he was granted some of Gaav's power and is able to withstand a Dragon Slave. He is killed when Xellos holds him in place to get hit by Lina's Ragna Blade.

Voice: Robert O'Gorman

Gaav the Demon Dragon King

Gaav is a high-ranking Mazoku, bearing the title of Chaos Dragon, but unrelated to the other dragons of the world. For a long portion of Slayers NEXT, Gaav appears to be the main antagonist, though he is simply a pawn in Hellmaster Phibrizzo's plan. Before he starts hunting Lina, he meets Valgaav during the war of the extermination of the Ancient Dragon race, and makes the last of the Ancient Dragons his minion. Valgaav is a main plot driver in the next season, Slayers TRY.

Long ago, Chaos Dragon Gaav battled with Aqualord Ragradia and eventually defeated him. However, before his death, Ragradia somehow managed to seal Gaav's Mazoku soul into a human body, dramatically weakening the demon lord. Gaav still displays a considerable amount of strength, far outclassing that of Xellos, who is unquestionably the strongest Mazoku outside the five demon lords. Even in a human body, he is still able to attack on the astral plane. He once bested Xellos at his own game, and he was able to withstand and survive a direct attack from Lina's Ragna Blade, the second most powerful spell in her arsenal, second only to the Giga Slave.

Voice: Jay Snyder

Hellmaster Phibrizzo

The primary antagonist in Slayers NEXT, Phibrizzo (冥王フィブリゾ, Herumasutā Fiburizo) is the oldest and the most powerful of the five Demon Lords created by Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo. He is most likely the second-in-command of the Mazoku. Like the other Mazoku, he seeks to destroy the world and return everything to the Sea of Chaos. He manifests as an androgynous little boy in order to better trick his victims.

Phibrizzo is extremely powerful, probably second only to Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo and Flare Dragon Ceiphied. He has complete control over death and the souls of the departed, able to raise thousands of people from the grave as living dead under his control with their memories and personality intact, to encase people in a life-absorbing green crystal, or to kill anyone simply by breaking a golden marble that represents their lives. He is highly intelligent and cunning, achieving his goals through complicated plans. He knows how to manipulate people and can pretend to be a normal child in a very convincing way. His eagerness to destroy the world is far beyond any other Mazoku's. It is his dream, instead of a single goal, and he his exhilarated by its apparent success. Though cruel and sadistic, his personality fits his childish appearance as he enjoys to make fun of his victims, to use people like toys to entertain himself when he is bored, and he acts playful in general. It is Phibrizzo who ignites the War of the Monster's Fall, first as a conflict between humans, then as a worldwide war between Mazoku and Ryuzoku in order to awaken the part of Shabranigdo in the image of Lei Magnus. Phibrizzo is probably the one who decided to create the Mazoku Barrier, which isolated the battlefields, weakening the Ryuzoku's forces.

In Slayers NEXT, he devises a complicated scheme to force Lina Inverse to cast the Giga Slave, a spell using the power of the Lord of Nightmares, powerful enough to destroy the world. He has the former Demon Lord Gaav "informed" that he is planning something against him involving Lina Inverse. Then he orders Xellos to escort Lina, protecting her against Gaav's underlings and "guiding" her to the True Claire Bible so she can learn the complete Giga Slave. Acting like a young pickpocket, he gains the trust of the Slayers group and follows them in order to be able to strike when Gaav shows up. However Lina, fearing the power of the Giga Slave, defeats Gaav with the weaker Ragna Blade spell instead. When Gaav survives the attack, he reveals himself, finishing Gaav off with no more than a flick of his finger. He captures Gourry Gabriev and holds him hostage to lure Lina to his temple of Sairaag. There, he takes down Lina's friends one by one and threatens to destroy Gourry, finally forcing her to cast the Giga Slave. He tries to kill her to complete his plan. However, to his surprise, the Giga Slave summons the Lord of Nightmares herself in Lina's body. Desperate with his failure, Phibrizzo goes mad and tries to destroy Lina's body, hoping to set the Lord of Nightmares free, but the creator of the universe obliterates him, giving him the destruction he craved.

Voices: Kazue Ikura (Japanese) Wayne Grayson (English)

Valgaav

Valgaav is one of the main adversaries in the third arc of Slayers, Slayers TRY. He is the sole surviving member of the Ancient Dragon Clan, who were wiped out by the Golden Dragons because they feared their powers. Originally Prince Val, he is nearly killed by the Golden Dragons, but is saved at the last moment by the Demon Dragon King Gaav after Gaav's soul has been sealed into a human body following the War of the Monsters' Fall. Seeing a powerful ally and a spirit of hatred towards the Golden Dragons born of their betrayal, Gaav rescues Prince Val, bestowing upon him the powers of Mazoku and thus naming him "Valgaav".

Valgaav and Gaav are later separated when the other four Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo subordinates create the barrier separating the outer and inner worlds. The barrier remains in effect until Hellmaster Phibrizzo dies at the end of Slayers NEXT. Valgaav remains a loyal servant of Gaav, seeing him as the only person to ever help him out. He is antagonistic towards all sides: the Slayers, the dragons (Ryuzoku), the gods (Shinzoku), and the monsters (Mazoku).

When he appears in Slayers TRY, Valgaav is working with Armeice, one of the Shinzoku from the Overworld. He is intent on acquiring the Sword of Light (Gorun Nova) from Gourry and attacks Lina and the others to get it. With the combined power of a Mazoku and Ancient Dragon, he proves to be the strongest of Gaav's servants. However, he is notably weaker than Gaav, having difficulty fighting Xellos, whereas Gaav easily outclasses Xellos. His Ancient Dragon power causes his body pain, since they conflict with the Mazoku side of him. However, he bests Xellos in a one-on-one fight when Xellos underestimates his opponent armed with Ragud Mezagis (one of the five Darkstar weapons along with the Sword of Light). He survives a magically amplified Dragon Slave fired directly into his body.

Valgaav is a powerful warrior, but he is radically unstable, which leads to his recklessness. At the midpoint of Slayers TRY, Valgaav activates the gateway created to summon Darkstar with only two of the five weapons. Although the gateway is closed by other Shinzoku from the Overworld, Darkstar fires a blast that seemingly destroys Valgaav. However, Valgaav does not die, and reappears at the end of the season. Valgaav has merged with the fusion of Darkstar/Volphied and now acts almost as an arbiter of both. He possesses the powers of both Shinzoku and Mazoku lords, easily becoming the most powerful being faced in the entire storyline of Slayers, although his power his cut in half by the gateway. Valgaav/Darkstar/Volphied is destroyed by the combination of the dark and light powers of Xellos and Filia's abilities, along with the five Darkstar weapons and the chaos power/incantation of Lina. At the end of TRY, he is reborn as an egg and falls under the care of Filia and two of his former demi-human subordinates Jillas and Gravos.

Voices: Wataru Takagi (Japanese), Scottie Ray (English)

Jillas Jillos Jilles

Jillas Jillos Jilles (ジラス＝ジロス＝ジレス, Jirasu Jirosu Jiresu) is a red fox beastman and a servant of Valgaav.

Before meeting Valgaav, Jillas' people were nearly hunted to extinction. After being injured by humans and losing his left eye, Valgaav saves him and takes Jillas' life into his hands. He is partnered with Gravos Maunttop, who is also saved by Valgaav. The two became close and Jillas frequently refers to him as "Boss".

During the incident with Darkstar Dugradigdo, Valgaav (who has made an alliance with the overworlder Almayce), orders Gravos and Jillas to recover the five Darkstar weapons and bring them back to him. However, things become worse for Jillas when Gravos is assumed to be dead after losing control of Ragudo Mezegis and being blasted away by a Dragon Slave.

Jillas swears vengeance on the Slayers and eventually steals Gorun Nova from them through the use of psychological warfare. Later, after everyone is separated and Valgaav is presumed dead, Jillas is rescued by a fox named Elena and her son Palou, who call him "uncle". When Jillas discovers that the Slayers are still alive, he abandons them and seeks his vengeance. When trying to kill the Slayers, Filia Ul Copt prevents him from getting caught in an explosion with one of his bombs, saving his life. He is very grateful and refers to her from that point on as "Boss," as well, a name with which Filia is not comfortable.

After the final battle with Dugradigdo, Valgaav has been reborn as a pure ancient dragon and is adopted by Filia. Jillas and Gravos (who has only been literally launched into orbit by the Dragon Slave) become her partners and help her sell maces and pottery in a shop. While Jillas is not skilled in magic or swordplay, he can still be a formidable opponent thanks to his experience with guns, gunpowder and other explosives. He also has a knack of exploiting the existing frictions within an enemy group to his advantage, on one occasion managing to turn the Slayers against each other.

Voices: Takumi Yamazaki (Japanese), Maddie Blaustein (English)

Gravos Maunttop

Gravos Maunttop (グラボス＝マウントトップ, Gurabosu Mauntotoppu), a reptilian beastman, is a servant of Valgaav. is first appearance in the series is in Episode 54 of Slayers TRY.

Shortly after Valgaav meets Gaav the Demon Dragon King] he saves Gravos from death and takes him as his servant after his own people almost kill him, causing him to lose his right eye. At the start of TRY, Gravos is ordered by his master to capture Gorun Nova and bring it back to him. Despite all of Gravos' and Jillas' attempts, they are always unsuccessful in trying to get the Sword of Light. During a struggle to get the holy magic and the black magic vessels from Princess Sera and Prince Marco, Gravos is knocked into the distance after losing control of Ragudo Mezegis and is presumed dead. However, he is only launched into orbit by Lina Inverse's Dragon Slave. He is alive and well in the epilogue of TRY, once again partnered with Jillas and helping Filia Ul Copt run a store that sells maces and pottery.

Voices: Hisao Egawa (Japanese), Nathan Price (English)

Zumma

Zumma is an assassin hired to kill Lina Inverse that appears in Slayers Revolution. He became an assassin solely for the purpose of killing Lina. Gourry uses Pakota's Sword of Light to blast one of his arms off, while Lina blasts the other arm off.

Zumma returns in Slayers Evolution-R as the main antagonist alongside Shabranigdo. He orders Lina to come to the city of Vezendi or he will kill a merchant named Radok, who has the Hellmaster's Jar. It turns out that Zumma actually is Radok, and it is all a ploy to draw Lina in. Although it is uncertain precisely why Zumma wants to kill Lina, she once killed a group of bandits that were responsible for killing his wife, thus denying him vengeance. In the manga, he is killed by the Ragna Blade, but in the anime, he merely has his hands slashed off a second time. However, immediately afterwards, Xellos appears and kills him in order to get a chance to steal the Hellmaster's Jar.

Voice: Nobuo Tobita (Japanese), Troy Baker (English)

Other characters

Zolf

Zolf (ゾルフ, Zorufu) (also referred to as "Mummy Man") is a sorcerer loyal to Zelgadis Greywords. While under the command of Zelgadis and the Red Priest Rezo, Zolf infiltrates the Dragon Fangs gang in order to steal the Orihalcon Statue and the philosopher's stone it contains. Unfortunately for him, he joins the gang just in time to be blown up by Lina Inverse who robs the gang of their ill-gotten goods. After being caught up in the attack, bandages cover his body, hence the nickname "Mummy Man". After Zelgadis' break with Rezo, Zolf chooses to follow Zelgadis and remain under his command, also removing his bandages. Zolf dies at the hand of Ruby Eye Shabranigdo (who is summoned into the body of Rezo) after mistakenly thinking that casting a Dragon Slave at it will finish it off. Shabranigdo reflects the spell, killing Zolf, as well as Rodimus.

Voices: Masato Hirano (Japanese), Stan Hart (English)

Rodimus

Rodimus (ロディマス, Rodimasu) is an elderly man loyal to Zelgadis Greywords. Despite his apparent age, Rodimus appears to be a skilled fighter and manages to hold his own (with the help of Dilgear) against much younger fighters such as Gourry Gabriev.

Despite Zelgadis turning against Rezo, Rodimus chooses to remain under the chimera's command, stating that their loyalty lies with Zelgadis, not Rezo. Zolf and Rodimus both join the Slayers, along with their master. They do not remain on the team long, however. Soon afterwards, Rezo resurrects a fragment of the Demon King. Zolf mistakenly casts a Dragon Slave on Shabranigdo, hoping it will be destroyed. However, the Demon King reflects the spell which kills Rodimus and Zolf, although in the manga series, Rodimus dies a few minutes after Zolf's death, by protecting Zelgadis with his life from a dark magic attack launched by Rezo possessed by Shabranigdo.

Voices: Katsuhisa Hōki (Japanese), Junior Ringenbach (English)

Crown Prince Philionel El Di Seyruun

Crown Prince Philionel El Di Seyruun (フィリオネル＝エル＝ディ＝セイルーン, Firioneru Eru Di Seirūn) is the crown prince of Seyruun. He has two daughters: Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun and Gracia Ul Naga Seyruun (who now calls herself "Naga the White Serpent"). However, Gracia leaves after Phil's unnamed wife is killed by an assassin.

Phil also has two brothers, Christopher Wil Brogg Seyruun and Randionel Seyruun, and a nephew, Alfred Seyruun. Both Randy and Alfred are killed in separate attempts to seize the throne for themselves. Though Phil's father Eldoran Seyruun is technically still the king, he is old, sickly, and bedridden, so Phil now, more or less, runs the country. Possibly due to his wife's death and his eldest daughter's absence, he is very protective of, and shares a close bond with, his youngest daughter Amelia, and she is essentially "daddy's little girl".

Like his youngest daughter, Phil has a strong belief in justice, and he is also a pacifist. However, if Phil sees something he believes to be unjust, he will not hesitate to use force. Unlike most of the Seyruun royal family, Phil has no magical powers, but he does have a lot of brute strength. He uses this mostly in the form of oxymoronic, justice-themed physical attacks, such as Pacifist Crush, Kindness to All Creatures Kick, Benevolent Giant Swing, and All men Brothers, hand-in-hand with Multiple Slap. His sheer brute strength is sufficient to destroy lesser demons and, on one occasion in Slayers NEXT, he teams up with Amelia to perform a Father Daughter Love Justice Impact, a two-person clothesline attack.

Voices: Masahiro Anzai (Japanese), Matt Black (Episodes 11-13), Jimmy Zoppi (Episodes 25-26, 34-40, 53), and David Brimmer (Episodes 90-91) (English)

Vrumugun

Vrumugun (ヴルムグン, Vurumugun) is the name given to a group of copy men created by Eris, who serve as antagonists during the first season of Slayers and in the third novel.

In the novels, Eris uses the Vrumuguns to try and capture Lina Inverse, Gourry Gabriev, and Zelgadis Greywords and bring them to Sairaag. However, she only sends one Vrumugun after them at a time, sending a new copy every time one is killed. This greatly confuses Lina and the others at first, because no matter how many times they kill Vrumugun, he keeps reappearing. (They think that Vrumugun is a single person, not a group of copies.) The Vrumugun copies disappear once their controller dies.

In the anime, Vrumugun is grouped with Zangulus as they tried to capture Gourry and Lina. However, while Zangulus is short-tempered and arrogant, Vrumugun is quiet, collected, and takes everything seriously. Strangely in Episode 18, after Zelgadis kills a group of clones, Vrumugun vanishes and is never seen again for the remainder of Season 1.

There is much ambiguity as to who the original Vrumugun is, because none of the Slayers mediums ever specifies his identity. In the novels, there is evidence to suggest that Eris is the original. She (and possibly the original Rezo) created them, and her last name is also Vrumugun. She does not have a control jewel upon her (at one point faking it), yet she is able to control others by putting the jewel on them. At one point, she controls an ally while Lina's back is turned. In the anime, Eris' last name is never mentioned, nor is it ever hinted that she is the original. At the end of Slayers NEXT, a person very much resembling Vrumugun is briefly seen at Zangulus and Martina's wedding, implying that this person is the original Vrumugun.

Voices: Hiroshi Yanaka (Japanese), Jimmy Zoppi (English)

Zangulus

Zangulus (ザングルス, Zangurusu) is a mercenary and a swordsman of considerable skill. Although he cannot use magic, Zangulus carries a weapon called the Howling Sword, a magical sword created by Rezo that can shoot great gusts of wind. Zangulus has originally been hired, along with the sorcerer Vrumugun, as a bounty hunter by Eris and Copy Rezo to capture Lina Inverse, Gourry Gabriev, and Zelgadis Greywords, and bring them to Sairaag.

He soon becomes obsessed with fighting Gourry, to see who is the better swordsman. He and Gourry duel in Rezo's lab, but Gourry wins in the end, and Zangulus leaves. He later reappears towards the end of Slayers NEXT, looking for a rematch. However, Gourry is being held prisoner by Hellmaster Phibrizzo, so Zangulus does not get a chance to duel him a second time. He does, however, help Lina and the others fight Hellmaster. It is during this time that Zangulus meets and falls in love with Martina.

Xoana Mel Navratilova]], whom he marries after the battle with Hellmaster.

Zangulus is yet another character created by the anime staff, as he does not appear in the original novels or the manga. He can still be considered a canon character, as the series' plot and cast was written, supervised and approved by Hajime Kanzaka.

Voices: Bin Shimada (Japanese), Liam O'Malley (Episode 13) and Ted Lewis (Episodes 14-21, 49-52) (English)

Milgasia

Milgasia (ミルガズィア, Mirugazia) is the leader of the remaining Golden Dragons, who were originally in the service of the Water Dragon King.

Upon entering the Valley of Dragons, Lina Inverse and company are found by Milgasia. He aids Lina by taking her (and, in the anime, Martina Xoana Mel Navrachoa, who tags along) to see the real Claire Bible so that Lina can learn the truth behind the Giga Slave.

Later, in the novels, Milgasia and his elven companion Mephis also join Lina in her travels for a while. Milgasia probably is over 1,000 years old, as he seems to have first-hand knowledge about Xellos Metallium and the War of the Monster's Fall. At first, he is worried about Lina and company's association with Xellos, until Gourry provides him the chance to realize he doesn't need to worry about Xellos's influence, since this group is not intimidated by Xellos in any way. Milgasia's first appearance is in Episode 20 of Slayers NEXT, which roughly equals the seventh novel and manga issue.

Voices: Masaaki Ōkura (Japanese), Zeke Zeigler (English)

Damia

Damia (デイミア, Deimia) is a tall, thin man in blue robes with curly hair running for the position of Guild Master. He is willing to pay well for a bodyguard to keep him safe from his rival, Tarimu, who is also in the running for the same position. Lina and Gourry continue to embarrass Tarimu and his bodyguards, but every time they are about to be paid, the other mercenaries show up and embarrass them in front of their employer. They settle on a place to have it out face-to-face, only to discover their own friends. There is a loud explosion and little jelly bean-shaped oozes everywhere. Because half of the monsters seem to have come from Damia's estate, he is put in prison along with Tarimu, and is thus unable to pay Lina and Gourry for their services.

While in prison, he reveals that he and Tarimu were responsible for the empty guild position. Halcyform, the previous Guild Master, had been expelled after he was found conducting immortality research, a practice that has long been considered extremely taboo. He lost his position, and was certainly powerful enough to have summoned the monsters to frame them both. Later, both Damia and Tarimu's lower halves become imprisoned in stone when they try to repay Halcyform for his wrongs, and, to their dismay, they are not freed at the last possible moment due to their rudeness.

Tarimu

Tarimu (タリム) is a rotund member of the Sorcerer's Association, and a contender in the running for the position of Guild Master. He is willing to pay well for a bodyguard to keep him safe from Damia. The mercenaries he hires, Amelia and Zelgadis, continue to embarrass Damia and his bodyguards but, every time they are about to be paid, the other mercenaries show up and embarrass them in front of their employer. They set up a duel between the two, only to discover their own friends. Before things can get serious, gelatinous oozes appear and begin to wreak havoc everywhere. Because half of the monsters seemed to have come from Tarimu's estate, he is put in prison along with Damia, and is thus unable to pay Amelia and Zelgadis for their services.^[5]

While in prison, he reveals that he and Damia have been responsible for the empty guild position. Halcyform, the previous Guild Master, had been expelled after they found him conducting immortality research, a practice that has long been considered extremely taboo. He lost his position, and was certainly powerful enough to have summoned the monsters to frame them both. Later, both Damia and Tarimu's lower halves become imprisoned in stone when they try to repay Halcyform for his wrongs, and, to their dismay, they are left to find their own way of turning themselves back to normal.

Luna Inverse

Luna Inverse (ルナ＝インバース, Runa Inbāsu), Lina's older sister, was born in a small village in Zephilia, the first daughter of merchants. Her father is an ex-mercenary and her mother is an ex-sorceress. Luna and Lina's relationship is not particularly affectionate. Apparently, when they were younger, Lina would misbehave and Luna would "punish" her by making her do grueling workouts. The most notorious incident between the two was when Lina, ever keen on an opportunity to make some extra cash, set up a device that projected an image of Luna while she was taking a bath. Luna's reaction "compelled" Lina to begin her quest. Lina is still terrified of Luna, and even the mere mention of her sister sends Lina into a panic attack.^[6]

A fragment of Ceiphied's will is lodged within Luna, and she is known as the "Ceiphied Knight", which is mentioned in Slayers TRY when Lina and her group are at the Fire Dragon Temple for the first time. As the Knight of Ceiphied, Luna wields an immense amount of holy power. While Luna never appears in person during the course of the novels, the author Hajime Kanzaka has said that she is slightly more powerful than Xellos, the strongest Mazoku aside from the five great Mazoku generals. She can cut a Dragon Slave in half with a normal (non-magically enchanted) sword, and once defeated a plasma dragon with a kitchen knife.

During Slayers TRY, Luna is the dragon priestess Filia Ul Copt's first choice to save the world from the prophecy of destruction. However, Luna thinks Lina is a better candidate for the job and turns down Filia's request, because Luna, being on the side of the gods, is not the candidate of whom the prophecy spoke.^[7] Luna works part-time as a waitress in her hometown of Zephilia.^[8]

Deities

Shabranigdo

Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo (赤眼の魔王（ルビーアイ）シャブラニグドゥ, Rubī Ai Shaburanigudu), also known as Shabranigdu, is a powerful being of evil, the ruler of the Mazoku in the Slayers universe, and the source of power for Lina Inverse's signature spell, the Dragon Slave.

The sole source of misery and negative emotions in the Slayers world, Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo is the superior of all other Mazoku. Defeated long ago by the Dragon King Ceiphied, Ruby-Eye was split into seven parts and buried in human souls. It is Ceiphied's plan to wear away at these fragments by the constant death and rebirth of human lives, until Shabranigdo ceases to be. A thousand years ago, one of these parts awakened in the legendary sorcerer Lei Magnus, the Demon King of the North, who was defeated by the Sea Dragon King Ragradia. Lei Magnus was a great sage who created devastating spells, such as Lina's infamous Dragon Slave and the powerful fire shamanistic spell Blast Bomb.

However, his power comes at a price, for he is an incarnate of one of the seven pieces of the Demon King Ruby Eye Shabranigdo and, once awakened, he leads the Mazoku against the dragon kings. However, he is sealed away in ice forever by Aqualord Ragradia. This was a costly victory: the shard of Shabranigdo is sealed away, frozen in a block of ice that no Mazoku can break, and the Chaos Dragon Gaav, one of Shabranigdo's main servants, is bound to a human soul, much like Shabranigdo before him. However, Gaav and the human soul eventually merge in thought and purpose.

While he remains cruel and heartless, he is limited in power and no longer wishes for the ultimate dissolution of all things back into the Sea of Chaos, the goal of the Mazoku. Ragradia, for her part, is wholly destroyed—all that remains are her memories and knowledge, which become the Claire Bible. The remaining four subordinates of Ruby Eye erect a shield that seals away the divine powers from the continent where the action of the novels takes place. These servants are Dynast Grausherra, Deep Sea Dolphin, Greater Beast Zelas Metallium, and Hellmaster Phibrizzo. White magic was created as a shamanistic substitute for the loss of the divine magic.

A second portion of Ruby-Eye awakes again in the first novel of the Slayers series, and in the earlier parts of the first season of the anime. Sealed within the Rezo the Red Priest, it is released when Rezo awakens it with the philosopher's stone in an attempt to end the blindness that has plagued him throughout his life. Lina Inverse confronts the unbound part of Ruby-Eye, invoking the Giga Slave to defeat him. The Giga Slave was patterned by Lina on the Dragon Slave, but invokes the power and presence of the Lord of Nightmares instead of Shabranigdo.

It is possible that Shabranigdo could have survived this attack, but a fragment of Rezo's remaining will forces open Ruby Eye's defenses. For his part, Shabranigdo claims that he is so impressed at Lina's improvised spell that he allows that fragment of himself to be bested. In the later episodes of Slayers Evolution-R, the revived Red Priest Rezo brings with it the previously slain fragment. Because the circumstances of his rebirth were different, the Mazoku fear he will behave in the same way as the wild card Gaav, following his own agenda. Possessing the true body of Pokota as a vessel, it is destroyed by a combination of Pokota returning to his body to cause instability between the occupying souls and Lina successfully casting a perfect Giga Slave.

In the final Slayers novel, another fragment of Shabranigdo is buried in the soul of a character named Luke, who appears as a rival in previous novels. Driven to despair by the events of the previous book, Luke is contacted by the fragment of Ruby-Eye within him and manages to strike a deal with it: to fight Lina and Gourry one more time and, if victorious, the fragment will wholly revive and stands a good chance of accomplishing the Mazoku goal of destroying the world. This battle is the only known exception to the usual Mazoku immunity to black magic drawn from their own power (described by Lina Inverse as, "Hey, help me kill you"), As Luke ultimately wishes to die in the battle, rather than destroy the world, this self-destructive impulse allows him and the fragment contained within him to be wholly slain by the Dragon Slave.

Voices: Daisuke Gouri (Japanese); Roger Kay (Episodes 8-10); Marc Thompson (Episodes 103-104) (English)

Lord of Nightmares

The Lord of Nightmares (金色の魔王（ロード・オブ・ナイトメア）, Rōdo obu Naitomea/Konjiki no Maō) is the demiurge of the Slayers universe. Although it has no defined gender, most people tend to associate female characteristics to the Lord of Nightmares because of the finale of Slayers NEXT, in which it possesses Lina's body, thus taking her form. Unlike most creator deities in fiction, the Lord of Nightmares (LoN) is not considered benevolent and humans do not worship it. Even among those steeped in the magical arts, few are aware of its existence. However the Mazoku or "demon race" are, and refer to it as "the Mother of All Beings". Other names given to it include Lord of Dreams that Terrify, He Who Shines Like Gold upon the Sea of Chaos, The Golden Lord, and L-Sama.

The Lord of Nightmares created the entire Slayers multiverse, including the futuristic galaxy portrayed in Lost Universe, and two other known worlds, including the realms of Chaotic Blue and Death Fog. Both Shabranigdo, the devil figure of the universe in which Slayers takes place, and his rival Ceiphied are her direct creations. Lord of Nightmares may have done this simply because she wanted to watch gods, demons and mortals contend for her amusement, a hypothesis adopted by Valgaav in Slayers TRY in his attempt to remake the world. Others have theorised that Lord of Nightmares requires the chaos of battle for sustenance.

As few humans are aware of the Lord of Nightmares, even fewer actually seek her attention. Only Lina Inverse has been known to directly use the power of the Lord of Nightmares in spells, and this she does with great reluctance. Spells that call upon the power of the Lord of Nightmares are notoriously unreliable, with failure frequently having devastating consequences. The most notable of such spells, the Giga Slave, could theoretically destroy existence itself if miscast. The Giga Slave is Lina's own creation that she made when she was much younger by combining parts of the Dragon Slave's incantation with chaos words she found in reference to the Lord of Nightmares in a Claire Bible manuscript. After she cast the spell for the first time, she turned a body of water into a sea of death, where no living thing can grow.

At the end of Slayers NEXT, Lina is goaded into casting the Giga Slave by Phibrizzo after he holds her friends hostage and threatens to kill Gourry. His plan is to use her so that he may succeed in destroying their world with the power of Chaos. Since learning about the true nature of the Giga Slave and the power of the Lord of Nightmares, Lina's already cautious attitude towards the chaotic spell has increased to the point that she absolutely will not cast it unless she is sure there is no other solution. Unlike the dark lords, whose power is called upon by sorcery, to call upon the power of Chaos is to call upon the Lord of Nightmares herself, and she can withhold it if she chooses. "My mind is my power, my power is my mind". Up until Lina, the Lord of Nightmares had lost its body (presumably to create the Sea of Chaos and the Four Worlds) and does not have a physical form. "I am the one who has dreamed for years uncounted of regaining my form".

The Lord of Nightmares's only direct appearance is in Slayers NEXT when Lina Inverse casts the Giga Slave when fighting Hellmaster Phibrizzo. Using Lina's body as a vessel, the Lord of Nightmares callously obliterates Phibrizzo with no effort. She also makes good on Lina's final thoughts and wishes by reviving her companions and allowing them to see her. She declares that Lina is gone forever, consumed by her power, with Xellos explaining that when "existence calls forth oblivion, it must return to oblivion".

Gourry Gabriev is able to rescue Lina's soul from the Sea of Chaos with the exchange of the Sword of Light in the original novels. In fact, Gourry loses his sword because Phibrizzo sends it back to Darkstar. In the anime, it appears that his emotions for Lina are what returns her after the Lord of Nightmares takes her body at the end of Slayers NEXT, although he also loses the Sword of Light in this scenario, with Xellos returning it after its events. Gourry later willingly returns the Sword of Light to its own universe at the end of Slayers TRY. She does not intervene in the battle against Valgaav and Darkstar, since Lina Inverse does not cast the Giga Slave spell, but a power very similar to that of Chaos (the powers of the Mazoku and Shinzoku combined, Light and Dark) is utilized at the climatic battle to completely destroy Valgaav, Darkstar, and the Gate.

Ceiphied

Ceiphied (スィーフィード, Suīfīdo) is a fictional deity in the Slayers universe. On each world in this universe, there is a Dragon King fighting a Demon King. Ceiphied is the Dragon King of the Red World, in which Slayers is set. Ceiphied is also known as Flare Dragon Ceiphied (赤の竜神（フレアドラゴン）スィーフィード, Furea Doragon Suīfīdo) or, in Japan, Sekiryuushin Suified. Ceiphied is successful in weakening his demonic counterpart Ruby Eye Shabranigdo by cutting the Ruby Eye Lord into seven pieces. Ceiphied dies in the process, but leaves behind four beings to continue his struggle: Aqualord Ragradia, Flarelord Valbazard, Earthlord Rangort, and Airlord Valwyn. A fragment of his will is lodged in Luna Inverse, the sister of Lina, and she is known as the Ceiphied Knight, which mentioned while Lina and her group are at the Fire Dragon Temple for the first time.

Darkstar Dugradigdo

Darkstar Dugradigo is one of the four Mazoku Kings, or Ma-oh, created by the Lord of Nightmares. Even though Darkstar is the main antagonistic force of the Black World (Lost Universe), it appears in the TRY season of the Slayers series to fit this role again. His destruction is the goal of the alternate world (within the Slayers universe) "gods" through the use of the five weapons created by him: the Gorum Nova (Sword of Light), Ragudo Mezegis, Nezzard, Bodigar and Galvayra. In its own world, Darkstar is the equivalent of Shabranigdo in power, as opposed to Volphied, who is the equivalent of Ceiphied. As such, both fight with each other until Darkstar devours Volphied with its powers, causing it to become a powerful being unable to control its own powers, a being seeking only destruction, so much so that it destroys its own minions. However, Valgaav reveals that, in fact, Darkstar "devouring" Volphied is a decision made between the two of them. They realize how meaningless the eternal fight between Gods and Mazokus is and fuse to bring purification to the worlds by "destroying" them and "remaking" them so that Gods and Mazokus would not have to fight any longer.

Darkstar, now half Mazoku and half God, possesses incredible powers, and is able to merge with Valgaav, who is the same as Darkstar. Darkstar's "astral body" is different from those of any other Mazoku. Thus, magic is useless. The only way to defeat Darkstar is by using the five weapons it created. Darkstar can use powerful attacks, such as spreading its energy to damage those around it. It can also use a powerful breath attack, as well as a mental attack which greatly affects Mazokus like Xellos. Darkstar can only be defeated by combining the powers of Light and Dark of Ceiphied and Shabranigdo, cast by Filia and Xellos, unleashing it through the five weapons of Darkstar. The combination of the powers mix to create a Chaos force, which turns all the destruction left by Darkstar in creation, thus vanquishing him for good.

Mazoku

The Mazoku (Ma-oh) are ruled by the Lord of Nightmares, along with all other living beings in the Slayers world. The Lord of Nightmares first created the four Ma-oh: Chaotic Blue, Darkstar Dugradigdu (Lost Universe), Ruby Eye Shabranigdo, and Death Fog and the opposing Shinzoku (神族 race of the gods). In the world in which the story takes place, Ruby Eye Shabranigdo and Flare Dragon Ceiphied battle for ages until Shabranigdo is divided into seven pieces, and Ceiphied leaves behind four dragon lords to counter the five Mazoku lords Shabranigdo created at that time: Deep-Sea Dolphin, Dynast Grausherra, Greater Beast Zelas-Metallium, Chaos Dragon Gaav, and Hellmaster Phibrizzo.

With time, the Mazoku lords create more underlings, which are the "regular Mazoku" the main characters in the story encounter from time to time. The lords also make an occasional appearance. Mazoku are portrayed in Slayers as beings that exist solely on the "astral side" of the world. They keep their true monster form in the astral plane, while they project whatever form they wish into the real world. To appear in the human world, they usually have to possess a material form, like a human body or, in some cases, items like a cloak or armor. Higher ranked (more powerful) Mazoku have the power to materialize their own body into the physical world and are able to travel from one place to another by "bending space", instead of retreating to the astral side and appearing somewhere else.

This body however, is unaffected by most forms of physical attack. Although magical attacks can damage both the projected body and the true form in the astral plane, Mazoku are highly resistant to magic, due to their mind-based build. Mazoku absorb negative emotion from living beings, giving them sustenance. Similarly, positive emotions weaken them. A few Mazoku even suffer from words praising life alone in the series.

The highest-ranked Mazoku also have the ability to lend their power to human beings. The study of borrowing power from a high ranked Mazoku is called black magic in the Slayers universe. Spells that belong to this category, such as the widely known most powerful black magic spell Dragon Slave, or a lesser spell like Blast Ash, all borrow power from Mazoku. The ability to use black magic depends considerably on the knowledge of Mazoku and, thus, even regular black mages need to know the basic capabilities of their kind.

All Mazoku worship their primary creator, the Lord of Nightmares. However, most of them, including some of the maō, do not know that the Lord of Nightmares is also the creator of humans and the Mazoku's enemies, the Shinzoku. They believe that their main goal was given to them by the Lord of Nightmares, which is to return the world into its original form, the Sea of Chaos, effectively destroying it in the process.

References

Slayers Anime Television episodes Films Perfect Return Great Gorgeous Premium OVA Special Excellent Other media Video games SFC game Royal d20 RPG Songs Other articles Characters Lina Inverse Gourry Gabriev Naga the Serpent Xellos Hajime Kanzaka Mazoku Lost Universe