Slayer

Tremble before me, boy. I will rend your soul with the elegance of the ages.
― Slayer^[src]

Slayer is a recurring character in the Guilty Gear series. A refined vampiric gentleman most often accompanied by his wife Sharon, Slayer enjoys "meddling" in others' affairs, offering unwanted advice to those he encounters. The founder of the Assassin's Guild, his manners belie monstrous strength that only few can match.

Design[]

Slayer's general appearance is that of a middle-aged man to whom fine clothing is of importance: he wears a two-part gray suit above a white dress shirt with long pointy tails, held at the waist by a cummerbund and sporting a horizontal, red-with-white-piping bar across his chest. A necktie neatly knotted at the throat rests on top; both with flowered ends, they give the appearance of a Latin cross of the cross fleury style. His unbuttoned single-breasted suit jacket bears matching cross-shaped textiles on the sleeves, possesses swallow-styled tails, and is adorned with belt buckles below its peaked lapels. Over his right shoulder is an elbow-length red cape that can shapeshift for a variety of uses. He completes his ensemble with light-brown dress shoes.

In Strive, Slayer changes his jacket for a double-breasted black waistcoat with pinstripes and silver buttons, its right lapel adorned with a golden apple-shaped badge and chain that has the word "Dandyism" engraved onto it. Below the waistcoat, his dress shirt has a white body and collar—adorned with a simple, dark red tie—but black sleeves. Slayer also wears a black greatcoat with standing lapels, its inner lining red, over his shoulders like a cape; much like before, red-and-white flower-ended horizonal bar and crosses are embroidered onto the coat's chest and sleeves, respectively. His shoes and suit trousers remain unchanged, but now a golden pocket watch is secured to one of his belt loops.

Slayer has brown eyes and hair, usually slicked to the side, complemented by a short well-kept beard and a thin moustache. He wears a monocle on his left eye, and is often found smoking a pipe even while in battle. Upon reverting to a more youthful self by drinking his opponent's blood, Slayer loses his mustache and his beard turns into a goatee.

Personality[]

To Slayer, the most important thing in life is Dandyism,^[11][12][13] or the pursuit of beauty and refinement to such an extent that one turns themselves into a "work of art",^[14] which may be accomplished through personal grooming, refined language, or leisurely hobbies. He even put it forth as one of the founding tenets of the Assassin's Guild.^[11] Abiding by this code,^[10] he will treat even opponents he has never met before with the sort of gentlemanly politeness usually reserved for a respected foe.^[8]

Having lived for millennia,^[8] Slayer has lost his fear of death,^[15] and is said to be the very definition of "unflappable." His calm demeanor is impossible to shake, and he approaches every situation and encounter with mannerly composure.^[16] Possessing a great sense of perspective, he views events in the human world as trivial,^[8] but likes people nonetheless^[17] and is an avid observer of human nature^[17] for philosophical purposes,^[9] finding their turbulent emotions in response to such affairs both enviable and endearing.^[10] Detached as he may seem, Slayer is not without passion, however: he loves duels,^[8] fighting for mere entertainment^[15] often to the frustration of others,^[18] and becomes excited at the prospect of a worthy opponent.^[15][19]

Slayer prefers duels and haiku poetry to meaningless bloodshed despite being a vampire,^[16] and while there is no greater cause behind his actions,^[20] his own "morality" drove him to take a chivalrous stance toward the killing of human beings^[21] (such as having the Guild assist the weak^[21] by judging those the law could not^[22]). Not a controlling person by nature,^[9] Slayer does not seek to influence others to adopt his own morality,^[8] but does seem to derive satisfaction from guiding others towards reflection and self-improvement.^[23][24] A less charitable view, per Millia's observation, is that he really likes to poke others to see how they squirm.^[25] He also possesses a thirst for knowledge,^[4] and often freely shares bits of info with interested parties.^[6][26][27]

Story[]

Background[]

Details of Slayer's early life are scarce, except for his being descended from an ancient vampire lineage.^[28][10] Once being someone who had "everything in the palm of [his] hand" but then lost it^[24] and who was a "natural enemy of the human race",^[27] Slayer has lived in the shadows and margins of history for hundreds of years.^[9] Circa 1504,^{[note 2]} Slayer found Nagoriyuki on the verge of death and bit him, turning him into a Nightless. Nagoriyuki then became his student, the first one, but despite his lasting gratitude, ran off before the hundred-years were up.^[29]

In time, Slayer saw the already-small number of his vampiric brethren decline^[17] until seemingly all but a few perished.^[27] Requiring human blood to survive,^[17] Slayer turned to assassination,^[30] concealing his true nature,^[9] and enacted judgment upon those above the law^[31][22] in favor of the weak.^[21] In 1998, skilled assassins began to gather around Slayer, believing that his work was motivated by a chivalrous attitude. The scope of this ad hoc organization expanded afterwards, eventually becoming the Assassin's Guild.^[30]

In early 2014, Slayer saw the theoretical assessment of Gear cells by scientists as a cause for concern,^[4] but it wouldn't be until 2074^[32]—with Justice's rebellion and the start of the Crusades^[33]—that such concerns came to pass. He took an interest in this "violent, pitiful" chapter of Earth's history, and decided to track down figures involved. One such was a young man reported dead yet still alive, Frederick Bulsara,^[4] who had come to be known as the "Badguy". Believing it to be unbefitting^[34] of his admirable passion,^[4] Slayer bestowed upon him the name "Sol", which Frederick adopted as his own.^[34] Slayer wrote about his findings, then published them as The Memoirs of Eripmavs D Yraid.^{[4][note 3]} He also managed to meet That Man at one point, learning about his self-imposed duty.^[36]

During the war, he discovered Sharon, an ageless human who wouldn't die nor become a vampire when he drank her blood.^[8] Becoming hopelessly enamored with her,^[9] Slayer began to devote less and less of his time to running the Guild.^[8] In 2168, a too-rapid expansion of the Guild saw it begin taking on jobs that deviated from the organization's original intent. Slayer, embarrassed and disappointed, resigned his position as leader, but this only further precipitated its loss of direction and decay^[30] into a criminal enterprise.^[9]

Around 2176,^{[note 4]} Slayer intervened in a Guild operation under its then-leader Zato-ONE, first by attending the same Castellian royal ball that Zato and his subordinate Millia Rage infiltrated to watch their target, Duke Dorian Scarburi. When the two were separated, Slayer struck a conversation with Millia before Sharon called for him.^[37] Slayer later reappeared before Millia after she had just killed Scarburi, claiming to be evaluating his "juniors";^[37] leaving her weakened after a bout, Slayer went to confront Zato.^[37] Wanting to rescue Millia, Zato attacked Slayer and rebuked him for forsaking the Guild; although he was no match for him, Slayer saw elegance in Zato's soul. Intrigued by his future, Slayer told him not to worry about Millia and left, Zato fainting after.^[11]

At Millia's cell, Slayer offers her a choice: freedom, to choose her own future, or death, if she wished. Millia picked the former and returned back to Zato.^[2] [...]^[38] He met with Zato and Millia once again during an operation on Mount Rosa.^[24] Eventually, Slayer passed the reins to Zato and retired to enjoy a life of comfortable leisure with Sharon.^[8]

Guilty Gear XX[]

However, Zato's capture by the International Police Force due to Millia's defection^[33] in 2178,^[30] being freed to participate in the Second Holy Order Selection Tournament in 2180^[33] only to be taken over by his own Forbidden Beast at its conclusion,^[39] and finally his death^[8] due to the overuse of his shadow by Eddie^[40] in 2181,^[41] saw the Guild descend into chaos.^[7] Falling apart from within, members ask Slayer to return; despite his disinterest,^[28] Slayer emerges from retirement to "tidy" things up.^[7]

Per protocol, Slayer pays a visit to Ky Kiske, claiming that it is "customary for the king of the night to ask for permission from the protector of the day before venturing into the sunlight", and warns him of bounties targeting the Japanese before setting out.^[6] In one path, wanting to give Zato's body a proper burial, he finds Eddie; he sets his eyes on Sharon's immortal body, but Slayer gives him a beating.^[42] In another path, he tells Venom, who has taken charge of the Guild after Zato's death,^[1][30] that he intends eliminate the Guild; although Venom loses, Slayer ends up entrusting the organization to him.^[1] In his third path, Slayer faces I-No, and That Man appears to apologize for her actions; after a friendly chat, Slayer leaves.^[36]

Having entrusted the Guild to Venom, Slayer swears to retire for good and do as his bethren did ("All right, kids. It's time for me to leave the world to you."), visiting a few places before.^[3] In one path, his tour lands him on Zepp to fight Potemkin, for he is the future, and ask him to give the busy Gabriel his regards since he doubts they will ever meet again, now ready to depart the human world alongside Sharon.^[43] In his other path, a fight with Baiken makes him realize that he isn't yet ready, and together they form a fight club, or league of fighters.^[44]

Guilty Gear Xrd[]

Sometime prior to October 3, 2187,^[18] Slayer receives from a friend with whom he thought he had lost contact,^[13] an infiltrator,^[45] a message that Zato has been resurrected.^[13] He thus sends a letter via bat to Faust to meet and disclose the truth behind^[18] the malpractice incident that drove him insane;^[33] their rendezvous at Slayer's villa on October 5, Slayer reveals that it was staged by the Conclave and that the actor, Zato, is alive and quarantined in one of their underground laboratories and Faust departs.^[18] Two days later, Slayer confides in Sharon about the situation and asks if she cares for a stroll, as he needs answers. On October 14, they find Venom, Millia, and Zato himself at the Opera House; in his conversation with the latter, Slayer gathers that the Conclave may be planning something sinister.^[13]

On October 28, while Zato tracks down the Conclave and encounters Ramlethal Valentine in Japan,^[46] Slayer, Millia and Venom discuss what to do with their intel. They agree on telling an appropiate party, settling on Ky, First King of Illyria and publicly at odds with the Conclave. They are ambushed by Bedman, however,^[25] who teleports them away to Uighur to attack Faust, interrupting his meeting with the Jellyfish Pirates and Chipp Zanuff. Slayer warns them to beware the child; Chipp's bout, buying time for the Jellyfish crew to leave and take Faust to safety, ends when Zato intervenes and Bedman teleports away, as if following orders. Slayer suggests that Zato go to Zepp next so as to find Ky and deliver their intel on the Conclave.^[47]

With the Conclave's defeat and the Universal Will's looming threat,^[48] the assassins decide to rebuild the guild^[49][24] as a legal Illyrian institution. Reconvening at Slayer's destroyed mansion^[49] on November 7,^[15] they send Zato to negotiate with King Daryl and settle on the elimination of Bedman for symbolic purposes; Zato returns with good news, and Slayer invites the trio to celebrate but Venom declines^[49] as he must depart to hire Robo-Ky as preparation.^[50] That day, after his embarrassing defeat, Slayer decides to engage Bedman in a "revenge match"^[15] and trains with Venom before he leaves,^[51] then Millia^[20] and Zato,^[23] who offers to tell him the trick to Bedman's power but Slayer refuses.^[15]

When Bedman resurfaces, Zato tracks him down to a wasteland and Slayer faces the youth in fierce combat; however, before Bedman can use a higher fraction of his powers, the battle is interrupted by Millia, who tells Slayer to leave something for Venom. Lamenting that he may not have an opportunity like this for another century or so, Slayer complies and they depart.^[19] After Sanctus Maximus Ariels reveals her true identity and her forces attack the capitol, Slayer and the rest of the Assassin's Guild participate in its defense. Slayer briefly reunites with Gabriel to get rid of a massive Gear before it explodes,^[52] and later reminds Zato and Millia of the Mount Rosa operation. Incensed, the two rally the assassins^[24] and hold out until Ariels is defeated at the Celestial Altar and her troops deactivate.^[53]

In the aftermath, Zato visits Slayer and Sharon at the villa; with the guild soon to be reborn, Slayer asks what became of Venom,^[54] who survived his battle with Bedman^[24][53] but was officially declared dead. Being their loose end, Zato takes it upon himself to "eliminate" him; he does so by giving him a new life as a baker.^[54]

Guilty Gear -Strive-[]

Sometime in December 2187,^{[note 5]} Slayer and Sharon share a romantic moment.^[56] After Nagoriyuki's awakening^[57] and his breaking free from Happy Chaos's control during the G4 Summit,^[58] Slayer pays him a visit. However, this evokes a certain jealousy from Zato, who believes himself to be his rightful disciple in Dandyism and challenges Slayer to a duel. Although Zato and Nagoriyuki have yet to surpass him, Slayer is proud of them both, and in one path where he is forced to use his full power, admits that he never grows bored of Zato, for he truly captivates him.^[29]

Abilities[]

Having powers that transcend humanity,^[9] Slayer is heavily hinted to be one of the most powerful characters in the series, though he is almost never seen using his full power—one such time being his battle with the multi-dimensional being^[59] Bedman.^[19] There are very few people he could reasonably call a sparring partner, such as his old rival Gabriel,^[8] and relishes a no-holds-barred confrontration with Sol^[15] as the "Flame of Corruption".

Being a vampire, Slayer is immortal,^[60][61] and seemingly possesses the usual defining traits of such creatures: thirst for blood, physical superiority to human beings, and weakness to sunlight, silver, garlic, crosses, salt, etc.^[60] For the most part, Slayer fights bare-handed,^[9] using simple punches, agile kicks and shoulder tackles to attack his opponents coupled with his titanic strength, being able to kick a massive Gear into the sky before it exploded.^[52] His vampiric nature, however, shows in a few of his attacks involving the consumption of blood^[9] (which briefly rejuvenates his appearance) and the use of his own flesh and bones,^[8] being capable of mentally controlling a severed arm to attack Bedman.^[19] His regenerative abilities are remarkable as well,^[62] as Slayer is able to recover almost instantly from impalement and regrow a severed limb in seconds.^[19]

Although Slayer mostly relies on his physical prowess alone, he also utilizes the red elbow-length cape over his shoulder for a variety of functions. It is very versatile, able to shapeshift and change its size, and Slayer may use it to guard himself, to sit on it, to manifest a pair of wings, or to teleport. It seems he doesn't need it for the latter, as seen in his Dash animation. In Strive, his greatcoat has similar abilities, shapeshifting into a cloud of bats. Slayer is also in possession of a particular dagger, which is said to be imbued with powerful magic that makes it the "sharpest blade ever forged", able to cut even through forbidden spells.^[2]

In gameplay, Slayer mainly focuses on dancing around his foes to react to their various attacks with his own, baiting them into a bad move to backswing-blow them and fish for counter hits. It is almost as though he is playing around with them to a degree without much extra gimmicks on his own part, as he prods them with lunging and poking attacks of all sorts that can lead into a fully-committal blow should a chance present itself, but at the cost of low mobility (as he lacks a running dash) and requirement to both read and space himself from his foe correctly to not misjudge an option himself.

Music[]

• Haven't You Got Eyes in Your Head? - Guilty Gear XX  
• Existence (vs. Millia, Eddie & Venom) - Guilty Gear XX  
• The Vampire Saga - Guilty Gear XX ♯Reload Korean Ver.  
• Rogue Hunters (vs. Millia, Eddie & Venom) - Guilty Gear XX ♯Reload Korean Ver.  
• Riches In Me - Guilty Gear Isuka  
• Jack-a-Dandy - Guilty Gear Xrd  
• When Life Comes (vs. Millia, Zato & Venom) - Guilty Gear Xrd  
• Ups and Downs - Guilty Gear -Strive-

Quotes[]

Allusions[]

• Slayer is likely named after the band of the same name.
• Many of Slayer's attacks are named after Queen songs: his recurring Overdrive Attack is "Dead on Time", two of his Dandy Step follow-ups are named after "Under Pressure" and "It's Late", and his Instant Kill comes from the song "All Dead, All Dead". Eternal Wings is a reference to "Spread Your Wings", titled 永遠の翼? in Japan. Last Horizon is a guitar solo by Queen's guitarist Brian May.
• Undertow is a reference to the album by progressive metal band Tool.
• Royal Hunt is also a notable band reference.
• Another Dandy Step follow-up, introduced in Xrd, is Helter Skelter, a reference to the song of the same name by The Beatles.
• Slayer's design seems to have been heavily inspired by the 1992–1998 OVA series Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still. His appearance is based on Alberto the Impact as is the disappearing act into his cape, the fingersnap is from Fitzcarraldo the Wondrous, and Big Bang Upper is based on the move Big Bang Punch by Nakajo the Silent.
  • Nakajo was also voiced by Iemasa Kayumi, Slayer's original voice actor.
• Bloodsucking Universe takes its name from the 2001 Japanese film Gore from Outer Space.
• The English manual of Guilty Gear XX claims that Slayer is a descendant of Nosferatu.
• In the English dubs, Slayer speaks in a manner akin to Scottish actor Sean Connery.
• Slayer's pseudonym, Eripmavs D Yraid, is an anagram of "vampire D's diary". The capital letter may be a reference to Vampire Hunter D, or perhaps Dracula himself.
• The phrase "Happiness is not a goal" featured on his outfit since Xrd is the first half of a quote attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt. The second half is "it's a by-product".

Trivia[]

• Slayer shares his birthday, October 31, with his original voice actor, Iemasa Kayumi. On that date also falls Halloween and related celebrations, associated with the macabre and supernatural.
• Unlike most other characters, Slayer is not knocked out if he loses, hinting at his extraordinary strength. Instead, he simply lounges on the ground, looking annoyed. In Strive, Nagoriyuki also does this. Other characters from Arc System Works follow this trend, such as Rachel Alucard (another vampire) and Nine the Phantom from the BlazBlue series, as well as Elizabeth and Margaret from the Persona 4 Arena series.
  • Additionally, during Dizzy's Emotional Gamma Ray, Slayer seems to brush off Dizzy's astronomically destructive power. He responds by shrugging, while almost every other character reacts with terror or shocked awe.
• Despite his love for haiku (being the next word to describe Slayer after "dandyism"), as exemplified by the randomly-generated verses in All Dead that only occasionally sound as though they mean something,^[9] Slayer doesn't seem to be particularly good at it.
• Slayer has made a guest appearance in the game Code Shifter.

Gallery[]

External links[]

• GUILTY GEAR XX The Midnight Carnival - スレイヤー
• ギルティギア　イグゼクス　アクセントコア【キャラクター】｜スレイヤー
• スレイヤー | キャラクター | GUILTY GEAR Xrd REV 2 AC版公式サイト
• SLAYER | CHARACTER | GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- | ARC SYSTEM WORKS
• Dustloop Wiki - GGACR/ - GGXRD-R2/ - GGST - Slayer Overview

References[]

Notes[]

Citations[]