Slayers Slayers is a series of over 52 light novels written by Hajime Kanzaka and illustrated by Rui Araizumi. It was later developed into several manga titles, five televised anime series, two three-episode original video animations , and five movies. It also spawned several console role-playing games for the...  character
Xellos the Mysterious Priest
In-Universe Information
Homeworld:	Red Orb, Sea of Chaos
Homeland:	Wolfpack Island
Species:	Mazoku Mazoku is a common concept in Japanese fantasy referring to a race of beings born with supernatural and paranormal powers.- Mazoku :The very name Ma suggests that they are meant to threaten human existence or defy the gods, while -zoku indicates that they are a family...  (His true appearance is that of a black cone / whirlwind)
Gender:	Male
Hair Color:	Purple / Black (Novels)
Eye Color:	Purple
Known Relatives:	Zelas Metallium
Age:	over 1,012
Height:	5'9" (180 cm)
Abilities:	Mazoku Powers Black Magic Teleportation Super Speed
Weapon:	Wooden staff
Weakness:	The Lord of Nightmares' power Amelia's positive energy
Allies:	Lina Inverse Lina Inverse is a fictional sorceress and the primary protagonist from the light novel, manga, and anime series Slayers.-Plot overview:Lina was born in the fictional village of Zephillia. Her older sister, Luna Inverse, was the darling of both her parents and the town, excelling in martial studies and quickly...   Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun  Gourry Gabriev Gourry Gabriev is a fictional character from the Japanese anime and light novels Slayers. He is the tallest of the main cast and the oldest of the party, muscular like an acrobat, possesses long blonde hair and blue eyes, and notorious of his poor memory.-Background:Very little is known about Gourry's immediate...   Zelgadis Greywords  Filia Ul Copt
Partners/Lovers:	Mazoku cannot love
Enemies:	Seigram  Gaav Gaav The Cow is a 1969 Iranian film directed by Dariush Mehrjui, written by Gholam-Hossein Saedi based on his own play and novel, and starring Ezatolah Entezami as Masht Hassan. Some believe that "New Wave" of Persian cinema emerged after this film.-Plot:...   Valgaav
Role:	Neutral Alignment (role-playing games) In some role-playing games, alignment is a categorisation of the moral and ethical perspective of the player characters, non-player characters, monsters, and societies in the game....
Series Information
First Episode Appearance:	Slayers NEXT Episode 2 (Season 2)
Voice Actor:	David Moo David Moo David Moo, is an American voice actor from Brookline, Massachusetts. He is best known for voicing Sanji in the 4Kids dub of One Piece, as well as Xellos in The Slayers, and Faraji Ngala in several episodes of the 2003-2009 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series. Moo also loaned his voice to...  (NEXT and TRY) Kurt Stoll (Slayers Premium Slayers Premium is an anime short film written and directed by Junichi Satō. Premium, the fifth and latest Slayers film, was first released in Japan on December 22, 2001, along with Sakura Wars: The Movie, DiGi Charat and Azumanga Daioh: The Very Short Movie.... ) Michael Sinterniklaas Michael Sinterniklaas Michael Tremain Sinterniklaas is a Dutch American actor, voice actor, ADR Director and script writer who has worked for Viz Media, Bandai Entertainment, Funimation Entertainment, DuArt Film and Video, 4Kids Entertainment, and Tripwire Productions... (REVOLUTION and EVOLUTION-R)
Seiyu:	Akira Ishida Akira Ishida Akira Ishida is a prolific male seiyū born in Nisshin, Aichi, Japan.He was a part of Mausu Promotion from 1988 until March 2009...

(sometimes spelled Xelloss) is a fictional character

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 and prevalent figure in the Slayers

Slayers

is a series of over 52 light novels written by Hajime Kanzaka and illustrated by Rui Araizumi. It was later developed into several manga titles, five televised anime series, two three-episode original video animations , and five movies. It also spawned several console role-playing games for the...

fantasy manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

, light novel

Light novel

A is a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting junior high and high school students . The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language. Light novels are often called or for short...

s, and anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

. He is a powerful Mazoku

Mazoku

is a common concept in Japanese fantasy referring to a race of beings born with supernatural and paranormal powers.- Mazoku :The very name Ma suggests that they are meant to threaten human existence or defy the gods, while -zoku indicates that they are a family...

(demon), who is both a help and a hindrance to protagonist Lina Inverse

Lina Inverse

is a fictional sorceress and the primary protagonist from the light novel, manga, and anime series Slayers.-Plot overview:Lina was born in the fictional village of Zephillia. Her older sister, Luna Inverse, was the darling of both her parents and the town, excelling in martial studies and quickly...

 and her friends.

Xellos is the single most powerful servant of Zelas Metallium, who in turn is one of the five retainers of Ruby Eye Shabranigdo, one of the Slayers series' deity-like beings. Because of this relationship, some consider Xellos Metallium his full name, but he calls himself simply Xellos, the Priest.

Plot overview

In Slayers NEXT, the second season of the anime, under the orders of Hellmaster Phibrizzo, Xellos follows Lina

Lina Inverse

is a fictional sorceress and the primary protagonist from the light novel, manga, and anime series Slayers.-Plot overview:Lina was born in the fictional village of Zephillia. Her older sister, Luna Inverse, was the darling of both her parents and the town, excelling in martial studies and quickly...

, sometimes helping but often hampering her quest to find the Claire Bible. During this time, he hides under the guise of a traveling priest, though he is revealed to be a Mazoku in the later episodes of the series. In the climactic showdown with Chaos Dragon Gaav, Xellos defends Lina and her friends from the attacks of Seigram and Gaav, though he takes a grievous wound in the process.

In the third season, Slayers TRY, Valgaav tries to summon Dark Star to the world of Ruby Eye. Xellos is sent to prevent the summoning and to bring Valgaav back to the Mazoku's side if possible. He helps Lina and her friends fight Valgaav and stop Dark Star from being released into their world.

In fourth and fifth seasons, his goal is to ascertain whether Red Priest Rezo's soul is all that was sealed in the Hellmaster's Jar, or whether the piece of Shabranigdo killed in the first season was sealed with it. If so, he is to prevent the demon lord's shard from breaking free, due to the unforeseeable consequences such an irregular awakening might have.

Personality

Xellos tends to behave like a playful trickster, answering nearly all questions directed toward him with "Sore wa himitsu desu," literally "That is a secret." He seems to delight in the frustration that ensues upon his withholding of information. For the majority of the second season, Xellos acts simply for comedy's sake, frequently breaking the fourth wall, all the while subtly advancing the plot. Generally, Xellos' mood can be determined by the state of his eyes. If they are closed, he is acting as the "Trickster Priest," but when he opens them, he reveals his dark nature.

Xellos' true intentions are a mystery. As a Mazoku, his main goal is to return the universe into the nothingness of the Sea of Chaos, but near the end of the third season he instead helps Lina and the others save the world. Even though he tends to manipulate Lina and the others, he has saved their lives on few occasions – rescuing Martina Zoana Mel Navratilova from bandits for no apparent reason and saving Filia during their battle with Valgaav. His reasons for doing so are never revealed.

Xellos is extremely loyal to Zelas Metallium and usually acts only if ordered to do so, although at times he has aided Lina's group without specific orders. Presumably, he would gladly follow any of her requests in order to keep her pleased, even if he himself is not pleased with them; for example, in Slayers TRY, he was ordered to offer to kill Lina Inverse if Valgaav joined the Mazoku side.

Relationships

In the novels, the Slayers group generally abhors his presence, while in the anime he is treated as a tolerable nuisance.

In the anime, Xellos and Lina

Lina Inverse

is a fictional sorceress and the primary protagonist from the light novel, manga, and anime series Slayers.-Plot overview:Lina was born in the fictional village of Zephillia. Her older sister, Luna Inverse, was the darling of both her parents and the town, excelling in martial studies and quickly...

 seem to have mutual respect for each other. He seems to enjoy the chaos that follows Lina and follows her for the sake of fun even when he is not ordered to do so. Lina also has comically beaten him when he gets them into trouble. In the novels, Xellos is more distant around her, somewhat troubled by the fact that Lina, unlike other humans he has dealt with, is able to see the bigger picture and is not easily manipulated.

Zelgadis holds a powerful hatred towards the Mazoku because in the 2nd episode of NEXT, Xellos destroys a Claire Bible manuscript, which the chimera thought might have contained the cure to his state. This does not bother Xellos, even though he is the only one who does not tease Zelgadis about his appearance.

When Amelia makes one of her heroic speeches, Xellos often listens with amusement and mild curiosity, although they disturb him at times. When she expounds at length about how beautiful and wondrous the world and life are, Xellos becomes extremely weakened, even cringing at her minor comments. So great is the effect of these speeches on Xellos that, when they are forced to fight him, the group uses one of them as a weapon to render him helpless.

Filia is the only being capable of annoying and angering Xellos. Even though he tries to be polite to her, she continues to insult him and call him names like raw garbage (namagomi). Xellos likes to tease Filia because she is part of the dragon race. Her hatred towards him originates from the fact that he killed many dragons during the Kõma War (War of the Monsters' Fall) 1000 years in the Slayers universe's past. By the end of the series, they learn to tolerate each other and are capable of having at least one conversation.

Powers

Unlike most dark lords, who create one general and one priest, Zelas Metallium created a priest/general combo – Xellos. As the only Mazoku under Zelas' command, Xellos is extremely powerful – he is undoubtedly the most powerful being outside of Ruby Eye's direct subordinates. Lina's group is therefore cautious of his movements, because if he were to become their enemy, their defeat would be almost certain.

He is immune to most magic; nothing short of a direct hit from Lina's Ragna Blade or Gourry's Sword of Light can stun him, assuming that his enemies are fast enough to strike him in the first place.

Like all Mazoku, Xellos can teleport by phasing into and out of the Astral Side, the realm of spiritual existence in the Slayers world. He uses this ability to his advantage in battle, blinking between the Physical and Astral planes like a strobe light to make his movements more confusing.

Xellos is capable of annihilating nearly anything using his own power. This is best shown by his destruction of an entire clan of Golden Dragons with a casual gesture. However, he tends to underestimate his opponents; he is, for example, severely beaten by Valgaav.

Reception

While Xellos started off as a single-arc character in the original novel series, his enormous popularity among readers (he was ranked 1st in at least one of the popularity polls, surpassing even the main character Lina Inverse) allowed him to be included in the last novel and in all anime seasons following his introduction. Akemi's Anime World describes Xellos as "one of the best characters in Slayers", saying there is "much more to him than initially meets the eye." The Escapist Magazine calls him "a key addition to the Slayers Next cast as the manipulative force steering Lina and company."

Voice Actors

• Akira Ishida
  Akira Ishida
  Akira Ishida is a prolific male seiyū born in Nisshin, Aichi, Japan.He was a part of Mausu Promotion from 1988 until March 2009...
  
   (Japanese Media)
• David Moo
  David Moo
  David Moo, is an American voice actor from Brookline, Massachusetts. He is best known for voicing Sanji in the 4Kids dub of One Piece, as well as Xellos in The Slayers, and Faraji Ngala in several episodes of the 2003-2009 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series. Moo also loaned his voice to...
  
   (Seasons 1–3)
• Kurt Stoll (Slayers Premium movie)
• Michael Sinterniklaas
  Michael Sinterniklaas
  Michael Tremain Sinterniklaas is a Dutch American actor, voice actor, ADR Director and script writer who has worked for Viz Media, Bandai Entertainment, Funimation Entertainment, DuArt Film and Video, 4Kids Entertainment, and Tripwire Productions...
  
  (Slayers Revolution and Evolution-R)