"Dragon Slave!"
Drag Slave[1] or Dragon Slave (Japanese: 竜破斬, Kanji translation: Dragon Rend Kill, Romaji: doragu sureibu) formerly Dragon Slayer (Japanese: ドラゴン・スレイヤー, Romaji: doragon sureiyā) is a black magic spell[2][3] that calls upon the power of Ruby Eye Shabranigdu. According to Hajime Kanzaka in the afterword of Slayers Special #28, the official romanization of the spell should be Drag Slave, in accordance with the romaji, however this is rarely used, the form Dragon Slave being the most widespread even among Japanese fans. Interestingly, the creators of the anime use a third form, Drug Slave on one of the promotional posters for Slayers TRY.
Lina chanting the incantation of Dragon Slave.
This spell is known to be the strongest black magic spell normally castable by a human without amplifying their bucket capacity; one shot can level a mountain or even a small city. When used in combination with the Demon's Blood Talismans, the spell's power can potentially decimate a city the size of Saillune. It is also highly effective against astral beings such as mazoku. It is advisable for the caster to put some distance between themselves and the target, as they can be easily caught in the explosion as well. When using the Dragon Slave at close range is unavoidable, the caster usually puts up a strong barrier beforehand, which still may or may not be enough.
The spell was invented by Lei Magnus, who originally called it Dragon Slayer. However, over the ages, the name of the spell was corrupted to its present form.
Incantation[]
黄昏よりも昏きもの
血の流れより紅きもの
時の流れに埋もれし
偉大なる汝の名において
我ここに 闇に誓わん
我等が前に立ち塞がりし
すべての愚かなるものに
我と汝が力もて
等しく滅びを与えんことを
Tasogare yori mo kuraki mono
Chi no nagare yori akaki mono
Toki no nagare ni umoreshi
Idainaru nanji no na ni oite
Ware koko ni yami ni chikawan
Warera ga mae ni tachi fusagarishi
Subete no orokanaru mono ni
Ware to nanji ga chikara mote
Hitoshiku horobi o ataen koto o
One who is darker than twilight
One who is redder than flowing blood
Buried in the flow of time
In thy great name,
I hereby pledge myself to darkness
Those who stand before us in our way
All those who have become fools
Merge thy power and mine
To grant destruction equally to all!!
Thou who art darker than twilight
Thou who art redder than lifeblood
I swear in thy exalted name
Obscured, deep in the flow of time
And make this pledge to darkness here
So all those in equal measure--
Fools that they are to block our path--
Shall face destruction unconstrained
Grant me power, and unleash thine!!
English anime dubs[]
Software Sculptors dub translation:
Darkness beyond twilight
Crimson beyond blood that flows
Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows
I pledge myself to conquer all the foes who stand
before the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hand
Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed
by the power you and I possess...
Software Sculptors dub translation from the first episode:
This is the first English language Dragon Slave
Power beyond the twilight
and crimson blood that flows,
Buried in the stream of time
is where your power grows,
I pledge myself to conquer,
all the foes who stand
Before the mighty gift bestowed,
in my unworthy hand
ADV Films dub translation:
Heed me thou who is darker than dusk
In the name of that which has been buried in the bottomless abyss
Infuse me with power
Let your strength become mine
To wipe them from the face of this earth
To deliver them onto the ultimate doom!
ADV Films (Slayers: The Motion Picture) dub translation:
Heed me now, thou who is darker than dusk,
Heed that which is more red than blood,
In the name of that which has been buried in the bottomless abyss of time eternal,
I summon thee, Master of the ultimate darkness,
Have no pity on the fools who stand in our way,
Infuse me with power; let your strength become mine
to wipe them from the face of this earth
to deliver unto them the ultimate doom
ADV Films (Slayers Return) dub translation:
Power beyond the twilight and crimson blood that flows
Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows
I pray, bring darkness to all those who stand in our way
Merge your strength and mine to usurpers one and all
Deliver doom!
ADV Films (Slayers Premium) dub translation:
Heed me now that art darker than dusk
Heed me thou more red than blood
In the name of thou buried in the passing of the time
I make this vow to the abyss
Mark all ye fools that standeth in our way
Let thine strength merge with mine
So that we may deliver doom to all alike!
English anime subs[]
Software Sculptors sub translation:
Darkness beyond twilight
Crimson beyond blood that flows
Buried in the flow of time
In thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness
Let all the fools who stand in our way be destroyed
by the power you and I possess...
ADV Films sub translation:
Heed me, who is darker than dusk
Heed me, who is more red than blood
In the name of those buried in the passing of the eons
I make this vow to the abyss
Mark all fools that stand in our way
Let your strength merge with mine
So that we may deliver doom to all alike!
ADV Films (Slayers Return) sub translation:
Heed me thou that art darker than dusk...
Thou that art redder than blood...
In the name of thou that was buried in the passing of...
I pray to the darkness, merge your strength and mine,
and deliver doom equally to the fools that stand in our way!
ADV Films (Slayers Gorgeous) sub translation:
Heed ye thou that are darker than dusk
Thou that are more red than blood
In the name of thee that hath been buried in the passing of time
I pray to the darkness
To all those fools, that stand in our way
Merge your strength and mine, to deliver doom to all of them equally!
 Double Dragon Slave  Slayers Next - Dragon Slave  Dragon Slave - Slayers Perfect Jap  Slayers Next - Super Dragon Slave  Dragon Slave  Slayers Try - Point Blank Amplified Dragon Slave  Lina using the Dragon Slave in Tales of the Rays  Mint using the Dragon Slave in Tales of the Rays |
Trivia[]
- The spell has been the final spell cast in all opening episodes of the Slayers anime so far, as seen in EP01 (Slayers), EP01 (Slayers NEXT), EP01 (Slayers TRY), EP01 (Slayers REVOLUTION) and EP01 (Slayers EVOLUTION-R).
- In Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, a popular use map setting game, DotA (Defense of the Ancients); 'Lina Inverse', can actually learn this spell as her very first skill if she wishes, with "Laguna Blade" as her final skill.
- In Tales of the Rays Dragon Slave appears as a Mirrage Arte used by both Lina Inverse and Mint Adenade. The former requires a time-based chant, making it the first mirrage arte to not instantly activate when triggered, requiring the full chant to be completed to reach its maximum effectiveness. If Lina is attacked prior to completion, the arte will still activate, but as 竜破斬（詠唱略） with decreased power. Mint's version is simpler and does not require an incantation time. The animation references Sylphiel Nels Lahda's casting of the spell against Hellmaster Fibrizo in Slayers Next. In the event that Mint obtained the arte, she received Sylphiel's costume.
- Dragon Slave appears several times in the trading card game Slayers Fight along its four seasons, as cards #144, #145, #286, #390 and #433.
- In Slayers: Super-Explosive Demon Story, Copy Rezo draws power from Shabranigdu to cast an unnamed spell that counters/nullifies the effect of Lina's Dragon Slave. Lina says this spell necessarily requires more power than the Dragon Slave to be able to counter it.
Examples of use[]
- Lina Inverse used Dragon Slave in EP01 of Slayers NEXT and ended up destroying Zoana.
- In EP13 of Slayers NEXT, Lina used it to kill Kanzel, and an amplified version of it to destroy a large piece of land that was falling. During the process, she also accidentally ended up destroying part of Seyruun.
- In Slayers TRY, Lina stabbed Valgaav with her dagger during a fight, and cast a Dragon Slave directly into his body through the dagger. Despite this, he managed to survive.
Notable Casters[]
While the Dragon Slave is undoubtedly Lina's signature attack spell, there have been a few other notable castings shown in the anime.
- Zolf, the "Third rate wizard" by Lina's description, cast Dragon Slave on Ruby Eye Shabranigdu just after he was reborn (in the first season's 9th episode). Zolf's mistake cost him his life, as well as the life of the warrior Rodimus.
- Sylphiel Nels Lahda, during the battle with Hellmaster Fibrizo in the 25th episode of Slayers NEXT, asked Lina to cast it, then cast it herself hoping that between the two of them they could defeat Fibrizo. As a specialist in White Magic with seemingly no skill with attack spells, Lina was shocked when Sylphiel managed to cast it perfectly. "Black Magic isn't on the list of a wife's duties!"
- Pokota, a prince within the body of a puppet, shocked Lina and her friends (as well as the viewers) by being the first character in Slayers REVOLUTION to cast the Dragon Slave. Lina was infuriated at being upstaged, especially since she was about to cast the spell herself.
- In the first season's 12th episode, Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune was saved from a gang of bandits by Lina who cast the Dragon Slave to destroy them all. In doing so, Amelia became determined to learn the spell herself and tried to get Lina to teach her. Wary about the prospect, Lina and Gourry have a vision of Amelia using Dragon Slave on a man who comes upon a coin in the road and picks it up. While not an actual casting, it was quite entertaining. "That's stealing, and stealing is evil! Come forth my sure swift punishment! Dragon Slave!! Oh it feels good to triumph in the name of Justice!!"
In other languages[]
- Droga de Esclavos (Spanish, lit. Slaves' Drug)
- Matadragones (Spanish, lit. Dragon Slayer)
- Esclavo de Dragón (Spanish, lit. Dragon Slave)
- Golpe de Dragón (Spanish, lit. Dragon Hit)
- Cañón del Dragón (Spanish, lit. Dragon Cannon)
- Mistakenly called "Bola de Fuego" (Spanish, lit. Fireball)
- Bola de Fuego del Dragón (Spanish, lit. Dragon's Fireball)
- Mistakenly called "Súper Conjuro" (Giga Slave) (Spanish, lit. Super Conjure)
- Drag Slave (Slayers Revolution and Slayers Evolution-R Spanish dub)
- Fulmine Rosso (Italian, lit. Red Lightning)
- Drachentod (German, lit. Dragon Death)
- Sárkányiga (Hungarian, lit. Dragon Yoke)
- Kula Smoka (Polish, lit. Dragon Ball)
- Σκλαβιά του Δράκου (Greek, lit. Dragon's Slavery)
- Драгон Слэйв (Russian, transliteration of the English version)
- Malaking Pasabog (Tagalog,Philippines, lit. Big Explosion )
- Dračí Binec (Czech, lit. Dragon Mess)
- Dragão Escravo (Brazilian Portuguese, lit. Dragon Slave)
References[]
- ↑ Slayers Special #28, page 280
- ↑ Encyclopedia Slayers, page 228
- ↑ Slayers Reading, page 188