Slayer | Guilty Gear Strive | S F W

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.

Slayer wears 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.

To Slayer, the most important thing in life is Dandyism, or the pursuit of beauty and refinement to such an extent that one turns themselves into a "work of art", 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. Abiding by this code, he will treat even opponents he has never met before with the sort of gentlemanly politeness usually reserved for a respected foe.

Having lived for millennia, Slayer has lost his fear of death, 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. Possessing a great sense of perspective, he views events in the human world as trivial, but likes people nonetheless and is an avid observer of human nature for philosophical purposes, finding their turbulent emotions in response to such affairs both enviable and endearing. Detached as he may seem, Slayer is not without passion, however: he loves duels, fighting for mere entertainment often to the frustration of others, and becomes excited at the prospect of a worthy opponent.

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

Details of Slayer's early life are scarce, except for his being descended from an ancient vampire lineage. Once being someone who had "everything in the palm of his hand" but then lost it and who was a "natural enemy of the human race", Slayer has lived in the shadows and margins of history for hundreds of years. Circa 1504, 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.

In time, Slayer saw the already-small number of his vampiric brethren decline until seemingly all but a few perished. Requiring human blood to survive, Slayer turned to assassination, concealing his true nature, and enacted judgment upon those above the law in favor of the weak. 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.

In early 2014, Slayer saw the theoretical assessment of Gear cells by scientists as a cause for concern, but it wouldn't be until 2074—with Justice's rebellion and the start of the Crusades—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, who had come to be known as the "Badguy". Believing it to be unbefitting of his admirable passion, Slayer bestowed upon him the name "Sol", which Frederick adopted as his own. Slayer wrote about his findings, then published them as The Memoirs of Eripmavs D Yraid. He also managed to meet That Man at one point, learning about his self-imposed duty.

During the war, he discovered Sharon, an ageless human who wouldn't die nor become a vampire when he drank her blood. Becoming hopelessly enamored with her, Slayer began to devote less and less of his time to running the Guild. 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 into a criminal enterprise.