N02 (Slayers)

Slayers Vol. 2: The Sorcerer of Atlas (Japanese: アトラスの 魔道士まどうし Romaji: atorasu no madoushi) is the second book in the Slayers novel series written by Hajime Kanzaka and illustrated by Rui Araizumi. It was first published in Japan in 1990 by Kadokawa Shoten Publishing. It was translated to English and published by TOKYOPOP in 2004. Thanks to J-Novel Club rescuing the license of the series in 2020, it was released again digitally on 5th of October 2020, based on the rerelease of the novels in 2008. A physical 3-in-1 copy of the first three volumes has been confirmed to be released in August 2021.

From the back of the book
''The chairman of the Sorcerer's Guild has disappeared, and Tarim the Violet and Daymia the Blue are now vying to fill the coveted seat. With conflict and corruption littering the campaign trail, Lina and Gourry are recruited to maintain homeland security. Along the way, our heroes make some startling discoveries: A mysterious man at the bottom of a pool, a human-like chunk of meat, and, to top it off, a headless body. Sharpen your swords and rub your magic stones- Atlas City is one crazy town!''

Detailed Synopsis
Lina and Gourry have arrived at Atlas City, their destination from the previous novel. About six months ago, the chairman of the city's Sorcerer's Guild, Halcyform the White, had disappeared. Now the two vice chairmen, Tarim the Violet and Daymia the Blue are competing for the vacant chairman's position. Each is worried that the other will try to attack him in order to gain the chairmanship, so both are hiring bodyguards.

Tarim tries to recruit Lina and Gourry, and initially they plan on refusing because they'd already decided to not take any jobs while in Atlas City. However, they then encounter two mazoku, Seigram and Gio Gaia, who tell them not to take the job if they want to live. So, of course, Lina takes the job.

In addition to Lina and Gourry, Tarim also employs Lantz and Rod, two mercenary swordsmen. Rod regrets being on the same side as Lina and Gourry, because it means he can't challenge Gourry to a duel.

One night, a group of combat homonculi and chimera wolves attack Tarim's mansion. In the midst of the fight, Lina sees Seigram watching from the sidelines. He explains that he has been ordered to only watch the battle, and not to get involved in the fighting. Lina responds with an angry outburst, and Seigram, saying "Then I have no choice," leaves the battle. Gourry and an angry Lina chase after him.

The pair of them follow Seigram all the way to Daymia's mansion, where they break in and find Daymia inside a huge room with a giant Rune Breaker on the floor. They try to capture Daymia, but he opens a trapdoor, causing them to fall into a giant, water-filled pit below. The water-filled room, they discover, contains five pillars which correspond to the five points on the Rune Breaker on the floor above them. The water and pillars amplify the effects of the Rune Breaker.

Deep under water at the center of the room, Gourry sees an emerald with what appears to be a person sealed inside. Using Raywing, Lina swims down to the emerald and discovers that it's Halcyform trapped inside. Halcyform, who happens to be a telepath, tells her that it was Tarim and Daymia who sealed him inside the emerald. Using the Sword of Light, Lina frees Halcyform from his prison. Strangely enough, Halcyform believes Daymia when he claims that Tarim had manipulated him into doing what he did.

Since it seems like Tarim had lied to them, Lina and Gourry decide not to return to his mansion. A couple days later, they are attacked by Gio Gaia. They manage to seriously injure Gio, but the mazoku escapes before they can finish him off. Moments later, they find Lantz, shaken up, who tells them something horrible has happened at Daymia's place. They go there, and find that Daymia has been put under the Raugnut Rushavna curse. Lantz, freaked out by the fact that mazoku capable of this are involved, decides to leave as fast as he can, telling them they should do the same if they have any sense.

Lina and Gourry go back to the Tarim residence, because they now suspect that Tarim may be the one who's behind it all, and since Lantz was going there, he would be in danger. They arrive to find everyone already dead, except for Rod and Lantz. Lantz is badly injured, while Rod challenges Gourry to a duel, saying he "transferred [his] allegiance to Halcyform to make this encounter possible." They fight while Lina heals Lantz, and eventually Gourry manages to kill Rod.

After leaving Lantz with a healer, Lina and Gourry, who are no longer sure that Tarim is beind it all, go to Halcyform's mansion for answers. In the basement, they find Tarim's still-breathing head, which finally tells them the truth. Halcyform had been researching eternal life, and was using human test subjects. Tarim and Daymia tried to stop him, but Halcyform had made the Pledge of Immortality with Seigram, meaning he couldn't die unless the Pledge stone was broken or if Seigram was killed. Thus, they had sealed the chairman up in the emerald. Lina realizes that Halcyform had Seigram search for people powerful enough to release him, and Seigram had threatened them so they would take the job.

All of a sudden, Halcyform shows up and kills Tarim. Knowing they won't be able to kill him unless they find the pledge stone, Lina and Gourry flee upstairs, where they find Rubia, Halcyform's assistant. She already knows what her master has done, wants to help stop him. Unfortunately, she doesn't know where the pledge stone is. They search the house for the stone, but are interrupted by Seigram and Halcyform. Halcyform attacks them, but Seigram once again watches from the sidelines. As the fight goes on, Lina realizes that Seigram's stone mask is the Pledge Stone, and she manages to destroy it during the battle. Halcyform is not killed, but he is no longer immortal and is severely exhausted as a result.

Although the stone is destroyed and Seigram's pact with Halcyform ended, Seigram still wants to "settle things" with Lina and Gourry. After a hard battle, Lina impales him with the Sword of Light. She does not manage to kill him, she wounds him so severely that he must retreat to astral side for a long time in order to recover.

After that battle ends, Halcyform suddenly appears again. Even though he lost his immortality, he had consumed Gio Gaia, absorbing the mazoku's strength and capabilities. However, Halcyform does not want to kill Lina, just use her in experiments. Naturally, Lina is opposed to this, but before she can come up with a plan, Rubia reappears, wielding the Sword of Light (which Lina dropped). She pleads for Halcyform to stop it, but, since it's evident that he won't, she is forced to kill him with the Sword of Light.

Major events

 * Seigram is critically wounded by Lina and Gourry, and forced to retreat to the astral side for a while in order to recover.

Debuts

 * Seigram
 * Lantz
 * Raugnut Rushavna

Setting

 * Time: Approximately 1011
 * Place: Atlas City

Characters

 * Lina Inverse
 * Gourry Gabriev
 * Tarim
 * Daymia
 * Lantz
 * Rod
 * Seigram
 * Gio Gaia
 * Halcyform
 * Rubia