Shinzoku (Japanese: 神族 lit. god race, sometimes referred as kamigami 神々, lit. the gods) are the gods in each of the four worlds in existance that oppose the local ma-ō.
Unlike mazoku, shinzoku are few in the Slayers world. Instead of sacrificing a portion of their power to create underlings, they opted to act through their servants, the ryūzoku most of the time. The ryūzoku and the shinzoku are not directly related, although the similarity in form is undeniable.
The shinzoku are worshiped by many: Temples of the four dragon kings are usually grouped together, with an occasional shrine to Ceifeed as well. In one of the issues of Blaster!, Hajime Kanzaka reinforced that shinzoku can gain power from the positive emotions of others, similarly to the mazoku, who feed upon the negative ones. This means that shinzoku are able to benefit from their worshipers directly; on the other hand, the loss of temples, priests and/or worshipers can weaken them. The mazoku exploited this vulnerability during the Kōma War.
(cephied)
(Vorfeed)
