Alucard

Lore & Background

As Count Dracula, he was defeated by Abraham Van Helsing and became the family's loyal servant, being heavily experimented upon to create the 'ultimate undead'. Decades later, Abraham's direct descendant Arthur Hellsing gives the Count the codename 'Alucard'. Hellsing is set over a hundred years later, where Alucard and the Hellsing Organization are forced to fight the remnants of a rogue Nazi battalion. Alucard also appears in the prequel series Hellsing: The Dawn, taking a female form alongside his partner Walter C. Dornez in a fight against the Nazis to stop them from producing vampire soldiers. Hirano created Alucard as a powerful character who serves as a deus ex machina, effortlessly defeating most enemies. Alucard is voiced by Jouji Nakata in Japanese and Crispin Freeman in English.

In Their Own Story

Alucard is a vampire working for the organization Hellsing. Alucard is violent, sadistic, and masochistic. He often taunts and belittles his opponents, allowing them to inflict wounds before regenerating and retaliating. His real identity is that of Vlad Drăculea III, who spent much of his mortal life fighting the Ottomans. Vlad was held captive by the Ottomans as a child, facing heavy abuse and sexual assault by his captors. Through his battles, Vlad sacrificed many, ally and foe, in the name of God, believing that God does not reward conventional prayer, but instead wants mortals to show their faith through battle. However, when his army is defeated and he faces execution, Vlad, believing he has been abandoned by God, turns his back on the divine by drinking the blood of the battlefield, becoming Count Dracula. The manga briefly deviates the events of Bram Stoker's Dracula in regards to motive and his defeat. In Hellsing, Dracula travelled to England to pursue Mina Harker out of affection, rather than a lust for power. During his defeat, Dracula is staked in the heart by Quincy Morris, but unlike the novel, is not decapitated by Arthur Holmwood, who instead rescues and embraces Mina. Following his death, Dracula is taken back to England by Van Helsing where he is revived. The Count pledges his loyalty to Van Helsing, deeply respecting that a mere human was able to defeat a demonic creature. Years after his defeat, Dracula became a servant of the Van Helsing family, who not only augmented his formidable abilities, but also placed shackles on his power. Now codenamed Alucard by Arthur Hellsing, he, along with a young Walter C. Dornez, were sent to Warsaw, Poland to stop Millennium's vampire production program. Later, Arthur imprisoned Alucard in a dungeon in the Hellsing manor, as he believed the vampire was too powerful to be used frequently. After 20 years of imprisonment, Arthur's daughter Integra Hellsing, who was marked for death by her traitorous uncle, opens Alucard's crypt as a final resort. Her blood awakened and resuscitated the ancient vampire, who then executed Integra's uncle and his followers, and willingly entered the service of Integra. Despite his nature, Alucard expresses admiration for humans, most notably Integra and the determination of his rival, Alexander Anderson, to destroy him an example of the 'fantastic' and 'magnificent' qualities of humans. Whenever he drinks his victim's blood, Alucard (along with all other true vampires) absorbs the soul of that person to obtain their memories while converting the victim into an extension of himself referred to as a Familiar. Alucard exhibits incredible accuracy when firing his twin large caliber handguns (his basic set being chambered in a modified .454 Casull; a more powerful pair, codenamed 'Jackal' and armed with explosive rounds, was designed to fight regenerators). He can tear humans apart with ease and move faster than the eye can see. While often seen as a male human, Alucard has a tendency to take other humanoid forms (among them being a young girl, a form he took while infiltrating the Nazi group Millennium during World War II). Anderson, augmented into a supernatural being by the Nail of Helena, managed to critically injure Alucard during their final duel, which created a chain reaction that destroyed all Alucard's familiars except Luke Valentine and the Hellhound. Although Alucard recovered thanks to Seras' intervention and successfully defeated Anderson, he was then attacked by Walter, who had undergone vampirization by Millennium in order to kill Alucard when he was most vulnerable. However, Walter was tricked (via illusion) into killing Valentine instead; before he could get another chance to land a fatal blow, Alucard began absorbing the blood of the millions who died in the Battle of London, thus giving himself an indefinite number of regenerations and a new army of the dead. Unknown to Alucard, Schrödinger had killed himself.

Reader's Guide

Alucard's origin is that of Vlad Drăculea III, who became Count Dracula after turning his back on God. His allegiance lies strictly with the Hellsing family, first Abraham Van Helsing, then Arthur Hellsing, and finally Integra Hellsing, who awakened him from 20 years of imprisonment. His personality is defined by a theatrical arrogance and a deep cynicism toward both humans and vampires. He enjoys the hunt for sport, often taunting his enemies before delivering their demise. Despite his monstrous nature, he adheres to a strict code of honor regarding his master's orders. In the conflict between humanity and the undead, Alucard serves as the ultimate deterrent. He is the weapon that hunts monsters, ensuring that no vampire can threaten the Hellsing organization or the nation they protect.

Did You Know?

• Alucard's real identity is Vlad Drăculea III, who was held captive by the Ottomans as a child and faced heavy abuse and sexual assault by his captors.
• In the Hellsing manga, Dracula travelled to England to pursue Mina Harker out of affection, rather than a lust for power, deviating from Bram Stoker's novel.
• Alucard's twin handguns include a basic set chambered in a modified .454 Casull and a more powerful pair codenamed 'Jackal' armed with explosive rounds designed to fight regenerators.
• Alucard took a female form while infiltrating the Nazi group Millennium during World War II in the prequel Hellsing: The Dawn.
• During the final duel with Anderson, Alucard's familiars were destroyed except for Luke Valentine and the Hellhound, after Anderson used the Nail of Helena.