Alucard Project

Lore & Background

Alucard is a vampire working for the organization Hellsing. He is violent, sadistic, and masochistic, often taunting and belittling 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. 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.

In Their Own Story

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).

Reader's Guide

The source material does not describe a 'project' or 'organization' called the Alucard Project. The Hellsing Organization is the group Alucard works for, headed by Integra Hellsing. Alucard is a vampire devoted entirely to the current head of the Hellsing family. He works with the Hellsing Organization against other vampires and evil forces. The source does not describe a hierarchy, operational methods, or ideology beyond Alucard's personal actions and his bond with Integra. Alucard's primary weapons are his twin large caliber handguns: a basic set chambered in a modified .454 Casull, and a more powerful pair codenamed 'Jackal' armed with explosive rounds, designed to fight regenerators. He can also absorb the souls of those whose blood he drinks, converting them into extensions of himself called Familiars.

Did You Know?

• Alucard's real identity is that of Vlad Drăculea III, who spent much of his mortal life fighting the Ottomans.
• Alucard was imprisoned in a dungeon in the Hellsing manor for 20 years before being awakened by Integra Hellsing's blood.
• Alucard's more powerful handguns, codenamed 'Jackal', are armed with explosive rounds and were designed specifically to fight regenerators.
• Alucard has a tendency to take other humanoid forms, including that of a young girl, which he used while infiltrating the Nazi group Millennium during World War II.
• Alucard is voiced by Jouji Nakata in Japanese and Crispin Freeman in English.