The Great Culling

## **Depression and Betrayal**

As the war dragged on and word of his horde's failure in killing the people of Gresit, Dracula calls upon his generals, vampires from across the known world, into his castle to discuss strategy. His war council protests the state of the war, particularly the lack of strategy, in which Dracula introduces his Devil Forgemasters, Hector and Isaac, to his council as his newest confidants to lead the war more effectively. This decision sparks discord and outrage from the vampires but Dracula silences their protests. Despite his, arguments continue to run rampant within the vampire leadership, with Dracula either desponding in his study or growing irritated with his vampire's squabbling. Soon enough, the deadly vampire mistress, Carmilla, arrives. However, instead of providing stability, she questions Dracula's priorities in the war, beginning with the question on why he hadn't turned Lisa into a vampire in the beginning, enraging Dracula considerably.

Unknown to Dracula, Carmilla schemes to assume power over the vampire world by inciting disloyalty among the vampire generals and even Hector and Isaac. Though she successfully manipulated Hector, Isaac is loyal to Dracula to a fault. Even the vampire viking, Godbrand, begins to question on what the vampires will do in the future once humanity is extinct, fearing on what the vampires will feast on. Dracula expresses only disinterest and anger with Godbrand's concerns, which the viking takes this as Dracula wanting to die so he join his wife and is willing to have every vampire starve in the attempt, thereby confirming that Dracula has gone mad.

The situation between the vampires and their lord becomes more complicated when details of the failure in Gresit comes to light: that the villagers had help from a Belmont and that Alucard, Dracula's son, has awoken. Upon the death of Lisa when Dracula had planned to eradicate the world of humans, his son Adrian had protested, turning against his father and facing him in combat. Despite his enhanced half-vampire physiology, Adrian was easily overcome by his father, and seemingly killed, leading Dracula to mourn his son, believing him dead, and place him inside a ceremonial coffin. However, in their mission to stop Dracula, Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades had come across Adrian's tomb, waking him. Taking the name Alucard, as in opposition to Dracula, Adrian joined forces with the pair to stop his father once again.

Though unconcerned with Alucard, the revelation that a Belmont, one the few forces in the world that can truly threaten the vampires, remains alive sparks surprise and fear within them.

## **Final Stand**

Ultimately, the vampires grow tired with their current state and decide to invade the town of Braila and feed on its people. In this moment, Carmilla makes her move against Dracula, having the majority of her forces storm his castle and kill him. However, her usurpation is crushed as Dracula kills most of her forces and Alucard, Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades arrive and kill the vampire generals. Isaac confirms Alucard's presence and that of the Belmont's, advising Dracula to return to his study with the Forgemaster swearing to protect him. Dracula is touched by Isaac's loyalty and decides to spare him from the intruders by sending him to the desert from whence he came, to Isaac's shock and protest.

Alone in his study, Dracula finally confronts his son again, who states that his war is over in the name of his mother. Dracula counters that it endures in the name of Lisa. Regardless, though Alucard grieves with Dracula in Lisa's death, he refuses to allow him to commit genocide. Dracula remains unfazed, remembering and reminding Alucard that he couldn't stop him before. Alucard agrees but counters that he was alone before, in which Trevor and Sypha enter, ready to face the Vampire Lord.

Though Alucard initiates the attack, Dracula easily blocks his son's attack with two fingers. While severely weakened from starving himself for nearly a year, Dracula managed to push back Alucard with one arm and with no visible effort. He quickly beats back his son with minimal engagement, then sprints Belmont into a wall. Just then, Dracula shields himself from an advancing Sypha with his cloak, blocking the waves of fire. Realizing that a Speaker magician is attacking him, he quickly subdues her with a slash, sending her flying across the hallway. Distressed of his friend's injury, Trevor recklessly punches Dracula in the face, which doesn't even phase him. The smirking Dracula merely punches the outmatched Belmont in the gut and grabs him by the throat. Before he could kill him, Alucard stabbed through both of Dracula's arms which locked him to be scorched by a recovered Sypha. The powerful vampire's skin proves highly resistant and the heat of the flames merely annoys him, until the young Speaker realizes that her magic cannot kill Dracula. As she stops, Dracula returns with an elbow smash which releases his right arm. Even though he used slight force, Sypha got smashed into a wooden beam, rendering her unconscious. He then frees himself and knocks back Alucard. Trevor uses this opportunity to stab Dracula's left side as the latter turned to face his opponent. The two then engaged in hand-to-hand exchanges. Noticing Sypha behind him, Dracula tosses Trevor at her, only to be met with Alucard charging him against a wall. Dracula returned with a downward uppercut, but got throttled in the neck by Alucard's precise strikes. His father countered with a powerful palm thrust that launched his son away. The three thus far manage to agitate Dracula but not hurt him. However, Trevor's skill with the Morning Star whip and both wounds, enrages Dracula enough to summon a fiery ball of magma at the trio. Despite his power, the three combine their strength to push the fiery orb back, destructively sending him and Alucard through the castle to the central library. There, father and son engage in a vicious and brutal fist fight that takes them both throughout the castle, although it becomes evident that Dracula is the stronger of the two. Alucard manages to arm himself with a wooden stake and states that Dracula knows he died when Lisa did and that he wants to die, calling his war "history's longest suicide note". Dracula, angered once again, strikes at his son, forcing Alucard to strike at his father with the stake, although he misses his heart.

Dracula continues to beat his son deeper through the castle, but Alucard refuses to back down, despite being overpowered. They reach the transportation room which had its cogs melted after submitter to the Belmont locking spell. Utilizing his high speed, Alucard manages to deliver powerful blows; however, Dracula quickly tracks his son's blazing velocity and grabs him by the forehead. An enraged Dracula smashes his son into walls, finished with going easy on him. Ultimately, their battle takes them to the room where Alucard grew up, the very room he and his beloved Lisa built for their son. Now, Alucard is tired and bruised after failing to match his father's incredible strength and lies by his old bed. Seeing the room and remembering the memories he shared with his wife, restores a semblance of his sanity, realizing that he is killing his son, the greatest gift Lisa ever gave him. In his deepest moment, Dracula confirms that as a result of his actions, he should already be dead. In this moment, Alucard arms himself with a wooden stake again from his bedpost and stabs Dracula with a heavy heart and crying tears of blood.

Dying, his body rapidly decaying, Dracula's form closes in on Alucard but before he can do anything, Trevor and Sypha arrive and the Belmont decapitates Dracula with Leon Belmont's longsword, thereby killing Vlad Dracula Ţepeş. Sypha then uses her magic to burn Dracula's remains which erupt into a fearsome demonic black cloud that spreads across the castle before dissipating completely, leaving behind only his wedding ring.