HELLSING Chapter 11 "Castle Vania (1)"

Castle Vania (1) (キャッスルヴァニア (1),) is the eleventh chapter of Hellsing: Volume 8. It is also the Sixty-Eighth chapter of the Hellsing manga, and the first part to the two parters, Castle Vania.

Summary
As the No Life King gets consumed in flames alive, by the Monster of God, a hopeless Alucard sees a man shrouded in darkness way back... and he wonders who it was. It's him. It's him back when he was a human. Before being killed completely, Alucard relives his life as a slave, a warlord, and a prisoner of war. Before being killed completely, he heard a voice saying "master"....

Synopsis
The holy flames created by the Bayonet Priest completely covers the entirety of London with the flames of God, because of the fact that moments before, the city of London was covered by the army of familiars Alucard summoned. As Anderson tries to finish off Alucard, Alucard just then sees a man covered in darkness in the midst of the holy flames, and he wonders who it is, shortly before fully recognizing that, that man standing before him... is him. As the man progresses from a battered, warlord who has won countless wars, he progressed into an innocent, brutally battered child with a cross that he wears as a neckless.

Just then, the child promises to God that he will not beg for mercy in a life-or-death situation. While he was being dragged on the floor by the hair by a certain Sultan as they are surrounded by the Sultan's men. Shortly thereafter, a young Vlad was brung into his room and thrown on the bed by the Sultan. Bruised and hurt, the cross he held on was flown, and he tries to grab the cross; but while he did manage to grab onto the cross and held it closely- he was grabbed in the head moments later as the Sultan rips his clothing out. Then shortly... the Sultan forced himself onto the poor innocent boy, who states that he will never beg God for mercy. For years, he was stuck on the Sultan's grip.

But eventually, his life did get better once he was freed from the Sultan's slavery. Progressed from a slave to the Voivode of Wallachia, Vlad climbed ranks very quickly. Leading his men onto a battle that inevitably, he'd won due to how strong he and his army were. Impaling them once they won and placed them to dangle on the fronts of Vlad's kingdom to ward and scare off enemies; Vlad did all this... because of God. He was fighting for God. As his speech to the soldiers of Wallachia was primarily aimed at God, he wants his army to fight for his sake. For God's sake, everyone should fight. "God will not help those who asks for help. God will not save those who beg for mercy," that's the "Code of Honor" that Vlad has. Through his magnificent speeches, everyone fought for the sake of God. It is also not just a prayer, it's an appeal to God.

Then as the warlord continues on fighting for the sake of god, for the sake of honor, for the sake of the country he rules, for the sake of the New Jerusalem, Vlad wins countless wars and is known as Vlad the Impaler, feared among men. One would say the name of him and one would tremble in fear hearing his name. Sitting on a rock and placing his broadsword on it, Vlad states to his men, to his country, to his kingdom that "fighting is prayer itself," and at the end of so much prayer it astounds, God will descend- Jerusalem will descend. One, die for a hundred; ten, die for a thousand; a hundred dies for ten thousand, then even if for the billion lands of Christiana; at the end of his small world that'll burn and collapse, God will descend. That is the Jerusalem at the end of his prayers, that's what Vlad wants to believe, really. He wants to believe that God will descend once after his war finishes.

But however... a certain Devil then asks if God descend, nor did Jerusalem, the paradise. As at the end, turns out, everything he did only led for his name to be feared by everyone and even his men. Those who came with him to fight his last battle were only a few, and that's exactly why Vlad was captured and sentenced to death. He lost the war as those who had stuck with him dies, and did not at all, not once, begged for mercy. As his empire collapse and burn down just like he said, God however... did not descend, nor did Jerusalem. God betrayed him. At least that's what he believes. God betrayed him and his men; that's why they lost.

As the starved and tortured Vlad relives his life as a child, stuck in a hold, being dragged by the men of the Ottoman Empire, bruised and battered, he was asked again to answer the Devil; whom called Vlad himself, the Mad King. Everyone, even those that did not come with him to fight his very last battle, died for his sake; for the sake of what Vlad believes, and for the sake of his fantasy; "for the sake of his God," and now they're all dead for the sake of his prayers. Not even a king, not even a servant of God; Vlad's not even, no longer, a man. Killing all his enemies, even allies and the subjects he was to protect, the country he was to govern; men, women and the aged children- even himself, Vlad's just an incorrigible monster all the time.

Nearing his execution however, he instead believes that he was betrayed by God, that's why they lost the war and his men died; that's why he's what he is right now, that's why he was sent to execution.. and therefore, as he knelt there, he would witness before him the blood of others pooling around him, drawing toward him, and a voice calling out to him... Licking the blood, he sold his soul to the devil and came back alive. He in the end, denounced God.

A brief flash of The Major in World War II insinuates a similar predicament but a different outcome.

Present
Then suddenly, while his life flashes before his eyes; he hears a voice calling out to him... Slowly opening his eyes back, he sees... her.

Characters

 * Alucard
 * The Sultan
 * The Major
 * Seras Victoria

Organizations

 * Iscariot (Vatican Section XIII)
 * Hellsing Organisation

Trivia

 * The Chapter "Castle Vania" is an obvious homage to the game "Castlevania" by Konami. The Game centers around the Belmont Family as they face off against the villainous Vlad Ţepeş, also known as Dracula. In this game, the Belmonts, who claim to be distant relatives of the Helsing Family, swear an oath to stand against Dracula every time he rises.
 * Ironically, the Castlevania series features their own version of Alucard, though this version of the character is not Dracula himself, but the son of Dracula and a woman named Lisa; Adrian Fahrenheit Ţepeş. Much like Alucard in Hellsing, Alucard was known for using a pistol in combat and stood against the evil Dracula with the Belmonts. Upon destroying the Count, a guilty Alucard puts himself into a slumber until 1797 when a Belmont fails to appear to end the threat of the return of the Castlevania. Alucard would once more team up with the Belmonts, this time with Richter Belmont to defeat his father once again.
 * How Vlad was portrayed in this chapter is similar to how Vlad was portrayed in the 1992 movie, Bram Stoker's Dracula. While how the two ended up becoming a vampire was different, Vlad still drank blood to become a vampire and denounced God: In Hellsing, by drinking the blood of his men and in Bram Stoker's Dracula, by slashing the cross that pours out blood and drank it. Vlad however, in the film, won the war and just did that because he believed God betrayed him by killing his wife; in reality, his wife died because the enemy Vlad faced sent a letter to her announcing Vlad's death; committing suicide to be with her lover forever.