Hellsing: Ultimate VIII

Hellsing: Ultimate VIII is the eighth installment of the Hellsing: Ultimate series.

Wrath of the Ninth Crusade
A rain of angel-like flares heralds the arrival of the Vatican's forces. From a glass box dangling below one of the helicopters, Archbishop Enrico Maxwell orders his forces to attack the remaining Millennium forces as well as the surviving citizens of London. As the Catholic-aligned gunships open fire on the Deus Ex Machina, the Doctor emerges to beg the Major to take cover. To the scientist's amazement, the Major is fearlessly standing on the nose of his airship, gleefully moving his hands as though he were conducting an orchestra. One of the Vatican helicopters flies up to attack the Millennium commander, only to be cut apart by a younger-looking Walter, now allied with the Major.

Back on the ground, Alexander Anderson expresses his fury with Maxwell, claiming that his power-mad superior has abandoned God's will in favor of his own selfish ambitions. At that moment, the Iscariot paladins receive new orders, prompting Heinkel Wolfe and Yumie Takagi to declare that Integra is in their custody. Suddenly, the paladins surrounding Integra are knocked away by Seras, who reports the results of the battle at Hellsing Manor. As Integra notes that Seras has become a true vampire by drinking the blood of Pip Bernadotte, Anderson prevents Heinkel and Yumie from attacking, explaining that the young Draculina is far beyond their ability to handle anymore. Seras proudly declares that she is no longer afraid of anything, only to stiffen as she senses a familiar presence; Alucard has returned to London at last. Grinning savagely, Anderson says that things are about to come apart now.

Alucard's Return
Ominous fog rolls into London as the wrecked aircraft carrier HMS Eagle slowly makes its way up the Thames River. With both guns drawn, Alucard leaps into the burning city, landing in the courtyard where the bulk of the Papal Knights and the Letzte Bataillon are facing off. Alucard has barely touched the ground when Anderson appears in a flurry of Bible pages; at the same time, the Captain leaps from the Deus Ex Machina to face off with the other "trump cards". Overhead, the Major proclaims that the pieces are all in place, and bids that the curtain rise on this "Walpurgis Dawn".

Ignoring the two men glaring in his face, Alucard calls out to Integra, asking for his orders. Atop a building with Seras, Integra commands Alucard to destroy every one of their enemies, and releases Control Art Restriction Level Zero, telling Alucard to "announce his return". On cue, Alucard whispers, "I am...the Bird of Hermes"; back on the Eagle, his coffin begins to glow. Sensing impending doom, Anderson and the Captain attack the vampire before them, with the amassed armies of Nazis and Crusaders rapidly joining in. Despite the furious assault, Alucard completes his chant, which the Major observes with growing anticipation.

When the two armies finally stop firing, a ragged mass of shadows is all that is left of Alucard. Suddenly, a storm of cards tears through the Nazi soldiers; on the other side of the mass, a glowing bullet zigzags through the air before plunging into the Vatican's forces. Within the mass of shadows, Tubalcain Alhambra and Rip van Winkle begin to emerge as the entire courtyard is suddenly flooded with eye-spotted darkness. As the matter spreads through the streets, more people begin to emerge; ghoul-like entities leaking blood into the ooze that spawned them. As Maxwell stares in horror, Integra tells Seras that this is Alucard's true nature; a conglomerate of the people whose blood he had consumed. By releasing his full power, the vampire is able to reconstitute his stolen souls as familiars, creating a millions-strong army. From atop his zeppelin, the Major declares that "death is awakening" and the Doctor gleefully envies Alucard's power, calling it "magnificent".

The Original Vampire Reborn
As more of Alucard's stored souls take form, Anderson recognizes the Kazan and Yenicheri armies, grimly commenting that he understands why no one can kill the vampire. As he demands to know how many people Alucard has consumed in his unlife, a legion of armored soldiers emerges from the shadow mass, riding black warhorses and carrying long spears. Seeing the golden "V" on their red flags, Maxwell identifies them as the soldiers of Wallachia. Aghast and enraged, he accuses Alucard of devouring "[his] own soldiers...[his] own subjects", calling him by his true name: Dracula.

At that, Alucard himself reappears, now in his original form, Vlad the Impaler. With a sweep of his cape, he summons the last of his familiars and sends them into the city. The familiars rapidly overwhelm Papal Knights and Waffen-SS alike, with Tubalcain Alhambra and Rip van Winkle bringing down the Vatican's air support. The Iscariot forces beg Maxwell to retreat from the massacre, but the archbishop furiously refuses, frantically reasserting his rank before his own helicopter is shot down. On the ground below, Maxwell is surrounded by Alucard's familiars, but the zombie-like creatures are unable to penetrate the tektite-reinforced glass surrounding him. Maxwell's gloating is quickly cut short by Anderson, who uses a bayonet to shatter the glass. Sadly bidding his wayward pupil farewell, Anderson watches as Maxwell is smothered by Alucard's familiars and impaled with numerous spears.

Once Maxwell expires, the horde of familiars parts, allowing Anderson to regard the corpse of his onetime friend. After chastising the former archbishop for his foolish arrogance, Anderson contacts his paladins and orders them to return to the Vatican while he stays behind to defeat Alucard. Heinkel and Yumie protest, but Anderson explains that Alucard has finally revealed the absolute limits of his power; with all of his stolen souls in physical form, the vampire himself is alone and vulnerable. Reflecting on how everything is going exactly as the Major had planned, and telling his subordinates not to mourn the "spineless coward" Maxwell, Anderson vanishes in a flurry of Bible pages to confront his arch-enemy.

Alucard vs. Anderson: The Final Battle
Meanwhile, Alucard reunites with Integra amid a field of corpses impaled on pikes. Seras is momentarily intimidated by her master's new appearance, but Alucard simply pats her on the head, proudly acknowledging her as "my Seras Victoria". The tender moment is interrupted by Anderson, who seeks to fulfill his duty as a soldier of God. During the ensuing battle, Alucard reverts to his normal appearance and introduces Anderson to his Jackal handgun by blowing a hole in Anderson's left hand. After nearly shooting his rival's arm off with Jackal, Alucard retreats behind a legion of his familiars, leaving Anderson to cut apart four members of the front line.

Alucard taunts Anderson as he is pummelled by Rip and Tubalcain's attacks, asking if the priest thinks he has a chance of beating him. Despite his wounds and the overwhelming odds against him, Anderson refuses to relent, using his mouth to support his injured arm as he begins tearing through the horde of familiars. As the Iscariot warrior uses every tactic and weapon in his possession to clear a path to his foe, Alucard muses on how much Anderson reminds him of the other men who had defeated him in the past. He mentally bids Anderson to come and challenge him even as the latter's advance is stopped by a particularly large familiar. As the giant seizes Anderson's good arm, the Wallachian knights close in with the spears, only to be slaughtered by a hail of gunfire; the paladins of Iscariot have returned to aid their leader.

Anderson furiously berates his subordinates for foolishly ignoring their orders, but Heinkel replies that they would be ignoring their own creed as soldiers of Iscariot if they retreated. Yumie agrees as she cuts apart the giant holding Anderson, reciting her mentor's own words as rationale for their decision. Anderson rages that he had ordered them to retreat so they could survive the battle, but relents and leads them into the rest of Alucard's horde. Watching the battle from within his airship, the Major declares that there is no longer any difference between any of them; whether Nazi, Catholic, Protestant, or undead, they have all become engulfed in battle, killing and dying in the name of a higher power. The paladins' charge through the familiars sees most of their number slaughtered, but they use their dying breaths to set off explosives strapped to their bodies. These suicidal tactics allow Anderson to reach Alucard, who commends the determination and skill of his foes.

The Monster of God Unleashed
With the scant remnants of his task force looking on, Anderson reaches into his coat and produces a small box, warning Alucard that he also has a powerful weapon in his possession. As Alucard waits expectantly, Anderson unwraps the box and crushes it with his fist, revealing   Helena's Nail.

Alucard's bewilderment quickly turns to horrified shock as Anderson prepares to impale himself with the Nail. The vampire immediately yells for Anderson to stop, revealing that the Nail transforms its user into "one of God's monsters", and asks him to maintain his humanity. Declaring that a monster is still a monster whether it works for or against God, Alucard restates his belief that only a human can truly defeat someone like him - someone who made a bargain with higher powers to stave off their inevitable death. With weary sadness in his voice, Alucard quietly begs Anderson not to become "a monster...like me", and the Iscariot priest seems to pause...long enough to admit that he has always wanted to be "a bayonet" in the hands of God - an instrument of divine justice, unburdened by morals or pity. Although he acknowledges the risk of using the Nail, Anderson declares that he is "happy to give up [his] humanity" if doing so will allow him to finally become the tool of God he has always longed to be.

Falling to his knees, Anderson drives Helena's Nail into his chest, causing his wounds to heal as vines emerge from around the holy artifact now in his chest. Infuriated by the priest's actions, Alucard descends from his perch and prepares to blast Anderson with Casull, only to lose his arm and his head to a lightning-fast swing of Anderson's bayonet. In response, Alucard fires the Jackal with his remaining hand, obliterating Anderson's head. To the onlookers' amazement, both men recover, with Anderson's head being replaced by a mass of vines. Heinkel and Yumie's shouts of concern fall on deaf ears - as Alucard explains, Anderson has become a monster like himself, and the only way to end their battle is for one to tear out the poison at the other's heart.

With their wounds healed sufficiently, the monsters resume their battle. Anderson's new form matches Alucard blow-for-blow, ripping apart his shadow constructs and regenerating from even the Jackal's shots. Changing his tactics, Alucard shoots the still-visible Nail in Anderson's chest, but Anderson's vines manage to block the bullet before it strikes its target. This misstep gives Anderson an opening - he leaps into the air and drives his bayonet into Alucard's head. The Jackal drops from the vampire's hand as vines erupt from the wound; moments later, both Alucard and his familiar army are engulfed in flames. As the screen goes black, Seras is heard screaming, "MASTER!"

Characters (in order of appearance)

 * The Major
 * Schrödinger
 * The Doctor
 * Walter C. Dornez
 * Enrico Maxwell
 * Integra Hellsing
 * Seras Victoria
 * Alucard
 * Alexander Anderson
 * The Captain
 * Heinkel Wolfe
 * Yumie Takagi
 * Sir Hugh Irons
 * Arthur Hellsing
 * She
 * Pip Bernadotte (cameo)
 * Luke Valentine
 * Jan Valentine

Major Events

 * The Papal Knights, led by Maxwell, enter the battle of London to kill everyone and reclaim Catholic dominance over the city.
 * Walter is revealed to be allied with Millennium, having undergone a procedure to regain his youth.
 * Alucard returns to London aboard the Eagle.
 * Alucard unleashes his full power, releasing all of his stored souls as an army of familiars.
 * Iscariot realizes that Alucard is Count Dracula.
 * Most of the Papal Knights and the Last Battalion are slaughtered by Alucard's familiars.
 * Maxwell is betrayed by Anderson and killed by Alucard's familiars.
 * Seras, Integra, and Alucard reunite.
 * Anderson challenges Alucard to a final battle.
 * Most of the Iscariot paladins are killed while fighting Alucard's familiars.
 * Anderson uses Helena's Nail to fight Alucard on equal terms.
 * Alucard is grievously wounded by the Nail-empowered Anderson.