Iscariot (Vatican Section XIII)

Manga/OVA Canon

Anime Canon

Iscariot
Director	Makube
Status	Active
Alias	Special Agency Iscariot, Vatican Section XIII Iscariot Earthly Agents of of Divine Punishment The Vatican's Unofficial Enforcement Squad The Catholic Hit Squad
Jurisdiction	The Pope The Vatican
Headquarters	Rome
Employees	N/A
Formed	Over 1000+ years ago (presumably)
Appearances	Hellsing (manga) Hellsing (anime) Hellsing: Ultimate

The Special Agency Iscariot, Vatican Section XIII 《ヴァチカン特務第１３課イスカリオテ機関, Vachikan Tokumu Daijūsanka Isukariote Kikan》, shortened to the Iscariot Agency 《イスカリオテ機関, Isukariote Kikan》, is a fictional subsidiary of the Vatican from the Hellsing series created by Kohta Hirano.

It is the secret thirteenth out of twelve sections that officially exists within the Vatican. They are a top-secret wing of the Vatican charged with the active pursuit and extermination of supernatural entities and heretics. Following the Catholic faith, Iscariot has a bitter rivalry with the Hellsing Agency, as it is Protestant in nature like the rest of London. They are known to fight with a wide variety of weapons, usually as necessitated by the situation.

Terminology

They are named after Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus Christ. This is where the phrase that they are "believers" yet "non-believers" comes from. Another reference to the apostle Judas Iscariot is the phrase declared by the members of the agency, according to which they hold a dagger and poison in their right hand (to indicate the violence they use to defend the church), while in their left hand they hold a rope and 30 silver coins (which are a reference to the coins received by Judas after his betrayal, but which he, overcome by remorse and desperation, will throw at the feet of the priests and hang himself).

Organization

Ideology and Motives

Iscariot is a Roman Catholic agency, and see it in their interest to kill vampires because they are naturally evil and are an abomination before God. However, Hellsing kills vampires if their actions are evil or wrong, especially if they kill humans. Hellsing will not attack a vampire unless it poses a threat to Great Britain, the Church of England or to the British Crown. Iscariot, on the other hand, kills vampires because of what they "are." Unlike the rest of the modern-day Catholic Church, Iscariot is vehemently opposed to the Idea of Ecumenism, as implied when Alexander Anderson told two young orphans that they should only engage in violence against "demons and heathens." Iscariot has a sacred duty to do battle with the "7,405,926 demons of hell."

Its members (Anderson and Enrico Maxwell in particular) displayed a strong hatred for Protestants. This hatred can even cause Iscariot to attack Hellsing in its own territory; during the Badrick incident, Alexander Anderson attacked Alucard, Seras Victoria and Integra Hellsing, and killed two of Hellsing's agents. As Badrick is on the side of the agreed-upon demilitarized zone (therefore making it Protestant Land), it can be accurately said that the management of Iscariot does not really care about contracts and agreements; they want to be the only power protecting and ruling Catholic territories on the world, which is affirmed by Enrico Maxwell who bluntly stated to Integra's comments about the breaking of ceasefire that he would not have apologized to her directly had the Pope not ordered him to do so. Emblematic in this regard is the fact that each member is perfectly aware of the fact that while they defend Catholicism, they betray the non-violent principles of their religion, staining themselves with the blood of the people they kill. Although they are aware of the divine punishment that awaits them after death, they believe that their actions are necessary evil to defend Catholicism and that therefore they are happy to have fought for what they believed in.

Structure

A special task force unofficially owned by the Vatican, the central institution of Roman Catholicism and the strongest force that they possess. They are professionals in terms of exorcism, oppressing pagans, and exterminating heretics; effectively having taken on the dark side of the papacy, and describing itself as "Earthly Agents of Divine Punishment." Many of the members of Iscariot are related to the Ferdinant Lukes orphanage, an orphanage that was spearheaded and owned by Alexander Anderson. Enrico Maxwell, the former director, Heinkel Wulf, and Yumiko Takagi were raised and taken care of by Anderson when they were children. Perhaps the orphanage where Anderson lived has some relationship with Iscariot, which nurtures promising young people. The director of Iscariot elects the most suitable men for operations from among the Trump Card, or the specialized Armed Priest Vanguard. The formation of units is quite flexible, with Maxwell himself sometimes going to the site himself, or only Anderson was dispatched. The existence of Alexander Anderson suggests that Iscariot has perhaps engaged in genetic engineering and other advanced technologies to fulfill its purpose and to create greater weapons with which to combat its enemies.

After the London incident which severely weakened Iscariot to the point of entire subsidiaries being eliminated swiftly, Iscariot was at its lowest point. Makube was to replace Maxwell as the director, and Heinkel as the commander. The agency itself went through massive reconstruction to deal with the severity of the losses 30 years ago.

Military

Main article: Armed Priest Vanguard

The Armed Priest Vanguard 《先遣武装神父隊, Senken Busō Shinpu-tai》 are the elite fighting force of Iscariot. They wear long dark cassocks and crosses, and the weapons they hold are in a wide variety (for example; Alexander Anderson wielded blessed bayonets that are especially effective against vampires, Yumiko Takagi used a katana, while Heinkel Wulf and many other members of the Armed Priest Vanguard was armed with simple pistols loaded with silver bullets, effective against their human and supernatural targets). One of the members wielded a Dragunov SVD Sniper Rifle which was later used by Heinkel Wulf. Anderson was the commander of the Armed Priest Corps, but he tended to be away on his own because of his many operational activities.

Legal Status

The legal status of Iscariot was mentioned by Sir Integra as a section of the Vatican that is not supposed to even exist, because of the militant nature of the agency, it is shunned within the Church and its existence is kept secret from the outside world.

Crest

Coat of Arms

History

They have existed long before Hellsing was established as a secret agency under the British umbrella, possibly as long as the Roman Catholic Church itself. They were created in order to suppress supernatural foes and are professionals of exorcism and oppression; imposing their peace and laws on everyone.

In 1999, the then-director of Iscariot, Enrico Maxwell, learned and gained information on Millennium from a traitorous bishop who was collaborating with the higher-ups in order to seek immortality and vampirism. Later learning about Hellsing's involvement in an operation within Badrick, Maxwell sends Father Ronald over to Anderson's whereabouts and tasks him with the mission of suppressing the vampire first before Hellsing does. Forced to make an apology by the Pope, Maxwell sent a letter to the director of Hellsing to talk about the secret Millennium project as an apology.

Later, he conspired with Anderson to attack both Hellsing and Millennium at the same time in order to wipe out Protestants in London. Once London was invaded, Maxwell was granted the title of Archbishop by the Pope who also dispatched the Ninth Crusade under Maxwell to aid Hellsing in their battle. Maxwell used this power to commit a massacre of the civilians and war on Millennium before he and his forces were put to a stop by Alucard's familiars and Anderson going rogue. By the end of the incident, Anderson and half of the Armed Priest Vanguard were wiped out, reducing Iscariot's power significantly.

Over the course of the next 30 years, Iscariot went under major reconstruction due to the massive losses they had dealt with decades ago. Makube replaced Maxwell as its new director.

Relationship with Hellsing

While they have similar goals and operations, Iscariot and Hellsing have an intense rivalry that goes through the border of competitiveness to genuine hatred between each other. While otherwise Hellsing is willing to cooperate and respect the treaty they have set and agreed upon, Iscariot views Hellsing as "novices" that are "preschoolers" when compared to them (Iscariot), as they have fought back against supernatural creatures long before the resurgence of such creatures. In truth, Maxwell sent Ronald an order to Father Anderson that he should go over to Badrick, as Hellsing's latest operations are around the area. This incident caused two deaths of Hellsing operatives and nearly killed Hellsing's director, and also a direct violation of the treaty. It was only because of the Pope that Maxwell even bothered to apologize and cooperate with Hellsing. Nonetheless, Makube was more patient with Hellsing than Maxwell.

Notable Members

Current

Name
Image	Rank	Description
Makube
	Director	Makube succeeds Maxwell as the Director of Iscariot within the time skip. He seems to be much more level-headed than Maxwell was, although he is equally fanatical, as he says that Iscariot is willing to wait another century or two before beginning the Tenth Crusade. He is definitely ordained, but it is unclear as to whether he is a priest or a bishop.
Heinkel Wulf
	Agent	One of the three students taught and trained by Alexander Anderson, Heinkel is one of Iscariot's top agents wielding two pistols loaded with silver bullets in contrast to her then partner, Yumiko Takagi who was equipped with a sword. After the latter's and Anderson's death, her injury caused by The Captain of Millennium, she became much more compulsive and emotional.

Former

• Enrico Maxwell (Director) †
• Alexander Anderson (Trump Card) †
• Most of the Armed Priest Corps during the London incident (including Yumiko Takagi) †

Concept and Creation

Iscariot was created as a rival organization to Hellsing. They are based on an agency of the same name in Crossfire, Hirano's previous work before Hellsing came into fruition. Hirano noted that Iscariot, including all of its members, would have been wiped out, however, he got too "attached" to Iscariot and its members so that some members were left alive in the end. He also regretted not giving more story and depth to Iscariot, particularly Anderson and his battle with Alucard as he was on a rough schedule.

Trivia

• With the exception of Yumiko Takagi and Makube, all members of Iscariot were portrayed wearing glasses.
• The Iscariot Agency's real counterpart is likely the Vatican's Society of Jesus, or "Jesuits" -- especially when they used to play a more active militant role than the present-day ones do. They are also known as the soldiers of God, and are under the direct authority of the Pope, much like Iscariot is.