To the normal specimen, being infected with Count Dracula's dark curse was anything but ideal. But to Actrise, it was more than she could ever hope for. To be an eternal servant to Dracula's cause was always her goal. When human, Actrise was a stage actor, but her profession certainly didn't bring her any joy--Actrise didn't love anyone but herself. So when the opportunity presented itself, Actrise sold her soul to the devil to procure both fame and fortune and the power of black magic; the price was that she'd be forced to live as a witch, expelled from humanity as she knew it.

Eventually, her pact with the devil ended, and, now resigned to eternal life, she began to yearn for a new dark lord. In light of this desire, she began to kidnap and sacrifice children, including one of her own, in order to bring about the return of Count Dracula to this world.

Still, Actrise had other agendas. The heartless witch took an intense disliking to the young Carrie Fernandez because of her extraordinary power and her family's legacy. This power, Actrise thought, could be of great use to the Count in his quest for world domination. Actrise intervened several times in Carrie's trials but could not convince the youth to forfeit her powers and, more unlikely, to become an assistant witch.

To punish the girl for her refusal, Actrise presented to Carrie her recently slain and now vampirized cousin, an adventurer who failed to successfully breach the castle's interior. In a display of mind games, Actrise ordered the vampire to attack her cousin and thus forced a mentally anguishing confrontation between relatives. This vile act, though mentally draining, didn't erode Carrie's steel will.

Actrise and Carrie met one final time, high above on a castle tower, to duel to the death. Actrise's never-yielding crystal onslaught proved to be inadequate, and her final moments on this Earth were spent considering the irony of her defeat and pondering how she could have taken Carrie Fernandez so lightly.

Gilles De Rais was an increasingly aged vampire, another in a long line of those who wished to beckon a world of darkness. As an outcast, Gilles mostly inhabited the catacombs beneath the Oldrey Villa mansion, where he patiently awaited the Count's return.

When Death and Actrise began their campaign to resurrect Dracula into a new body via the sacrifice of Ada, Gilles was more than happy to assist them in their ritual. He would scour the castle, endlessly, preparing the necessary arrangements.

Furthermore, Gilles offered to help their cause by keeping a watchful eye on the heroes' progress and attempting to prevent a would-be hero from penetrating the castle's interior past the Villa. Even though he failed in this goal, defeated handily by Cornell, the short battle with the man-beast helped him stumble upon invaluable information about the man-beast's power.

His new knowledge was instrumental in the later harnessing of Cornell's wolf form, which ensured the Count new life in the form of Malus.

(Special note from reader Vcthug4life: "According to the Japanese players' guide, Gilles De Rais [at least in the Japanese canon] is the one actually posing as 'Dracula's servant' in the case of Reinhardt and Carrie's respective quests. Naturally, he would serve this same role as the final villain for Cornell's quest in the future Legacy of Darkness.")

Graham Jones was the founder of a new religious sect that gained a hoard of devout followers over a short period of time. Because he was born on the seventh month of 1999, on the exact same day that Julius Belmont and other hunters sealed away Dracula and his castle within the eclipse, it led to speculation that Graham wielded strong magical powers.

Because of his influence, he became infamous for his prophecies that the world would see an apocalypse in the year 2035. In short, he warned, someone would locate Dracula's castle and inherit all of the Dark Lord's powers. Graham believed strongly these prophecies because he thought himself to be the one who would inherit Dracula's powers.

Thus, it wasn't an unexpected scenario when Yoko Belnades and Genya Arikado found him wandering around in the sealed-away castle on that fateful day. Graham was correct in one sense, as Yoko had assessed: He was slowly absorbing the dark power leaking out of the seal. Graham did nothing to convince Soma Cruz that this were true, though, and almost gained the young man's trust. But when Graham realized that Soma had similar powers, a potential not unlike his own, he became jealous and revealed his true colors by tracking down and assaulting Yoko Belnades for her "slander."

By the time Graham had fully absorbed the castle's powers, he became so overconfident that he actually declared himself to be "the Dark Lord." He retreated to the castle keep where he took control of the throne room. When Soma arrived to question him, Graham was not ready to let go of his grudge; he accused Soma of stealing his demon's souls and looked to destroy the youth in a Dracula-like way.

No one was as shocked as he when Soma defeated him in this battle. Soma's natural absorbing ability was even more potent than his, Graham learned, and in his last seconds, he watched as Soma absorbed every last bit of the leaking power. And so, Graham Jones became just another in a long line of piteous fiends who unsuccessfully tried to bring about the return of Dracula and the end of the world as we know it.

(Reader Shadow of Jaster notes the following: "About names: 'Graham' equals Billy Graham, the popular American televangelist. This would allude to the charismatic side of Graham Jones, which he projects to the public. 'Jones' equals Jim Jones, a cult leader who led his followers in a mass suicide in the jungles of Guyana in 1978. This definitely hints at his concealed dark side, considering he, too, is a whacked cult leader.")

Celia Fortner was a shadow priestess that exercised great magical power. Most famously, she was the founder of a mysterious cult (whose formal name was "With Light") that would stop at nothing to orchestrate the second coming of the feared Dark Lord. Because of the absence of Count Dracula, whose spirit had been sealed away for good thanks to the heroic efforts of Julius Belmont, Celia sensed that the magical world was slowly weakening. In turn, she felt that her own powers, too, would in time dissipate.

Celia knew that Soma Cruz had inherited all of Dracula's powers, and she plotted to accost the young hero and through a series of encounters plunge his mind into darkness, in an attempt to extract and seize the powers of the Evil Lord. Though, as one would suspect, her intention wasn't to attain world domination--what she sought was the balance of nature and more so the very retention of her magical ability. Soma was the key to this desired result.

But for Celia, Soma Cruz wasn't a satisfactory host, for his heart was "good," and for God to be perfect, evil, too, must be absolute. With this precept in mind, Celia courted into her cult potential Dark Lord candidates in Dario Bossi and Dmitrii Binov, two powerful men who were both born on the same day Dracula was sealed away in 1999. The two contrasting allies were more than happy to assist in Celia's game-playing.

Celia's plan went into effect in 2036, one year after Soma Cruz' noted exploits. On the streets of Soma's home town in Europe, where he was quietly conversing with trusted friend Mina Hakuba, Celia appeared in a violent blaze and unleashed on the pair some minor demons, which Soma was able to defeat thanks to his suddenly rediscovered absorbing ability and the intervention of Genya Arikado. Satisfied with the reintroduction of Soma's "power of dominance," Celia quickly departed knowing that it was only a matter of time before the boy would make the foolish decision to trace her whereabouts.

When Soma did arrive at their castle, which was well-hidden within the snowy mountain regions, the trio of Celia, Dario and Dmitrii greeted him in the Wizardry Lab, where they revealed at least part of their plot--that he was to be eliminated. Beforehand, they would play upon his fears, that he was a threat to others, and over time test the limits of his patience, hoping for the boy's anger to boil over.

They surely underestimated his resolve, and it was Celia who watched as her two candidates were eventually removed from the equation. But the threat wasn't over--there were other ways to awaken the Dark Lord, Celia knew. Another plan was put into effect: Celia led Soma to the castle's garden area, where she executed the abducted "Mina" (in actuality a doppelganger). Thinking his friend to be dead, Soma was pushed over the edge and almost succumbed. Through only the potency of a special talisman, which was entrusted to him by the real Mina, Soma was upon learning the truth able to fight off the chaotic forces--but not before learning of the presence of the thought-banished Dmitrii, who had occupied his soul after copying his "power of dominance." It was Dmitrii, then, who was ready to become the Dark Lord! Though this event was unexpected, Celia was happy with the result.

Celia's last mistake was trusting the power-hungry Dmitrii--she soon found herself as his human sacrifice meant to counter and reverse the flow of Genya Arikado's dark power, which was a considerable obstacle in his ultimate goal to become the new Dark Lord. Her efforts were for naught.

Dario Bossi was one of Count Dracula's potential successors, since he was born on the same day that Dracula was sealed away for good in 1999. His most feared ability was his propensity to manipulate fire; this power was conceived in 2035 when a small portion of Dracula's power leaked out from the eclipse-held seal and somehow found itself tenant to Dario's desire. Dario used his new ability for anything but purposes of practicality. In fact, his actions were that of wicked criminal, and in time he became a most-wanted arson suspect in countries worldwide.

His fiery personality and impulsive tendencies pushed him to immediate action, and Celia Fortner's new cult was the perfect platform from which to showcase his abilities and prove himself to be a true Dark Lord candidate. In his first meeting with Soma Cruz, in the Wizardry Lab of the cult's hideout, Dario was unimpressed and ready to tear the boy apart. Dario's allies, Celia and Dmitrii, knew better and prevented their hotheaded companion from spoiling the entire plot with his rash judgment. Patience was the key to achieving their goal, and the flustered Dario would have to wait.

Dario would soon get his first taste of Soma's power in the castle's garden, where the two would see combat. Soma had recently defeated Dmitrii Binov and apologized to Dario for killing his "friend." But Dario didn't care--he was more disappointed that he, himself, didn't get to finish off the posh Dmitrii. It was one less mountain to climb in his lust for Dracula's power, which we wanted only out of pure arrogance.

Much to his own dismay, Dario was rendered immobile by the capable Soma. Even then, Dario still wanted a go. It was Celia Fortner who arrived and talked Dario out of making another mistake. Dario was her last Dark Lord candidate, after all, and the investment was too great. While Dario gathered himself, Celia lay down a challenge for Soma to reach the castle heights.

While Soma scurried about the hideout, Dario made his way to the castle's highest point, the pinnacle, where he would wait, this time, patiently. Soma eventually reached the pinnacle, where the anxious Dario was ready for a rematch. "What's the point of having power if you don't use it?" Dario wondered; it was "survival of the fittest," he believed. Soma was determined to prove that Dario was no "Dark Lord."

While the argument continued, Soma gazed into the chamber's mirror only to notice that Dario's reflection was shrouded by a fiery apparition; upon using a special soul power that allowed him to enter into the mirror world, Soma learned the truth--that a flame demon called Aguni had fused with Dario's soul. Soma cut down the vicious demon and then returned to the physical world, where he found Dario hunched in pain. By destroying the demon, Soma had cut off Dario's power, his ability to manipulate fire. The now-terrified Dario reacted to this turn in the only way natural--he ran away as fast as he could.

Dmitrii Blinov was the other potential successor to Dracula's reign what with his ability to duplicate others' magical powers. He, too, was born on the same day that Dracula was forever sealed away. Though his actions were perceived as somewhat erratic, displayed outward an impression of rashness and irresponsibility, he was fully prepared to take any measures necessary to accomplish his goal of becoming the new Dark Lord.

Dmitrii was the third party present when in the Wizardry Lab the cult revealed its intentions to Soma Cruz. In contrast to the fiery Dario, Dmitrii was more reserved in his methodology, and he belittled his ally for judging Soma Cruz strictly on appearance. It was clear that this was uneasy alliance, but no one knew how deep the distrust and resentment ran.

Dmitrii's first individual meeting with Soma took place in the Dark Chapel. Soma arrived just in time to witness Dmitrii's slaying of a Malachi, whose power he thus copied. Dmitrii very much wanted Soma to witness this event, to show the youth what was in store. Dmitrii admitted to having no real interest in the cult's activities, for it was all a matter of learning the significance of his own ability--there was a lingering curiosity: "Can I become the Dark Lord?" he wanted to know. It was no matter--Soma won the ensuing battle and seemingly killed Dmitrii, who wanted no pity. As his spirit fade, Soma was overcome by an odd sensation. Had he absorbed a human soul?

Much later, in the castle's garden, Soma Cruz was pushed over the edge when it appeared that Celia Fortner had murdered Mina Hakuba; due to this insidious act, Soma's boiling hatred conjured forth chaos energy, which was ready to anoint a new Dark Lord. Genya Arikado arrived just in time to reveal the truth--that the "Mina" killed was actually a doppelganger--and Soma's transformation process was put to a halt thanks to the potency of Mina Hakuba's talisman, which he had equipped earlier.

The time was right for Dmitrii to make his grand reemergence, to the shock of everyone. He wasn't defeated by Soma Cruz, they learned; rather, during the battle, he copied Soma's "power of dominance" and took control of Soma's soul, thereafter feigning his defeat. When Soma's emotions shifted due to the sheer anger festered, Dmitrii made good his escape and used his new power to collect the chaos energy; he was now ready to become the new Dark Lord! Though Celia could not have foreseen this turn, she was quite pleased, and with Dmitrii she made an exit to the castle's basement.

Soma tracked the duo to the Abyss, where he found Arikado felled. To counter the threat of Arikado's dark power and reverse its flow, Dmitrii sacrificed to the darkness an oblivious Celia. "She wanted to see the Dark Lord, after all," he quipped. The ruthless cad was now ready to take his place in line. Instead, Dmitrii learned of a cold truth--that the power of dominance isn't easily contained. Unlike Soma's, his soul wasn't nearly strong enough to withstand a power that intense. As the helpless Dmitrii succumbed to the pain, all of the souls collected under his watch were released; without a suitable host, they fused together to form a gigantic demon--the Menace! While his participation would end there, Dmitrii's selfish act forged for Soma a most terrifying final foe. Though, with the eventual destruction of the monstrosity, Dmitrii's failure was complete.