Carmilla (Castlevania)

"But isn't this world hellish already? People are intrigued by darkness, and covet power and chaos."

- Carmilla

Carmilla is a major recurring villainess in the Castlevania franchise, with an increasingly prominent role in each game in which she appears. She is an immensely powerful and influent Vampire Lady and one of Count Vlad Tepes Dracula's highest ranking followers, along with Death, Shaft and possibly Olrox. She is based on the eponymous villainess of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's short story Carmilla. (It must be noted than in the story Carmilla is but an anagram of the villainess' real name Countess Mircalla.) Another villainess in the same name appears in the reboot game Castlevania: Lord of Shadows.

Castlevania: Simon's Quest
Carmilla appears in this game under the name of Vampira. She is the boss of Laruba Mansion who guards Dracula's Ring: one of Dracula's remains, which Simon Belmont has to gather in order to free himself from Dracula's curse which is eating away his soul. Carmilla is never met in person and controls a giant mask-like creature to fight Simon on her behalf. The masks floats around, shedding tears of acidic blood. Simon must avoid the tears and get away from where they land to avoid droplets, while attacking "Vampira" at long range.

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood/ Dracula X
Carmilla is fought as a boss in Rondo of Blood and appears in its remake Dracula X.

In Rondo of Blood, Carmilla awaits Richter Belmont (or Maria) in the Torture Chamber. Richter must first defeat the "Vampira" floating match before confronting the Vampire Lady alongside her vampire servant Laura. (A nod to the protagonist of Le Fanu's short story, who is Carmilla/Mircalla's target and finds herself infatuated to her due to her influence.)

Carmilla stands atop a giant skull and attacks by firing flames that separates into several smaller ones. Richter must attack at long distance or jump to reach her, while Avoiding Laura, who tries to grab him and hold him in place. When her mistress is defeated, Laura takes off her robe and attacks Richter with jumping kicks in quick succession. Richter must avoid it and strike right after.

In Dracula X, Carmilla fights once againby proxy. Should Richter fail to rescue his girlfriend Annette on time, she will be possessed by Carmilla and attack him. The resulting Skull Sorceress attacks from atop a giant skull, in the exact same fashion as Carmilla. The Skull's Eyes float around the room and attack by infusing themselves with fire and charging at Richter, by infusing themselves with energy and rotating around one another across the room, and by conjuring lightning bolts to strike the ground. (These are the exact same attacks used by Shaft's Orbs of Sorcery in Rondo of Blood.) The Skull Sorceress must be fought like Carmilla in the original game.