This character or verse has mature themes and concepts, thus those of young age are ill-advised to look through these.
“
It would seem the blood of the holy whip's legacy makes many things possible. One of life's fortunate miracles, you might say. Betrayed by the old man, I fled with Dominus. In this way I had taken your place as bearer, and you were no longer at risk. Alone, I continued my research into methods of controlling Dominus. As you know, that Glyph's power is Dracula's as well. To this end, I required the blood of the sacred Belmont clan. Since they vanished years ago, I set out to find any traces of their heritage.
„
“
Shanoa... This isn't some sort of fever dream, is it? I never imagined I would ever see you again.
„
“
What... kind of brother would I be...if I didn't protect you...? That's...my role.
„
~ Albus to Shanoa as he absorbs Dominus in Shanoa's flashback
Albus is a rogue agent of Ecclesia and a key character in Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. Initially, he is sent on a mission by Ecclesia's founder, Barlowe, to retrieve the powerful glyph Dominus, which is believed to have the power to defeat Dracula. However, Albus betrays Ecclesia and steals the glyph for himself.
Albus wields the magical gun Agartha and gains the Dominus glyph, which grants him immense power. Throughout the game, he serves as both an antagonist and a tragic figure, with his motives rooted in a personal vendetta and complex relationship with Shanoa, the game's protagonist. His betrayal is driven by a desire to use the power of Dominus to change the course of history and take control of the situation, believing it to be the only way to achieve his goals.
As the story unfolds, Albus’ intentions and the consequences of his actions become clearer, revealing his tragic struggle between loyalty, personal ambition, and the power he wields.
This dropdown contains the synopsis of Albus’ story. Read at your own risk as you may be spoiled otherwise!
Albus was brought into Ecclesia alongside Shanoa at a young age. The two shared a strong bond, with Albus acting as a protective figure toward Shanoa, even offering to take her place when he performed an action that would have been lethal to him. He refused her offer, insisting that as her "big brother," it was his responsibility to protect her. As time passed, Albus became aware of Ecclesia's true intentions, particularly regarding the Dominus glyphs, which Barlowe planned to use to destroy Dracula but at the cost of Shanoa's life and memories. Although Shanoa was the more capable candidate for the ritual, Albus, unwilling to let her die, tried to convince Barlowe to use him instead.
However, Barlowe deceived Albus, sending him on a fruitless mission to keep him out of the way while he proceeded with the ritual to sacrifice Shanoa. When Albus returned and discovered the truth, he intervened, stealing the Dominus glyphs to prevent Shanoa from losing everything. Unfortunately, the ritual had already stripped her of her memories and emotions, and Barlowe blamed Albus for the loss, sending Shanoa to track him down.
Albus, now in possession of the Dominus glyphs, tested their power and his own will to resist Dracula’s influence. Ultimately, he succumbed to Dracula’s control and retreated to the Mystery Manor, where he faced Shanoa in a final confrontation. If the player fails to rescue all the villagers, Albus dies, but if all villagers are saved, he succumbs to death while calling Shanoa's name in agony. Afterward, Shanoa absorbs the final piece of Dominus, and the memories of Albus flow into her due to her connection to the Belmont bloodline. In her mind, Albus explains his true motivations, revealing that he stole the glyphs to protect her and to prevent her from wielding Dominus. He asks her to promise never to use it, and though Shanoa cannot fully remember their past, she agrees, bringing peace to Albus before his spirit passes.
Albus’ selfless act ensures Shanoa’s survival, as she regains her emotions and is given a second chance at life. His final wish is for Shanoa to smile for him, a wish she fulfills, allowing him to die in peace. Albus' ultimate sacrifice exemplifies his deep love and devotion to Shanoa, and through his actions, he helps her find the strength to face her destiny. After completing the game, Albus is unlocked as a playable character.
Agartha is a magical firearm wielded by Albus in Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. The weapon is first seen in action when Albus uses it to steal the three pieces of Dominus. During this event, he fires a powerful Acerbatus shot at Barlowe, who counters with a lightning attack, creating an opening for Albus to escape. In the boss fight against Albus, nearly all his attacks originate from Agartha.
This enchanted pistol can fire not only standard bullets but also potent magical projectiles. Among its known magical abilities are the Acerbatus shot, the Optical Shot (which combines Light and Darkness energy into a spiraling blast), and Torpor crystals.
Agartha’s powers appear to be fueled by channeling energy from glyphs into the gun. This raises speculation about whether Albus also relied on it to perform techniques like the Quadruple Ignis and his warping ability.
Notable Techniques
Shot
Agartha fires a magic bullet that can pierce magical creatures. It does not require physical bullets and functions similarly to Julius Belmont's sub-weapons, consuming MP instead.
Rapid Fire
Agartha can fire continuously without limit as long as there is enough MP available.
Torpor Crystal
Torpor is a glyph that can sometimes incapacitate opponents. In Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, Albus uses this glyph to entrap the villagers, as well as a few visitors to the village, within brown crystalline ice prisons. The glyph is also part of his arsenal during his boss battle and is available when playing as him.
Optical Shot
Also called Vertical Shot. Agartha fires a spiraling wave of black and white energy that deals Light or Darkness damage depending on the opponent. It has one of the longest cooldowns alongside Max Shot.
Max Shot
Also known as Casper Shot. Agartha fires an Acerbatus glyph that curses, inflicts Thunder damage, and envelops the target in Darkness. The attack launches a large black sphere adorned with yellow skulls. This glyph has one of the longest cooldowns alongside Optical Shot.
Quadruple Igni
A spinning flame kick that consumes Hearts instead of MP.
High Jump
Albus can jump to taller areas faster than Shanoa using her Volaticus glyph.
Slide
Executes a weak sliding attack.
Backdash
Performs a backdash that grants invincibility during its execution.
Warp
Albus can teleport to any chosen spot within a determined area, provided he has sufficient MP. He cannot use this ability when possessed by Dominus.
Torpor Rain
Rains Torpor glyphs down on Shanoa.
Ignis
In Hard Mode, Albus can fire a triple fireball attack similar to Shanoa’s Ignis glyph.
Grando
In Hard Mode, Albus can fire an icicle attack similar to Shanoa’s Grando glyph.
Fulgur
In Hard Mode, Albus can fire a thunderball attack similar to Shanoa’s Fulgur glyph.
Dominus
In Albus Mode, Albus masters the Dominus glyph to enhance his abilities, allowing him to effectively combat Dracula without succumbing to madness. He uses this power in a mission to permanently destroy Dracula in place of Shanoa.
Other
Standard Tactics
Albus employs numerous attacks, mirroring the abilities available in Albus Mode:
Regular Bullet: A medium-damage projectile attack.
Optical Shot/Vertical Shot: A spiraling projectile charged with Light and Dark energy.
Torpor Crystals: An aerial assault where crystals are dropped from above.
Quad Ignis: A fiery upward spiral kick that deals significant fire damage.
Glyph Attack: Summons the Acerbatus glyph for a powerful offensive move, which is also the only opportunity to obtain this glyph.
In Hard Mode, Albus gains three additional glyph-based attacks: Ignis, Fulgur, and Grando.
Weaknesses: Albus is weak to Dark-attribute attacks. Albus when possessing Dominus is having his mind slowly consumed by Dracula and he cannot use Warp while possessed by Dominus.
As with many Castlevania characters, Albus's name is significant, as it hints he may not be as villainous as he tries to come off. His name means "white" or "bright" in Latin. It's also noticeable that Albus as a boss is weak against Darkness, which is uncommon for a villainous character.
Due to the nature of the boss fight, he, along with Barlowe, are the only bosses that cannot hurt the player by simply touching them.
In Castlevania Judgment, at the end of Shanoa's story, it is said that Albus is a traitor who betrayed Ecclesia for an unknown reason and that Shanoa must continue her adventure to stop him.
In Order of Ecclesia, Albus uses two different sets of voices, one "normal" for Albus Mode, and the other "crazy" one for his boss version. Apparently, he is almost driven crazy by Dominus Agony.
Keith Silverstein, Albus's English voice actor, also did the voice of Simon Belmont in Castlevania Judgment.
Albus appears as a summon in Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls. Unlike Richter, elder Maria Renard, or Jonathan Morris, recruiting him doesn't require saving him from an empowered Vital Soul boss in a Grimoire. Instead, he was summoned by trace elements of his magic lying within Shanoa shortly after defeating Eligor.
The Japanese name of Albus's firearm is "Agathe" (アガーテ), apparently taken from the heroine of the German opera Der Freischütz (The Marksman), about a gunslinger who makes a deal with the Devil for the love of a woman. Albus's Max Shot attack is a possible reference to the opera's hero; the game's voice samples also reference the "Caspar Shot" attack, which would be a reference to the opera's villain.
Albus bears a striking resemblance to BalTheir from Final Fantasy XII. Furthermore, both use an antique-type styled pistol as their main weapon.
The Quad Ignis Kick he uses may be a reference to the Street Fighter series character Fei Long, who uses the same kind of kick (his is named Shien Kyaku, 熾炎脚, "Kindling Flame Leg") - it seems to be combined with the Rekku Kyaku (裂空脚, "Rending Air Leg"), which is another technique from Fei Long's arsenal, when Albus goes forward in air during the technique's execution.
Albus and Joachim Armster are the only characters to canonically die that also become unlockable playable characters in the games they appear in.
Misconceptions
"Gaiden" means "Non-Canon" or "Alternate Timeline"
This stems from the belief that when Iga or a producer calls a Castlevania game a "Gaiden" it is therefore non-canon or an alternate timeline and can be dismissed. This, however, is not the case.
The term "Gaiden" merely just means a side story, spin-off, or a separate tale. The term "Gaiden" does not determine the canonicity of a work, it just lets you know if the game is a spin-off/side-story or if it's a main story. Take, for instance, the Kingdom Hearts series. Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories would be considered a gaiden, as it's a side-story and spin-off title that isn't a mainline numbered title, however, it is in all manners canon and important to play to understand Kingdom Hearts II.
The same can be applied to Castlevania itself, Castlevania Symphony of the Night is a gaiden game. Yet it is very obviously canon and pretty important to play to understand more of Alucard's backstory. The idea of a Gaiden game for the Castlevania series itself would be any game not dealing with one of Dracula's main 100-year-resurrections, which in this case, even Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest is in a way a gaiden, despite being completely canon.
This is all to say that Gaiden does not at all mean "non-canon" or "alternate timeline" and should never be treated as such, the term itself has nothing to do with the canonicity of a product.
IGA Statements Quoted by a Fan
Any statements Iga has made about Judgment that don't come from this IGN interview or a sourced and reputable article are not usable. This is, of course, referring to the popular statements used when discussing Judgment's Canoncity about a fan asking IGA about the game's Canoncity on Facebook, here are some of them below:
Fan: You mentioned Legend of Cornell was an alternate continuity. However, Cornell appears in Castlevania Judgment, which I believe is not an alternate continuity. How does that work? is he from a different universe than the other characters? It is not really explained in the game itself so I was hoping you could give some clarification on the issue.
IGA: Judgment is a work that surpasses space and time and brings them together.
Fan: I get it. So, is the explanation I suggested in the previous reply possibly correct?
IGA: I don't think it's exactly correct. Judgment is a work born of thinking it would be fun to remove all the hedges and bring characters that appeared throughout the series together. I think that you need to view it as an event from another world which does not consider things like timelines or parallel dimensions at all.
Now these seem like pretty clear-cut statements until you start to try to find where these come from.
There is no way to find anything sourced or verifiably proven that this person spoke to Iga. Trying to look up the person didn't get any real results either.
Translation: Regarding the Famicom version and the X68000 version, the X68000 version is an arrangement based on the Famicom version. The arrangement of a game is the kind of thing where you add a lot of different things as needed, so honestly speaking, it think they both should be considered legitimate. In conclusion, I think they should be considered as the same scenario of fighting to defeat Dracula, just with a different middle part. The Super Famicom version is different as well... If you simply must have a clear answer, the Famicom version must be given deference."
Now the quote itself doesn't state remakes or remasters are non-canon despite what people believe. It's moreso a quote of Iga stating that all of them are the same scenario, just with differences. However, an interesting point is that Iga says the NES version should be given "deference", as in to defer to the NES version.
Overall due to the quote itself having no source, it is unusable. The way we will treat remakes, remasters, or ports here however is that they are all equally canon unless stated otherwise. Most of these tell the same story with the only real differences being extra background information added, such as Haunted Castle having it be Dracula stole Simon's wife, though the same overall story still applies even here. Iga himself has already expressed that the original Castlevania's story is pretty simple[473] and Simon having a wife does not affect anything in the overall narrative. Super Castlevania IV notes that Simon is a vampire, though this was due to a novel writer making him a vampire in their novel. The novel was originally supposed to be an adaptation of Super Castlevania IV but was then dropped and made its own thing. Super Castlevania IV itself is still canon, but the subplot of Simon being a vampire is not. The most recent timeline even acknowledges it as canon[474].
A: This is a potent ability but has nothing to do with Attack Potency, there is no quantification for "destabilizing the flow of time", along with this, even if it was taken as physically, then it would be overtime as the effects are not noticeable throughout most of Curse of Darkness. Thus this is merely potent Time Manipulation.
Q: Shouldn't Dracula and by proxy anyone that scales to him get tier 2 for him being able to sustain his castle?
Q: Shouldn't Castlevania characters that scale to Death have Infinite speed due to Death being able to kill distance itself with his attacks?
A: Killing distance to attack is not a speed feat, it's a method of Spatial Manipulation by circumventing and ignoring distance, while one can say the attack spawns on you instantly, this is not really something quantifiable. Along with this, it would only scale to characters comparable to Death during post-Dawn of Sorrow, as Soma notes Death is far faster than he remembered from his fight with him in Dawn of Sorrow[487].
↑Castlevania Judgment Aeon's Hyper Attack on Death
↑Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku Novel “I had said it before. I do not intend to bind the world with chaos.” “…… If so, why did you take power away from the crack in the eclipse’s seal? If you just intend to imitate like a monkey, isn’t your own power enough?” Those were the emotionless words of Death. In response, Olrox laughed his bold answer. “As I’ve said, I would equally gain control over the human world and the source of Dracula’s power, chaos. I do not intend to obey someone else’s mind aside from my own. That includes you who were born out of chaos.” “……” “You should be glad though to know yourself. Just by stealing power, my shameful monotonous time is over…… Even before Alucard appeared, just because I showed up and declared war on him.” Olrox’s voice was mixed with a tinge of thin delight. He respectfully bowed to Death who completely killed his emotions. “I would end the reincarnation cycle of this demon castle. I who understood and was spun out of the stains of chaos, swear to rob that power with my hands. Now, yield.” With Death’s reply, an explosive murderous intent rose. Two bronze colored scythes much larger than usual appeared; it advanced to the space in between the two men with an intention to cut off Olrox’s head. Kill the distance----- Kill the sound----- Just, faster, soon, die. It can be seen that the blades have certainly caught Olrox’s neck, but----- that is only an after image and the vampire is already at Death’s back. “……die.” That was said by the enemy who called on his servants. From the surrounding space, a group of purple bats rose, passed by Olrox’s arm with the speed of a bullet, attacking Death.
However, Death did not show any gesture of avoiding them. He simply faced Olrox and sprayed out numerous scythes. The bats and scythes cancelled each other out and the entire dance hall sparkled with blood."
↑Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku "Ever since the Middle Ages, every 100 years, this legendary castle would rise together with its master Count Dracula ----- And whenever it happens, it is said that a clan of vampire hunters will seal it.
Several hundred years have passed with battles with the [dark lord] Dracula. When suddenly, an end to it all has been foretold.
1999----- Thanks to the power of a clan in Japan, Dracula’s castle was sealed inside a [solar eclipse] to disappear forever. However, in this world, there is no such thing as forever. [They] had understood that Dracula’s regeneration cycle ought to have ended. Indeed, people have prepared for this but will it still exist?
The castle is the symbol of the chaos within humans and as long as people exist, it will not be completely sealed.
↑Castlevania Judgment Aeon's Hyper Attack on Death
↑Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku Novel “I had said it before. I do not intend to bind the world with chaos.” “…… If so, why did you take power away from the crack in the eclipse’s seal? If you just intend to imitate like a monkey, isn’t your own power enough?” Those were the emotionless words of Death. In response, Olrox laughed his bold answer. “As I’ve said, I would equally gain control over the human world and the source of Dracula’s power, chaos. I do not intend to obey someone else’s mind aside from my own. That includes you who were born out of chaos.” “……” “You should be glad though to know yourself. Just by stealing power, my shameful monotonous time is over…… Even before Alucard appeared, just because I showed up and declared war on him.” Olrox’s voice was mixed with a tinge of thin delight. He respectfully bowed to Death who completely killed his emotions. “I would end the reincarnation cycle of this demon castle. I who understood and was spun out of the stains of chaos, swear to rob that power with my hands. Now, yield.” With Death’s reply, an explosive murderous intent rose. Two bronze colored scythes much larger than usual appeared; it advanced to the space in between the two men with an intention to cut off Olrox’s head. Kill the distance----- Kill the sound----- Just, faster, soon, die. It can be seen that the blades have certainly caught Olrox’s neck, but----- that is only an after image and the vampire is already at Death’s back. “……die.” That was said by the enemy who called on his servants. From the surrounding space, a group of purple bats rose, passed by Olrox’s arm with the speed of a bullet, attacking Death.
However, Death did not show any gesture of avoiding them. He simply faced Olrox and sprayed out numerous scythes. The bats and scythes cancelled each other out and the entire dance hall sparkled with blood."
↑Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Bestiary No. 44
↑Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku "From the time they stepped into the mountains, Curtis and Michelle felt malicious intent in the air.
Even though it is still far away, their bodies seemed to squeal [run away]. There was definitely no room for doubt. It is certain that the [castle] exists at the back of the mountains. The church’s greatest vampire hunter, Julius Belmont must be contacted. However, the conversation jumped into the matter of the disappearance of several village children."
↑Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku "A drawbridge suspended from the main gate is seemingly welcoming Michelle’s arrival. And her body was telling her [do not go] as her leg muscles were petrified like stone."
↑Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku "“Uh……aa……Mi……chelle……” That really is no doubt an obsession. The youth had more than 28 holes penetrating his limbs and body. His heart is already starting to fail and he is desperately trying to say something amidst the darkness. “Only…… protect…… you……-----“ When he said those words he must say, the man’s soul already left his body-----becoming one of the floating spirits that wander the halls of the castle. However----- Fate did not allow it. For those people who are involved with the demon castle, even the loneliness of death seemed half hearted----- The man’s soul is pierced by a small scythe that flew in from somewhere. That scythe did not exist physically. It was a diabolic blade created by some magic and possessed a strong soul."
↑Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku "This ominous vortex of magic was similar to what he felt in the [demon castle]. Among all the magic Soma knows, this particular type of sophisticated [power] belonged to----- “……I know I am being rude……” Faster than he can remember, that husky voice rang in front of Soma----- From the shadow of the forest, a large shadow emerged. “……tch!”
