Vlad

Before his transformation, Vlad presents as an unremarkable figure: cropped dark hair, blank eyes, dark lips, and a pair of distinct creases running from the top of his forehead down to his chin. Once he absorbs the abilities taken from Momo, Unji, Rin, and Koki, that plain look gives way to something monstrous. His hair grows long and tangled, horns push up from his skull, his eyes swell into large black orbs, and a row of sharp teeth fills his mouth, all atop a newly muscular frame with sharper features.

For his meeting with Mika Adachi he wore a long dark coat over a collared shirt with a dark tie, slacks, and shoes, and swung the briefcase he carried as a weapon. In his current state, he sits stripped to his underwear in a chair, his body wired into a machine from behind.

Vlad is a megalomaniac driven by a single fixation: gathering every power needed to fully awaken the Fairy-Tale Card and rise as the Ultimate Yokai, with global domination as the prize. On the surface he keeps a composed manner, yet he visibly delights in soaking up pilfered abilities and parading them, snapping into eagerness the instant a fresh power comes within reach.

He feeds on praise, basking in approval whenever he achieves something, and expects his underlings to keep to their assigned rank, rewarding loyal service with warmth. That generosity is conditional, though. He prizes people only while they push his ascent forward, content to let Red Baron labor faithfully right up until the moment his usefulness ran out, at which point Vlad cheerfully ordered him to give up his own power.

As prince of the Delacroix Family, Vlad represents one of the thirteen noble houses that form the Black Paladins. After arriving in Japan, he brought on Saint-Germain as a consultant to chase his ambition, a goal that demanded the Fairy-Tale Card's power plus six further abilities drawn from the Family's members.

During the Kozuka Knives Arc he confronts Mika Adachi under an overpass to take back both the power she stole and her own, beating her with his briefcase to force her to comply. Officer Masamichi Vega intervenes and kicks him away, and when the Fairy-Tale Card fails to control Vega, Vlad instead seizes Adachi and turns her against the officer to cover his escape. In the Six Curses Arc he receives the abilities of Momo Ayase and Unji Zuma, stolen by Shinobi in Shimane, then takes on Rin's and Koki's powers carried back by Red Baron. Wired to the machine in his lair, he undergoes his transformation, groaning in pleasure as four powers merge within him and lapping up the Count's and Red Baron's praise. He readily agrees to add a fifth ability over Red Baron's objections, and when Saint-Germain forces the Baron to grovel, Vlad steps in only to lure him close, ordering him to accept defeat. Saint-Germain then reveals Red Baron is to become the card's fifth power, Little Red Riding Hood. Across the story Vlad acts as a minor antagonist of the Kozuka Knives Arc, the main antagonist of the Six Curses Arc, and one of the overarching threats of the Ultimate Yokai Saga.