The Vampire Killer is a legendary monster-slaying whiplash belonged to the famous Belmont Clan of vampire hunters and a well-known item featured in the Castlevania universe.
History
The whip was originally a less powerful magic weapon crafted via an alchemical process by the alchemy-studying merchant Rinaldo Gandolfi in the 11th century A.D., and it was known as the Whip of Alchemy. Eventually, it was transformed into a far more powerful weapon after the 1094 murder of innocent landowner Sara Trantoul, the betrothed of Leon Belmont, as the noble knight himself will wield the very weapon at that time. Sara, who had been fatally cursed with vampirism, had to willingly sacrifice herself to make the whip "whole" and able to defeat powerful vampires. This was because the whip needed a willing, yet tainted soul to unlock its hidden potential.
This whip not only does serious damage to vampires, but to any demon. Even the Grim Reaper, Death himself, is damaged by the whip. As Leon says at the end of Lament of Innocence - "I have the power to destroy all related to the vampires. Though you have divine powers, you are no exception." Even powerful beings regarded as gods were not safe from harm any longer. Because the whip was made with alchemy, it could be an explanation for how it can turn from a leather whip to a chained flail.
The Vampire Killer was first used to destroy Dracula at his infamous possessed palace Castlevania in 1476 by Trevor Belmont. After this, it was passed down through the generations of the Belmont family until the 18th century, when it came into the possession of Richter Belmont. After Dracula's defeat by his son, Alucard, in 1797, the Vampire Killer disappeared and the duty of opposing Dracula was taken up by organizations such as Ecclesia. Although the whip's exact location went unknown for a long time, it was revealed that the whip was passed by Richter Belmont to the Morris Clan, who were entrusted with guarding the whip until the Belmont family resurfaced to reclaim it.
The Vampire Killer ultimately returned to the Belmont Clan by the year 1999, when Julius Belmont sealed it in the late Count Dracula's Castlevania to weaken Dracula's spirit during a forgotten secret conflict known as the Demon Castle War. Julius retrieves the whip during the events of the year 2035 and uses it against Soma Cruz. Julius uses the whip again during the events of 2036.
Trivia
- According to a statement made by the head director of the three Famicom Castlevania games, Hitoshi Akamatsu, the inclusion of the whip as the player's weapon of choice is a reference to the titular adventurous archaeologist of the Indiana Jones movie franchise.
- In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, both hilts of Simon and Richter's Vampire Killers were redesigned to resemble their Lords of Shadows counterpart Combat Cross, while the chain whip part is the fully upgraded version of the whip from the main series.