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Origins

Count Dracula is an immortal vampire holding the position of Dark Lord, who draws upon the power of Chaos and is looked upon as the King of the Night and the embodiment of evil. Many lesser creatures of darkness and obsessive humans are fanatically devoted to him, and subscribe to the belief that he will cleanse the world from its sullied state and bring about a new order. Their belief in this is so strong that until his regeneration cycle ended in 1999, Dracula was certain to return after death due to his servants yearning for him. Because of this, Richter Belmont accused Dracula of stealing the souls of men and their freedom. Dracula rebutted that freedom is always sacrificed to faith and asked Richter if he was truly before him by choice. Earlier in the same conversation Dracula said that the world invited him to return, with humanity calling him with praise and tribute.

In some of his earlier conceptions, as mentioned in the Japanese manual to Akumajō Densetsu (Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse), Dracula was a passionate demon worshipper who sold his soul and that of his son, Alucard, to an evil god in exchange for his power. Later developments retconned Alucard as having been born as a vampire-human hybrid, but Dracula's pact with the evil god remained as the means through which he became the Dark Lord, obtaining control over the legions of darkness.
The Crimson Stone

Dracula's power ultimately came from his possession of the Crimson Stone, which he never lost. With it, he absorbed the soul of a dominant vampire lord, Walter Bernhard, thus gaining his powers. Dracula came to resemble Walter by having his own magical castle, legions of monsters, as Walter did before him, and even using some of Walter's attacks. Furthermore, Dracula's ability to repeatedly return from the dead may have been inherited from Walter Bernhard, as after being defeated by Leon Belmont, Walter said that with his powers, he would surely come back to life.
The Demon Castle

The origin of Dracula's Castle, which is said to be the symbol of his demonic power in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, is not known, and it is also unknown if it has any link with Walter Bernhard's castle. Ideally, it seems more likely that Dracula gained ownership of the Bernhard estate when he claimed his soul in the Crimson stone, thus forming Walter's powers with Mathias's souls, along with a spiritual contract claiming the castle.

Historically though, it is also logical to believe that Dracula constructed his castle somewhere in between the events of Lament of Innocence (1094) and Dracula's Curse (1476), which is around the time when Vlad the Impaler (the real life Dracula) ruled. It is not stated entirely, but how Dracula is able to gain control over monsters is shown in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. Soma Cruz, the reincarnation of Dracula, inherits his power of dominance over the creatures of the night. However, his influence over mankind is never fully stated, but can be logically debated and assumed. If one follows the original Bram Stoker novel and film, Dracula may have gained his legions of followers through hypnotic abilities; on the other hand it may be that he is merely a charismatic and highly persuasive individual. During his time as the Dark Lord, he may have tricked humans into believing that he would be its true savior, or perhaps is merely held in high esteem by satanic cults.


In battle

Main article: Dracula/Abilities
Main article: Dracula/Enemy Data

Dracula has displayed great powers in battle. These include, but are not limited to the ability to spawn fire in various forms, such as simple balls of flame or burning meteor-like spheres; control over bats and other creatures of the night; the ability to transform into a wolf, mist, a bat, or other, more hideous forms to heighten his powers; a vast array of acidic Blood Magic; among other powers, such as teleportation.

He also has the Power of Dominance, which allows him to absorb the souls of monsters and use their abilities as his own, Devil Forging, which creates loyal minions from wisps of conjured matter, and he is highly adept at the secret art of Alchemy and is a genius tactician. Dracula's Demonic Megiddo proves how much destructive force Dracula can throw out.

Hypnotism

Dracula is able to hypnotize through eye contact with a victim, or through the victim's dreams as they sleep. He is able to manipulate their dreams and senses in this way, and uses this ability quite often. However, strong willed individuals, or those with holy items on their person will find an easier time fighting this.

Puppeteering

Dracula is able to control and manipulate the vampires of his undead kingdom, in more ways than one. He is able to force absolute control onto them, no matter where they may be, and can forcibly erase their memories if need be. Once changed by the count, the vampire's soul belongs to him, and as such is victimized by this terrifying ability, used by the count to control his minions.