Dracula's journey over the span of four books to reveal himself as the one dangerous main villain is absolutely fascinating to look at.
The fact that for the first three books he doesn't even have a name and is just looming over Ivy waiting to get a hold on her and only being called the shadow by her.
The way some other things or villains like the vampire hunting circle, the Upiry or the quicksilver gases/Carmelo are given more importance and are kind of concealing the true, big evil.
The way Ivy has these little moments where he is present around her, but that always lead nowhere because there's always someone else to "safe" her last minute by sheer luck.
The way her protection fades away slowly yet steadily and how he is coming closer and closer until there truly isn't an escape anymore.
The way even the presence of her guardian character is not enough to save her.
The way his true plan was never clear to anyone but him, not even his victim, and only revealed once he has her captive.
The way he is illustrated as a predator from the start, who definitely wants something but how his true desires are only revealed quite late.
The horror of the fact that this includes a man in the body of a grown up, preying on someone who is physically a young teenage girl whose body and fertility are the main thing in his scheme.
There's something about the villain wanting to destroy an entire species that he is the forefather of. The way he is the personified past who's coming to mess with the present. The way the past, along with Ivy, who is also older than the rest, goes down to make place for something new on a winter solstice.
The way the villain didn't just mess with the rules of life a few centuries ago, which created an entire demonic species diverging from God's creation but wants to mess with life again and destroy said species and create a "better one" to rule the world with and to reincarnate a woman who was already reincarnated before—a woman he seems to love and can't seem to let go even after losing her two times already though his desire speaks more of possession than actual love as some characters imply.
Dracula is a symbol for the past that is looming above the present. He's the personification of a power-hungry man using women for his schemes. He's playing god and messing with the rules of nature. He is absolutely terrifying if you think about it.
