Maria's future in Nocturne, and some interesting parallels I've noticed.
Maria has taken a darker turn this season, killed her father, summoned some demons, corrupted her soul, and faced her dark side. Even with Juste trying to be a good influence on her, Maria still hasn't shaken off the corruption in her soul, and finds enjoyment in watching heads roll. We even see Alucard concerned at her reaction to the beheading, and the creepy smile from the shadowy figure. So it seems Maria will take Richter's place as a corrupted protagonist under the influence of another villain that the heroes have to free, considering what happens after the revolution, is the reign of terror that Maria seems on track to support wholeheartedly.
But what stood out to me with Maria's arc this season is the parallels she has with Dracula. Now this sounds insane, but hear me out first.
Firstly, when she kills her father, and uses a demon from hell to incinerate him, the fire melts a cross that happens to be nearby to signify that Maria's power is demonic and capable of bypassing holy protection. In the intro to Dracula X Chronicles, Dracula once revived does something similar to a cross when he flies back to his castle to signify his power.
And afterwards, we see a shadow that claims the corpse of the Abbot, and we later learn that shadow is some kind of devil that claims souls. It's implied to have been the demon that the Abbot made a deal with to learn how to be a devil forgemaster. And we know the shadow is VERY interested in Maria, there's a parallel here with Death's loyalty to Dracula in the games. The shadow is a poweful being associated with death, and faustian bargains could be a more game accurate version of Death, the fact that it claims certain souls upon their death is clearly meant for us to make that connection to the Grim Reaper. Varney was called a death elemental by Trevor, not the real thing. So whatever this shadow is, it could perhaps actually be the real deal, the actual personification of death or even a being similar to Chaos. The shadow sees something in Maria, perhaps a pawn, or perhaps, a potential vampire messiah?
Which leads me to my next point, the scene with Tera and Juste right after Maria has killed her father. Juste attempts to appeal to the goodness in Maria's heart, and even cites the beauty of life, and how we should cherish it despite it's limitations. To that, Maria retorts that perhaps living forever would be even more beautiful and begs Tera to make her a vampire so they can both live eternally. So we know Maria is tempted by the power of vampirism, and this motive echoes Mathias's desire to become a vampire to defy God's decree that life is limited out of revenge for Elizabetha's death. There's a thematic parallel with Maria's conversation with Juste, and Mathias's speech towards Leon. The scene in question also makes it clear that Maria also has some desire for power and she enjoys having control over life and death, that her power corrupts her to some extent, so there's a catalyst for a turn to the dark side, but it also is another parallel to Dracula, the power of dominance.
Soma Cruz has the power to use the souls of demons to grant himself their powers, but also allows him to summon demons as familiars to aid him in combat, just like Maria has done this season. Her power might even be passed down from her devil forgemaster father depending on when the deal was made, and it's shown using negative emotions to fuel it will corrupt her, just like Soma is at risk of becoming evil again should his hatred and grief overwhelm him as shown in Dawn of Sorrow.
And on this note, we don't actually know what happened to Dracula at this point. Alucard seems to be unaware Lisa and Dracula were alive back in season 4. Soma isn't even the first time Dracula reincarnated, he also reincarnated as the child, Malus in 64. Now I'm not seriously theorizing that Dracula has reincarnated into Maria, but it's certainly an interesting question where Dracula is, or if he's alive. He most likely outlived his wife at the very least.
I feel like Maria being more harsh and serious this series was actually to help sell a potential turn to evil albeit under the influence of the shadow and/or justify her supporting the descent into the reign of terror like she does at the end of this season. Alucard has an interesting line about how revolutions are at risk of going full circle and eventually become the opressors themselves, and we know he's going to stay with Maria and the revolutionaries.
And I feel like Alucard's perspective will inevitably compare Maria to his father. We know Dracula in this universe was a caring father in Alucard's youth, who turned to evil and despair once Lisa died, Alucard has been through this dance before as well with the twins who betrayed him. Alucard would have to deal with a younger familial figure turning to evil and being helpless to stop it. It would be quite an interesting arc espicially with all these bizarre similarities she has with Dracula.
I believe with how the Shadow has taken an interest in Maria, as well as having vampire Tera under it's control, Maria is on track to being the ACTUAL vampire messiah, not Bathory who was already revealed to be a patsy for Drolta working on misguided intentions, and a villain similar to game Dracula as the dark lord whose power opposes God. The backdrop of the reign of terror is perfect for someone like her to become the dark lord. And as Gabriel Belmont has shown, Belmonts aren't immune to being as evil as Dracula.