Carmilla

Quick answer: destroy the two giant skulls first — while they stand, Carmilla cannot be damaged directly. She also binds an 8-hit blood curse to Rose: every hit ticks the counter down, and at zero she performs an instant finisher regardless of remaining HP. Healing does not reset the counter. She is fought in the Library Observatory under the Arcana title "The Occultist" and rewards Aerial Rush, Blood Spikes and Brauner's Paintbrush.

Who is Carmilla?

Carmilla originates from Sheridan Le Fanu's 1872 Gothic novella Carmilla, one of the earliest vampire stories. She recurs across Castlevania — notably in Circle of the Moon and Rondo of Blood — and was reimagined as a major character in the Netflix series.

In Belmont's Curse she's a boss, fought under the Arcana title "The Occultist" in the Library Observatory.

Naming note: "The Occultist" is Carmilla

Community guides call this boss "The Occultist", but that's Carmilla's Arcana title. It's the same character, one fight — don't count it as a separate boss.

The two-skull gate

At the start of the fight Carmilla summons two giant skulls, one on each side of the arena. While either skull stands, attacks on Carmilla deal no direct damage (ScreenRant, Space4Games, level C).

Break both skulls first. Use the short pauses between her wave and spike attacks to hit them.
Once both are gone, Carmilla becomes vulnerable to direct damage — that's when your real damage phase starts.
The skulls are the fight's first DPS check; ignoring them means the health bar never moves.

The blood curse

Carmilla also casts a blood curse that appears as a pentagram with the number 8 behind Rose:

8 hits, then death. Each hit Rose takes reduces the counter by one. At zero, Carmilla performs an instant finisher — a loss regardless of how much HP Rose still has.
Healing does not help the curse. Potions and HP upgrades restore health, but they do not add counts back. The only way to survive is to avoid getting hit.
It changes the fight's logic. You are not racing her damage; you are budgeting eight mistakes. Trade only on attacks you can afford to eat.

One guide describes the curse differently — as a targeted countdown circle you can leave before it expires. That is a minority description (single source, level D); the consistent, multi-source reading is the 8-hit counter above.

Attack patterns

Blood spikes — summoned from the floor, sometimes directly beneath Rose. They can interrupt combos, so keep watching the floor even while attacking.
Blood waves — sweep across the arena from Carmilla or from the edges. Jump toward an incoming wave and over it; when waves come from both sides, stand in the center and jump just before they meet.
Dive and resurface — she submerges into the arena blood and reappears elsewhere with an attack. Watch for bubbling or movement on the floor, then move away before she emerges.
Slab smash — a heavier close-range blow; side-step it.

Phase one is spikes and wisps. In phase two she uses the arena blood more aggressively, dives to reposition and sends waves across the floor. Long combos are not worth the risk — use short punishes.

How to beat Carmilla

Break the two skulls before anything else. Damage on Carmilla does nothing until both are destroyed.
Respect the 8-count curse, not your HP. Your real health bar is the pentagram count. Eight hits ends the run.
Punish the spikes, jump the waves. Spikes are the safer answer; waves require a timed jump, and simultaneous waves require standing center.
Survive the final sequence. At roughly the last 10% she chains spikes and waves rapidly (single source, level D). After that sequence she briefly grabs Rose; once freed, Carmilla is exposed on the floor — the finishing window.

Weakness and damage

Elemental weakness: community guides report she takes extra damage from Bleed and Burn status effects (single-source, not cross-verified — level D).
Health / XP: reported at roughly 4,500 HP and 850 XP — a single community source, not officially published (level D), so approximate.

Rewards

The Occultist (Arcana) — grants Blood Spikes, the same telegraphed spike attack she uses.
Aerial Rush — a midair dash and one of the game's biggest traversal upgrades.
Brauner's Paintbrush — picked up in the Observatory; it unlocks the painting route to Notre-Dame.

The Arcana title is "The Occultist"; the ability is "Blood Spikes". One boss, two names.

After Carmilla

Collect Brauner's Paintbrush from the Observatory after the fight. It opens the route through the painting to Notre-Dame, which is the next major area. Carmilla's Blood Spikes Arcana is a ranged tool that opens routes and is strong against groups. See All Bosses in Order for where she sits in the run, and the Arcana system for how to build around her ability.

Sources & verification

Two-skull damage gate, dive/wave patterns, rewards — ScreenRant and Space4Games (level C, consistent).
Blood curse (8-hit instant kill) — multi-source community consensus (level C): ScreenRant plus community guides. One guide describes a countdown circle instead (single source, level D).
Final ~10% sequence and grab window — Space4Games only (level D).
HP / XP — single community source (level D), not officially published.
Location and post-fight route — ScreenRant and Space4Games (level C).
Last verified: October 24, 2026.

Related: Bosses · Arcana System · The Fallen · Medusa · Talos