Chaos is the personification of Dracula's evil will, or in other words, his desire to do evil things.
The script is really, really clear: Chaos is a solidification of
mankind's will, not Dracula's. Chaos is what influences Dracula's evil will, and it's not the evil will itself. Soma has to sever himself from Chaos so the evil will loses its grip over him.
From Aria:
有角 幻也
ドラキュラの邪悪な意思は、破壊と混沌を求める人間達によって作られたものだ。ならば、その意思に影響を与えている混沌を切り離せば良い。
Arikado:
Dracula's evil intention was spawned/is created from humanity's desire for destruction and chaos. So you should sever the chaos influencing this intention.Then Arikado proceeds to explain how this chaos is hidden somewhere inside the castle. He just said chaos is a creation of mankind and influences Dracula's will, but then "chaos is the personification of Dracula's evil will and is in turn the result of humanity's wish for a Dark Lord"? Makes no sense. It's either Dracula's evil will or mankind's creation, it can't be both at the same time.
Draculas evil will is one thing, chaos is another. The evil intent comes from chaos. Chaos is born from humans, and influences the evil intent, it is not the evil intent itself. And, Dracula is not human -- therefore he doesn't "contribute" to chaos, but is a tool of it to enact humans' annihilation. He may be beholden by the evil will spawned from human's chaotic desires, but he is still not a human. So I find it very hard to believe that Chaos (even the final boss monster) came from the evil will and not the contrary.
but Chaos has nothing to do with Dracula's powers
Exactly, it's not the source of Dracula's power
From SotN:
アルカード
････････。ドラキュラ城は、混沌の産物だ。その姿は一つではない。
Alucard:
This castle is a product of chaos. Its shape is not singular.From Aria:
有角 幻也
ドラキュラの魔力から生まれているこの城は、精神世界そのものだ。つまり、混沌もこの城のどこかに存在する。ドラキュラに目覚めたお前だけが行ける場所…。そこに混沌はある！
Arikado:
Born from Dracula's magical power, this castle is a spiritual world in itself. In other words, chaos exists somewhere in this castle. The place where only you, Dracula awake, can go.... There is chaos!From Dawn's Japanese library mode:
ドラキュラ城
ドラキュラの復活と共によみがえる、ドラキュラの魔力の象徴。
1999年に、白馬神社の協力により日食に封印された。
2035年の日本での皆既日食で新たな城主を求めるが、失敗。
いずれ魔王となるものが、その力を引き継ぐのであろうか…。
Dracula's Castle:
The symbol of Dracula's magical power, reviving with Dracula's resurrection. In 1999 it was sealed within a solar eclipse by the cooperation of the Hakuba Shrine. It sought a new master during the Japan total solar eclipse in 2035, but failed. Whoever becomes the Demon King will inherit its power.From Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku:
"The castle is the symbol of the chaos within humans and as long as people exist, it will not be completely sealed.""If I could control the even heart that is the root of humans……Would the chaos that is born from them no longer exist?"“As I’ve said, I would equally gain control over the human world and the source of Dracula’s power, chaos. I do not intend to obey someone else’s mind aside from my own. That includes you who were born out of chaos.”“A person that can shoulder the call of chaos is appropriate to continue Dracula’s name----- The one that inherits his name and power as the lord of this entire castle, will forever be my master.”"When the castle is summoned once more by the chaos in human beings…… When that time comes, I would show myself"-----------
So, the castle is a product of chaos (SotN), then it was born of Dracula's magic (AoS), then Arikado explains chaos is born from mankind's chaotic deeds (AoS). Then it is the symbol of Dracula's magic and who becomes the Demon King inherits its power (DoS), then the novel says explicitly, in no muddy words, that chaos is the source of Dracula's power, born from humans AND the castle is the symbol of it and can be summoned from it. Then, in a curious note, there is a ring in AoS that is literally called "Chaos Ring" whose description says "Surge of magical power" and generates infinite MP for you to cast magic with, showing that yes, Chaos is a source of magical power.
It appears to me that there is no confusion. Chaos is the fuel, Dracula has a steady stream of it to cast magic with. He used said fuel to cast magic powerful enough to create his castle (and DoS does hint at how he did it). Much like paper is a product of cellulose and is born from machines converting cellulose into paper. The first translated line makes it clear that chaos is not the evil intention, it influences it, and that it is product of mankind's will, not Dracula's.
And the novel's snippets kills this "chaos has nothing to do with Dracula's power" deader than dead. It mentions
one million times that the castle is summoned from the chaos within humanity, and we learn it's the symbol of Dracula's magic. You may believe the novel is a mistranslation on Shiroi's part, but the previous support from the Japanese sources and context of the entire novel leaves
very little room for it to be wrong. I'm not ruling it out (nor am I ruling MYSELF being wrong), but it does appear to me that chaos is indeed the source of Dracula's power and spawned from mankind, and not just "the personficiation of Dracula's evil will". The castle is both the symbol of chaos and Dracula's magic because Dracula used it to build his castle.
I understand you two may be talking of the actual creature fought at the end of AoS. And I partially agree with you, because Soma can't possibly kill the Chaos from the entire human race. But only partially, because that could be a facet of Chaos concerning him only. It doesn't help that the creature is called "Chaos" when it could have been called "Evil Will" and its description reads "The root of all chaotic things", probably referring to its ability to spawn all the demons Dracula controls. It also doesn't help that gameplay elements say very little about lore, meaning that Soma could be indeed kicking THE chaos in the nuts just because gameplay needs a final boss, but lore-wise he "severed himself from chaos" only.
And that's not mentioning that Chaos existed previous to Dracula even being able to command the monsters he does (Death was born from Chaos, and is seen with Mathias 400 years before he even gains the power to control the demons he does > Heeding the calling of chaos is needed to become the Demon King > Chaos therefore existed before "Demon King Dracula").
I don't quite get where this "chaos has nothing to do with Dracula's power" idea came from, but I'm pretty sure the available Japanese-sourced evidence is overwhelmingly saying the contrary.