The Hooded Woman

The Hooded Woman, also known as the Ancestress, was one of the progenitors of the vampire race that exists today. She plays a significant role in the history of vampires and vampire hunters, though she has only appeared in Kaname's deep past. Being the first of the Purebloods, she witnessed the forthcoming doom and enslavement of humanity and requested Kaname to put a stop to the fellow Purebloods. Her final act was to throw her heart into a furnace of metal, creating weapons powerful enough to kill the immortal Purebloods. She then gave her toxic quantities of blood to the humans willing to fight, with the survivors of the ordeal becoming the first vampire hunters. Both acts caused her to slowly die, with her body cracking and shattering into shards of glass in front of Kaname, who had intended to be the sacrifice rather than her.

During the second arc of the series, Kaname parted from Yuki to murder the rest of the Purebloods, claiming it was "her" wish. However, Yuki later sees Kaname's memories when drinking his blood and claims that it was not the Ancestress' wish to kill all Purebloods, only to stop the enslavement of humans. Deeming that Kaname's actions were selfish and arrogant, Yuki and Zero attempt to kill him at the Hunters' Association before he can kill Sara Shirabuki, who tries to manipulate Zero into killing Kaname so she can become the Vampire Queen. Before Sara can succeed, the ancient furnace containing the Ancestress's heart buried deep in the Association begins to crawl up the walls and pierces Sara's heart. With the furnace containing her heart beginning to dwindle, the Ancestress attempts to reclaim all the weapons born from her heart to remain alive and complete her wish. However, Kaname convinces her that she has done enough and he will become her successor, allowing the Ancestress's spirit to crumble and fade away.