Chapter 103 – Trap Dhampir!
The moment the shredded cardboard box burst apart, a figure was thrown out from the debris.
Bright blond hair spilled out in a disheveled mess. A pair of small, pointy ears twitched slightly. And the face… far prettier than most girls.
Draped in feminine clothing, with an aura so soft and delicate it could melt a saint, it was nearly impossible to believe that what had just emerged… was a boy.
Even Akira, despite having mentally prepared himself, found his thoughts doubting reality.
This kid… is he really one of the Six Transcendents from thirty years in the original DxD timeline? Are we sure he's not already been possessed by Evil God Balor?
"Oww… th-that hurt..."
Gasper Vladi groaned, rubbing his backside as he sat on the floor with teary eyes—his expression no different from a shoujo anime heroine who'd just tripped in a romcom.
To Rias and the rest of the team, this was normal. No one batted an eye.
Akira, on the other hand, still felt that familiar pang of secondhand shock.
Even if you braced for it, seeing this kind of "character" live and in person… was a whole other experience.
But for Xenovia and Asia—who had never seen Gasper before—their instincts kicked in instantly.
They were overcome with pity.
Especially Xenovia, who was still gripping Durandal, the massive Holy Sword, in both hands. She had literally just tried to strike down what she assumed was a threatening entity… only to discover it was actually a fragile, crossdressing dhampir who looked more like a magical girl side character.
"Rias... I gotta ask," Xenovia whispered, her voice hesitant. "Do you, um, have some kind of… special fetish?"
"…Excuse me?"
"I mean, just look. I won't say anything about Akeno or Koneko—they're kind of… inevitable variables. And Kiba's got his own tragic backstory. But this one? A cowardly shut-in dhampir trap who doesn't even go outside—where did you find him?"
"Well… there were circumstances that led to me recruiting him..."
Rias turned her face slightly to the side, avoiding Akira's gaze. She knew full well how unique her peerage was.
Akeno, Koneko, Yuuto… and now Gasper.
Throw in Asia Argento—a former nun exiled from the Church—and Xenovia Quarta, a former Holy Sword wielder who defected to the Devils after her faith crumbled… and you had a cast that was anything but normal.
Especially Xenovia. Once a stoic knight of the Church, now practically a cheerful idiot with sword privileges.
"Gasper, garlic is good for your health."
"EEEK—!!"
Without warning, Koneko stepped forward and calmly shoved a clove of garlic straight into Gasper's mouth.
It was an act that should have been considered attempted murder for a vampire.
As Gasper writhed in horror, his red eyes began to glow faintly. The air shimmered. Ripples of time distorted around him—and in the blink of an eye, the world turned grey and silent.
Everything froze in stasis.
His Sacred Gear had activated.
As always, when Gasper's emotions spiked too hard, his Forbidden Balor View triggered uncontrollably.
Also known as the Evil Eye of Time Stop, it halted the flow of time within a set radius—locking everything in place.
But this time, something was different.
Someone… wasn't frozen.
Akira stood still in the grey-tinted world, completely unaffected.
Azazel could've resisted too, of course—but chose to stay out of it.
"W-why… why aren't you frozen…?" Gasper whispered in disbelief.
Until now, the only person capable of withstanding his time-stopping field was Rias' older brother—Sirzechs Lucifer himself.
Now, there was another.
Shin Akira.
"You're Gasper, right?" Akira said, stepping closer.
"Y-yeah… I am..."
His fear gave way to awe. Akira wasn't just resisting his power—he was walking through it like it was nothing.
"Your Sacred Gear is amazing. Unstable—but powerful. But running away from it won't fix anything."
"I… I'm sorry…"
He lowered his head. He didn't even know what he was apologizing for.
"Do you want to control that power?"
"You mean… I can?"
His voice trembled with disbelief.
He was so used to failure. So used to being weak. His cowardice was born from a deeper fear—that he wasn't capable of anything.
"The reason you can't control the Evil Eye of Time Stop... is because the power itself is too far beyond your current level. You're still too weak. And so it overwhelms you instead."
"C-Can you help me…?"
His big, watery eyes locked onto Akira with so much hope it was nearly dangerous.
Akira let out a quiet breath and raised his hand.
A soft glow emerged from the air—a thin, silvery chain formed from nothing, gliding toward Gasper like a living thing.
It curled gently around his wrist, forming a small, ornate bracelet.
It was one of Akira's Heavenly Chains—divine constructs formed from his own essence. This one held only a fraction of his true power, like a single strand of divine restraint.
The moment it settled on Gasper's wrist, his Sacred Gear's influence weakened. The time-stopping field began to retract.
The logic was simple. Sacred Gears adapt to the user's condition.
And Gasper, being extremely weak at the moment, was far easier to restrain than he realized.
The grey world faded.
Sound returned. Light returned. Reality resumed.
"Th-thank you so much… Lord Buchou's fiancé…"
Gasper clutched the small chain on his wrist and bowed deeply.
"This is just a temporary solution," Akira said calmly. "You still need to grow stronger. And eventually, you'll have to master that power yourself."
"But… I'm too weak. I don't have any strength like the others…"
The moment those words left his lips, a massive blade slammed into the ground in front of him.
The floor trembled. The air chilled.
It was Ascalon—the Dragon Slayer. While its power was specialized for dragons, it was still a Holy Sword—lethal to all creatures of darkness.
"I said—get stronger."
"Y-YES!! I'll try my best!!"
Gasper practically jumped in place, trembling, but determined. He realized then—whatever fear he'd felt before...
It didn't even compare to the fear of this man.
Rias watched with wide eyes.
Gasper hadn't run.
That alone was a miracle.
She had tried countless times to help Gasper herself, but with a Sacred Gear like that—especially one involving time—it was incredibly hard to manage.
If the user didn't want to improve… not even a Maou could force them.
"Yuuto."
"Yes!"
Kiba Yuuto responded immediately to Akira's call.
"I'm putting him in your care. Train him well. His Sacred Gear's suppressed for now, so he won't be able to vanish again."
"Understood, Akira-kun. Leave it to me."
Yuuto nodded with conviction. Helping a teammate grow stronger—that was something he took seriously.
Especially when that trust came from him.
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