Elias gently shifted Koneko off his lap so he could stand up.
"Take me to her, Rias,"
Elias said gently, his eyes filled with a calm, strong confidence.
"I will do everything I can."
Rias smiled, feeling a huge wave of relief.
She quickly led Elias out of the mansion and across the large school campus.
They walked toward the old, abandoned school building, heading deep down into the dark basement.
Rias stopped in front of a heavy metal door covered in complex magic seals.
She placed her hand on the metal, and the seals glowed red before clicking open.
"She is very shy,"
Rias warned him quietly as she pushed the heavy door open.
When Elias stepped inside, he was very surprised.
He thought a sealed vampire room would look like a dark, scary dungeon.
Instead, the room looked like a teenager's dream.
There were soft rugs on the floor, shelves packed with anime figurines, and a massive TV surrounded by every game console imaginable.
Rias clearly loved her little Bishop and took incredibly good care of her, even while she was locked away.
Hiding under a blanket in the very corner of the room was a small, shaking figure.
It was Gasper. She had pale skin, bright blonde hair, and cute, pointy vampire fangs.
She was holding a video game controller like a shield.
"P-please go away,"
Gasper squeaked, her voice trembling with fear. She didn't even look up at them.
"I don't want to hurt anyone. I am a monster. Just leave me alone in the dark!"
Rias looked heartbroken, but Elias didn't look bothered at all.
He didn't listen to her warning. He simply took a calm, steady step toward the scared half-vampire.
"Don't come closer!"
Gasper panicked, tears filling her red eyes.
"I can't control it!"
Suddenly, Gasper's Sacred Gear activated entirely on its own.
*Tick.*
The entire room turned a strange, glowing purple color.
The dust floating in the air completely froze.
Rias stopped moving, her worried face perfectly frozen like a photograph.
Time had completely stopped.
Gasper peeked out from under her blanket.
She looked at Rias, and then she looked at Elias, who was standing completely still mid-step.
"Oh no,"
Gasper cried softly, dropping her controller.
She hugged her knees to her chest, blaming herself bitterly.
"I did it again. I lost control. I am so useless..."
But then, a quiet sound broke the absolute silence of the time stop.
*Step.*
Gasper gasped. Her red eyes went as wide as saucers.
Elias's frozen foot had just hit the floor.
At first, his movements were incredibly, painfully slow.
It looked like he was moving through thick mud.
But second by second, his speed began to increase.
He lifted his other foot. He blinked his eyes.
He stood up straight.
The purple time-stopping magic was swirling around him, trying desperately to hold him down, but his body was completely rejecting it.
His Adaptivity power was working perfectly.
Elias didn't even have to get hurt to adapt anymore.
His power had grown so strong that if any magic affected him—even indirectly, like freezing time around him—his body would simply understand it and overcome it.
"H-how?"
Gasper stammered, shrinking back against the wall.
"My magic... it is supposed to freeze everything!"
Elias walked right through the frozen time and knelt down smoothly in front of the terrified girl.
He wasn't slowed down at all anymore.
"It is a very powerful,"
Elias said kindly, his warm voice breaking through her fear.
"But that does not make you a monster."
Elias stood up slowly.
He pulled his right arm back, made a tight fist, and suddenly punched the empty air.
*CRACK!*
The empty space in front of him literally shattered like a thin glass window.
The glowing purple light broke into a million tiny pieces and instantly vanished.
The room returned to normal.
Rias took a deep breath, blinking in surprise as time started moving again.
Gasper dropped her blanket. Her red eyes were shining with pure, absolute worship.
She looked at Elias like he was the coolest person in the entire world.
"That... that was amazing!"
Gasper gasped, completely forgetting her fear.
"You just punched the air! That is the exact same move as my favorite anime character, Whitebeard!"
Elias froze for a second.
A light blush of embarrassment appeared on his handsome face.
He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.
"Ah... right,"
Elias chuckled nervously.
He had absolutely no idea who 'Whitebeard' was.
He didn't watch many anime shows.
But he was just glad Gasper wasn't thinking badly of him or looking at him with fear anymore.
Rias let out a long, heavy sigh of relief.
She walked over and smiled warmly, so happy to see her little Bishop actually talking to a stranger.
Gasper looked up at Elias, tilting her head in wonder.
"But what exactly happened?"
Gasper asked quietly.
"How did you break my time magic? Nobody can do that."
"I just adapted to it,"
Elias explained with a kind, reassuring smile.
"Your magic is very strong. But my power allows me to overcome anything. That means I can break your frozen time whenever I want."
He knelt back down to her eye level and gently placed his hand on her soft blonde hair.
"You don't have to hide in the dark or be afraid of losing control anymore,"
Elias promised her, his voice full of solid, deep comfort.
"If your magic ever leaks out by accident, I will just shatter it. I will be your safety switch. I will turn the time stop off for you, every single time, until you finally learn how to control it yourself."
Gasper's eyes filled with fresh tears.
But this time, they were tears of pure happiness.
She finally had someone who could stop her from hurting others.
She didn't have to carry the heavy burden of her terrifying power all alone anymore.
Rias knelt down right next to Elias.
She reached out and placed a gentle, comforting hand on Gasper's shaking shoulder.
"Gasper,"
Rias said softly, her voice full of love.
"You don't have to stay in this lonely basement anymore. Would you like to come live with us at the big mansion?"
Gasper sniffled and wiped her eyes.
She looked down at the floor, feeling a little nervous.
The outside world was still very big, loud, and scary to her.
Rias smiled warmly and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze.
"You won't be alone,"
Rias told her gently.
"Koneko has been living with us for a while now. She really misses you, Gasper. You are her very best friend. If you come with us, you two can eat sweet snacks and play video games together every single day."
Gasper's red eyes widened a little bit. She really missed Koneko, too.
It had been a long time since they played games together.
She slowly looked away from Rias and looked up at Elias.
Elias was still smiling at her. He looked incredibly strong, but his dark eyes were completely calm and kind.
He didn't look at her like she was a dangerous monster or a broken vampire.
He looked at her like she was just a normal, safe person.
"I will be right there with you,"
Elias promised her quietly.
"If anything goes wrong, I will fix it. You are safe now."
Gasper took a deep, shaky breath.
She held onto her video game controller very tightly, finding a small spark of courage inside her heart.
"Okay,"
Gasper whispered, giving them a tiny, brave smile.
"I... I want to come live with you."
Elias helped Gasper pack her favorite video games into a small box.
Then, the three of them walked out of the dark basement and headed back to the bright, warm mansion.
When they walked through the front door, Koneko was waiting in the hallway.
Koneko's golden eyes went wide. She quickly walked over to the shy blonde vampire.
"Gasper,"
Koneko said, her usual quiet voice filled with real happiness.
"Hi, Koneko,"
Gasper smiled shyly, holding her box of games.
"I missed you."
Koneko actually smiled. It was a very rare, beautiful smile. She reached out and hugged her best friend tightly.
"I missed you, too,"
Koneko whispered.
"Come on. Let's go play."
Koneko took Gasper's hand and led her to the big living room.
Kunou and Asia were sitting on the soft rug, playing a colorful board game.
"Kunou, Asia,"
Koneko called out gently.
"This is Gasper. She is my best friend."
Kunou's fluffy golden ears perked up. She jumped to her feet and waved happily.
"Hi, Gasper! I am Kunou!"
The little fox cheered.
"Do you want to play games with us?"
Asia smiled her sweet, gentle smile.
"It is so nice to finally meet you, Gasper-san,"
Asia said kindly.
"Please, come sit with us."
Gasper blushed a little bit, but she didn't run away and hide.
She sat down on the rug right next to them.
Within just a few minutes, the four young girls formed a happy little group.
They were laughing, sharing Koneko's snacks, and playing games together.
Rias stood by the doorway with Elias.
She watched Gasper smiling and laughing. Rias looked completely shocked.
"This is amazing,"
Rias whispered, her blue eyes wide with pure surprise.
"She hasn't frozen time once. Usually, being around new people makes her panic, and her magic instantly leaks out."
Elias leaned against the wall and smiled calmly.
"She isn't afraid,"
Elias explained softly.
Just then, Kunou accidentally bumped the table.
A plastic game piece fell off the edge, falling fast toward the floor.
*Tick.*
A tiny flash of purple light covered just the falling game piece. It froze perfectly in mid-air.
Gasper reached out calmly, grabbed the frozen piece, and put it right back on the board.
Then, the purple light vanished.
"See?"
Gasper smiled at Kunou.
"I caught it."
Rias gasped softly, bringing her hands up to her mouth. She couldn't believe her eyes.
"She controlled it..."
Rias said, her voice shaking with absolute joy.
"She stopped time just for that one object, and she turned it off entirely on her own!"
Elias nodded, watching the girls play.
"Her magic wasn't really broken,"
Elias told Rias.
"It was just her fear. She was so scared of hurting her family that her anxiety made her lose control. But now that she knows I am here to shatter the timestop if she makes a mistake, that heavy fear is gone."
Rias looked up at Elias. Her eyes were filled with endless gratitude and deep respect.
"You gave her a safety net,"
Rias smiled warmly.
"And because she finally feels safe, her mind is clear enough to control her own power."
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