Gasper Vladi

Gasper Vladi is one of the male protagonists of High School DxD. He is a cross-dressing male Dhamphir, a half-Vampire half-human, who has the ability to stop time and Rias' first Bishop. Because his powers were uncontrolled prior to the series, he was sealed in the Academy by Rias and was not seen again until Volume 4 of the light novels. He is a first-year student at Kuoh Academy, alongside Koneko and Ravel.

Appearance
Gasper is an androgynous-looking male who is around the same age as Koneko with platinum blonde hair and pinkish-violet eyes. His hair is styled in short bob cut with several small fringes over his forehead.

Unlike the rest of the boys of Kuoh Academy who wear the boys' uniform, Gasper wears the Kuoh Academy girls' school uniform with thigh-high socks, creating a Zettai Ryōiki (Japanese for "absolute territory").

Personality
Originally a coward and a shut-in, Gasper likes to wear female clothing, claiming that girls' clothes are cute. He also has a penchant for boxes, carrying one with him all the time. When Issei tried to give Gasper confidence, the former gave Gasper a paper bag to put over the latter's face. However, Issei comments that whenever Gasper puts the paper bag on, the latter looks like a molester.

As the series progresses, with Issei and the Gremory group's encouragement, Gasper begins to gain confidence and bravery. On more than one occasion, he has demonstrated extreme courage and loyalty, going so far as to be beaten to unconsciousness in defense of his weakened comrades.

History
Gasper is a child of a Vampire Lord and a human woman whom according to Gasper's father died on childbirth after the shock of seeing Gasper's true form alongside with several nurses and servants who were on the spot also died in a strange way. After that, Lord Vladi's close relatives found out about Gasper's time stopping ability. This, along with the discrimination Gasper received from other Vampires, made him hated by many of his own clan, including his siblings. During that time, he met Valerie Tepes another Dhampir like himself, when he was imprisoned by the House of Tepes, and the two became friends. Eventually, he attempted to escape from his house and was successful with the help of Valerie. After escaping from his house, he was targeted by Vampire hunters, eventually losing his life. It was around that time Rias found him and took pity on the boy, reincarnating him into a Devil through the use of a Bishop Mutation Piece.

The Red Dragon Emperor's Awakening
Gasper was briefly mentioned in Volume 1 by Rias who claims that he is on another mission.

Birth of the Breast Dragon Emperor
Gasper first appears in Volume 4, after Rias was given permission to unseal him (much to his dismay). He then trains with Issei, Xenovia, and Koneko on how to control his Sacred Gear and with Azazel's advice and Saji's help, improve considerably. During the attack by Khaos Brigade on the leaders of the Three Factions, Gasper was captured and used against his will before being saved by Issei and Rias with Issei using his blood to allow Gasper to control his power as the two of them overpower the female Magicians.

In Volume 5 he accompanies Rias back in the Underworld for the Young Devils Gathering. During the Rating Game between Rias and Sona Sitri, Gasper was the first to be defeated after the Sitri Group, tricked Gasper (who was doing reconnaissance by turning into several bats) into gathering all of his bats together in one place, then used garlic on him.

The Heroic Oppai Dragon
In Volume 10, Gasper and Xenovia faced off against Misteeta Sabnock and Ladora Buné during the Rating Game between their masters. When Xenovia's ability to hold Durandal was sealed, Gasper sacrificed himself to buy time and allow the curse to deactivate so Xenovia can defeat them. He and the rest of the Occult Research Club members were later seen peeping at Issei who confessed his love to Rias, congratulating Issei who successfully became Rias' boyfriend.

In Volume 11, Gasper goes to the Grigori headquarters to increase his powers.

He returns in Volume 12, disappointed that he gained nothing until he heard about Issei's death from Georg, causing Gasper to undergo a change where he can create a enormous amount of darkness that devours everything (even the mist created by Dimension Lost), which allows him to defeat the latter.

The Legend of Oppai Dragon and his Lively Companions
In Volume 14, Gasper receives an order from the Vampire faction to return back home during the negotiation between the Carmilla Faction and the Three Great Powers. Gasper was also shocked to learn that his childhood friend, Valerie Tepes, is now a Longinus possessor. He was later kidnapped by the Khaos Brigade and a group of Stray Magicians after they used a fellow first-year student as a hostage.

Powers & Abilities
Vampire Powers: Being a half-Vampire as well as one with rare Vampire abilities, Gasper has the ability to control bats, and transform into a flock of them, usually using them for reconnaissance. He can also manipulate shadows and darkness, though at present seems unable to wield this with complete control. His vampiric half is also that of a Daywalker, allowing him to survive contact with sunlight.

Magic: Gasper excels in human magic used by magicians.

Equipment
Forbidden Balor View (停止世界の邪眼（フォービドウン・バロール・ビュー）, Fōbidoun Barōru Byū): Gasper's Sacred Gear has the ability to stop the time of those he sees but is unable to control it. After drinking Issei's blood, Gasper's control over his vampiric powers increases, and allows him to use his Sacred Gears power through the eyes of the bats.
 * Forbidden Invade Balor the Beast (禁夜と真闇たりし翳の朔獣（フォービトゥン・インヴェイド・バロール・ザ・ビースト）Fōbitoun Invueido Barōru za Bīsuto) : First used in Volume 12, it creates an enormous amount of darkness that devours everything (including the mist created by Georg's Dimension Lost). While this large area of darkness is active, Gasper can generate twisted monsters to attack opponents, as well as multiple eyes through which he can use Forbidden Balor View, freezing multiple targets at the same time. The Forbidden Invade Balor the Beast is considered to be a Balance Breaker yet different from a Balance Breaker at the same time, and has the potential to make the Forbidden Balor View become the 14th Longinus-grade Sacred Gear.

In this form, Gasper's body gets covered by the darkness, and takes the form of a Dragon.

Quotes

 * 《All of you should be killed. I’ll even devour your souls.》 (Volume 16)
 * I WILL KILL YOU…….! I WILL KILL ALL OF YOU TILL NONE OF YOU ARE LEFT…….! (Volume 12 Life -1)

Trivia

 * Gasper's height is 150 cm. (4 feet 11 inches) and his weight is 40 kg. (88 lbs.), according to the visual book with his data.
 * Gasper's family name is a reference to Vlad Tepes, the real-life inspiration for Dracula.
 * His powers appear to resemble those of the character Alucard from the anime/manga series Hellsing.
 * When Gasper was hit by Azazel's Gender-Swap Raygun, his appearance remained the same, he simply lost "something important."
 * Gasper's Sacred Gear, "Forbidden Balor View", is a reference to the monstrous Fomorian, Balor of the Evil Eye, whose magical eye had highly dangerous and destructive powers.
 * Gasper has the most success with making contracts out of any of Rias' Peerage by using his computer.
 * Gasper plays the character "Dhamball Vampire God" (ダンボールヴァンパイア神 Danbōru Vanpaia-gami) in Oppai Dragon.
 * Gasper's status as a Hikikomori, or a recluse, seems to stem from severe agoraphobia, most likely due to the constant neglect from his family.