The hero in the 3rd arc is basically being hunted down because he's half-phantom half-human Think Youmu Kopaku and his blood and general oddness attracts people who at best want to use him for his blood and at worst straight-up want to murder him for being an "abomination"
Oh and he's exs with the people who trying use his blood so he has some trouble on whether to trust them or not, making him a bit gullible and he ends in danger in 4 out of 5 of the chapters in his arc
So how to make him have all the stuff happen to him and not have him be a complete and utter drag Especially considering that he's somewhat of a bad boy
Make it so he doesn’t stupidly fall into their traps or her doesn’t walk straight into the problems. Make it so there is absolutely no way he could have avoided those problems. Then it’ll seem less like he’s a damsel in distress, and more like a really, really unlucky guy.
Being a damsel isn't about what happens to a character, it's about how a character responds to what's happening. A damsel sits down, gives up, and needs someone to rescue them. A character who isn't a damsel can still be rescued, but they'll actually be doing some things themselves to improve their situation too. It will help to make the people hunting him ambiguous to the audience as well. If the audience doesn't know whether or not to trust them, then it will be believable that the main character is confused as well.
