" A grimoire with unequal magical attributes?"
…
" Why would you give him a grimoire as a present, dad?"
Yuichi was confused as to why his grandfather had given him a grimoire for his birthday. All that started making sense when his grandfather started explaining in detail why he had given him such a present for his birthday.
" You know the story, don't you, Yuichi?"
…
" Long ago, our world was corrupted by a dark night that shook our world, making our wildest fantasies and imagination take place in this world. No one knows who or what could have caused that strange phenomenon, but it is believed that all this was caused by dark magic."
" Dark magic?"
" Paintings, art pieces, or even jewelry have been deprived of their heart, making them unable to regain their true form. Not only that but their proprietor is also affected by this vice. The contaminated individuals go around causing havoc and harming their close ones unknowingly."
…
" Yesterday only, there were three thousand robbery cases across the country. The police have been trying to stop them but to no avail. Even if they were to successfully arrest them, that wouldn't stop anything. More contaminated people would just keep appearing nonstop."
…
" Is there nothing that can be done?"
" There is! To reinstate the order, the stolen hearts need to be recovered and implemented back to where they belong. That's where the anti-thieves come into play."
…
…
Grandpa explained to us what the anti-thieves had been doing, while everyone else considered them criminals. They have been corning the actual thieves and stopping their evil deeds from the shadows. The police department put both categories in the same pile, considering them both evil. Instead of being called criminals, on the contrary, they should be called heroes and honored for their bravado instead of being looked down upon.
" In the shadows, they operate for the good of the people and to make the world a better place without anyone's recognition. They are treated as criminals but keep smiling despite the insult and dirt thrown at them. This grimoire had a similar fate."
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The grimoire with unequal magical attributes was once gold, but due to the greed and the selfishness of humanity, it turned dark. Because the grimoire was so unique and powerful, evil eyes eyed it for its power and the guardians' spirits inside it for their own motives. To protect the source of their powers, they scattered away to various places and never to be seen again.
" The guardians' spirits are cards, with each one of them holding tremendous magical energy. Tell me something, Yuichi?"
" Yes, grandpa!"
" Do you feel anything while holding the grimoire?"
Grandpa Alex's question confuses him to the core. He didn't understand why his grandpa asked such a question.
" No, grandpa! I don't feel anything. Why?"
…
" Would you believe it if I told you the grimoire you have currently in your hand has a strong magical barrier surrounding it?"
" What?"
" You can't feel it because you don't have an ounce of power in you. If you had, you wouldn't be holding it with such ease."
…
" Why have you given him a grimoire, grandpa? Is it so that he can be an anti-thief, just like dad suggested?"
" Yasushi suggested that?"
" Yes!"
Grandpa Alex stared at his son, who didn't dare look him in the eye. Grandpa Alex kept on with the discussion.
" I didn't give him this grimoire so that he would go on and become an anti-thief. I came across this grimoire on one of my adventures and thought of bringing it to you because you're a good kid with a noble and generous heart."
I was touched by Grandpa Alex's words and kindly accepted his present, without knowing at the time that the grimoire I had received on my birthday would change my life forever.
" Go on and be what you want to be, okay?"
" I will. Thanks, grandpa!"
Hours later, I was in my room, still holding the grimoire in my hands and unable to put it down.
(You were cast away and abandoned. People eyed for your powers with evil intentions; I would never have acted like that.)
I held the grimoire close to my heart and fell asleep. In the morning, I noticed that something strange had happened. The grimoire slightly became lighter and wasn't as dark as before.
(It's not as dark as it was yesterday. It must be happy)
I got ready for school and when I was about to leave my room and head downstairs for breakfast, I looked at the grimoire on my bed, and for some reason, I felt drawn to it.
" I'll bring you with me to school."
I put the grimoire in my backpack and headed downstairs for breakfast.
" I'm off to school. See you later!"
" Wait, Yuichi!"
" Yes, dad!"
" What about the grimoire? What did you do with it?"
" It's in my backpack. I'm bringing it with me to school, as I didn't want to leave it by itself. Later!"
Sandal Middle School, three hours later—--------------------------
" What are you thinking about, Yu?"
" Nothing in particular. I was just thinking about what school to go to next year."
" School will be ending in three months and after those three months, each of us will be going on different paths, but I don't want to be separated from you."
" We won't be separated. We'll see each other from time to time."
…
" That might be so, but it won't be the same. We won't see each other as often, and that's why you should come with me."
?
" Come with me to Seishu Academy! That way, we won't have to be separated."
Asa and I have always been together. As both our fathers are very devoted to their work, we connected right away and became fast friends. We went through thick and thin together. I was always there when she needed to vent out, but when I'll be gone in a couple of months, she'll have no one to turn to. Should I just go with her to Seishu Academy?
" Why are you silent, Yu? Don't you want to come with me?"
" I haven't yet decided on an affiliated school to go to yet, but regardless of all that, I'll think about your proposition, Asa."
" I'll wait for good news from you, Yu."
On my way to my part-time job, I heard noises and footsteps.
" Stop right there!"
From the looks of it, someone was being tailed by the police. Advancing further, I spotted someone coming straight at me and holding a jewel.
" A jewel? It must have been stolen. What should I do?"
Before I had time to react, the individual jumped on me and held my throat tightly. From what I could observe from my position, the individual was a middle-aged man and his eyes were void and empty.
(Could this man be contaminated?)
" Die—----- Die!"
The more the man held my throat firmly, the more pain he felt. At one point, the man's eyes started dripping tears, and those tears fell on my cheeks.
(I want to save that man and reverse him back to his original state, but how? How can I save him?)
Asking myself that question, the answer came to me straight away. I noticed that the jewel which the man was holding was turning darker and darker.
(I see! It's the jewel. I need to let him drop the jewel. As long as he drops it, he should be fine.)
Having figured out how to save the contaminated man, I tried to get the man to let go of me, but to no avail. He wasn't only gripping my throat, but his magic powers were also used against me. I was in a difficult position and unable to move. Little by little, I started losing my strength and willpower. As I was slowly closing my eyes, the grimoire which my grandpa gave me for my birthday flashed through my mind. Having my eyes almost shut, I mumbled what seemed to be words from my heart—---------------------
" Help—-- me!"
I shut my eyes and a moment later, I felt phenomenal energy enveloping me, which made me regain my consciousness.
The grimoire that was in my backpack was now floating and on my finger, there was a golden ring. Thanks to the energy surrounding me, I was able to make the man loosen his grip on my throat and pushed him away.
" Thank you!"
I stood up slowly and tried to regain my strength. The man fired fireballs at me, and the grimoire protected me with its unyielding barrier.
" Let's save this man and restore his consciousness to normal!"
The grimoire flashed through my words and on one of the white pages, dark writings started popping up.
" Is that a spell?"
A strange light came to me at full speed and entered my body before I had time to react. My whole body was meaning with that strong energy and I felt somewhat different.
In the strange and inexplicable state, I was in, I took out my cards from my pocket and concentrated my thoughts. I threw the cards at the man, creating an illusion, thanks to which I was able to see images and flashes.
From what I could see, the man bought the jewel a few days ago due to how beautiful it looked, but then forty-eight hours after the purchase, the man started feeling sick and nauseated, losing control over his own body. Then one day, the man robbed a jewelry store of all its belongings, then two days later, he went for a similar jewel than the one he had bought.
(Why did he steal a similar jewel? Did the original jewel make him do this?)
Other flashes appeared and between them, there was another jewel, but that one in, particular, wasn't tainted. The jewel then emitted a red light as to warn about something, then the illusion dissipated.
(The jewel was corrupted from its life essence. It never meant to do any harm. I understand what you tried to convey to me. Don't worry! I'll save both of you.)
" Light Magic: Revert"
As I cast the spell, the darkened jewel started slowly losing the dark energy surrounding it, regaining its truest color. The man let go of the jewel, collapsing to the ground thereafter. The jewel's truest color was of blue ocean color. It emitted a light once more and for a second there, I heard a voice saying "Thank you!" before vanishing.
As for me, the light that was surrounding me vanished. Right after the light had dissipated, in my hand, there was a card with strange markings.
" A card? That must be one of the scattered cards grandpa talked about."
Holding the card, I could feel something like a connection forming between us. It was a strange yet good feeling.
" Thanks for granting me assistance!"
With the grimoire still opened, I put the card to this emplacement, and it closed by itself thereafter. I put the grimoire back in my backpack.
" Sir, wake up!"
I tried waking the man up, who was still deeply asleep. He woke up after a great effort.
" Where am I? What am I doing here?"
The man seemed to have completely forgotten the recent events. The only memory he had was of the jewel he bought several days back, which he was holding in his hand.
" I'll be heading home. I don't know how I might have ended up here, but I have this strange feeling that you saved me from something, so thank you!"
The man stood up and left. As for me, I went to my part-time job and returned home four hours later.
(This grimoire is amazing. I was able to restore the jewel to its original state and save the man from its vice, thanks to it and to the guardian spirit that showed up to lend me assistance. Thanks again!)
The following morning, all the stolen things, including the jewels, were back at the jewelry store as if they had never been stolen in the first place. The police department was adamant and confused.
" Did you hear what happened yesterday?"
" Yesterday? What happened?"
" All the stolen jewelry was returned to the jewelry store unexpectedly."
Asa narrated yesterday's events in detail. She was as confused as the police department, but I couldn't tell her the truth. For some reason, I just couldn't.
" The thief may have retracted himself and realized that what he was doing wasn't right and thought of returning the stolen jewels himself, don't you think?"
" That's not possible."
" Why is that?"
" Yesterday's thief was apprehended, but he didn't seem to remember anything. It was as if he had a memory loss of everything that had occurred. As they could get no information from him, they released him."
" In that case, one of the anti-thieves could have been the one returning the stolen things."
" The anti-thieves are criminals."
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