Chapter 1

My eyes flicked open. All I saw was darkness.

How long had I been asleep?

I was unlucky enough to fall asleep at the top floor of the library where nobody ever visits, which is probably why no one woke me up. I slowly made my way to the large doors and pulled them.

Locked.

"There must be another way out," I said to myself. "Gosh. This feels like a horror game scenario."

I decided to try the other hallway, whose glass ceiling provided enough light for me to see.

That was where I met him.

Standing under the moonlight penetrating through the thick glass above us was a masked man with red hair dressed in a black suit and a maroon cape. He wore an oversized train conductor hat on his head.

The phantom thief, Auriel.

He just suddenly appeared one day, stealing a rare book from a heavily secured room. The news made it to the headlines. So far, he had been stealing only books from libraries all over the city. He was probably a bibliophile or something who wanted to collect those books.

Great. Now he's here too.

For a long time, we just stood there waiting for one of us to make a move. He was probably confused about why a high school girl suddenly appeared in a dark place like this and at this hour.

Maybe he thinks I'm a ghost?!

He started walking towards me. I did a defensive stance.

He may be a professional phantom thief, but I also have confidence in my martial art skills!

I looked up to the sky and remembered my idols Bruce Lee and Ip Man. Now that I've been given the chance to go all-out and battle someone in accordance with the law a.k.a. blaming it on self-defense, I j ust had to make them proud.

He walked closer. And closer.

I was so ready to battle him when he just walked past me like I wasn't there at all. I was terribly disappointed. So very disappointed.

That jerk! How dare he just walk past me! That totally ruined my moment!

I turned around and watched him take a ladder to climb to the top of the shelf. He pulled out a certain book, flipping its pages to make certain that he got the right book. Once he was satisfied, he jumped down calmly.

Wait. If I capture him, there's a reward, right?

I smiled mischievously. I slowly crept up behind him and attempted to attack him from behind with my extremely thick constitutional law book. Just before I landed a strike, he grabbed my wrist to disarm me. The book fell on the floor with a thud. He pushed me against the wall.

"Did you really think a trick like that would work on me?" He gave an amused smile.

"Let me go!" I demanded.

He whispered into my ear. "If you had just stood still and let me do my thing, I wouldn't have to do this."

I was getting pissed off, so I bit his neck hard. He pulled away instinctively, giving me a chance to do a follow-up kick to the stomach. He fell on the floor.

"If you had just stood still and let me do my thing, I wouldn't have to do this." I cracked my knuckles.

"A formidable opponent. Not bad." He smirked. "Too bad about tonight, but I don't intend to be caught by anyone. It was nice meeting you though."

"Wait!"

He threw a smoke ball, sending me into a coughing fit. By the time I was actually able to see anything properly, he was gone. What a cheap trick.

He left a card on the floor like he always did. Signed and with his trademark symbol.

"You may have escaped now, but I'm not giving up," I said.

That day, I decided I would be the one who'd capture the phantom thief Auriel.