The Grimoire System

Chapter 1 [Midnight Murder]

Ting~

As the doorbell chimed, the polished glass door swung open, accompanied by the gust of cool breeze and the sound of raining from the outside.

The sound of footsteps echoed through the quite bookstore, as a couple entered the store, their arms interlaced with each other's.

The man wore a simple black suit and a fedora rested on his head, his appearance was a bit old fashioned but unassuming. In contrast, the woman beside him was a sight to behold, with her long flowing hair cascading down her shoulders like a river of gold. Her attire was modern and chic, a stylish leather jacket complementing her slender figure.

A young boy sat behind the counter, his black hair tousled and deep brown eyes gleaming despite the visible dark circles under them.

The boy looked up from his book and greeted the customers warmly.

"Hello Sir, Miss, how may I help you?" His voice was smooth and professional, welcoming the couple inside.

The lady's gaze moved around the shop, taking in the neat rows of books stacked on the shelves before settling on the young boy.

The boy wore a casual jeans and black hoodie but his sickly pale skin and skinny figure gave him a rather peculiar look.

"Hey dear, do you happen to have Paradise Buffet Cookbook by Laveen Sail?" Her voice was soft, tinged with excitement.

The boy's eyes glinted with recognition as if a piece of puzzle had suddenly fit into place, his thoughts immediately went to a particular old book.

He stood up and walked to a bookshelf on the back row and picked out a book.

"Here, are you talking about this?" The boy's voice was gentle as he handed over the book to the lady.

The lady's fingers trailed over the glossy cover, admiring the vibrant colors and intricate design.

"Yes indeed, what's the price?" Her eyes shone with anticipation.

"It's 20 dollars" The boy informed her.

The woman turned to look at the man expectantly, the man only nodding before pulling out a pair of 10s from his pocket and giving it to the boy.

Without saying another word he turned around, taking the woman along.

"Hah! Another wasted day!"" Alph let out a heavy sigh, slouching back in his worn-out chair.

The bookshop around him was quiet, the sound proof glass door muffling the sound of rain outside.

His tired eyes scanned the brightly lit room of his bookshop. The once-bustling store was now quiet and empty, with books collecting dust on the shelves and the scent of musty paper filling the air.

He rubbed his hands over his face, feeling a bit light headed.

Alph was an orphan who's parents had died seven years ago when he was just twelve years old, leaving behind a bookshop and a decent house.

As he was their only son they were all inherited by him and after dropping out of high school he decided to reopen the shop.

At first it was smooth sailing and business was flourishing but since a couple of months he had been down on his luck and he could barely earn anything at all.

"Maybe I should find a proper job now? But who would hire a high school dropout?" Alph felt frustrated.

These couple of months he had been surviving on cheap packed foods like instant noodles which had caused him to become skinny and pale.

That coupled with his small height and delicate features made him look like a young teenager even though he was nearing 20.

After going around the shop and making sure everything was in place Alph decided to close for the night, it was already near ten and his house was about an hour from there.

As he approached the door to exit he found a thick, old and tattered book lying on the floor in front of the door.

"Did the couple from before drop it?" He picked it up and blew on it which caused a lot of dust to fly from it, revealing an old leather hardcover.

"What the hell? How is it so dusty? It's like it was burried in sand or something!" Alph found it extremely weird that so much dust could collect on a book that was dropped just now.

"No it's impossible for so much dust to collect on it in such a short time!" He opened the door to look outside.

The the sound of rain and the dark empty street greeted Alph, he then looked at the tattered book, contemplating what to do with it.

After thinking for a few seconds he decided to wait a bit more, if the book was really dropped by them they would probably come back for it.

He went back to the counter and gazed at the cover of the tattered book, on which a strange circular pattern was drawn instead of a tittle or anything else.

Curious, he decided to open it and see what was written inside it.

"Huh? It's blank?" Alph questioned as he flipped through the blank pages.

The pages, like the book itself were old and yellowed with some of them even torn on the edges but all of them were blank!

"Weird! Maybe it's an antique collection or something? Whatever!" He threw the old book on the counter and pulled out his smartphone, he was planning to pass the time by surfing the web.

Time passed quickly a he checked out the newest chapters of his favorite web novels.

As he was gonna log out and get ready to leave, a news article caught his eye.

[Multiple deaths have been reported along the area of 5th colson street and the starlight district.

The deaths are ruled as serial killings and the authorities have been trying to identify the suspect but with no lead the case has not been able to proceed any further.

All residents and pedestrians passing by those areas during night are advised to be cautious and if possible avoid the area all together]

"5th Colson street? Isn't that the next street from this one?" Alph was a little worried.

After all no matter how brave a person may be they would still be worried about something that could potentially cause them harm.

"Nevermind, according to the reports all the murders took place way past midnight. I can't be so unlucky to encounter the killer at this time right?" Despite saying so he still decided to call a taxi.

A couple of moments later Alph was sitting comfortably in the backseat of a taxi.

"Young man the area around here hasn't been safe lately, if I hadn't been passing by it would have been hard for you to get a taxi!" A thin old man wearing the taxi companies uniform exclaimed while driving the vehicle.

"Indeed! I only found out about it today, it seems I should check the news more often" Alph agreed.

As they chatted, the taxi drove through the rainy night streets and soon they reached their destination.

His house was a decent two story house located in a relatively isolated area and due to the late hour the street was quite and empty.

The rain was still going strong, so Alph opened the umbrella that he had taken along.

After paying the fare and thanking the old driver Alph got off and walked towards his house.

"I wonder if prime's already sleeping" Thinking about the fat orange cat that he was raising his lips couldn't help but curve in to a smile.

Even though he himself had been surviving on instant foods, Alph was never stingy with taking care of the cat. It was after all a present from his father.

As he reached the door he pulled out the keys and unlocked it.

Click-

Pushing the door open, he took a step inside the house and it was at this moment that a gloved hand suddenly covered his face from the back.

Shlweck!

With the sound of steel ripping through flesh, blood gushed out of the gaping wound on his neck.

"Khuck!" He wanted to shout but what escaped his mouth was only a painful groan.

Thud-

Something struck his back and sent him staggering forward, causing him to heavily fall down on the wooden floor.

*No! What's going on!*

He screamed in his head but it was of no use and his vision was slowly starting to blur.

He grabbed his neck with both of his hands, trying to stop the bleeding to no avail as the blood drenched his hands and clothes.

While struggling to breath he looked towards the door and what greeted him was the old taxi driver standing there wearing black rubbery gloves and gripping a sharp knife dripping with blood in his right hand.

The old man had an ecstatic expression and he was smilling like a mad man.

"Can't believe there are people so stupid! You didn't suspect a thing even after all the news reports!" The old man looked at him as if looking at a delicious meal cooked by the best chef in the world.

*Fuck You Bastard! You damned motherfucker!* He meant to shout but all that escaped his throat was "Glu-egh Kr-Gwa-kh!".

Bang!

Alph struggled to get on his feet but a hard kick to his gut threw him back on the ground.

"Why struggle? Just lie down and die!" The crazy old man spoke as he started to rain down a flurry of kicks on Alph.

Alph could naught but struggle helplessly on the ground, his consciousness rapidly fading into the dark abyss.

His struggles growing weaker with every second that passed and every kick that struck him untill he was finally laying on the ground, motionless.

"Hah, about time brat" The crazy old man grunted, feeling a bit out of breath.l from all the kicking.

Nevertheless his expression was of pure joy, he had added another number on his list and he couldn't wait to take a souvenir.

That's right, this sick old psycho was known for chopping down the body of his victims and taking a body part as a souvenir.

He went back to his cab and pulled out a hand saw from the trunk.

He took his trusty saw back to Alph and closed the door inside him, ready to proceed with his twisted actions.

"Now which part should I take? Hand? Leg? Oh how about the head! I'll thoroughly enjoying destroying his pretty face and putting it in my collection!" The old man talked to himself as he examined the pale dead body.

Finally having decided on which part to cut off, he crept towards the head sidde of the body, but something terrifying caused him to freeze in his tracks.

Suddenly Alph opened his eyes and his expression became twisted, as if a demon had overcame him.

The dead, or rather the undead body of Alph slowly raised itself from the ground. It's mouth wide open as it's vocal cords produce a chilling low growl.

"What the-" The old man was astonished at the sigh before him, he didn't even know how to react for a few moments.

But it wasn't long before his survival instinct soon kicked in and he threw away the saw as he sprinted towards the door, hoping to run out and luck it inside the house.

Alas it was futile as the growling undead Alph blitzed at an astonishing speed, slamming into the scared killer.

There was so much force and velocity behind the impact that the old killer was sent flying, crashing into the door breaking and falling outside.

"Aaaaah!" He screamed as the old psychopath felt numerous bones fracturing and puncturing his organs.

He nose and mouth were bleeding profusely, and he was struggling to breath as blood clogged his windpipe.

His vision was blurry and spinning from the shock, but he could vaguely see the undead body slowly walked out of the broken door.

His heart was about to burst from the sheer horror, he could barely even feel the pain from all the broken bones and internal wounds.

"Aaaaah! Aaaaaaaaah! Aa-kheggh" He screamed desperately till his lungs gave out while crawling away from the approaching death.

But he couldn't escape the jaws of death, literally as the undead Alph soon reached the crawling old man and lunged on him, pinning him down and bitting down on his neck, shoulder, face or anything that it bite on.

Right I'm the middle of the eerily dark street, the crazy old man was being eaten alive by it's own victim.

Alph kept gnawing and gnawing and gnawing and gnawing, even after the old man became limp and lifeless he didn't stop untill the whole upper side of his body was left as a mangled and bloody mess.

"Groaaawrrrrr!"

Only then did it stop and with a final loud roar it stopped moving and fell atop the mangled mess of the old man's remains.

If someone were to witness the scene now they would undoubtedly find their stomach churning with discomfort.

It was a truly horrifying sight to behold.