Chapter Nineteen: The Phantom Thief

A fierce wind brushed past his ear as Morlay fell from a height of more than ten floors. His coat billowed behind him, making his figure resemble a great black bird of prey diving silently through the blind spots of the apartment windows.

At the last moment, a feather-fall technique greatly softened his descent. Morlay landed on the lawn below in a classic superhero pose, kicking up only a faint circle of dust.

After all, he was essentially a spirit; his weight could be compressed to an extreme degree, and theoretically, he had no knees.

"...Warm-up complete. Feeling excited now," Morlay muttered with a faint smile at the corner of his mouth. At this time, the residential area was nearly deserted, and clad in black to blend with the shadows, no one had noticed a person leaping from such a dizzying height.

He then left the apartment complex, greeted the brewery underling who had come to pick him up, and got into the car heading to the mission site.

“Sherlock Holmes again... and Arsène Lupin,” Morlay thought to himself.

Looks like things won’t be dull for a while.

...

Kaito Kuroba, seventeen years old. On the surface, he was an ordinary second-year student at Ekoda High School, but behind the scenes he was a master of magic. Disguises, voice alteration, escapes—the entire repertoire of magical techniques was at his fingertips, granting him countless dreamlike skills envied by any ordinary high school boy.

Recently, he had uncovered a secret about his father and inherited his shadowy identity, becoming a figure standing alongside masked riders and magical girls—a mysterious phantom thief haunting the urban nightscape that countless middle schoolers had fantasized about. He had also taken on a heavy mission—to outwit and outmaneuver a mysterious criminal organization and uncover the truth behind his father's death eight years ago.

If he were an average high school boy, he would surely be quietly pleased: “Haha, such a powerful character, how thrilling.”

But who truly understood the dangers hidden beneath? Even the phantom thief himself, before facing life-threatening peril, might subconsciously believe that the criminal organization was merely a stepping stone in his heroic tale.

Kaito Kuroba had just finished class and said farewell to his childhood friend, Aoko Nakamori. Walking down the street, he was already plotting the night’s mission. His target was one of the largest sapphires in the world—the “Blue Birth.”

Not long ago, he had reemerged as “Phantom Thief Kid,” shaking the global community of phantom thief fans to its core. At this moment, brimming with youthful vigor, his face was lit with a confident smile.

“Ah... I still have to attend Aoko’s birthday party tonight,” he said, hands clasped behind his head, pondering what magic trick to perform after the heist to celebrate her special day. “Which trick should I use... Would that be too cliché...?”

Suddenly, a harsh ringtone echoed from a nearby public phone booth, interrupting his thoughts.

Kaito glanced left and right but saw no one rushing to answer the call.

“Eh? Is that for me?”

He stepped into the booth and tentatively lifted the receiver.

The voice on the other end was clearly disguised by a voice changer, rough and crackling with static.

“Phantom Thief Kid,” the caller began without waiting for Kaito to speak, “I never expected you to have survived that incident eight years ago. But what’s even more surprising is how foolish you are—daring to meddle in our operations and lay hands on the gems we covet.”

Was this the organization that killed my father?

Kaito’s previously careless expression hardened as he carefully parsed the message.

Eight years ago, this group killed his father, and their goal was jewels?

Moreover, calling a public phone booth near me... Does that mean they’re constantly watching my location?

“But this time, you won’t be so lucky. Stay away from our gems, and we might let you live.”

Ha! What a joke. The clues to avenging my father are right before me...

How could that not make me furious?

Yet Kaito silently recalled his father’s advice—always keep a poker face, like the character on a playing card, expressionless, hiding all turmoil beneath the surface.

He remained silent. The voice on the other end possibly thought he had resigned himself or was stunned into silence. After a contemptuous snort, the line went dead.

Leaning against the glass wall of the phone booth, Kaito lowered his eyelids to conceal his gaze. His left hand slipped into his pocket, while his right hand once again held the gem he had stolen yesterday, examining it. But this time, his attention was far from the jewel.

I’ve already sent out a warning... regardless, you’ve given me a reason I cannot ignore.

...

The rooftop of the building’s top floor.

Morlay sat on the edge, smoking out of boredom.

According to the information he had gathered, Kid’s usual escape method was through the air. Considering the building’s reinforced glass and the proximity of the floor containing the jewels to the rooftop, Kid’s most probable escape route would be from here.

The Zoo operatives were well-versed in Kid’s patterns—after all, they had dealt with Kid eight years ago. Hence, the team assigned to the rooftop was undoubtedly the largest.

Although neither Morlay nor the Zoo agents knew that the current Kid was not the Kid from eight years ago but his successor, the father and son shared the same magical techniques and philosophy. By deducing the younger Kaito’s moves from the elder Kaito’s modus operandi, they could predict his actions with near certainty.

Morlay crushed out his cigarette. Through his earpiece, the commotion below came to his ears.

The Metropolitan Police Department’s Second Investigation Division—essentially a unit targeting economic crimes and high-intelligence offenses—was involved. Among them, Ginzo Nakamori, a police inspector in that division, was an expert in pursuing Phantom Thief Kid. Since the era of the elder Kaito eighteen years ago, he had considered Kid his arch-nemesis (self-proclaimed). After Kid vanished eight years ago, Nakamori sank into despair for a time, but life gradually returned to normal.

The recent revival of Phantom Thief Kid reignited a fierce passion burning within him!

That passion now manifested as a deafening volume blasting through Morlay’s earpiece.

“Hurry! Catch him! Hahahahaha—the eighteen-year chase of Phantom Thief Kid ends today! Let’s see how you escape surrounded by dozens of us! Pin him down under the crowd—wait... huh?!”

Years of chase experience made him issue threats even at the critical moment of capture while remaining vigilant.

Suddenly sensing something was wrong, he turned sharply. There, the flashy figure clad in a white suit, white cape, and white top hat—the flamboyant scoundrel—was none other than the Kid who had just been pinned beneath him.

Looking down, he saw the deflating balloon doll beneath them, and anger nearly made him faint.

...