Multiverse: Why does the world show a health bar? !

Index was meeting someone like this for the first time.

Reading Grimoires would harm her with their "pollution."

She had no memories from before, but the fact that Grimoires were "toxic" was common knowledge that remained. She knew that apples were edible, but she couldn't remember whether she had eaten an apple before.

She couldn't remember anything from before, but she remembered everything from this period. Not long ago, a man named Yamisaka Ouma read a Grimoire from her mind and ended up bleeding from all seven orifices due to the "poison."

That sight was terrifying.

Yet, this unfamiliar magician seemed immune to such "toxins."

According to the knowledge in her mind, this shouldn't be possible.

The knowledge of the "Outer Realm" was incompatible with the human brain—not just in terms of software, but hardware. No matter how much the human brain developed, it couldn't insert a USB drive into the mouth and read its data.

Unless...

He wasn't human?

"What are you doing, Index?"

Flandre hadn't heard her little companion's voice.

Index was a good girl who could eat canned mackerel with her. There was no malice in her words, so they naturally got along.

Now, Flandre could only rely on her hearing.

She had closed her eyes, temporarily wrapped in the shikigami's embrace, unable to see. Index had told her not to open her eyes.

"I'm thinking about something, Flandre. Do you know who this boss is?" Index asked.

"I don't know. I only started talking to the boss the day before yesterday."

Flandre didn't know Li Mo's name.

Her address had shifted from "you" to "boss."

The other party had never revealed their name, as if wary of something.

"I see."

Index lowered her head, her attention drawn to the barrier enveloping the room.

As the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, she was familiar with almost all known magic in the current world, whether it was Taoism, Japanese Onmyoudou, Christianity, or Aztec mythology. She could recognize them all.

Yet, the barrier before her was subtle. It wasn't disguised in any way, but she couldn't immediately discern its origin.

It seemed to have traces of Japanese Onmyoudou, yet also hints of ancient Greek magic.

Index found herself unable to pinpoint the exact system this barrier belonged to. It was as if it had been pieced together from various sources, with elements she couldn't recognize mixed in.

Those elements were likely related to "fire" and "thunder." They resembled the four major elements that compose the world, yet were unrelated.

This was something she couldn't find an answer to in the 103,000 Grimoires stored in her mind.

If Li Mo knew, he would praise Index.

After all, this barrier was something he had hastily thrown together, incorporating elements of Kamijou Onmyoudou, Age of Gods magecraft, modern magecraft, and even a bit he had copied from the training methods of the shrine maidens at Narukami Taisha.

The process of recording Grimoires continued. Yet, Li Mo had to divert some of his attention to handle other matters.

It wasn't that Index, now free to move, would try to escape. Within the barrier, escape was impossible. The problem was that he sensed Kamijou Touma's arrival.

Facing him wasn't the scary part. What was terrifying was that with a single wave of Kamijou Touma's hand, the barrier he had set up would shatter.

The Imagine Breaker—it was the natural enemy of all supernatural abilities.

"He's already downstairs. He's fast. Does Index have some kind of tracker on her?"

Unfortunately, he hadn't found one.

Skills like invisibility were also absent.

At the moment, he didn't have such abilities, but similar skills existed within the Grimoires. However, Li Mo couldn't spare the time to extract them.

He controlled his magical energy, contracting the barrier's range.

"Your guardian, Kamijou Touma, is here, Index."

"Is Touma coming? Have you finished reading the books?"

"About 70-80% of them. Ugh~~~ Seriously, my head hurts. How did you manage to cram so many books into your brain?"

Li Mo complained.

Even though he wasn't entirely human, his body structure was still similar to a human's. The brain had its limits in processing information.

Overloading it with too much data would cause it to crash.

Even metal suffers from fatigue, let alone the brain.

"I... I don't remember. But I don't think I recorded all these books in a short time."

Index had no memories of the past. She only had memories from this period.

"I was just venting. What I'm really curious about is why the Grimoires' 'toxins' don't affect you," Li Mo said. "I know how I'm immune to the Grimoires' pollution, but what about you, Miss Index? Do you know?"

"I don't know!"

Index said with certainty. "But I know I can't let this knowledge spread."

"Isn't it a bit late to say that now? Or is it Kamijou Touma's imminent arrival that's giving you courage?"

"No, I warned you from the start, but you ignored me. Then, while you were reading, you had some kind of self-defense mechanism, right? Communication was impossible. Only now can you talk like a normal person."

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I must go against your wishes to obtain this knowledge," Li Mo said gently.

After acquiring the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, he and Index would have no further connection. From the knowledge he had already replicated, there were methods related to the Fall of Angels. Based on this, he only needed to complete the ritual to leave this world.

—He was willing to stay in other worlds for a while, but the world of *A Certain Magical Index* was one he didn't want to linger in for too long.

So, there was no need for further action.

Index understood that she had no leverage over the magician before her. What was his goal in obtaining the Index Librorum Prohibitorum? What did he plan to do?

Every magician had their ultimate goal, and the existence of a Magic Name was meant to remind them of that purpose.

Yet, from the beginning, the other party hadn't even revealed their name, let alone a Magic Name.

"Why do you need the knowledge of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum? Can't you achieve your goals through other means?"

Index thought of Ansatsusha Houma, the magician who had wanted to use the Index's knowledge to save someone but was forced to give up because he couldn't withstand the Grimoires' pollution. In the end, the person he wanted to save was saved by Touma.

From that moment, Index knew one thing: this world wasn't limited to a single path.

"Miss Index, my goal is the Grimoires themselves," Li Mo said.

Obtaining all the Grimoires in Index's mind was equivalent to acquiring all the knowledge of the magical side. For a magician from the *Type-Moon* world, this temptation was irresistible.

Even if Li Mo wasn't a standard magician, he couldn't resist it.

*Clang—!*

The iron door to the top floor of the ruined building was thrown open. Kamijou Touma's signature spiky hair appeared.