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

Kamijou Touma was an unlucky person. According to Index's explanation, his Imagine Breaker could nullify all supernatural powers. And coincidentally, luck could be considered a type of supernatural power. 

By nullifying his own luck, he became incredibly unlucky. 

"Stiyl, is this the last destination?" 

"Yes." 

"Are you sure?" 

Stiyl replied, "I'm starting to suspect that your presence is interfering with my judgment." 

"Are you saying that Kamijou-san's bad luck is rubbing off on you? Damn it, I've been following your lead from the start, Stiyl-san!" 

"I don't think so." 

"Damn it." 

Kamijou Touma and Stiyl had worked together more than once or twice. 

Since the summer, after their initial clash and subsequent friendship, they had resolved many incidents together. For example, the incident with Aureolus Izzard at Academy City's Third Research Institute, the incident involving the *Croce di Pietro* during the Daihasei Festival, and even the events surrounding the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the space elevator Endymion, where Stiyl had also lent a hand. 

But their relationship remained the same. 

After their bickering, Kamijou looked at the abandoned building in District 19 before them. This district seemed to be dedicated to researching older technologies, but it had recently fallen into disuse. How exactly it had become abandoned? Kamijou had no idea, as his recent hustle had left his school attendance and grades in a dire state. He barely had time to deal with these matters, let alone care about things so far removed from his immediate concerns. 

"What do you think, Stiyl?" 

"I sense a barrier here. This is the place." 

"You said the same thing last time. Have your magic skills declined?" 

"Damn it, are you looking for a fight, you bastard?" Stiyl snapped angrily. 

This two-meter-tall giant didn't have the best temper. Well, come to think of it, Kamijou often forgot that this priest was only fourteen years old—still a minor. 

As a high school student, Kamijou could afford to be the bigger person. 

"Still, I rarely see a magician like this. It's unavoidable, I suppose. Japanese Onmyoudou, Shinto, Greek-style magic, and even modernized magic. A magician with such a chaotic style is rare." 

"Is it that rare?" 

"Magicians usually stick to one path. Orthodox magicians look down on other systems of magic. I think I understand this magician's situation now. His goal really is the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, isn't it?" 

Index's mind contained 103,000 Grimoires, equivalent to the entire library of the magical side. Possessing that library meant possessing all the knowledge of the magical world. 

Kamijou wasn't aware of this detail, so he asked, "Is that the only reason Index was kidnapped? Or are there other reasons? Stiyl, you might as well tell me about those shrine maidens we saw earlier." 

Getting here had been a convoluted journey. Kamijou hadn't even eaten lunch, forced to leave his groceries at home and follow Stiyl around. Their initial destination hadn't been District 19 but District 12, the area of Academy City where religious facilities were concentrated, filled with an exotic atmosphere. Having been to France, Kamijou could confirm that many of the buildings in District 12 resembled those in France. 

There, they had encountered a fake location with nothing inside—only a faint, transparent figure resembling a shrine maiden. 

Kamijou's first thought was that it might be a ghost. 

"I think it was a shikigami," Stiyl said. As a genius magician of the Necessarius Church, Stiyl had little interest in Eastern magic. But given that his colleague, Kanzaki Kaori, was Japanese, he had some understanding of it—things like Onmyoudou and shikigami. 

"That was a shikigami?" 

"Yeah, it was clearly a spiritual entity. Based on the information from the Amakusa-style followers, that person was likely an Onmyouji." 

Kamijou knew about Onmyouji. 

Having grown up in Japan, it was impossible not to know the term. 

That figure, whose face was unclear but gave off a gentle feeling, was a shikigami? 

"Stiyl, is Kanzaki-san really too busy to come?" 

"She's on another mission. That's why I came all the way from England to track this magician." 

Kamijou fell silent. Stiyl hadn't come to Academy City knowing that Index had been kidnapped. He had been tracking the magician's trail and ended up here. 

Avignon. 

That French city had become the focal point of the conflict between the Roman Catholic Church and Academy City. The boy had traveled there on a supersonic jet, only to find that Vento of the Front had already been killed. 

The magician who had killed Vento of the Front had now kidnapped Index and was hiding in this abandoned building. 

Was Index in danger? 

Their conversation fell silent as they climbed the stairs. Stiyl led the way, eventually stopping on a middle floor. 

"This is it," Stiyl said. In the next moment, he scattered numerous talismans from his black coat. 

Kamijou was familiar with this—it was Stiyl's ace magic, *"Innocentius,"* the Flame Giant. Its surface temperature could exceed 3,000 degrees, and the most annoying thing was that the Flame Giant could continuously regenerate. 

Back then, Kamijou had been thoroughly disgusted by it. But now that Stiyl was on his side, the magic felt reassuring. 

"Let's go in," Stiyl said, pushing the door open. The talismans followed, sticking to the walls. 

The range of *Innocentius's* activity was limited to the area covered by the talismans. 

Almost instantly, Stiyl realized he had wasted his effort. 

He saw Grimoires. 

Not one, not two, but hundreds—no, thousands of them! 

Those were the Grimoires from Index's mind! 

The magician had somehow manifested all the Grimoires from Index's mind and was reading them! 

Stiyl quickly came to this conclusion. 

But in the next moment, **corruption** surged, and the genius magician was forced to retreat from the room. 

Kamijou followed him out, also retreating as soon as he felt the discomfort. 

"Damn it, this corruption," Stiyl muttered, feeling that he had absorbed quite a bit of it. 

Even without reading the contents, simply knowing of their existence caused corruption. The "poison" of Grimoires was just that unreasonable. 

"What the hell was that? Why did just looking at it make me feel so awful?" 

"...Didn't you say you felt awful? You look better now." 

"I touched my head with my right hand, and it got better. Stiyl, do you want to try it?" 

Stiyl looked at the boy's right hand. 

He nodded silently. 

Under the effect of Imagine Breaker, the corruption was almost instantly removed.