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

October 9th: Academy City, located in the western part of Tokyo, Japan, was as usual. The events happening on the other side of the globe had no impact on this city-state.

Yes, Academy City is a city-state. It is an independent political entity, not under the jurisdiction of the Japanese government.

Just like the Vatican within Italy.

It's hard to imagine what circumstances led to such a peculiar situation.

Li Mo couldn't figure it out. He wasn't a professional historian with a century of expertise in digging into such matters. He had no interest in the past history of this world. The only thing that bothered him was how troublesome it was to enter Academy City.

Getting from France to Japan was a breeze—just stow away in a cargo hold and you're in. But Academy City?

How could such a tiny place be so self-sufficient and autonomous?

On October 7th, just the day before, Li Mo had arrived in Japan. Before leaving France, the riots in Avignon had ended in a rather dramatic fashion.

On October 8th, Li Mo spent the entire day wandering around Japan. He hadn't expected that entering Academy City would be slightly complicated. Unless, of course, he went in as an intruder.

In another place, Li Mo wouldn't mind. But this was Academy City. The magic side of things was unpredictable, and some might dare to barge in recklessly. He, however, wasn't that foolish.

Even if he had the power of a nuclear bomb, he wouldn't make a splash in this city.

For example, that person floating in a nutrient tank was the most extraordinary existence. Pushing that gender-ambiguous top-ranked individual to the extreme, forcing them to unleash black or white wings, would mean certain death.

There were only two legitimate ways to enter Academy City: either by plane landing in District 23 of Academy City, or through certain taxi drivers who collaborated with the city.

Entry required various permits, much like customs in any country.

—But, smuggling was also possible.

After much thought, Li Mo concluded that entering Academy City in a high-profile manner, like Vento of the Front had done, was not feasible. That would be tantamount to declaring war.

"Aleister doesn't care about everything."

The Board Chairman of Academy City, though reigning over the entire city, didn't involve himself in many matters. Most things were left to the members of the board.

In the original story, there were quite a few people who smuggled themselves into Academy City. Those individuals weren't immediately wanted upon entry. Conflicts usually arose only after they took action.

The Underline surveillance system belonged to Aleister, not Academy City.

This was an important distinction.

As it turned out, Li Mo had overthought things before. Using optical and thermal invisibility, he entered Academy City through a supply vehicle. While the city seemed self-sufficient in terms of food, this tiny place still needed various supplies, such as raw materials for scientific research...

"I really outdid myself."

Probably no one else in history has ever stressed themselves out as much as I did. Who would have thought that Aleister was someone who could rival a Magic God? The one who defeated the Magic God, Nephthys, using Aleister's power, was the brain-damaged Kihara Noukan. Although Nephthys was infinitely divided at the time, making her reckless, she was still a Magic God.

This magician was even daring enough to jump into the face of a Magic God in the Hidden World.

Looking at the surrounding skyscrapers, the floating airships in the sky, and the massive screens broadcasting advertisements and news, Li Mo saw wind turbines spinning everywhere.

This was the stronghold of the science side, a city whose technology was 20 to 30 years ahead of the outside world.

Academy City was divided into 23 districts. Li Mo was most familiar with District 7, the main stage of the story... where Kamijou Touma went to school and lived.

That also meant Index lived there.

Given that nun's personality, she would often wander around District 7. As long as Kamijou Touma was tied up with some trouble, Index would be left alone and easy to handle.

The only problem was... Kamijou Touma was under Aleister's watch.

A small fry like me probably wouldn't attract Aleister's attention, right?

Li Mo recalled that a month ago, a Japanese magician had kidnapped Index and extracted the memories of the Grimoires from her. Unfortunately, the magician couldn't withstand the corruption of the Grimoires.

Thinking about it, as long as the target wasn't Kamijou Touma, the difficulty shouldn't be that high, right?

Although he knew Aleister was a "loser" who couldn't achieve his own goals, Li Mo still felt the need to show respect.

After all, that was Aleister.

Even though he later turned into a woman, his personality was still that of a secretly perverted old man.

But that was Aleister, the most outstanding magician of the last century.

'What I also need to keep in mind is that during the subsequent turmoil in England, Kamijou Touma will take Index to the UK. I need to obtain the 103,000 Grimoires before that to have a chance at completing the Angel Fall ritual. Otherwise, I'll have to wait until World War III.'

Li Mo knew that in the upcoming world war triggered by the Roman Catholic Church and Academy City, Fiamma of the Right would summon "The One Who is Like God." This process required Angel Fall. The simplest way for him would be to ally with Fiamma of the Right, who would help complete the Angel Fall ritual.

But...

After meeting Vento of the Front, Li Mo felt that he didn't get along well with these clergy members. His current three tails represented the foundation of "The Beast," the burden of sin from devouring Angra Mainyu, and the regeneration from devouring Muzan Kibutsuji.

All three tails were of the "evil" attribute. If judged by the nine alignments, he was firmly in the evil camp—either Lawful Evil or Neutral Evil.

It was better not to show himself in front of that self-proclaimed savior, Fiamma of the Right.

Should he go after Index himself?

At this moment, Li Mo was in District 18. He had entered Academy City through District 11, which served as a land-based goods transit point. The supply channels also passed through here.

District 18 was right next to District 11, filled with numerous schools. For example, Tokiwadai Middle School, where Accelerator attended, was located in this district. Additionally, District 7 was right next to District 18.

So... how were the districts ranked?

"Huh?"

Sitting on an unmanned public bus, Li Mo hadn't set a specific destination yet. That's why he didn't take the faster train. The bus was currently near Tokiwadai Girls' School.

Then, Li Mo heard explosions.

Not just one or two, but a continuous series of explosions, as if someone was using bombs as a means of attack.

At this point in time...

'The Dark Side War?'