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

### Grimoire Originals, also known as grimoires, are books that contain magical knowledge. In the current worldview, these grimoires are said to possess "contamination"—they are "toxic" to humans.

Why are they toxic?

It's likely because the knowledge recorded in grimoires consists of 「abnormal knowledge」 and 「anomalous laws」. Whether good or bad, this knowledge is harmful to the world. The human brain is incompatible with such knowledge, and forcibly recording it can cause brain damage.

If Li Mo remembered correctly, the Inquisitors who specialized in handling such books had to sew their eyes shut and undergo years of purification to remove this contamination.

Index's mind contains 103,000 original grimoires. The contamination isn't a simple "1+1=2" addition—it multiplies exponentially.

For those with weak religious beliefs or no soul protection, even a single glance at such things could drive their souls to madness.

But for Li Mo...

Was this contamination just a snack for him?

Indeed, he was immune to the contamination brought by grimoires.

Thinking about it carefully, it made sense. His spiritual foundation was built from 「All the World's Evils」, which was the ultimate form of contamination. Although it was also the 「sin」 of humanity, it was still something from 「another realm」.

Having weathered countless storms, this little drizzle seemed insignificant.

However, the only regret was that he couldn't absorb this contamination. It was merely a side effect of reading the toxic knowledge within the grimoires.

—On the other hand, could Index completely immune to this contamination?

The Index Librorum Prohibitorum was probably not as simple as it seemed.

Although Index's role as the main heroine had been reduced in later parts of the story, considering that even before the events of Genesis Testament began...

Who knew how Kamachi would write it?

Regardless of whether Index had deeper secrets, it was none of his concern.

While forcibly memorizing the knowledge, Li Mo even had the spare mental capacity to set up a barrier around them.

He removed his hand from Index's head and changed his method of reading the grimoires.

Reading them one by one was too slow. As a non-human, he couldn't afford to waste time like a human, reading each book individually.

"Frenda, if you don't want to go blind, close your eyes. Also, don't resist. I'll have a shikigami protect you."

The grimoires materialized.

A barrier centered around Index appeared, its core mechanism being the carved runes Li Mo had etched into the ground.

Where there was great power, there were miracles.

With sufficient magical energy, many materials could be substituted. Even if certain materials couldn't be replaced, their "symbolism" was enough.

By materializing the grimoires in Index's mind, Li Mo could read multiple books at once using other spells. How long would it take to record all 103,000 grimoires?

—It would probably take quite a while.

He'd start reading first. It would take some time for Kamijou Touma to find them.

At the same time, Li Mo released one of his shrine maiden shikigami. After such a long period of nurturing, the shikigami left behind by Kamijou Harunobu at the abandoned shrine could now stand on their own. While they might not be able to handle a Level 5 esper, their nature as spiritual entities allowed them to delay a Level 4 esper.

This shikigami was assigned to protect Frenda.

The grimoires were about to materialize. A single glance would contaminate an ordinary person, let alone Frenda, who had undergone esper development. Academy City's espers and magic were incompatible, as evidenced by Tsuchimikado vomiting blood when using magic.

The exact reason was unclear, but it might have something to do with the nature of magic and espers?

Having Frenda close her eyes was a good choice. But just closing her eyes wasn't enough, so the shikigami added a layer of cognitive filtering around her.

Li Mo had chosen an abandoned area for reading. This was District 10, which had been left deserted for various reasons. What those reasons were, he didn't care about.

The grimoires began to appear before Li Mo one by one. Now, it was a test of his reading ability.

"Hmm... how was that spell used again? Oh, I remember."

How long had it taken Index to record all these grimoires? Li Mo didn't know. What he did know was that it would take him less time to record all 103,000 grimoires than it had taken her.

103,000 was a huge number.

Before coming to Academy City—no, before coming to this world—Li Mo had already thought about how he would record all of Index's grimoires.

Even as a non-human, Li Mo couldn't transfer knowledge from one medium to another like a computer using protocols and data cables. He could only rely on the inefficient method of reading.

This was the consequence of not having a chip installed in his brain.

But it didn't matter.

Whether it was magic or sorcery, the mystical was like a trash can—you could do whatever you wanted with it.

Including reading.

During his time learning with Medea, Li Mo often didn't delve too deeply.

Mainly because he would be leaving eventually, so he only recorded the knowledge. Now, he was using the same method.

The 「anomalous knowledge」 from the grimoires was recorded in Li Mo's mind. All he needed now was time.

"Are you really okay?"

Time passed quickly, and Index slowly woke up. Earlier, he had knocked her out to prevent her from interfering. Now that the Index's library was open and the books were being materialized and read by Li Mo, she couldn't stop him anyway.

Li Mo didn't knock her out again, so when she woke up and saw his entranced expression, she said, "You're really okay?"

He didn't respond. The absorption of the grimoire's knowledge had occupied a significant portion of his mental capacity.

From the Western "Key of Solomon" to the Eastern "Baopuzi," from the American "Aztec Calendar Stone" to the Greek "Hermetica," from the Japanese "Momotaro" to the "Necronomicon"...

Countless pieces of knowledge gathered in his mind. Christian knowledge, magical society knowledge, Onmyodo knowledge, Taoist knowledge, occult knowledge...

Li Mo wasn't immersed in the ocean of knowledge. Instead, he was like an emotionless machine, recording the contents of the grimoires.

Until...

An image was transmitted to him. Li Mo finally awoke from his state of replication.

"The last hidden point has been breached? I wonder when they'll find us here?"

In the vision before him, the shikigami transmitted an image. The last decoy point, set up to buy time, had been destroyed. The shikigami had entered a hidden, evasive mode.

The replication progress was only halfway done. About 50,000 grimoires... his head felt like it was about to explode.

Li Mo rubbed his temples. If it weren't for 「Quasi-Immortality」, which allowed him to revive even if his head exploded, he wouldn't have dared to attempt this.

He continued.

Glancing at Index, who was chatting with Frenda, he saw that they were still within the barrier, so it didn't interfere with his reading of Index's grimoires.

So, he decided to let it be.