The Legend of Level 0 in Academy City

At the end of the corridor outside Inoue Eika's ward.

Accelerator fiddled with the cards in his hand, leaning lazily against the wall.

I learned from Misaka Mikoto that this card was the main reason why Kakine Teitoku, the second-ranking official in Academy City, was smashed into mincemeat.

"Ah!"

Accelerator chuckled dismissively.

He was, after all, the second-highest ranked person after himself, yet he lost his life over something so superficial.

He truly didn't know what was inside the card, but whatever it was, in Accelerator's eyes, nothing was more important than his own life.

It's ridiculous that something like that would turn into a pile of minced meat!

"kindness?"

Just as Accelerator was about to leave, he suddenly caught sight of a blond idiot in a floral shirt walking out of the elevator.

"Hey!"

Accelerator called out to someone who was walking in another direction.

"Meow~ It's Accelerator! What do you need me for?"

Are you familiar with this type of card?

Accelerator bluntly stated his purpose without any attempt to inform others.

He recognized the person in front of him.

Tsuchimikado Motoharu, also a member of the 'Group', although they had never met, Accelerator knew a little about him.

"Indian Poker..."

Tsuchimikado Motoharu stared at the playing cards in Accelerator's hand and pondered:

"This must be the thing that caused the second person to lose their life, right?"

"So? How much do you know about this?"

Accelerator, growing impatient, asked the same question again.

"Hmm... I'm also a little interested in this, meow! But I have something I need to do right now, could you wait a moment?"

"Tsk!"

Accelerator simply clicked his tongue and said nothing more.

When Tsuchimikado Motoharu saw that Accelerator did not refuse, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

"Thanks, meow!"

After saying that, she walked towards the other side of the elevator, towards the spiky-haired boy who was sitting on a bench in the corridor with his head down and hadn't paid any attention to her at all since she appeared.

------

evening.

The dim sunlight streamed into the ward, reflecting a golden glow onto the white floor tiles, creating a somber atmosphere despite the soft light.

As if sensing something, Inoue Hideka slowly opened her eyes.

The first thing that catches the eye is the IV drip hanging upside down in mid-air.

After a quick glance, Inoue Hideka saw Misaka Mikoto and Saten Ruiko anxiously staring at him around the hospital bed.

The two remained silent, their gazes towards Inoue Hideka gradually welling up with tears.

"Tears...beautiful..."

Inoue Hideka tried to speak, but his dry throat allowed him to only utter half a syllable.

"Water, wait a moment! I'll get it right away!"

Saten Ruiko had the water that had been placed there earlier beside her. Noticing Inoue Eika's condition, she immediately picked up the water and brought it to Inoue Eika's lips.

Misaka Mikoto supported Inoue Hideka's upper body as they leaned back against the headboard.

Taking a sip of water to clear his throat, Inoue Hideka spoke again to Saten Ruiko and Misaka Mikoto:

"Raiko, Mikoto. You've worked hard..."

Upon hearing this, both Saten Ruiko and Misaka Mikoto gave each other a gentle smile.

A soft, silent smile accompanied by tear tracks on her cheeks.

Like lovers reunited after a long separation, they looked at each other, yet remained silent.

"Tsuchimikado! What are you saying! Eika is unconscious, how can you expect me to go abroad for refuge without worry?!"

Suddenly, a loud shout came from outside the ward from Touma Kamijou.

Then, seemingly afraid of waking the hospital patients, the voice became even quieter.

In fact, Inoue Hideka heard rustling sounds in the corridor after he woke up, but he assumed they were the family members of other patients and didn't pay any attention to them.

Hearing Touma Kamijou's voice now, Inoue Hideka remembered that before she lost consciousness, she had indeed seen his figure in a blur.

Recalling the crazed, spiky-haired boy she had seen, she couldn't help but ask Misaka Mikoto:

"Mikoto, Emperor Kakine supervises him..."

Although Kakine Teitoku deserved to die, Inoue Hideka genuinely hoped that the outcome wouldn't be what she expected.

But the word 'refuge' contained in the familiar voice he had just heard indicated that things were developing in a direction he did not want to see.

"Killed by that idiot outside the door..."

Misaka Mikoto hesitated.

Touma Kamijou was in a bad state. After Eika Inoue successfully completed the surgery, she and Ruiko Saten also tried to persuade that stubborn idiot.

But it is of no use.

Moreover, Misaka Mikoto herself was in a similar state to him, except that Kamijou Touma killed those who deserved to die, while she killed those who didn't deserve to die.

The two are evenly matched, and Misaka Mikoto is the kind of person who would never kill anyone, so how could she possibly persuade Kamijou Touma?

"Could you please call Touma in for me?"

As expected, things turned out this way, Inoue Hideka thought to himself as he spoke to the two of them.

Upon hearing this, Saten Ruiko walked towards the door.

A short while later.

Saten Ruiko entered with Tsuchimikado Motoharu and a disheveled Kamijou Touma.

Inoue Hideka glanced at Tsuchimikado Motoharu, their eyes met in mid-air, and Inoue Hideka instantly understood the meaning in Tsuchimikado's eyes.

He came here on Aleister's orders to persuade Kamijou Touma to go abroad.

Given that Touma Kamijou has a history of murder, his so-called "seeking refuge abroad" is actually a matter concerning magicians that he needs to resolve.

Having roughly guessed what was going on, Inoue Hideka looked around at everyone in the ward and said:

"Mikoto, Ruiko, Tsuchimikado, I have something I want to say to Touma alone..."

The group understood Inoue Hideka's meaning and tactfully withdrew from the ward for the time being.

Only Inoue Eika and Kamijou Touma remained in the room.

The boy in the hospital bed, and the boy standing there, looking like a sinner, utterly dejected.

One person speaks, and one person listens.

No one knows what the two said.

In short, about ten minutes later, Touma Kamijou returned to his previous appearance, leaving the hospital with a haggard look on his face and running wildly towards his home.

Only Misaka Mikoto and Saten Ruiko returned to the ward; Tsuchimikado Motoharu was nowhere to be found.

However, Inoue Hideka also knew that he was a free spirit, and since Kamijou Touma had recovered, there was no point in Tsuchimikado Motoharu staying here any longer, so Inoue Hideka didn't bother with him.

Saten Ruiko said she was going back to prepare food.

Even so, both Inoue Hideka and Misaka Mikoto understood that Saten Ruiko mainly wanted to leave some space for the two of them.

While waiting for Inoue Eika to wake up, Saten Ruiko had already roughly learned what had happened.

In Saten Ruiko's opinion, to completely resolve Misaka Mikoto's inner conflict, Inoue Eika, the person involved, is needed. Therefore, she decided to let the two have a good talk before celebrating Inoue Eika's miraculous survival.

While grateful to Saten Ruiko, Inoue Hideka awkwardly asked her to bring their classmate Fujiwara Masaga to the meeting.

There was no other way; given the critical circumstances, Inoue Hideka could not allow himself to lie sickly in bed.

After all, although Kakine Teitoku is no longer a threat, he still has other people under his command.

If those few people cannot be dealt with properly, Inoue Hidekazu will have no peace of mind.

At this point, they could only rely on Fujiwara Masaga, who possessed exceptional healing abilities.

So now, only Inoue Hideka and Misaka Mikoto remain in the ward.

To be honest, Inoue Hideka was terrified when she first woke up.

After all, before he lost consciousness, he clearly saw that his heart had shattered.

Therefore, there are only three possibilities for me to survive.

First, quite coincidentally, a suitable donor appeared.

However, this possibility can be largely ruled out.

After all, 70% of patients who have signed up for heart transplants die while waiting for a donor; this study is no joke.

Second, his heart was implanted with a heart made of unknown matter.

Based on the original work, Inoue Hideka knew that the heart made of the Unreal Material could only be used by Kakine Teitoku himself; anyone else using it would suffer damage due to rejection after a short time.

Hearts created using cloning technology cannot be used for heart transplants.

Because the heart used for a heart transplant must be a healthy, beating heart provided only to brain-dead patients; a stopped beating heart cannot be used for a heart transplant.

However, Kakine Teitoku's remaining consciousness is clearly not yet at the point where he can comprehend the method of creating human organs, and he does not believe that Aleister would issue another order for him.

The last one was a transplant of a living person's heart!