The Legend of Level 0 in Academy City

Moreover, a thought even faintly surfaced in his mind that dying like this wouldn't be so bad.

Of the three, only Misaka Dori had the highest fighting power, but even relying solely on her fists, after more than ten minutes of relentless punches, Inoue Eika's body was gradually stained with blood.

When Misaka Mikoto returned from seeking information about the situation from the Netherworld, she found Inoue Eika on the verge of death, silently enduring her suffering. She went up to separate the three judges and took Inoue Eika to the nearest hospital for treatment.

When Inoue Hideka woke up in the hospital, it was already the next day.

He opened his eyes and saw the familiar ceiling. He was now dressed as a sick man, a patient provided by the hospital.

Misaka Mikoto sat on the edge of the hospital bed with a wandering gaze. In her hand was Inoue Eika's clothes, which were neatly folded and must have been washed.

Above the clothes folded into squares, there was something that looked like a USB drive, and... a familiar envelope.

Perhaps sensing that Inoue Hideka was awake, Misaka Mikoto turned to look at her, placed the clothes by the bedside expressionlessly, and said coldly:

“These are your clothes, and then…”

As she spoke, Misaka Mikoto picked up something from her clothes with her other hand and said to Inoue Hideka:

"Aren't you going to explain these two things to me?"

"I..." Judging from Misaka Mikoto's expression, Inoue Hideka could guess that she already knew the contents.

The USB-like device contained Inoue Hideka's memories of her past and present lives, while the envelope contained her words to Shokuhou Misaki.

"Isn't it wonderful to toy with emotions?" Misaka Mikoto's expression gradually turned cold, her eyes filled with a deathly despair.

"No, I didn't. Mikoto, it's not what you think..." Inoue Eika wanted to explain, but didn't know where to begin.

"Heh...no? In your eyes, I'm just a character you like, right? Foreseeing the future and saving the day with your prophetic heroism before tragedy strikes? Feeling accomplished, huh? But..."

Misaka Mikoto stood up, gave Inoue Hideka a cold look, and as she resolutely turned around, said decisively:

"I'm sorry, I'm not going to keep you company any longer!"

After saying that, Misaka Mikoto strode out of the ward.

"..." Inoue Eika did not try to stop Misaka Mikoto. He looked at Misaka Mikoto's resolute back with a complicated expression, his eyes filled with incomprehension, doubt, and unbelievable shock.

then.

Watching Misaka Mikoto disappear through the hospital room door with a complicated expression, Inoue Hideka seemed to have thought of something, and the corner of her mouth twitched involuntarily.

"Heh..." He chuckled softly, shaking his head with a wry smile, muttering to himself in a mocking tone, "So that's how it is, so that's how it is? Heh, hehe... Hahaha! So this is such a ridiculous world!"

Laughing maniacally, Inoue Hideka lifted the blanket, checked her body, and after confirming that she was alright, changed into the clothes that Misaka Mikoto had brought, picked up the memory card and envelope that were lying to the side, and left the ward.

Back in the small villa where he and Saten Ruiko were alone, Inoue Eika buried Saten Ruiko next to the two cherry blossom saplings.

After staying quietly for a while, Inoue Eika left the small villa, saying, "Raiko, wait for me!"

Upon returning to Academy City, Inoue Eika found the person who had helped her many times before.

Aleister's mentor when he was still in the magic society 'Golden Dawn', the number one doctor in Academy City, known as 'the one who can bring the dead back to life'—Midori Chaser!

Chapter 502 Time Flies By, a Century Has Passed By

Inoue Hideka drove back to Academy City and returned to the hospital that had become familiar to her for various reasons: a university-affiliated hospital.

That is, the hospital where the Underworld Soul Chaser is located.

At this time, the hospital's renovation was nearing completion. Inoue Eika got out of the car and walked into the hospital gate with practiced ease.

As soon as I entered, I saw two familiar figures—Touma Kamijou and Misaki Shokuhou.

The two were walking hand in hand toward the gate.

It looks like he just came out of the room of the Underworld Soul Chaser, probably to find out what happened.

Thinking this, Inoue Hideka turned around and, without the two of them noticing, hid behind a pillar with a blank expression, quietly watching them as they walked out of the hospital together.

Euthinus did exactly as she said.

Kamijou Touma's brain should have returned to normal by now, and he should be able to remember and know everything that Shokuhou Misaki did for him, right?

With a bitter expression, Inoue Hideka shook her head and did not go up to greet him.

Regardless of the facts, he didn't want to disturb the peace that belonged to the two of them.

After the two walked out of the main entrance, Inoue Hideka strode resolutely toward the office of the Underworld Soul Chaser.

The door wasn't closed. Inoue Hideka knocked and went straight in.

Looking at Inoue Hideka before him, Mingtu Zhuihun sighed sadly and said with remorse, "I'm sorry. I didn't protect my patient... your child."

A fleeting shadow of gloom crossed Inoue Hideka's eyes, but it vanished quickly. He then looked at the Underworld Soul Chaser with a pleading expression and said:

"This isn't the doctor's fault, please don't feel guilty. However, I have another request for you, doctor. Perhaps this is something that goes against your medical ethics, but please... please don't refuse me!"

The Soul Chaser remained silent for a moment, lost in thought. The only thing he could think of when Inoue Eika mentioned "again" was that Inoue Eika had wanted to conduct brain experiments on Shokuhou Misaki before.

As a doctor who upholds medical ethics to the end, Mingtu Zhuihun didn't want to agree from the bottom of his heart. However, seeing Inoue Yinghua's firm eyes, Mingtu Zhuihun decided to listen to the boy's request.

"Before I agree, I want to hear your request before I make a decision. Tell me, what is it?"

"I want to learn magic from you!" Inoue Hideka said without hesitation, "and then become a demon god! You should be able to do that, right?"

Despite it being a question, Inoue Hideka spoke with unusual certainty.

Based on clues in the original work, Inoue Hideka deduced that the Underworld Soul Chaser was Aleister's former magic teacher, Alan Bennett.

If it were him, there would still be a chance of success.

After all, although Aleister himself was exceptionally talented in magic and eventually had the opportunity to become a Demon God, he gave it up himself. However, Inoue Hideka believed that even if he was not talented, he would not be himself if he gave up without even trying.

Moreover, his ultimate goal was not merely to become a demon god, but rather...

Upon hearing Inoue Hidekazu's words, a look of surprise flashed in Inoue Hidekazu's eyes, just as Inoue Hidekazu had expected.

Yes, I'm just a 13-year-old junior high school student. How could I possibly know that the two of us were master and disciple at least 50 years ago?

Just as Inoue Eika was about to explain, Mingtu Zhuihun's expression of surprise vanished, and he said with relief:

"I had a feeling before that you weren't an ordinary person, but let's leave that aside for now. So, do you know..."

At this point, Mingtu Zhuihun paused, looking at Inoue Hideka with a complicated expression:

"If you, on the scientific side, had your superpowers developed before learning magic, how would your body react?"

“I know. You should understand that once I make a decision, even if there are mountains of knives and seas of fire ahead, even if I am shattered to pieces and suffer for the rest of my life, I will not give up! So how could I be afraid of the fact that the phase friction generated by students who have undergone superpower development using magic will backfire on themselves?”

"But your body won't be able to handle it, even with my treatment..."

The Underworld Soul Chaser tentatively tried to persuade Inoue Hideka to give up the idea.

However, Inoue Hideka interrupted him before he could finish speaking about the Netherworld Soul Chaser.

"Will blood vessels rupture and eventually become irreversible if this happens repeatedly?"

Inoue Hideka smiled casually.

"Then, I'll just switch to another body. Although I don't consider myself a masochist, I'm still somewhat confident in my nerves when it comes to enduring pain that most people can't bear."

Speaking of this place, Inoue Hideka vaguely recalled the various and hundreds of painful ways he had died in the world created by Othinus, and couldn't help but laugh self-deprecatingly.

"In short, no matter how many times I fail, no matter how much pain I endure, no matter how many bodies I need to change... or how many hundreds or thousands of years it takes, as long as I am alive, as long as you can still guide me, as long as it can continue, I will absolutely..."

As Inoue Hideka spoke, his eyes grew increasingly resolute, his expression increasingly determined. Finally, clenching his fists, he uttered a word that would usher in yet another, even more painful, chapter in his life:

"We will not give up!"

"As long as we can continue, we will never give up...?" Mingtu Zhuihun repeated in a low voice, then looked at Inoue Yinghua with a hint of helplessness and certainty and sighed, "I understand."

Without asking Inoue Eika's purpose, nor continuing to recount the hardships of learning magic for those with abilities, Mingtu Zhuihun began a journey that would last for countless years, teaching Inoue Eika magic.

At first, it went as expected.

When Inoue Hideka was learning magic, the capillaries on his body would burst, and blood would flow out of his body like water.

Even so, Inoue Hideka persisted in trying to learn until her body could no longer support her and she eventually lost consciousness due to excessive blood loss. Only then was Inoue Hideka dragged away by the Underworld for treatment.

Then, upon waking up the next day, the same process was repeated.

Of course, thanks to the recovery ability of her classmate Fujiwara Masayuki, Inoue Hideka was able to recover quickly, saving a lot of time.

During this period, despite the enormous financial burden, Inoue Hideka did not neglect his manga work in order to cover the financial shortage.

Even so, over time, Inoue Hideka's body gradually deteriorated from the inside out, from his internal organs to his limbs and bones.

At this point, the Underworld Soul Chaser would take out a pre-cultivated clone without implanted consciousness and, using a combination of advanced science and technology and magical power, give Inoue Hideka a new body.

then.

It was still a painful and agonizing path of learning magic.

Thanks to this, even after many years, Inoue Hideka still maintains the appearance of a 13-year-old boy.

Ever since Inoue Eika began learning magic, she seemed to have vanished from the world. Neither Kamijou Touma nor any of her other friends had any news of her.

He himself stopped paying attention to his friends and other things and information in the world besides magic, and devoted himself entirely to learning magic.

Time flies by, like a dream.

More than ten years have passed. After Inoue Eika memorized the knowledge about magic from the spirit of the underworld, she left Academy City.

Now, having integrated various kinds of knowledge, he has developed a kind of magic that can minimize the damage to his body caused by phase friction, so he no longer needs to change bodies frequently.

Meanwhile, Inoue Eika's original body was returned to his home, under the cherry blossom tree where Saten Ruiko was buried.

More than ten years have passed, and the cherry tree has grown into a magnificent tree with beautiful blossoms. Every cherry blossom season, the entire courtyard is filled with fragrance.

But perhaps unable to bear seeing Saten Ruiko alone underground, one of the two cherry blossom trees that the two of them had planted together did not grow up, so it went to accompany Saten Ruiko.

Just like Inoue Hideka, who now lives alone in this world, there is also a solitary cherry blossom tree in the courtyard, which stands proudly and independently even though it is as lonely as snow.

After leaving Academy City, Inoue Hideka continued her research on magic while traveling around the world.

Othinus, also known as Odin in mythology, received special consideration, and his deeds are most widely known in Europe.

There, Inoue Hideka collected many myths and legends about Odin and Othinus, and then tried every means to recreate and experience what Othinus went through.

His footprints have covered every corner of the world, yet no one knows that such a person, who combines magic and science, once walked beside them.

As time passed, and many years later, the Soul Chaser of the Underworld, who had passed on the body transformation technology to Inoue Hidekazu, passed away.

Meanwhile, Inoue Hideka continues his quest for the Demon God, gradually going further and further down the path.