Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 20/Chapter 1

Synopsis
October 30. Shiage and Rikou are traveling by car somewhere in Western Russia and are trying to reach border of the Elizalina Alliance of Independent Nations. With the odds stacked against them, Shiage plans to look for "something" he can use to negotiate with Academy City so Rikou can be saved.

News of the war against Academy City eventually reaches the two via radio, but Shiage decides to focus more on getting money by robbing a nearby gas station store to get some money to survive. However, Shiage finds himself stepping into a robbery in progress, and he manages to get more supplies than expected after Shiage shot the robbers and rescued the store clerk.

Accelerator is hiding inside a high-speed military convoy on an international railroad line that spans across Europe and Asia. With Last Order still struggling beside him, Accelerator thinks about the war and suspects Academy City's actions as having an ulterior motive like during the invasion of Avignon, since he knows that Academy City would normally try to avoid engaging in war if possible. Last Order, still weak from recent events in Academy City, tries to engage in conversation with him, but it only brings pain to see her in such a condition, to the point of cursing the people who decide to fight each other at the meantime. Because of this, Accelerator convinces himself that following the words of the being known as Aiwass would help save Last Order. Soon, Accelerator hears the sound of commotion from the nearby coaches outside. As he blindfolds Last Order to prevent her from seeing the inevitable carnage, he breaks out of the coach and confronts what he assumes are from Academy City, wearing white suits of armor designed for speed. Regardless, Accelerator uses his powers to tear through the Academy City soldiers in white, causing the Russian soldiers onlooking the encounter to tremble. The ensuing chaos soon exposes the contents of a briefcase, which include pieces of parchment with spells and magic circles written in ink. After remembering the mission involving retrieving him and Last Order back in Academy City and Aiwass' words regarding "another set of laws", Accelerator's interest is piqued.

Kamijou Touma finally reached Russia, and his school uniform provided by Academy City allowed him to adapt better in the frigid environment. After hearing from Queen Elizard about the ongoing war, Touma can't help but think that both sides, Russia and Academy City, had something happening behind the scenes that made the war possible. In any case, Touma saw Fiamma of the Right as the cause of the war, and decides that stopping him will end the war. Meanwhile, however, he has to deal with an unlikely companion: Lessar, who decides to join his side since his loss would be disadvantageous to England. Touma, however, is unconvinced that Lessar would be of help to him, even as she boasts about "upgrades" in her arsenal. Regardless, he tells Lessar that he will be using the movements of the Russian forces to gauge Fiamma's own movements, as he knows that the Russian alliance only exists to fill in the gap left by the three members of God's Right Seat that are now either dead or defected to other factions, as well as to conceal a secret plan that is more strongly magical in nature.

On Dover Strait, the Knights of England and the Church of England prepare a combined force for the war, and Kanzaki Kaori and Agnese Sanctis are on board one of many magically reinforced wooden vessels prepared by England against the Roman Catholic Church. After a short conversation about the British Halloween incident, Agnese soon receives an alert from fellow nun Agata about an attack by French magicians. Immediately, the sea turns white as salt creates a foothold for the French attackers, causing the ships to lose their mobility in the process. Kaori finds the English forces at a disadvantage, but she manages to properly enter the battlefield when one of the princesses of the British Royal Family, the one dressed in red, appears to assist the English front.

With some help from Lessar's knowledge in Russian, Touma finds out that Russian forces are building a base near the Elizalina border. Touma is unsure whether if it is deployed to attack Elizalina from a distance due to a lack of convenient aerial forces, but he is surprised when he sees magical constructs like horses made entirely out of metal (Sleipnirs) among the military equipment. Lessar soon reveals that there was a town where the base is currently located, and she thinks that the Sleipnirs are used to transfer political prisoners into concentration camps elsewhere. The involvement of civilians forces Touma to take action, but he decides not to take on the Russian forces directly.

Elsewhere, a Russian magician named Brassa P. Marhaisk joins others in watching over a caravan of political prisoners. The sight of HsB-02 planes delivering materials unsettles him and his companions, especially since the planes were used to turn parts of Avignon into seas of lava and magicians are unable to match their flight abilities due to a spell designed to counter flight. Soon, their fears are realized as part of the nearby terrain is seared by extreme heat. Afraid that an attack is going to target the caravan, Brassa and the others flee to safety, leaving behind the prisoners. Touma's plan to use Lessar's glove to grab a nearby HsB-02 and replicate the infamous attack by the planes in Avignon worked perfectly, although it cost Lessar her spiritual item. Taking no heed of Lessar's sacrifice, he begins rescuing the imprisoned villagers. However, some of the confused Russian people did not look at Touma as a rescuer and instead glared at a Japanese person who is Russian's current enemy, something that hurt Touma somehow.

Touma and Lessar later use one of the carriages to counter the Russian chill, and the latter would use the opportunity to try to seduce Touma, something that sent shivers down Itsuwa's spine back in Dover Strait. The seduction plan failed, however, and Lessar instead operated the carriage closer to the Russian army encampment, bringing them far enough to not be targeted by the enemy force's weapons. Touma then prepares himself, as the Russian army has a blind spot naturally created by Fiamma's magic plan that's hidden to his allies, something that works better for him compared to directly confronting soldiers wielding conventional weaponry.

In Moscow, the top figures of the Russian military are gathered about the current situation and the future actions towards Academy City. Although they know the challenge in fighting bigger nations that are supporting Academy City, the Russian military is still uncertain about what their enemy's intentions are. The idea of Academy City targeting Russia's missile silos, however, alarms them to the point of being willing to activate "something" related to a pile of documents known as the Kremlin Report.

Between the Lines
Because of a possibility of Russian artillery entering Academy City, classes throughout the city is suspended. Meanwhile, Japan itself is on a threat of attack from the fallout of the war, something that Academy City is trying to avoid only if Japan does not interfere. After learning of the outbreak of war from the Internet, Mikoto feels discomfort towards the current state of affairs, particularly towards Academy's current stand, which seems to be hiding something else.

However, one bigger thing that worries her the most is that Touma has been unreachable for some time since his last known location in London. The possibility that Touma is in danger in the middle of this war unsettles Mikoto.

Characters
By order of appearance
 * Hamazura Shiage
 * Takitsubo Rikou
 * Accelerator
 * Last Order
 * Kamijou Touma
 * Lessar
 * Kanzaki Kaori
 * Agnese Sanctis
 * Agata (voice-only)
 * Carissa
 * Itsuwa
 * Tatemiya Saiji
 * Misaka Mikoto

New Characters

 * Brassa P. Marhaisk

Locations

 * Russia
 * Snowy fields near Elizalina Alliance of Independent Nations
 * Kremlin
 * Academy City
 * Tokiwadai Dormitory

Abilities

 * Accelerator (ability) - Accelerator
 * Salt solidification magic (unnamed) - French magicians
 * Ground stabilization magic (unnamed) - Carissa
 * John's interception spell (referenced-only)

Referbacks

 * The Academy City invasion of Avignon is referenced several times in this chapter.

Quotes

 * Shiage: "This is a robbery. Put your hands up."
 * Last Order: "Let’s all eat meals together again, says Misaka as Misaka gives her proposal. Yomikawa’s Salisbury steak soup is really good, says Misaka as Misaka boasts."
 * Lessar: "Circle behind me!! Flip it up!! And forget all about the girls of the past!!"
 * Touma: "Hah hahhn!! I see. So you’re just one of those girls that says all sorts of things with a smile on her face while not knowing the meaning of any of the sexual terms she’s using!! As someone who has just a bit more experience with life, let me tell you that you’re saying some truly dangerous things!! You should be more careful!!"
 * Touma: "A fight against a professional soldier armed with a rifle and bombs isn’t the type of battle I should be fighting. Nor is a battle against a large group of Russian Orthodox magicians. I had just been thinking that things weren’t going as well as usual for me, but here’s where it starts. I’ve finally arrived at the stage that’s made for me."