Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 18/Epilogue

Synopsis
With the end of the coup d'état, Knight Leader urges Queen Elizard about the current situation about the millions of people experiencing magic for the first time. Elizard shows no worry about this, and instead focuses on retrieving Carissa. Meanwhile, Villian once more loses track of William in the aftermath, and Knight Leader is left to relay an assuring message to Villian about William returning after the war. In the Amakusa front, Saiji gathers his comrades for treating the wounded and soon asks Kanzaki Kaori about getting another debt to pay for Kamijou Touma. Laura Stuart then shows up in Elizard's horse, left with a backache after galloping across town. Carissa was thrown off a few kilometers from Buckingham Palace and realizes her pitiful state. There, she meets Fiamma of the Right, who reveals that the current conflict between France and Britain was his doing and the ensuing chaos in England is part of his plan to acquire a magical artifact deep within Buckingham Palace. Kamijou Touma manages to intercept an attack that would have finished off Carissa, but as the peculiar "other" right hand of Fiamma begins to fizzle away, Fiamma uses the device he stole from Buckingham Palace to summon none other than Index. He reveals the device as an external controller for the John's Pen inside Index, which Fiamma soon realizes is far from perfect due to "damage" John's Pen may have received. Shortly after the encounter, Fiamma leaves, heading to his next destination in Russia.

The Annihilatus' leader Vasilisa voices her concern over the extending influence of the Roman Catholic Church to the Russian Orthodox Church. Her companion Sasha Kreutzev wonders if it is related to the immense amount of Telesma in her body. However, Vasilisa responds by destroying important documents and declaring her decision to oppose the Russian Orthodox Church.

After letting Sasha to escape from the Annihilatus' headquarters, Vasilisa confronts a fellow Annihilatus operative named Skogsfru using fairy tale-themed magic based on her namesake. Meanwhile, a nun dressed in yellow intercepts Sasha before she could be captured by pursuing members of Annihilatus. This nun named Vento of the Front warns Sasha of the chaos caused by Russia's zealous offensive against neighboring countries and recommends her to travel to the country of Elizalina to escape the manhunt.

Touma's allies gather around the unconscious Index. Neither Stiyl who was Index's previous guardian nor Laura Stuart and Elizard who allowed defense mechanisms to be installed in Index knows how to deal with this pressing issue. Touma, however, sees that Fiamma's defeat is the only option and decides to travel to Russia to face Fiamma.

Characters
By order of appearance
 * Elizard
 * Knight Leader
 * Villian
 * Kanzaki Kaori
 * Tatemiya Saiji
 * Nomozaki
 * Isahaya
 * Tsushima
 * Itsuwa
 * Laura Stuart
 * Carissa
 * Fiamma of the Right
 * Kamijou Touma
 * Index Librorum Prohibitorum
 * Sasha Kreutzev
 * Vasilisa
 * Vento of the Front
 * Stiyl Magnus

New Characters

 * Skogsfru

Locations

 * London
 * Buckingham Palace

New Locations

 * Annihilatus headquarters

New Abilities

 * Vasilisa fairy tale magic - Vasilisa
 * Sleipnir - Annihilatus operatives

Referbacks

 * Ever since Sasha's body is used as a vessel for the Archangel Gabriel as Misha Kreutzev in Volume 4, she has been reported to have a large deposit of Telesma in her body.

Quotes

 * Fiamma of the Right: “I am Fiamma of the Right. If that isn’t enough of a hint for you, then you really need to rebuild your intelligence agency from the ground up.”
 * Vasilisa: “Yay!! I’ve made an enemy of quite a bit of the world!! Now I don’t have to listen to the church’s orders, so I can allllllways be on your side, Sasha-chan!”
 * Touma: “I’ll get help on my own. I’m headed to Russia to go punch out that bastard Fiamma.”