Chapter 1: World Without Magic
The last thing Megumin remembered was the brilliant flash of light, the deafening roar, and the exhilarating rush of power coursing through her veins. Ah, the sweet climax of Explosion magic! But something had gone terribly, terribly wrong. The blast radius had a… slight miscalculation.
As the searing heat engulfed her, Megumin's triumph turned to terror. Her skin blistered, her lungs seared, and her vision went white with pain. In that agonizing moment, her thoughts raced wildly. 'What is Kazuma doing right now? Will Aqua resurrect me? How long does it take? Will the others be alright without—'
Her consciousness winked out.
When awareness returned, it came with a cacophony of unfamiliar sensations. Megumin's eyes fluttered open, immediately stringing from an acrid haze seeping through a crack in a grimy window. The air felt thick, almost solid, and carried with it stenches should couldn't even begin to identify. She found herself sprawled on a hard floor in a dingy, cramped froom that bore no resemblance to anywhere in Axel.
"Where… am I?"
Megumin's throat felt parched and raw, as if she'd been gargling sand. She pushed herself up, surprised to find her legs steady beneath her. After casting Explosion magic, she was usually left sprawled on the ground, utterly drained.
Her gaze fell upon a cracked mirror hanging off the wall. Megumin studied her reflection, taking in the familiar contours of her body. Her scarlet robe was gone, replaced by strange, drab clothing she didn't recognise. The face staring back at her was undoubtedly hers–but something was off. Her vibrant crimson eyes, once a source of pride and power, were now a dull, ordinary brown.
What sorcery is this? Megumin instinctively struck a dramatic pose, one hand on her hip and the other gesturing grandly at her reflection. "Have I been transported to some alternate realm by the backlash of my own magnificent Explosion?!"
Megumin's voice echoed in the empty room, her dramatic declaration met with silence. She lowered her arms slowly, the weight of solitude settling over her. Her crimson eyes—no, her now-brown eyes—darted around the space, taking in the details. The room was small and decrepit, with peeling wallpaper and a musty smell that tickled her nose. A rickety bed sat in one corner, its sheets rumpled and stained. A wardrobe, its paint chipped and faded, stood against the opposite wall. Megumin approached it cautiously, half-expecting a monster to burst out.
She flung the wardrobe doors open with a flourish. "Reveal your secrets, mysterious cabinet!"
Instead of monsters or magical artifacts, she found… clothes. Megumin pulled out a garment, holding it at arm's length. It was a plain shirt, devoid of any magical sigils or enchantments. She pressed it against her body, frowning as she realised it would fit her perfectly.
"How peculiar," she muttered, tossing the shirt aside. "These garments lack the flair befitting a Crimson Demon, yet the seem tailored to my form."
Her gaze fell upon a small, rectangular object on the wardrobe's bottom shelf. Megumin snatched it up, her eyes widening with recognition.
"Aha! My adventurer card!"
But as she examined it closer, her excitement faded. THe card bore her name—Megumin—but everything else was wrong. An unfamiliar surname followed her given name, and the birthdate listed made no sense. Most perplexing of it all was the location: Neo Tokyo.
"Neo… Tokyo?" Megumin furrowed her brow. "Is that some newly discovered dungeon? Or perhaps a realm I've yet to conquer with my explosive prowess?"
She slipped the strange card into her pocket and turned back to the wardrobe. Something else caught her eye. A sleek rectangular object lay on the shelf, its surface smooth and dark.
Megumin picked it up gingerly, turning it over in her hands. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen in her world. No visible runes, no magical aura, yet it clearly wasn't a simple slab of glass or metal. She held it up to the light.
Perhaps a scrying mirror? Or a sealed grimoire?
"Reveal your secrets, artifact!"
Nothing happened. Megumin's brow furrowed.
"Reveal your secrets, stubborn artifact!" She shook the device vigorously. "I, Megumin, command you to awaken!"
Still nothing. She tapped the smooth surface, muttering all manner of incantations under her breath. Just as she was about it to declare it a dud, the screen blazed to life. Megumin yelped, nearly fumbling the device in her surprise.
"A-ha! It responds to the touch of a true archmage!"
Her triumph was short-lived. Strange symbols and images flashed across the screen, each more bewildering than the last. Megumin jabbed at the glowing shapes, her confusion growing with each new display of incomprehensible information.
"What manner of encryption is this? Even the most coveted grimoires pale in comparison to your mysteries, glowing rectangle!"
Clearly, the magic of this realm was beyond even her considerable expertise. She had to gather more intelligence before hoping to master it.
After several more futile attempts to unlock the device's secrets, Megumin sighed in defeat. She set the device aside, her gaze drifting to the door. What lay beyond this strange room? Surely the world outside held answers to her predicament.
The thought of venturing into an unknown realm, while daunting, sent a thrill of excitement through her. Was this not the very essence of what it meant to be an adventurer? To boldly stride into the unknown, whatever perils awaited?
Curiosity finally got the better of her. Megumin rose to her feet, squared her shoulders, and strode towards the door. With a dramatic flourish, she flung it open, ready to face whatever strange world awaited her.
But nothing could have prepared her for the assault on her senses.
Her eyes watered and her lungs burned. She coughed, only to inhale more of the tainted air—which was thick with a noxious grey haze. Through teary eyes, she saw strange metal contraptions roaring past on black stone paths, belching more of the foul smoke into the air. Towering structures of glass and steel stretched impossibly high into the sky, their tops lost in the murky gloom above.
Megumin doubled over. Her eyes stung, and each breath felt like inhaling fire. She grasped for her staff on instinct, but her summons were met with no response. People hurried past her, their faces obscured by strange masks, barely sparing her a glance.
What is this place? Where has my magic gone? My power?
A hand grabbed her arm, pulling her back into the relative safety of the building. An older woman, her face creased with concern behind a translucent mask, pressed a similar device into Megumin's hands.
"Are you crazy, girl?" the woman said. "You can't go out there without protection. Put this on, quick!"
Megumin regarded the strange object in her hands, examining it with a mixture of confusion and fascination. It was a contraption of black rubber and glass, with strange cylindrical protrusions that wouldn't look out of place on a monster from the depths of a dungeon.
She turned it over in her hands, wondering what manner of arcane artifact this was. Despite her initial bewilderment, she couldn't help but feel a tingle of excitement. The mask's ominous appearance stirred something within her chunnibyou soul.
"Behold!" Megumin said, holding the mask aloft. "A helm fit for the Crimson Demon clan! Surely, this mystic device shall shield me from the miasma that plagues this realm!"
The woman stared at her, deadpan as Kazuma often was. It was hard to measure her expression through the mask, but Megumin saw the woman's eyes narrow.
"Just… just put it on, okay?" the woman said. Whether with exasperation or concern Megumin could not say.
Megumin fumbled with the unfamiliar object, ignoring the judgemental gaze of the woman. After a few seconds, she managed to secure it over her nose and mouth. The straps scratched against her ears uncomfortably, and the muddy visor settled before her eyes. As she took her first filtered breath, the relief was immediate, though the acrid taste of the air still lingered.
"Magnificent!" Her eyes gleamed with renewed vigour. "With this ethereal visage, I shall strike fear into the hearts of my foes!" She struck a dramatic pose, one hand on her hip and the other adjusting the mask.
The woman just shook her head and hurried away, leaving Megumin alone once more.
Megumin stood in the doorway, her initial bravado faltering as she gazed out at the scene before her. This was no place for a Crimson Demon, at least not yet.
She retreated to her room, closing the door behind her. "This realm requires more study before I can conquer it." Her eyes lingered upon the mysterious glowing rectangle she'd abandoned earlier. Perhaps it held the key to understanding this bizarre world. With a determined nod, Megumin settled cross-legged on the floor, the device in her lap. "Very well, inscrutable artifact. You and I shall become well acquainted until I formulate a plan worthy of my genius!"
Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. Slowly, painfully, Megumin began to piece together the horrifying truth. This was no alternate realm or magical prison. This was… the future? A world so polluted and dystopian that it made even the most desolate wastelands of her own world seem like paradise.
And worst of all? She was dreadfully, agonizingly… normal.
As Megumin grappled with her new circumstances, the glowing rectangle—a "smartphone," she learned—became both her greatest ally and her most frustrating enemy. After countless hours of poking, prodding, and accidental activations, she stumbled upon a treasure trove of information: the internet.
"Behold! A library vaster than any in my world, contained within this tiny device!" Yet, there was no time for jubilation, for this world was a realm of horrors beyond even her darkest imaginings.
The very sky and earth seemed to have turned against humanity. Storms of unimaginable fury ravaged lands, while seas rose to devour entire cities. Nature had become a vengeful god, punishing mortals for their hubris.
But nature wasn't the true enemy. Looming over all were entities more terrifying than any Demon King: the mega-corporations. These were no mere merchant guilds or royal treasuries. They were vast, invisible empires that seemed to exist everywhere and nowhere at once.
Megumin struggled to comprehend their nature. They had no castles, no armies marching under their banner. Instead, their power flowed through wires and signals, controlling the very air people breathed and the food they ate. Their names were like cryptic incantations that everyone knew but few understood, each wielding influence that would make the mightiest of wizards tremble.
These corporate behemoths didn't conquer lands with swords or magic. Their weapons were stranger still: money that existed only as numbers in glowing screens, information that flowed like water yet could topple kingdoms, and machines that thought faster than any human mind.
"How does one fight such an enemy?" Megumin's voice was tinged with a mix of awe and fear. "No explosion could shatter their invisible towers. No heroic charge could breach a fortress that didn't exist."
It was a form of domination so complete, so insidious, that it made the ambitions of her world's Demon King seem almost quaint in comparison.
But amidst the deluge of information, one rather dull fact had made itself front and center: in this world, education was mandatory for someone of her apparent age. And so, with great reluctance and no small amount of trepidation, Megumin found herself enrolled in a local high school.
School became her new reality, a far cry from the magical academy of her youth. Here, students huddled over seemingly larger 'smartphones', absorbing information about a world that made less and less sense to Megumin with each passing day.
Her classmates found her odd, with her archaic speech patterns and tendency to strike dramatic poses. All except one–Hana, a kind-hearted girl who seemed to find Megumin's eccentricities amusing rather than off-putting.
"Don't worry about it," Hana whispered to her after class. "Everyone's a little weird when they first transfer. You'll fit in soon enough."
Megumin nodded, grateful for the kindness, but inside she felt a deep ache. She didn't want to fit in. She just wanted to go home.
The time not spent struggling to adapt to this world, Megumin found herself spending long hours reminiscing on the party she left behind. But they wouldn't want to see her mope around. She was a crimson demon! She would not falter at the first hurdles!
That being said, even the simplest tasks often left her baffled. Vending machines were a particular source of frustration—she spent nearly an hour one day trying to coax the metal golem to dispense its potions, only to realise she needed to insert money first.
The food, too, was a constant source of misery. Processed and packaged, it bore little resemblance to even the humble meals she enjoyed with her family. It seemed nobody knew how to hunt for food in this world—not that she had ever managed to spot a single bird or fish outside. Drab, tasteless, pale pink blocks of 'nutrient bars' were the choice food for the denizens of this world.
But the hardest part for her to cope with was the loss of her explosion magic. Every day, Megumin would attempt to cast spells, growing increasingly desperate as nothing happened. She would stand on the school roof, a staff—a broom she had borrowed from the janitor's closet—in hand, chanting the words that had once brought forth devastation.
"Darkness blacker than black and darker than dark, I beseech thee, combine with my deep crimson!" she cried out, her mask-muffled voice echoing across the smog-filled sky. "The time of awakening cometh! Justice, fallen upon the infallible boundary, appear now as an intangible distortion! Dance, dance, dance! I desire for my torrent of power a destructive force: a destructive force without equal! Return all creation to cinders, and come from the abyss! EXPLOSION!"
Nothing happened. No earth-shattering boom, no blinding light, not even a spark. Megumin collapsed to her knees. "Why?" she said to herself. "Why won't it work?"
"Kazuma… what should I do?"
It was one of these days that Hana found her, curled up in a corner of the roof, her face buried in her knees.
"Megumin?" Not receiving a response, Hana approached, slow and cautious. "Is that you? Are you okay?"
Megumin looked up through her mask. For once, she didn't have the energy to put on her usual bravado. "No," she said softly. "I'm not okay. I…" She hugged her knees tighter to her chest. "I don't belong here, Hana."
Her gaze drifted to the smog-filled sky, and she swallowed hard before continuing. "This world, it's all wrong. There's no magic, no adventure, just… smoke and machines and endless grey."
Hana sat down next to her, placing a hand on Megumin's shoulder. "I know it can be tough being the new kid," Hana said. "But it gets better, I promise. Neo Tokyo isn't so bad once you get used to it. We have some pretty cool stuff too, you know."
Megumin managed a weak smile, hidden beneath that mask. "Like what?"
"Well…" Hana thought for a moment. "Oh! Have you heard about the new game everyone's talking about? Yggdrasil?"
Megumin's ears perked up at that. "Game? What manner of game could possibly capture the attention of the masses in such a dreary world?"
"It's a kind of super-advanced and immersive DMMO-RPG," Hana said. She saw the confused look on Megumin's face and added, "It stands for Dive Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. They say it's like stepping into another world entirely, and the best part is that you get to play with other people! You can be warriors, mages, and all sorts of wacky fantasy stuff that you like to talk about."
For the first time in months, Megumin felt a spark of genuine interest. "Mages, you say? Tell me more about this… Yggdrasil."
As Hana explained the basics of the game, Megumin's mind raced with possibilities. Could this be her chance to reclaim some semblance of her former power? To escape, even briefly, from this oppressive world of smoke and steel?
It wouldn't be the same. She'd have to start from scratch, learn everything anew. And there's no guarantee she'd ever wield Explosion magic again.
But as she looked around at the grey, lifeless world that had become her prison, Megumin knew she had to try. Even if it was just a game, even if it was a pale imitation of her former life, it was something. A chance to feel alive again. To walk the path of explosions once more.
The next few weeks were a whirlwind of research, scrimping, and saving every meagre yen she could get her hands on. Megumin took on odd jobs after school, sold off non-essential belongings, and even considered pawning one of her kidneys—before Hana talked her out of it—to afford the necessary equipment for Yggdrasil.
"I swear," she declared to the virtual heavens, "I will master this world's magic system. This… Yggdrasil. I will climb to the highest levels, learn the most powerful spells, and once again become the greatest wielder of Explosion magic this or any other world has ever seen!"