Konosuba: A Tale of This Beautiful World

Vol. 1 Short Story Compilation

Tale of a Broken Future

The girl stood up, she continued petting her familiar; a memento of her late sister. She looked out to the horizon and saw a figure approaching.

"Finally, she's here." Her familiar hissed loudly, its black fur standing on end.

The approaching figure stopped.

"You know, it's not good to keep a Crimson Demon waiting," the girl said.

"You'll have to forgive me, unlike you, I have to actually travel the distance," the stranger replied.

"…you'll pay for what you've done."

"Perhaps, but it won't be by you; be it her family or friends, I'll erase every last trace of her!"

"Despicable…to think you're the Princess of this country."

The princess removed the cloak covering her; she was dressed in full battle gear–its surface scarred and heavily worn by battles gone. She gripped the hilt of her blade at ready.

"I'll end this before you can get a single spell off!"

"You underestimate me, Princess."

With a snap of her finger, the girl caused a massive summoning circle to appear before her. The Princess held steady, waiting for her opportunity to strike.

"Come to me, my servant!" the girl yelled.

The summoning circle released a dark and imposing figure, a Duke of Hell.

"Impossible!" the Princess shouted.

"Like I said, you underestimate me," the Crimson Demon remarked. "Go now, my devil servant, finish this wretched princess; avenge me!"

The devil leapt forward and engaged the Princess; for several minutes the two traded blows in a harrowing dance of life and death; two heralds of the reaper itself, pining for each other's defeat. Finally, the Princess triumphed over the devil using her one-shot, sure-kill move, vanquishing the evil entity back into the depths of Hell.

"It's over; your servant is dead and soon, so will you!"

"Not by a longshot."

The Princess dashed forward, closing the distance in seconds; she swung her blade at the Mage.

"Got you!" she yelled.

But her blade cut through the air; the girl had teleported. As the Princess turned around, the Mage finished her cast.

"INFERNO!"

Fire engulfed the Princess. The girl smiled; she knew the woman who defeated her sister wouldn't be killed so easily. A vicious wind ripped through the wall of flames, extinguishing them at once; the Princess stood in the center of the charred earth, her once-shining armor now blackened, singed from the magical flames.

"To think that you would suffer so little damage from such an attack, truly, you are a worthy opponent."

The Princess, now fuming, leapt forward and slashed once more, but once again, the girl disappeared.

"Where are you?!" she shouted angrily.

"Right here," the girl replied, appearing in front of the Princess.

"Sure-kill Strike!" the Princess yelled.

Again, the Mage thwarted her attack with Teleport; however, the Princess was a skilled and experienced fighter; she fought against another Crimson Demon and bested her, she would not lose to another. Preempting the girl's action, the Princess whipped around and slashed, guiding the tip of her blade across the girl's chest once she reappeared.

"Ahhh!"

The girl screamed in pain as her blood spilled to ground. The Princess–still cautious–approached her as she lay writhing.

"You're defeated, Mage; accept your death." The Princess raised her blade.

As the girl stared in horror, a large Hellcat attacked the Princess; it was the girl's familiar. While the two struggled, the girl knew what she had to do; she quickly teleported away.

"I'll finish you!" she cried out.

The Mage began her chant; it was an unusual one, belonging to a magic class that was useless, but one the girl felt for dearly; the spell her late sister was known for. An enormous magic circle opened beneath the Princess and the girl's familiar. Instantly, the Princess looked towards the Mage, her eyes wide with shock.

"No, stop, you'll—"

However, the Princess' words fell on deaf ears. The chant was done, and the girl unleashed the attack spell.

"EXPLOOOOSSSIOON!" the girl yelled.

The destructive blast engulfed everything; the princess, the girl's familiar, even the girl herself. As the blinding light surrounded her, she smiled.

"I'll see you soon, sister."

I lowered the papers in my hand and stared at Arue.

"What do you think, Yunyun?" she said, a smug expression on her face.

"Umm, there are a lot of questions I have."

Arue sat up in her chair. "Oh? Ask away then."

"Well, for starters, why don't they have actual names?"

Arue scoffed. "It's a draft, Yunyun; I'll add them in later."

"Ok, well, there's something else," I continued, "like why did the Princess kill the girl's sister—"

"Well—"

"And why did a Crimson Demon decide to attack a princess?! Why would a Crimson Demon summon a devil–and such a high-ranking one at that, and—"

"Hey!" Arue interrupted. "Ok, I get it; there are a lot of questions. I get your concerns, let me explain."

I stared at her, awaiting her explanation.

Arue cleared her throat as she sat back in her seat. "First of all, this is clearly a work of fiction; none of it's supposed to be taken seriously, Yunyun; that much should've been obvious. I say this because I can see you're trying to draw parallels–the Crimson Demons would never betray the capital and vice-versa. Also, a Hellcat?! Come on, Yunyun, those things don't even exist. Lastly, a Crimson Demon known for Explosion magic; don't make me laugh. Honestly, Yunyun…"

I stood with my mouth agape. "Are-are you sure this is a work of fiction; y-you don't have some ancient power of premonitions or something, right?"

Arue narrowed her eyes. "Of course I do, Yunyun; it's why I keep my seal on–haven't I told you this before?"

I laughed nervously.

"Anyways, as far as this being fiction or not, it's definitely fiction; something like this couldn't possibly happen."

"R-Right."