The night was still.
No wind.
No sounds.
Only the silence before the storm.
Before even the sun touched the peaks of the Forgotten Dragon Mountains, before the first birds dared to chirp—the Demon Lords and their generals were already awake.
The Kingdom of the Forgotten Dragon was quiet, but the training grounds… were roaring.
The soldiers of Milim's army—once proud warriors—stood in lines, shaking, eyes wide, hearts pounding.
Because they knew what was coming.
They had seen what Yujiro Hanma could do.
But today... they were about to feel it.
Yujiro walked in from the eastern archway, shirtless, barefoot, wearing loose training pants. His body looked carved from war itself—each step he took made the ground groan under his weight.
The moment he appeared, every single person in the line straightened like a lightning bolt struck them.
He walked silently past all of them—his gaze sharp, soul-piercing, terrifying. Then he stopped right in front of them.
"Good... you're awake."
His voice echoed.
"Today begins conditioning. No magic. No healing. No aura. Just your body."
"You've relied on your power for too long. Now you'll rely on what's real."
He paused, scanning them all.
"Run. Ten miles. Don't stop. When you get back... run to that mountain."
He pointed toward the distance.
They turned to look—eyes widened.
The mountain was miles away, its top covered in clouds.
"Then run back. Carry rocks. Carry metal. Crawl through volcanic ash. You will bleed. You will cry."
"This is only the beginning."
They all took off.
Guy Crimson ran with pride but gritted teeth. He never thought a simple run would burn like this.
"What the hell… how do mortals do this every day…?"
Rimuru, in human form, was gasping by mile three.
"I… I can't regenerate... this hurts... so bad…"
Benimaru was ahead, but his legs felt like lead.
Shion, trying to keep pace, had never run without skill-enhancing spells. She stumbled but kept pushing.
Luminous was nearly in tears, holding her stomach.
"I feel like my insides are breaking… what is this pain?!"
Hinata gritted her teeth. She'd trained hard before. But not like this. Not ever like this.
"No healing... no rest... This... is what it's like... to be weak…"
They returned from the first run… only to see massive rocks, some taller than them, laid out on the ground.
Yujiro stood there, arms crossed.
"Carry it. Run again."
"Tie these chains. Drag them."
"No stopping. No complaining."
Velzard tried to lift a rock the size of a wagon—and her arms shook.
The True Dragon of Ice was sweating. Her perfect form crumbling. She growled in frustration.
"This… is ridiculous…!"
Rudra, beside her, dropped to one knee.
"My pride is dying faster than I am…"
Velgrynd refused to show weakness, but her arms were trembling.
"We've fought gods. Why does this feel harder?"
Frey was gasping, sweat dripping into her eyes.
"I trained with him before… but this… this is worse…"
Carrion yelled mid-run.
"MY LEGS ARE GONE!! I CAN'T FEEL MY LEGS!!"
Dino was crawling.
"Why… why did I come here again…?"
Leon Cromwell remained quiet. Face stern. But his body screamed. Every step burned. Every breath stung.
Yujiro led them to the next trial.
A volcanic mountain.
Hot winds. Sharp rocks. Ash clouds.
"Climb it," he said. "With your hands."
Veldora tried to joke.
"Heh… I've seen worse. This is nothing!"
He climbed five feet. Fell.
"...okay this might actually kill me."
Luminous was coughing. Her hands were torn. Blood dripping.
Hinata, halfway up, looked down and whispered.
"This is what the weak feel like... their bones… their limits..."
Milim shouted from the top.
"COME ON SLOWPOKES! THIS IS FUN!!"
They all wanted to throw a rock at her.
As the sun dipped, their bodies fell.
Broken. Bleeding. Covered in ash, sweat, and pain.
Some had dislocated joints.
Some had bruised ribs.
Everyone had cuts and scratches.
But no one was allowed to heal.
They collapsed on the ground.
Groaning. Crying. Screaming. Vomiting.
Louis turned to Luminous.
"... are we dead?"
"No," she gasped, "But I wish we were."
Shion cried silently. Not from pain—but from the feeling of weakness.
Diablo lay flat, whispering.
"My... beautiful... skin... it's... ruined…"
Draguel, the timekeeper, clenched his fists.
"So this is what mortals endure… no wonder they rise… they have to."
Rimuru, coughing, looked at his shaking hands.
"I thought I knew what it meant… to be strong."
"But I was wrong…"
Guy, finally breaking silence, chuckled painfully.
"This… hurts. I'm bleeding. I hate it."
"...but I want more."
They sat around the fire pit. No beds. No blankets. Just the stars.
Yujiro stood by a tree, arms crossed.
"Day one. You all survived."
"Barely."
"But maybe… just maybe… you're starting to understand."
They looked at him, tired, angry… but aware.
The titles didn't matter anymore.
Their pride was cracked.
Their egos buried in sweat and ash.
They were just people now.
Flesh. Bone. Heart. Will.
And for the first time…
They felt alive.
Day Eight.
The second week began not with a sunrise—but with screams.
Not of fear.
But pure pain.
The ground of the Forgotten Dragon Kingdom had been turned into a warzone.
Not of battle—but of rebirth.
The Demon Lords—once gods among mortals—were now crawling through dirt, bleeding, broken, exhausted... and still being pushed harder.
Before dawn, Yujiro Hanma walked into camp.
No shirt. No shoes. No sympathy.
Only that damn Dwargon wine bottle in hand.
He looked at them, some still lying in pain from the day before.
"Get up," he said coldly. "The weak die on day seven. The strong break on day fourteen."
No one dared to argue.
They limped to their feet, bruised, limping, shaking.
Week Two wasn't conditioning anymore.
Now… it was breaking them.
Yujiro had them do planks on unstable boulders, with two logs spinning underneath them, like grinding gears.
Hinata's arms trembled.
"I fought strong opponents with one hand… why can't I hold myself for ten minutes?!"
Luminous' arms gave out.
"AHHH—! My shoulder!"
She collapsed to the ground—face full of dust and pain.
Yujiro walked over.
"Get up."
"I... I can't," she whimpered.
He knelt beside her, whispering coldly.
"Then die."
That was it. He stood up and walked off.
And somehow… she got back up.
They had to sprint through a canyon filled with sharp bones and barbed wires, barefoot, blindfolded.
Carrion was limping, blood gushing from his foot.
"DAMN IT! It stabbed through my heel—!"
Dino, screaming, tripped over a spike.
"I JUST WANTED TO SLEEP TODAY!"
Velgrynd, gritting her teeth, ripped out a jagged shard from her thigh and kept going.
Trial 3: Water Torture
Yujiro tied ropes to each of them, then dragged them through an icy river.
They weren't allowed to float. They had to walk. Underwater. While carrying a rock.
Benimaru almost drowned twice.
Shion's lips turned blue.
Velzard—the ice queen herself—was shivering.
"What is this madness?! This is my element and it's killing me!"
Draguel, his arms shaking, kept walking, eyes determined.
"If I die… at least I'll die like a warrior…"
Veldora surfaced.
"I changed my mind—I don't miss you that much, Yujiro!!"
Yujiro threw another rock at him.
By Day 11, some started showing signs of mental collapse.
Louis was muttering to himself in the corner.
"Magic… magic… where is it… I want it back…"
Frey, laying on the ground after a failed squat lift, whispered:
"I once ruled armies… now I can't lift a tree branch…"
Leon, face down in the mud, didn't even move.
Not once in his life had he ever felt so… small.
Guy, bruised, bloody, sat beside Velzard that night.
"You know… I never realized how much I relied on my power."
"I always thought I understood humans. Their limits. Their pain."
He looked at his bandaged hands.
"But I didn't. Not even close."
Velzard, staring at the stars, nodded.
"I think that's why Yujiro is doing this."
"Not just to train us… but to humble us."
By Day 13, the unthinkable happened.
Guy Crimson—The Harbinger of Calamity—fell to his knees during the sandbag carry.
He collapsed face-first into the dirt.
He was wheezing. Trembling.
"This… can't be real…"
"I'm Guy freaking Crimson…"
He looked up at Yujiro with bloodshot eyes.
"Why… can't I move…?!"
Yujiro didn't even look at him.
"Because you're not strong."
"Not yet."
Through it all… one person never stopped smiling.
Milim Nava.
She was bruised, muddy, sweaty, scraped—but she never lost her spirit.
"COME ON GUY! GET UP! THIS IS FUN, RIGHT?!"
"RIMURU! YOU'RE ALMOST THERE!"
"SHION! THAT TREE DIDN'T KILL YOU! KEEP GOING!"
Yujiro watched her, nodding in satisfaction.
That night… they sat around the fire again.
Silence.
Not out of tension—
But mutual respect.
There were no lords.
No kings.
No gods.
Just people.
Covered in mud and blood.
Staring at the stars, thinking:
"Maybe… this is what true strength really is."
Yujiro stood by a tree again, sipping his wine.
"Week Two. You didn't die."
"Next week… you'll wish you had."
He turned.
"Good night."
And just like that… the second week ended.