It was a beautiful morning.
The sun rose above the Cardinal World, bathing every continent in golden light. Birds chirped, winds danced gently through forests and plains. It was peace. It was normal.
Too normal.
In Tempest, Rimuru sat quietly in his office, sipping tea. Diablo stood nearby, ever the faithful shadow. Benimaru trained with Goramu and the new recruits in the yard. Everything was routine—until it wasn't.
First, the wind stopped.
Then the birds.
A strange hum vibrated in the air. Magicules began to stir unnaturally, twitching like disturbed water.
"Something's off," Rimuru said, standing abruptly. He turned to Diablo. "Get everyone ready. We're going to Condition Zero."
Diablo's eyes narrowed. "Understood."
All across the world, mages, knights, and adventurers noticed it.
Spells misfired.
Magic circles flickered.
Even sacred artifacts buzzed as if rejecting the world.
Then, the sky screamed.
From east to west, north to south—everywhere—the sky tore open like old parchment, ripped by an invisible claw.
From these scars, Nullborns descended.
They didn't teleport. They didn't roar. They simply appeared, like living voids with pale white bodies, long claws, and eyeless heads. Silent. Cold. Empty.
A Nullborn landed in Tempest's central market. People froze. One brave soldier stepped forward, sword raised.
"HALT!"
The Nullborn didn't stop. It reached forward.
The soldier slashed—but the blade passed through like mist. The Nullborn touched his chest.
WHOOSH!
Blue light—his magic—was sucked from his body like mist into a vacuum. He dropped, pale, lifeless, like a puppet cut from its strings.
A scream tore the plaza.
"IT TOOK HIS MAGIC!!"
Rimuru, now in his battle coat, stood tall.
"Benimaru! Goramu! Diablo! Underground bunkers now. Get the civilians to safety!"
"YES, LORD RIMURU!"
Benimaru barked orders, rallying troops.
"Form groups! Protect the civilians! If they touch you, you LOSE your magic! FIGHT WITH FISTS IF YOU MUST!"
Souei zipped between rooftops, guiding people.
Shion shouted to the soldiers: "Don't let them TOUCH YOU! Fight with your body, not your spells!"
In the snowy heart of the Ice Continent, Guy Crimson stood atop his obsidian spire.
"Rain. Misery. They're here."
Dozens of Nullborn landed like meteors around the castle.
Rain slashed at one with twin blades. No damage.
Misery sent a wind blast. It barely moved.
Rain got too close.
"AHHH!"
The creature grazed her arm, and instantly her aura dimmed.
"They're draining us!" Misery yelled.
Guy's eyes flared. "So. This is it. What Yujiro warned us about."
Velzard appeared beside him.
"They're spreading fast."
Guy cracked his knuckles.
"Then we stop them the old-fashioned way."
With a shout, Guy punched one of them so hard it exploded like glass.
The Holy Knights of Ruberios stood in formation. Hinata, Louis, Gunter, and Luminous watched as Nullborns fell like judgment.
"Magic's not responding!" a knight screamed.
"They're too fast!"
Hinata clashed with one, only to watch her divine sword dim.
"They devour magic," she muttered.
Luminous descended like a goddess, her expression grim.
"All units! Switch to martial combat. Don't rely on spells. Use steel."
Gunter shielded a knight from a lunge.
"These things are made to destroy our kind."
The stone halls of Dwargon rang with sirens.
Gazel roared orders. "Shield wall! Form up! No casters forward!"
The Nullborns blasted through tunnels like rats made of nightmares.
A captain yelled, "They're draining the guards, Sire! Our barriers do nothing!"
Gazel's axe met the creature's body—and it crumpled.
"FIGHT WITH MUSCLE!"
From the sky, Draguel dove down, his cloak trailing energy.
"What in the world is this?."
From the Eastern Empire to Sarion, from Falmouth to the borders of El Dorado, the Nullborns attacked.
Cities fell silent.
Priests wept as their magic failed.
Families cried as soldiers were drained like wine from a goblet.
No one knew what these things were.
No one knew where they came from.
No one knew the name Atraval.
But everyone knew one thing:
Magic had died.
Only one place was untouched.
The Kingdom of the Forgotten Dragon.
Yujiro sat alone, sipping from a wooden cup, eyes closed.
Milim burst in. "Uncle the world is being attacked, im going to help."
Yujiro looked at her.
"Then go. And remember what I taught you."
She nodded. "With strength."
And vanished.
Atraval, watching from a shadow realm, smiled.
"Not yet, Yujiro. But soon..."
Back in Tempest, Rimuru punched a Nullborn with a shockwave.
"We fight with fists now! With bones! With will!"
In the Ice Continent, Guy spun through a dozen Nullborns like a hurricane.
"This is a war against our weakness. And I won't lose."
In Ruberios, Hinata yelled:
"REMEMBER YOUR TRAINING! WE ARE MORE THAN MAGIC!"
Across the world, the Demon Lords, their armies, their people, all stood.
No magic.
No spells.
Just grit.
Just strength.
The war had begun.
And Yujiro's warning rang in their heads:
"One day... you will lose everything you rely on. That day, only your fists will speak."
That day... was now.
The fight continued throughout the day.
From dawn until dusk, the skies across the Cardinal World were filled with screams, burning winds, and chaos.
The Nullborn kept falling like rain from the sky—no portals, no warnings, just tears ripping through the atmosphere. It was as if the heavens themselves were breaking open, vomiting horrors never meant to exist. By sundown, a third of the entire population had lost their magic. Entire cities stood silent, not because the enemy left... but because there was no one left to scream.
These things—they didn't bleed, they didn't burn, and they didn't speak. They only took.
Every time they touched someone, you could hear the sound of magic being ripped away—like a thousand glass shards being shattered at once inside a soul. Civilians collapsed, powerless. Soldiers wept as their spells fizzled to nothing.
The strongest spells, the rarest artifacts, the most ancient skills—all useless. The world had changed in one day.
In Tempest, Rimuru's underground bunkers were full to the brim. Families huddled in fear. Babies cried. Warriors paced, fists clenched, waiting for orders that might never come.
In Ruberios, entire knight battalions had been reduced to hand-to-hand fighters. Hinata, her blade stained with black blood, gave orders rapidly as Luminous herself stood at the frontline, punching Nullborns into the ground with pure holy might.
In the Ice Continent, Rain and Misery were bruised and bleeding. Guy Crimson and Velzard unleashed blow after blow with their bare fists, learning the same brutal lesson as everyone else: fists now mattered more than spells.
In Dwargon, fire and metal rang as King Gazel fought beside his people, holding the line. In El Dorado, Leon led hand-to-hand charges. In the Barren Lands, Draguel, Glassord and Dino became wild savages, fists soaked in sweat, taking down Nullborns like beasts in the dust.
But only one kingdom stood untouched—the Forgotten Dragon Kingdom.
Yujiro stood silently on a cliff, arms folded, watching the horizon.
He didn't move.
He didn't speak.
He simply watched.
Then... just as suddenly as it began... the Nullborn retreated. They didn't vanish—they ascended, melting into the sky like ash in reverse.
Silence followed.
A silence more terrifying than war.
Hours later, the Demon Lords gathered.
A war council was held in Guy Crimson castle in the Ice Continent. The sky above still glowed red from the fires burning below.
The table was wide, cold, black, and surrounded by chaos incarnate.
Rimuru sat with Diablo and Benimaru behind him. Veldora stood close, arms crossed. Luminous came with Hinata and Louis. Velgrynd leaned against a frozen pillar. Draguel, Dino, Leon, Carrion, Frey, Milim, Rudra, Velzard… all were present.
No words were spoken at first.
Just tired eyes.
The world had shifted forever.
Guy was the first to break the silence.
"So this... was what Yujiro was warning us about."
He leaned forward, red eyes glowing with fury.
"A day when all our magic would become worthless."
Rimuru took a deep breath.
"Tempest is in shambles. Half of our soldiers are empty shells now. Even our strongest couldn't use skills... only fists worked."
Diablo bowed his head, silent.
Luminous spoke next, her voice sharp but shaky.
"In Ruberios, the Divine Orders failed. Holy energy meant nothing. We fought them with bare knuckles and spears."
Hinata, bruised and bloodied, added:
"I punched one until my arm cracked. That's the only way it died."
Draguel nodded grimly.
"The Barren Lands fared better than most. Dino, Glassord and I… we fought the way Yujiro taught us. Barehanded. Grit. Muscle. Pain."
Dino yawned.
"I hate fighting. But I hate dying more."
Leon slammed his palm on the table.
"El Dorado lost a third of its population. They couldn't even defend themselves. Magic disappeared like fog in sunlight."
Carrion, growling, snarled:
"We're warriors. We adapt. But damn it… no one was prepared for this."
Frey added:
"My skies burned. The winged were dragged from the air. It was like the wind betrayed us."
Then came Milim's turn. She blinked and looked around confused.
"No monsters came to my kingdom."
Silence.
Rimuru turned, stunned.
"What?"
Guy narrowed his eyes.
"Repeat that."
Milim, tilting her head innocently:
"They didn't come. I just heard rumors, so I came to help. But my kingdom wasn't attacked."
The room exploded with murmurs.
Draguel, cautious, said:
"You don't think Yujiro sent them… do you?"
Tension. Eyes glanced. Accusations hovered in the air.
Velgrynd was the first to speak.
"No. That's not him. He trained us. He warned us. But he's not the type to send monsters."
Velzard added:
"Yujiro is strength—pure and honest. Brutal, yes, but never deceptive."
Veldora rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Or maybe… they feared him. These monsters knew who he was. Knew what he could do."
Leon slammed his fist down.
"And they knew they couldn't win against him. Because he's the only being who never needed magic."
Rimuru looked down, whispering:
"And now… his teachings make sense."
Guy grinned bitterly.
"We were lucky he trained us, even if we didn't listen. If he hadn't, we'd all be dead."
Carrion stood.
"So what now? The next wave might be worse."
Frey sighed.
"Half the world's probably already lost their magic."
Milim raised her hand.
"I have an idea. Since the monsters are afraid of uncle Yujiro, then why not move all the civilians to my kingdom. It's safe. I have space."
Everyone looked at her.
Rudra smiled.
"Brilliant. That way we can focus our forces. Let the fighters hold the line. Civilians will be safe."
Luminous asked the quiet question again.
"Why hasn't Yujiro helped us?"
Guy sighed, sitting back.
"Because he already did. He told us. He trained us. He tried to prepare us. But we were too proud. Too arrogant. And now, the consequences are here."
Everyone sat in silence.
The fire outside flickered against the windows.
A storm was coming.
And this time…
It would be worse.