Demon Lord's Reincarnation

The audience was quiet as they held their breaths. The battle was so high-paced that most of them couldn't see what was happening, and without even noticing it the victor was decided just like that. As everyone was waiting for the dust to clear to see who had won, Henrietta looked at the ring with an astonished expression. 

'What was that?' Before she used those mid-tier spells her mana spilled out and covered her... I think I've seen that before, but where?'

As Henrietta was trying her hardest to remember where she saw such mana control, the dust finally cleared. Everyone was surprised to see who the victor was. Standing with not a single scratch on her was Lara and the one on the ground unconscious was Irene. 

When Henrietta saw Irene's condition she couldn't understand how Lara beat her. There were no visible signs that Irene was attacked, except for the torn part of her dress that happened during the middle of the fight when Lara's mana blade pierced through. Henrietta frowned as she tried to figure out how Lara won. As she was fully engrossed in her own thoughts a voice sounded beside her. 

"She used her mana and bloodlust to pressure the enemy into the ground," Layfon spoke while looking amused. 

"Mana and bloodlust, how could?..." Henrietta then remembered another person who did something similar. This was one of Kretos's favorite moves to test if one was worthy to fight him, but how could something like that affect someone on Irene's level? As if reading her mind Layfon gave an answer. 

"The little elf girl isn't weak but she lacks actual combat experience. She has never fought a life and death battle before and being exposed to bloodlust coming from someone like the Silent Death isn't going to be easy to take. Even those battle-hardened A rank adventurers shiver when they hear her name much less feel her bloodlust from up close. Added to that fact she used her mana in tandem to her bloodlust, well this outcome was within my expectations." 

Layfon shrugged his shoulders as he gave his opinion. Henrietta once again looked at Layfon with a bit more curiosity than before. This guy saw everything and he knew how Lara won. 

'It would seem like I've underestimated this guy...'

"So lady Henrietta won't you announce who the winner is already?" Layfon shot a smile at Henrietta. 

"Ahem, Ladies and Gentlemen the winner of the first quarterfinals match is none other than the S rank Adventurer, Lara!" 

When the audience heard Henrietta's announcement they were all jolted awake. Some of them were still unable to grasp what had happened, while others simply cheered out because of the excitement they were feeling. 

Once she was announced as the winner of the match Lara was about to walk out of the ring. As she was about to leave she felt an overwhelming presence behind her. Lara instinctively turned around and took a stance. Yet when she looked all she saw was the unconscious Irene. 

'Was it just my imagination?' 

...

Once Irene was taken to the infirmary Henrietta was about ready to announce the next battle for tomorrow. 

"That was such an exciting battle! What a way to start the quarterfinals! Alright, let us continue the excitement and find out who will be participating in tomorrow's match."

Henrietta randomly pulled two names from the same hat she used yesterday. When she saw tomorrow's match up her smile grew wider. 

"The next battle is between the half-demon Hime, and facing her is our very own mage from the Serbek Kingdom Afeus!" 

...

When Afeus heard his name being called he started to sweat. After watching today's match he knew that this tournament's level wasn't something he could handle. 

'Should I just forfeit?...' The moment Afeus thought of that Kretos's face flashed in his mind. That confident look Kretos had as if there was nothing he couldn't do was engraved in Afeus's mind. 

'If it were him facing a stronger opponent than himself, what would he do?... Of course, there's only one answer. That person would laugh and smile merrily as if there was nothing to worry about... Tsk, What the heck am I doing?...' Afeus clenched his fist as a look of determination shined in his eyes. 

...

Hime was also in the arena as she was looking at her opponent for tomorrow's match. Based on the intelligence she had gathered about the participants, a few months ago Afeus was just a normal student of one of the schools in the Serbek Kingdom. In fact, he was near the bottom of the class when it came to the practical application of magic. 

Yet now he has become strong enough to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament that had more powerful participants than the last tournament. 

'His increased abilities are surely related to that mysterious transfer student, Kretos. Supposedly this transfer student is so strong that not even a family of powerful mages could stop him. Based on the rumors going around the city, if Kretos had joined the tournament he would have won. Even after witnessing the power of the so called geniuses first hand, the people of this city still believe that Kretos would win without any difficulty.' 

'Kretos, he possesses the same name as the greatest demon to have ever existed. His personality, the way he acts, based on the rumors about him it's as if he's the Demon Lord himself...' Hime shook her head since a human turning out to be the ancient demon lord could only happen in fairy tales. 

'Still, overall it doesn't seem like tomorrow will be a problem. I just need to win this tournament to smoke out those traitors that want to cause chaos.' 

...

It was already night time and the sound of someone moving around could be heard outside the men's dormitories. Afeus was practicing the movements he saw Kretos do one time. Every time Kretos moved during a battle he would use this weird movement that would affect the enemy's line of sight making him look like he disappeared due to how fast he was. But Afeus knew that truth, Kretos told him that he was using a technique. 

Afeus had been practicing this movement technique from the moment Kretos showed it to him, yet no matter how much he tried he couldn't apply the move properly. Still, he needed it now to have even the slightest chance of victory. 

Afeus was panting as his sweat had drenched his whole body. Even as he felt exhausted he continued on as he needed to at least be able to use it once. Afeus once again tried to move but his body was feeling heavier than before. It was at that moment someone appeared before him. 

"Who taught you that move?" The one standing before him was one of the contestants in the tournament, Valdel the magic swordsman. 

"What's it to you?" Afeus answered, but was also shocked that someone would ask that question. To an outsider, what he was doing just looks like he was practicing a weird-looking dance. 

"Please tell me who taught you that move." Valdel bowed his head as he once again asked. Afeus was truly surprised to see Valdel do this, he was expecting Valdel to get violent if he didn't answer his question. All the people Afeus knew would have used violence to get what they want, this was the first time he saw someone bow his head in front of him. 

Afeus felt a bit awkward as he scratched his head. Afeus then approached the bowing Valdel until he was two feet away from Valdel. 

"There's no need to bow, I'll tell you who taught me the move." 

"Really, thank you very much!" Valdel raised his head and once again bowed his head. 

"Oh come on, I already told you not to bow your head. Someone as powerful as you shouldn't be used to bowing his head like this." 

"What's the difference between being strong or not. Isn't it common courtesy to show your sincerity when you are asking someone a favor?" Valdel looked at Afeus as he answered. 

Afeus was stunned, this was the first time he has encountered a person like this. He was used to those forceful types like Kretos who used their strength to their advantage. Seeing a person like this actually exist gave Afeus a weird feeling. 

"The guy who taught me the move is called Kretos." When Valdel heard Afeus's answer he looked downcast. Noticing the change in Valdel's expression Afeus was once again in an awkward position as he didn't know what to say. After a minute of silence, Afeus spoke. 

"Um, so why did you ask who taught me the move?" 

"I'm looking for my best friend, and he uses a similar move. I thought that he was the one who taught you that footwork, but it seems like the footwork wasn't Ren's original."

"Oh, I see... I'm sorry that I wasn't able to help." 

"Nah, it's alright. Just telling me who taught the footwork was already a lot of help... Can you show it to me one more time?" 

Afeus was confused as to why Valdel would want to see him do the weird footwork one more time, but he still complied. Afeus once again used the footwork but it was still done wrong. After Afeus was done doing the footwork, Valdel approached him and looked at him up and down. 

"Your hands in the wrong position at the wrong time. Even though it's footwork it doesn't mean your legs are the only important thing to focus on, the position of your arms is equally important. Your arms help you with your center of gravity, so you won't lose balance. As you move you need your arms to work in tandem with your legs. That's the only advice I can give you now, hope that helps. Good luck tomorrow." Valdel smiled as he waved his hand and left. 

Afeus stood there still confused by the whole encounter. After a while, Afeus looked at his hands. 

'Not just my legs I need to be conscious of my hand placement as well... It's all about my center of gravity... I see so that's it! How did I miss something so simple?!' Afeus got excited as he once again started practicing.