Demon Lord's Reincarnation

It was finally the day of the tournament and John felt even more determined than before. After meeting one of the children of the Emperor, as well as the other powerful people in the Empire, John now understood that he wasn't a dragon among men, but a frog in the bottom of the well. 

'Even knowing all that I will keep moving forward.'

John held the talisman that his childhood friend gave him. He grabbed hold of his wooden sword and alongside the other geniuses headed for the arena were the tournament would be held. 

...

The yearly tournament had no name but most people have called it the gathering of geniuses, the other people call it the Emperor's stage. There were many names for the tournament since it didn't have an official one. 

This unnamed tournament was held in a gigantic arena outside of the city. The arena could easily accommodate the entirety of a population of three cities. The people who work in the arena were the Primordial Demons that Ren caught, and the previous champions of the tournament. The entire place was also being watched by the Shadow Clan that was led by his disciple, Arthur, and his adopted sister Shera. 

During this period the Capital City New Grenton was at its weakest, but even at its weakest, the Capital was strong. The people who were guarding it were the noble clan the Regalcrags and Lance another disciple of the Emperor. Many of those who wanted to kill the Emperor and take over the Empire had tried to attack during this period but before they could even begin their attack the Regalcrags would have already killed them. 

Also unknown to most people there was another layer of protection the Capital had during this period. The half-demons who were now ruled by Harold a descendant of the strongest demon lord Kretos were also guarding the city secretly. Those enemies that the Regalcrags miss, the half-demons would dispose of. 

...

John and the other contestants of this tournament have all been guided into the waiting area. The contestants in this waiting area numbered in the hundreds. Each one of them were praised as geniuses all their lives, so they didn't regard the other geniuses as their equals. Each one of them believed that they were stronger than the rest. 

The people in the waiting room only spoke to those they were already acquainted with. John had formed a group with the geniuses from his own region. 

As the different groups were having their respective conversations a group of children that looked to be around nine to twelve years old appeared.

The geniuses were confused as to why such young children were in the waiting room. It was true that the minimum age requirement to join the tournament was nine years old, but none of them expected to see someone of that age enter. Even they who were proud sons and daughters of heaven knew how difficult the tournament was, so they had waited for their strength to reach a certain level before deciding to come to the tournament. 

Yet these young children came here the moment they reached the minimum age requirement. Most of the participants thought the children were too arrogant and were looking down on the tournament, meaning they were looking down on them.

Some of the participants thought that the children were naive and didn't know the true horror of this tournament. Even though the rules state that there will be no killing, accidents do happen and people do die from this tournament. 

While many of the participants were looking at the newcomers with various thoughts in their minds, John spotted someone he knew. One of the children present in the group was Kiara, the moment John saw her he already guessed who the other children were. These children were most likely the children of the Emperor. 

"I was so excited for this year's tournament to come, since father finally allowed us to join, yet look at this they all look so weak. I don't think any of these people will be a challenge."

The one who spoke was a girl with flowing silver hair and deep dark eyes. She had four swords by her waist and wore golden armor. She might be young but her beauty was apparent. 

"Heh, don't say that little sis you never know some of them might surprise you." 

The young man who seem to be the oldest in the group of children spoke. Among the children he was with, his looks were only slightly above average. He was wearing a cloak that covered his entire body. 

"Yeah big bro is right, yesterday I met someone who claimed he would beat all of us." 

Kiara spoke and then looked directly at John with a smile on her face. The other siblings noticed her actions and also looked at John as well. As they were about to approach John to strike up a conversation, one of the contestants suddenly confronted them. 

"Hey you kids I understand that you might be geniuses but everyone here is the same so there's no need to act so arrogantly. In fact, you children shouldn't even be here." 

This person was infuriated when he heard how casually these children dismissed them and even called them weak. When the Emperor's children heard the person's comment they looked around confused but after a while, the oldest of the children who was wearing a cloak pointed at him and his siblings. 

"Are you talking to us?"

"Who else do you think I'm talking to?!" 

"Oh, I was just confused cause what you said doesn't seem to be right, so we thought you were talking to someone else. You said that we're all the same and that my siblings and I were arrogant but that's wrong." 

"How so?" 

"Well, first of all, my siblings and I are better than all of you here it's pretty rude for you to compare us with you guys, and secondly we aren't arrogant we were just stating the facts. Oh right, also it's not right to say we aren't supposed to be here, it's you people who shouldn't be here. If you stay here you'll just embarrass yourselves." 

When the other geniuses heard that response they were all infuriated.. The geniuses gritted their teeth and wanted to attack.