Demon Lord's Reincarnation

John had gone around to the last place where Melody was seen but no matter where he looked he could not find a single clue as to where she was. He had scoured every place within the Captial City but hadn't seen even a shadow of Melody or her kidnappers. The people who were also looking for the other missing geniuses were having similar problems.

It was already the day before the next round of the tournament, but John wasn't able to prepare as he was busy searching for his missing friend... He couldn't concentrate on his training and his mind was drifting around. Even after knowing that the powerful Shadow Clan was trying their hardest to find the culprits he couldn't just sit still and let them handle this. He wanted to find Melody himself, he didn't care if he loses in the tournament. To him at this very moment, Melody was more important than the tournament.

...

Aside from Alisa, Melody could also be considered his childhood friend. He hasn't spoken to her for a few years now, and even when they met again a few years later he still couldn't believe how different she looked and felt. When he first met Melody she was just a little girl trapped by her own talent. Still, he could never forget the conversations they had before, especially that day when he decided to become the strongest swordsman.

Back then when he was just starting his journey on the way of the sword, Melody was already an apprentice of the Tower Master of Mage's Tower in his region. At that time she was so far above him, that when he went to challenge her he was defeated soundly. After that day he came back day after day to challenge her.

Every day he came, he was beaten black and blue, sometimes he was beaten until some of his bones were broken, but he never gave up. John noticed that after every battle he had with her, his swordsmanship became sharper and faster than before. Then finally there came the day that he had won against Melody. After that day he had won two more times. On his third victory, he spoke to Melody.

"Thanks, because of you I have further improved. I guess this is goodbye, thanks for keeping me company all this time."

"Will you come back?"

"This should be the last time, since I already surpassed you then there is no longer any point in coming here."

"... So if I beat you again you will be coming back?"

"I guess..."

"Let's have another battle then."

"Huh, why?"

"This time I'm going to beat you."

"Well, I didn't think you were the competitive type, but sure if you can't accept your defeat, I'll just do it again."

After that, the two of them had another battle, and this time Melody actually won. It was at that moment John understood that Melody had gone easy on him.

"Why?" That was the only thing John could say at this moment.

"I wanted you to come back and play with me. So I always fought you at your level, so that I won't hurt you too much, but then I realized that like the others you might not want to come back if you kept on losing, so I let you win. Are you mad?"

Seeing the way she acted, John could not help but sigh.

"I'm not mad, just shocked... Still, you could've just told me if you wanted someone to play with. Fine, I promise to come back every now and then to play with you."

"For real! You promise?!" John was surprised to see her reaction, Melody's eyes that were usually cold and dim were shining brightly.

"Yeah, I promise."

The two then started to converse about random things. Melody had a lot that she wanted to talk about. She asked about John's life, his friends, his hopes, and his dreams. John told her about his friend Alisa and how he started his path on the way of swords. As for his hopes and dreams, he hasn't thought about them yet. After a minute of thinking, John responded with the first answer he thought of.

"I guess my dream is to reach the end of the path."

"The path?"

"Yes the sword path, I want to see the pinnacle of the way of the sword. I want to walk through that path."

After hearing John's answer, Alisa also told him about her. Unlike John, she had no friends, as everyone close to her age or even some adults were afraid of her overwhelming mana. Her life just revolves around practicing her spells and trying to control her mana. She didn't really like that she was so powerful, and if possible she wanted to give away her strength and become a weakling, to her that was her dream. Yet despite not practicing too hard her mana still kept on growing.

John felt sorry for her and told her that he wasn't afraid of her and he could be her friend. When Melody heard what John said she became ecstatic and the two continued to converse until the sunset. Once it was time to leave, Melody was unwilling to let John go. She even told John that he should join the Mage's tower and stay with her. John of course declined that offer, as he wasn't really that keen on learning spells, he was more interested in swords. Still, John promised that he would return to play with her every now and then.

Unfortunately, that promise would never be kept. After that day, the tower master had taken Melody away to train at the academy where the Emperor's wife Henrietta teaches. As for John, he could not leave his town for some time due to a monster raid. The moment the monster raid was over he went to the Mage's tower only to find that Melody was no longer there.

...

After not meeting for a while, John eventually stopped going to the Mage's tower even when his friend Alisa was accepted as an apprentice there. All he did for the next few years was to continue swinging his sword, day and day out forgetting about his promise to Melody.

...

While trying his hardest to find Melody, John had finally recalled that promise he made with her years ago. Upon remembering that promise, John was now determined more than ever, to find Melody. He would devote everything he had to find her.

'Damn it, this time for sure I will keep my promise, so you better be safe.'