Flashes of images ran through my head, yet my eyes were staring at the person in front of me, lying in a puddle of their own red blood. They, or she, was wearing a red and black dress that can be described as gothic. It was somewhat frilly but looked more like a casual dress than a formal dress. I don't know how expensive or cheap the dress was but, currently, the dress was soaked with blood and covered in dirt and dust, making whatever value it had money-wise go all the way to zero. I doubted it could just simply be washed and cleaned either.

The person wearing this dress looked to be around sixteen years old, though definitely on the small side. Her skin was light tan in color and looked to be extremely healthy. I knew for sure many people would kill for a skin like hers back on Earth.

Her eyes were large and red in color, her pupils being slightly diamond, like a cat, in shape. That wasn't the only abnormal thing about her. Her fingernails were clearly claws, her claws being black in color, and her hair was black in color yet was unnaturally straight, coming to a stop halfway down her back. 

Even though she has these abnormalities, they all just added to the charm of this girl. She had an innocent and shy look to her. In fact, her looks would make anyone doubt that she could be harmful. However, that is far from the truth. Her name is Cherry K. Maple, but her more common name is the Cherry Tyrant.

Such a cute name. You'd expect to hear that name in some kids cartoon or some mind of magical girl villain. Yet, the terror that this one girl has brought upon the world can not be considered anything cute, nor a joke. She was a terror to the entire world of Fantarsia, her tyranny spreading across the land, destroying cities and spreading poison, causing anyone infected to become weak and, if they are unlucky, die. 

She slaughtered anyone who got in her way, no matter who they were. She destroyed everything me and my friends worked for, bringing an end to any modern technology she found. To make matters worse, she is a hypocrite, using modern weaponry despite claiming to hate it. 

But, to me and my friends...or what remains of them, hate her more than anyone else, me especially. She killed almost all of the second generation of reincarnaters by herself, making sure to make an example of each and every one of them. My boyfriend, Bruce, got his jaw ripped off. As he was bleeding out, Cherry just started talking, calling him a disgrace, a failure. While I doesn't know the exact details of what Cherry said, she does know that Bruce was crying at the end of it. Then, before she killed him, he turned his head to make him look at me. The defeated, bloody, and disgraceful me, able to do nothing to save him.

Then, making sure our eyes met, Cherry slowly slit his throat, making me watch him die out slowly. It was at this point that I started hated Cherry with all my might. However, now that I'm staring at her, dying, I felt my hate slowly ebb away. It was still there but, now, I don't know what to feel about her. Even after what my few remaining friends said, I didn't notice until now. 

Cherry never took any pleasure in killing us. There was no sadistic glee in her eyes. Maybe there was some satisfaction if someone particularly annoyed her but never something like pleasure. Even when she killed Bruce, she had a somewhat cold and remorseful look in her eyes. 

Compared to the other three Great Villains of Fantarsia, Cherry K. Maple is the one who can arguable be said to have done the worst things and, in that sense, be the most evilest one. Yet, she isn't egotistical and power-hungry like Keatori, isn't a nationalist like Zane, and isn't as evil and crazy as Nightmare. Plus, to top it off, she is a reincarnater, just like us. Sure, she is a part of the First Generation and technically Nightmare is a reincarnater too but, unlike Nightmare, Cherry came from Earth and had no knowledge of Fantarsia prior to her reincarnation...or arrival.

That means that Cherry should have been just like me and the rest of the reincarnaters. So, how did she turn out as a villain?

'Well, I doubt she was ever like us.' I thought, looking at Cherry's mouth.

While Cherry is no doubt cute, beautiful even, her mouth is anything but. Her mouth is burned and horribly scarred, her teeth jagged and broken. To top it off, she has nails going through the top of her lips and through the bottom. Whatever happened to her not only ruined her mouth but ruined her vocal cords too. 

To match her shy-girl look, Cherry talks using red words she creates with magic or an advance voice recorder that acts like a boombox, the small magical device having many different voice lines for almost any conversation on it. Now, Cherry is perfectly able to talk. She has done so plenty of times before. However, making any sound above a whisper, especially if those sounds are words, cause Cherry discomfort. Now, normally that wouldn't stop Cherry as she is used to getting hurt. However, with her mask on her face, her voice is muffled and, because of this, she has to take it off if she wants her voice to be heard. Needless to say, her mouth causes discomfort to anyone who sees it, hence why Cherry wears a mask.

Ah, yes. The mask. The one for sure sign that Cherry isn't from Fantarsia. The mask she is wearing is a cartoon skeleton smile with a skeleton nose that covers most of the bottom half of her face. The mask was thick enough to hide the nails that pierce through her lips. I remember the first time I saw Cherry without her mask. I had managed to cut it off her face with a lucky swing of my sword. At first Cherry didn't realize her mask had fallen off. However, when she finished jumping back from us, she noticed. With one hand she reached up and gingerly touched the ear the mask wasn't hanging from, then touched one of her visible nails.

After she recovered from her brief shock, she quickly defeated me and my friend, Rachel. Apparently we pissed her off since she decided to stop playing with us. Heh. Yeah, playing with us. It's funny how it took us, mainly me, to the last and final fight with Cherry to realize that she was always holding back against us. It was a miracle that we managed to even beat her. Though, something told me that Cherry had weakened her odds.

First off, she fought us with a short white katana with a red and gold hilt, the katana pretty much being the size of a kids katana. Normally, she fights with a black katana that is at full size. Next is she didn't use any of her acid in her final fight, and she only used her katana. She didn't use any other swords or daggers. Cherry had used many different weapons to fight in the past, and yet, when she faced us the final time, she only had a short red katana and her magic.

Heh. Then again, her magic isn't something to scoff against. Her magic is so strong and destructive in nature that it destroys any other magic it touches, even things that are anti-magic or immune to magic. That was how Dell died, in fact. His shield that was praised for all the time it blocked magic was useless. Cherry gave him a look and just flicked her fingers. Instantly a small spear of magic launched itself right through Dell's shield, blowing up his body.

Thinking back on his death, I actually found it kinda funny. Yeah, by now I am doubting my sanity. If I can find the comecal look Cherry had about Dell bragging about his shield, then the aftermath of Cherry obliterating Dell with such ease that I doubted if his shield even worked. Even if the aftermath was gory, I still find myself nearly cracking up just thinking about it. 

Then...there was another thing about Cherry. She could have killed me many times yet, even during the final battle, she didn't. She had her claws right through my chin and her blade right up against my throat. However, she hesitated. That hesitation cost her her life as Rachel impaled Cherry from behind, saving me. 

I'm not saying I'm anything special. She spared Misty and Rachel too, and more than once too. Why she spared us three more than once was beyond me but now, now I'm sure there was a reason.

....

....

....

...And I had to find out. Cherry can't just kill almost everyone I knew, take over most of Fantarsia, destroy everything me and my friends had worked for, and then just get away with it scot free. I don't care if she was in here first, nor the fact that she's dying. In the end, she won. Her army, down below us, had broke through the City of Grandor's gate. Now that they are inside, it was all over. Grandor, the last free city in the South not under Cherry's rule, was going to fall. With it, the end of any modern technology not owned by the Cherry Army, a stupid name for an army, would come. 

I felt tears form in my eyes and my emotion got the better of me. I took a knee and nudged Cherry, causing her dim red eyes to focus on me.

"Why?" I ask, my voice monotone.

Cherry's eyes told me that she didn't understand the question so, with a sigh, I met her eyes and asked my question again.

"Why? What ever drove you to do this?" I asked, not caring that I was now crying, "What made you this way!?"

Cherry was silent for a moment until she started giggling, her voice cracked. She seemed to find what I asked generally funny despite the pain in her eyes from speaking. When she stopped, she swallowed before looking me in the eyes again.

"Go and find out for yourself." Cherry answered, her voice barely above a whisper and smug. Even if she knew she was done for, she knew she had won. The pride in her eyes was clear.

Then, with that, the light faded from Cherry's eyes. She took one last breath which sounded like a sigh before she went still, her eyes focusing on the sky behind me.

Cherry K. Maple, the Cherry Tyrant, was finally dead. With her, only two people from the First Generation remain alive. Out of the sixty reincarnaters of the Second Generation, only six remain alive, twenty-two of them having been killed by Cherry herself. With her death, the Four Great Villains of Fantarsia were all gone, Nightmare having been stripped of her title since her defeat.

I don't know how long I stared at Cherry's dead body but, suddenly, I found myself waking up in the back of a carriage traveling down a snowy road, to my left being a snowy forest and to my right being a rocky downslope.

As I took the scenery in, I let out a sigh and leaned back. I felt like crying but no tears came out. My tears had been used up by the looks of it.

With a sigh, I looked up at the sun. It was covered by clouds but it still shone through. 

'It's finally over. The story is done...but what's next?'

Technically, the problem of the Demon Lord may be next but no one knows if the Demon Lord is even evil or not. Plus, I don't even know if I can fight in another war. I was spent. I gave my all to kill someone I never tried to understand...

....someone who, if I did try, I probably would have seen the truth. The truth of what Cherry is. The truth of why she was so bent on destroying modern technology. The truth to how the Cherry Army fell originally. All of it and, maybe even the way to prevent this whole disaster from happening.

People in novels I have read talked about how they would never feel remorse for someone they hate. I think they're pathetic. If they don't ever think about it, then they aren't monsters, aren't humans, aren't even demons. They are blind and stupid fools. You know, at this point, I'm not even sure what I'm thinking. All I know is that everyone should think about their enemy. I didn't and, in the end, only the worst outcome came from it.

I thought back to what Cherry said. Her final words were meant half as a joke and half as just a tired answer. Through all the times I have met Cherry, she has always tried to talk to me. Always tried to tell me why she does what she does...or did. But I never listened. I was so focused on my revenge that I failed to see anything. Everyone deserves a second chance, and one should always look into the person's reasoning for doing what they did. I, despite always saying one should be just, never did.

It didn't help that Cherry often spoke in riddles, not really sure how to get what she wants to say out herself. She shares that quirk with me.

Pathetic, is it not? In the end, who were were heroes too? The "Heroes of Fantarsia"!

....

....

....

...Honestly, what a joke. I can see why some of us left. I can see why the King of the North didn't want to help us. He was also a First Generation, and he knew Cherry. Yet, when I figured this out, I started asking him for weakness and not why she was doing this. I was never interested in her and now, now, it seems the world is getting back at me. No. My own personality is getting the better of me.

Life really does suck, doesn't it?

 

 

. - - .

 

 

I woke up with a gasp, sweat all over me. After I caught my breath, one hand on my beating heart, I took a look to my left. Up on the wall of my little wooden house was a small katana with a red and gold sheath and white hilt decorated with red cloth with gold decorations. A katana that, to this day, still feels familiar to me. It wasn't just because the katana belonged to my enemy either.

I had somehow managed to get my hands on the katana Cherry fought us with when I moved in to my new house. Upon moving in, I cut myself off from the others. I had no idea how my few remaining friends were doing, nor could I bring myself to find out.

I just spend my days hanging around, playing with magic, training, reading books, and taking hikes. There was nothing else to do, after all.

After Cherry's death, her army could not take over the rest of the world. The only one who had the skills to do that was Cherry herself. So, instead of trying, they settled down and made a Nation, the Nation being named Scenellia. As it turns out, Cherry's plan helped solved the problems of the new Nation. They destroyed most modern technology and put the rest locked away in secret vaults. The best part is that, despite the bloody history of the new Nation, it was a paradise. Cherry's rule helped the citizens blossom. No one wanted to revolt from the Nation, not that they could if they would, and Scenellia was friendly towards the other Nations left. 

From what I learned, the Cherry Army won't use guns unless they discover people using modern technology, in which case they will kill them and either destroy or store the modern technology they use. The Nation was also ruled by three groups. One is the Senate, the other is the King/Queen, and the last group and arguably the one with the most power is the Reapers, individuals who apparently took after Cherry, dressing up like her.

I did hear that there is a hidden fourth group ruled by Nightmare but, since I have no plans of ever going over there, I can't confirm anything.

In the end, no one really won. Not the "Heroes" nor the "Villains". Everyone lost and, in the end, we shall fade away in history. We would just be rocks in a river, making an impact only once before sinking into the water to be forgotten.

....

....

 

'Maybe...it doesn't have to be like this.'

 

I reached down under my bed and took out a silver necklace with a shiny light blue gem from its hiding place. Once in my hands, I clasped it to my chest and closed my eyes, praying.

"Finally brought yourself to do it, ehh?"

The male-teasing voice told me my prayer came true. I opened my eyes and saw a glowing light teal blue ball of light in front of me, hovering on two tiny insect-like wings like a bee.

"Hello, System," I greet the ball, hoping that I didn't make a mistake summoning this little ball. He can be quite annoying.

"Well, you're annoying too," System said in his laid-back tone, "Anyway, what do you want?"

"You know what I want," I say with a sigh. I really don't want to waste any time. If I do, I may convince myself to back out of my plan.

"I want you to find the Cherry Tyrant and bring me to her before they arrived in Fantarsia."

And yet, despite what I said, I still explained what I want to him.

"Error. There is no one who goes by the name Cherry Tyrant in history. Try again?"

"System! Really!?" I snap, giving the ball a glare.

"Sorry but protocols are protocols," System told me, mimicking a shrug.

"Fine," I sigh, shaking my head, "Find Cherry K. Maple before they arrived in Fantarsia for the first time."

System was silent for a second before their body seemed to glitch out. This kept up for nine seconds until it stopped, now a dark blue oval in the middle of System's body.

"Coordinates are set, Sella."

"Good," I said while sighing in relief. I could feel butterflies in my stomach now.

"...Are you sure you want to do this?"

I focused on System, a little surprised. He sounded...serious. Serious and somewhat hesitant.

"This won't end the way you think it will, Sella, and I can't tell you how this is going to end either. Plus, once you go back this far, you won't be able to return."

"Yes!" I blurt out before I could start doubting myself, "I need to try."

System and I stared at each other for some time before the System nodded, his nod slow.

"...In a way, I can't really tell which way is better. You staying or you going."

I blink, confused, and opened my mouth to ask what he meant. However, before the words left my mouth the room exploded in a light blue light.

 

 

One day, sixty people were taken from Earth by a Goddess and sent to the world of Fantarsia. They were given powers to help them survive by the Goddess. As a final way to help them, the Goddess told them of Four Great Villains that will stand in their way. 

The reincarnaters banded together and made their own Nation. As they did so, they learned about this world. Fantarsia is a world of magic and sword with many wonders. However, it is also a world that is engulfed in wars. Dark and brutal. If they wanted to survive, the reincarnaters would need to use their knowledge to give them an edge. So, they invented guns and started using modern technology to help their Nation rise. Everything was going well...

....Until a reality check arrived in the form of the first Great Villain. Keatori, the leader of the Samurai Clan, invaded the Eastern lands, intent on conquering it. While the guns worked on her army at first, she quickly adapted a strategy that made them almost obsolete. Just like that, she butchered the Nation the reincarnaters made and even killed a few of them before she was killed and her army was routed. 

And just like that the first scar was made on the reincarnaters. Things didn't get any better for them with the next Great Villain, Nightmare. Nightmare is a being with many lives that recently took over one of the reincarnaters, making her crazy. She enforced the fact that this world the reincarnaters live in isn't fantasy and everything has consequences. Because of that, she was hated. 

Like Keatori, her army of undead and her tactics made the guns the reincarnaters used all but obsolete. In the end, they managed to make Nightmare have a mental breakdown and run away with her army. After her defeat, the reincarnaters got a break...

....until the next Great Villain came. Zane, The Dark Emperor, grew tired of the reincarnaters and their way of doing things that have lead to disaster after disaster. He didn't want to declare war on them but the reincarnaters did. The outcome was bloody but, for once, the guns the reincarnaters and their army used weren't obsolete. In the end, they killed Zane and brought an end to his once great and powerful Nation. 

With only twenty-four reincarnaters left, the reincarnaters made preparations to defeat the last Great Villain, the Demon Lord who has yet to awaken. It was at this time that they learned that they were the second generation of reincarnaters. There is, in fact, two other reincarnaters who are alive that arrived before them. Nightmare, and the King of the Northern Empire. Unfortunately, for the reincarnaters, the final Great Villain wasn't the Demon Lord.

Part of the first generation of reincarnaters, Cherry K. Maple, a legend whose thought to be dead, awakens from a long nap. At first, she didn't seem evil. She was bent on restoring her Nation which did mean she started taking over other Nations but, she ignored the reincarnaters, not even aware of their existence. That changed when her entire army was almost slaughtered by guns from a city the reincarnaters own. Scared and pissed off, Cherry told her army to start using modern weaponry. Her army was vastly skilled in all forms of combat, including modern weapons. With her old general, Nightmare, by her side, she and the reincarnaters went to war.

The reincarnaters stood no chance. Outplayed at every turn. Outskilled at everything. Too weak and too reliant on their skills to give them an edge. By the time it was finally done, poison spread by the Cherry Tyrant caused many Nations to fall. Her army had almost taken over the world and destroyed almost all modern technology. 

But the worst was that Cherry, by herself, brought down the reincarnaters from twenty-four to just six in a couple of weeks. During the final battle, Cherry was finally defeated, but it was too late. Her army overran the last free city in all of Fantarsia except in the North. She destroyed all modern technology except her own, which was sealed in a vault. She destroyed all the second generation of reincarnaters dreams and tore the ever-widening scar the previous Great Villains made into a massive gaping wound that will never recover...

....and no one except the other first generation of reincarnaters alive knows how Cherry K. Maple came to be and what gave her the mindset she had. But...that was about to change, and it all started with Cherry's defeat...

....and her last words.