The Last Legendary System

Benign stepped back as she advanced.

Judging by their history with the last Hero, that wasn’t a good sign.

"Another cursed Hero... trying to foil my plans... is it?"

Her spear swirled in her hand. With a casual flick of her arm, she dropped the medic onto the ground. Benign looked from the woman to the General. It was as though they had already declared her dead.

"I just came for... uh... yeah, medicine. My shelter lacked extensive medical care, so I—"

A swipe from the General. Benign ducked just in time. The shockwave flattened trees as it tore through the forest.

"No more lies. Ashold was good at them."

To be compared to that Ashold. Benign gripped his sword. To die in the hands of a General.

’Horrible day for me... what could be worse?"

[Alert! Mission Complete!]

[Congratulations on becoming a Protector of Realms.]

[Oh...]

[How did you get into this situation?]

"Not now."

The words died in Benign’s throat as the armored soldier encircled him. There was nowhere to run. Benign counted them automatically. Six. Every one of them outweighed him.

A hateful scorpion might as well have forged their weapons. Every glare was fixed on him.

[Reward Issued]

"Reward?" The system never mentioned one. Not that he’d complain about it. With a thought, his skill page appeared before him. He narrowed his eyes at the latest addition. "How do I–"

"For the pride of my fathers!" The General bellowed, drawing Benign’s attention to her. "I will kill this Hero before he wipes us all from the face of the Earth!"

A swing followed her words.

The soldier activated the skill before it was too late. He threw himself backward, but the spear still clipped his shoulder.

STAB.

The General staggered too, and a shallow gash tore across her own shoulder. She paused, staring down at the gash. So did Benign.

[Skill Activated — Death Tag.]

A soldier rushed forward with the rugged sword stretched. Benign’s blade grazed the soldier’s forearm before he dodged the attack narrowly. He recovered his footing and prepared for another attack.

Before the man could retaliate, his body stiffened.

STAB. STAB.

A second cut appeared beside the first wound Benign inflicted. A panicked scream left ten soldiers as he hurried away from Benign. "C-Cursed! He’s cursed!"

Benign couldn’t refute the claim. "Double?" He glanced at the General’s wound. Hers had been one strike when he never struck her.

His eyes noticed her movement late. Her spear slammed into his ribs as he turned to block the attack. Pain exploded through his side.

As he crouched to the ground, the General’s own ribs buckled, sending her staggering backwards.

A small smirk grew on Benign’s face. "You hit me..." He looked between himself and the General. "...and you got hit too." He thought of the status, and a wider screen popped up in front of him, showing a description.

[Skill: Death Tag]

[Cost: 150 MP / 5 minutes]

[Effect: Mark a target. Any damage the Host deals to the marked target is repeated once. Any damage the marked target deals to the Host is reflected to the attacker with equal force.]

[Cooldown: Three days.]

’Three days? For five minutes only?’

He forced himself off the ground and dragged himself down the slope. The soldier encircled him, though none dared to attack first.

"Do you dare bear the curse of the Hero?" He pointed the blade at them. They jolted but stood their ground. "Why not let me leave to fight another day!"

"Nonsense!" The General’s voice thundered behind him. Benign lowered his sword. His eyes widened as he saw the shrivelled skin of the General’s arm.

On the ground.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw the other soldier he had grazed, fallen, writhed, dead. He raised the sword to his eye level again.

Time Slash came in clutch.

The General held her bleeding arm. The wound blackened, then shriveled. Time Slash continued eating through the flesh long after the cut itself.

Her eyes bulged with anger and hatred, but not with defeat.

"I promise to destroy you! Destroy you, I shall!"

Benign turned to her, faking a confident expression. "Then you will die like your fathers."

Her grip tightened on her spear so hard it snapped in two. The timer in Benign’s head counted down.

He raised his sword to his face. Two parts of the spear flew from the General’s hand. The soldiers ran to him with gritted teeth and veined hands.

"Now."

He paused. "She better not miss it."

The spear parts crashed into his blade. A ton of force displaced his footing, throwing him down the slope.

BAANGG!

The fifteen minutes were up. Explosions erupted inside the detached building, sharing shock waves and noise imbalance throughout.

Another flash-bang of light scattered from across the horizon. Zina’s timed distraction came two seconds later.

Benign stabbed his sword into the ground to lessen his fall. The weak effort barely cut through the ground. His body rolled over rocks and grass.

Each part left a mark on his face and body till the blood covered his blinded eyes.

He never knew how long he fell. Or how far.

The cries of the General’s soldiers echoed through his burst eardrums. He reached for his bleeding side.

He hissed. "I couldn’t even take down... one General."

Without the barrels, their attack would only come later. They weren’t defeated. If anything, they were motivated to attack the shelter to kill the Hero.

"Benign! Benign! Are you okay?"

Hearing Zina’s voice, immediately after confirming that the cries filtering into his ears grew closer, Benign frowned.

Her hand pressed into his side, making him wince. "I-I don’t have a bandage with me. But— but, let’s get back!"

"Leave, Zina!"

The soldiers’ footsteps echoed to the base of the slope where the two lay frantic. Zina rushed upwards, shielding Benign behind her with her hands extended.

But she knew another flashbang wouldn’t work.

Benign pulled her down.

She pulled herself up. Her hands reached for the Blade. It never budged, not even a second shift away from the ground it lay beside Benign.

Veins popped on her skin. She wrapped both hands around the Blade and pulled with everything she had. It made no attempt. Heavy footsteps closed in.