Do You Think You Can Run After Reincarnating, Nii-san?

The Determined Infant: Reincarnated Siblings Arc

Chapter 7

Thus, his new life began. 

A droplet fell, creating a round stain on the ground.

In the end, toddling around was too conspicuous and exhausting, so I decided to crawl while taking breaks. Through a gap in the bushes, I spotted my sister.

“Brother! Where are you? I’m not mad anymore, so please come out!”

Fortunately, she was looking for me. At worst, if she lost sight of me, she could have run back to the mansion, taking Father, Mother, or one of the servants hostage. That’s how focused she was on me.

“I’m serious! I’m not angry at all! It was just a misunderstanding on my part, right? Brother, you were testing me to see if I was worthy of protecting you, weren’t you? Otherwise, there’s no way you’d run away from me, right?”

Apparently, that’s the story she’s concocted in her head. She was like that in our previous life too. No matter what I did or what she did, she interpreted everything in her favor. Her logic was so fundamentally flawed that nothing could break it.

So, words wouldn’t reach her. If I were to stop her—it would have to be by force.

I touched a large stone nearby. On my way here, I had roughly grasped the specifications of the spirit magic [Wings of Departure]. The conclusion was that I could defeat her.

Father’s assessment wasn’t exaggerated. My power could lift far heavier things than I had imagined. If I could somehow use that to strike her, I could knock her unconscious—or even kill her.

The problem was the method. After all, I was just a baby. I was overwhelmingly inferior in terms of physical strength. In a direct fight, I would lose without a doubt. So, the key was to figure out how to avoid a direct fight.

“Where are you, brother? …Oh well.”

While I was planning my moves—my sister made hers.

“If you don’t come out soon—like this, you know?”

From her hands, flames burst forth. Not from matches or lighters, but a violent blaze as if water from a firefighter’s hose had turned to flames!

I recognized this phenomenon. It was the spirit magic [Dawn’s Light], the power of the spirit Aime, which Anelli possessed. Now, it was a deadly weapon in my sister’s hands. It was once a corkscrew that had now transformed into a supernatural power in this otherworld!

The crimson flames targeted the forest. Trees burned, and smoke billowed. Fortunately, being low to the ground spared me from the worst of the smoke, but this was…!

“So now you have no choice but to come out, brother. If you don’t hurry, you’ll get burned. You can’t use spirit magic to escape into the air with all this smoke. If this continues, it might even spread to the mansion.”

…You…! In one move, she launched three attacks at me, without even seeing me!

“If you think I’m going to hold back, you’re mistaken! After all, you’re the invincible brother. There’s no way you’d die from such a small flame! Hurry up!”

She spread the fire, burning the forest down. The gentle spring breeze that felt nice earlier now felt infuriating, fanning the flames further. At this rate, not only I but the mansion was in danger…! I had to stop her first…!

I navigated through the smoke and flames, positioning myself behind her. I lifted a rock the size of my head into the air. One hit to the head, and it’d be over. She was about 10 meters away, focused entirely on burning the forest. If I aimed well enough—

I squinted my eyes, aimed… carefully… released my grip—and threw it!

The stone flew straight towards her head—and missed, embedding itself in a nearby tree trunk with a crack.

I missed.

She stopped moving, then slowly turned her head towards me.

“Found you♪”

Whoosh! She closed the distance at an alarming speed! I scrambled to move, rolling my body in the dirt…! Her fingers grazed my cheek, but her demonic hand only grasped empty air.

“Oh dear… you’re all sweaty, and your clothes are soaked.”

She looked at me, smiling broadly as I panted heavily.

“Let’s get you changed, shall we? I’ll help you change…♪”

A chill ran down my spine. I grabbed another rock and threw it, but she easily dodged it.

“A one-year-old’s vision is about 0.3… Even you, brother, can’t hit me with such blurry eyesight.”

So she knew she was unguarded… damn it…!

She approached with a smile as I crawled backward.

“You need to get closer to hit me, right? Like this… or this… even closer. But if you’re that close, I can see your attacks coming. Dodging is easy.”

“So, brother, what’s your plan? How will you surprise me from this distance? Show me your brilliant strategy!”

Damn it…! I’m just a regular human! Just a regular guy who happened to get a sister like you!

Her hand reached for me again. Escaping on the ground was hopeless. I had to think three-dimensionally!

I kicked the ground, freeing myself from gravity, and dove into the canopy above.

If she thinks my strategy would make even Zhuge Liang flee barefoot, I’ll show her my brilliance…!

As I ascended, the heavy stone I had placed in the trees earlier fell.

A 50-kilogram stone aimed to crush my sister like the stone mortar in the tale of the monkey and the crab.

“Brother?”

She tilted her head.

“I noticed this stone from the beginning. Shouldn’t you stop with the preliminaries?”

With a flick, she evaded the falling stone.

“But amazing! This stone weighs 50 kilograms! I heard that even masters of [Wings of Departure] can only lift about 500 kilograms. You’re already at one-tenth of that limit at your age!”

She finally noticed, looking up with glittering eyes.

“…Brother?”

My form was above the canopy. The burning trees emitted smoke that obscured visibility. I covered my mouth with my baby sleeve, but it wasn’t enough to block the smoke. This smoke was too toxic for a baby’s body. I had to end this quickly…!

My so-called strategy lay hidden in the smoke.

I just needed to turn off my spirit magic.

The smoke billowed.

I had an idea when she started burning the forest. I thought, “Can I hide a weapon in the smoke?” And immediately acted.

I had been using my spirit magic to fly around the forest, lifting rocks with a diameter of three meters into the air—five of them…!

With my current eyesight, aiming was difficult. So I decided to target the entire visible area. Crush her…!

Thud! Thud! Thud! The heavy impacts echoed as the rocks plunged through the smoke, embedding in the forest. This should do it…!

Just then, a strong gust of wind blew upwards from below.

Flames shot up high from the forest. This wind was… an updraft…!?

Moments later, a figure shot out from the forest at breakneck speed, right in front of me.

It was my sister, wearing a maid outfit, clutching a piece of cloth like a parachute. She used the updraft to reach me.

Damn it…!

Too late. Her right hand snaked out and grasped my neck.

“Oh… brother, brother, brother…!”

Her body was covered in wounds. She couldn’t have dodged all the bombardment. But her flushed cheeks and teary eyes were filled with ecstasy, focusing only on me.

“Such an attack… such weight…! Not just 500 kilograms, but surpassing it. You’re already exceeding the limits of an ordinary spirit user…!

That’s the talent the god gave you. So fitting—since you’re perfect, the only thing they could grant you was such a talent!

Brother—you have a ‘Main Spirit,’ don’t you?”

Spirit magic comes from the seventy-two spirits that govern this world. There are “Main Spirits” among them.

“There are only seventy-two “Main Spirit Hosts” in this world. They are the ultimate spirit users who can fully utilize the power of the spirits—the ‘Roosts of Spirits’—and you are one of them, brother!!”

…You’re right. This is my “talent.” To defeat you…!!

I grabbed her arm with my tiny hands, and behind me appeared “it.”

A peacock with colorful wings, gazing at the world below with grace.

Spirit Sequence Elemental Rank 65:

**The Revered Separation, Andrealphus**

“Ah—aaahhhh!!!”

A roar burst from my immature throat. I grabbed her arm and completely negated her body weight.

It became easy. Even a baby’s arm could swing a 15-year-old girl.

I pinned her down and cut off my spirit magic. My weight returned to normal, and I crushed her under me!

“Hehe♪ I’m going to die. I’ll be crushed by my little brother… haha, hahaha!”

What’s so funny…?! No, don’t let her get to you. Don’t try to understand her!

“But this way, you’ll die too. That’s fine, but I have to prove I can protect you!! I’ll do my best, even if it means losing a limb!!”

Her words shocked me. She directed her left hand at the ground.

SFX: Boom, boom, boom—!

It was like the rumble of an unknown machine, building up tremendous energy.

“Ready, fire——!!”

Flames erupted from her left hand aimed at the ground.

This was far larger than anything before.

It was no longer just a flamethrower.

It was like the jet propulsion of a rocket aiming for space…!!

Gravity was nullified.

For something as light as a baby—no, even adding her own weight to it—this thrust was unstoppable…!

The fall speed drastically reduced, and the ground slowly approached.

In that moment, I noticed it.

Her left hand, the one serving as the flame nozzle—

It was burning.

From the wrist down, it had long since turned to charcoal and was falling apart.

Could it be powerful enough to blow off her own hand?

And did she know that, understand that, and still choose to burn her hand willingly…!?

I needed to get away.

Even if I fell to the ground, it wouldn’t cause much damage—and more importantly, nothing good would come from staying close to someone like this!

I nullified her weight.

In many martial arts, weight classes exist because, fundamentally, the heavier one can exert more power.

If a light person collides with a heavy truck, naturally, the person will be the one blown away.

So it was easy to detach myself from my sister’s body, which had become lighter than a baby.

Next, I nullified my own weight, and aimed to escape by moving in a uniform straight line.

However.

“No way!”

With a sweet voice that seemed to melt my brain, she whispered.

“You can never leave me again, big brother.”

She spun in mid-air, like a ballerina.

SFX: Boom, boom, boom—!!

Then, towards the void, as if kicking the air, she launched a roundhouse kick—exploding her leg…

“!!?”

Red explosive flames and a bloom of blood burst in the sky.

The explosive force allowed her to move sideways.

There was no pain on her face.

On the contrary, with an expression of ecstasy, she extended her remaining right hand towards me.

I had no time to evade.

I was captured by her hand again—and with the force of the flames, we pierced through the sky together.

Desperately, I turned my neck to find the landing spot.

Damn, at this rate, we’ll fall into the forest…!

Since the fire hasn’t spread yet, the branches and leaves might cushion our fall.

My sister must have considered that too.

But for me, the real trouble comes after that.

If I return to the ground captured like this, there’s no way I’ll win…!

Just a bit more…! Just a bit further!

I activated the [Feathered Wings of Departure] to nullify my weight and extend our flight distance.

We would eventually fall to the ground regardless.

But I had a plan.

What if I couldn’t settle it in this aerial battle?

Where could I move to gain an advantage?

As I tried to distance myself from her, I aimed towards that place.

And now, with my sister pursuing me after blowing up her leg, we were heading straight for it.

Just a bit more.

Just a bit more distance—and there it was.

A deep waterfall basin.

With a splash, I was enveloped in coldness.

For a moment, I lost my sense of direction, but there was no need to panic.

By nullifying my weight, buoyancy would naturally carry me to the surface.

The impact of hitting the water weakened her grip.

She watched me escape with eyes full of obsession, but with her left hand and right leg gone, she couldn’t swim properly.

She couldn’t catch up as buoyancy carried me to the surface.

I climbed onto a hard rock and exhaled deeply.

The sound of the water echoed in the dim space.

I had climbed onto a small space behind the waterfall.

The continuous stream of water, enough for an adult to perform waterfall training without issues, fell like a curtain, separating this space.

“Oh… amazing…”

Beyond the waterfall.

At the edge of the basin, my sister stood up.

Her figure looked eerily distorted by the water…

“Brother, you’re truly amazing! Unparalleled. Invincible. Peerless. Perfect. Omniscient and omnipotent!! There’s no one better than you in this world, that world, or any world!

Of course, isn’t it natural? Knowing the supreme you, how could I, your sister, not love you despite our blood ties?

I conquered them all! I exterminated all those filthy thieves and won you as my prize!”

Shut up…!

I’m not unparalleled, invincible, peerless, perfect, or omniscient.

Even to defeat you this time, how many strategies do you think I devised?

You surpassed them all in ways beyond my imagination.

The amazing one, the incredible one, is you.

But this ends here.

This is where it ends.

I touched the rock wall behind me.

—Crack!

A rock far larger than my body broke off the wall.

It must weigh over a ton.

This was the largest, heaviest rock I could find around here…!

I threw it with one hand.

It’s so big that hitting her is inevitable.

The rock pierced through the waterfall, flying straight towards her.

From what I’ve seen, her spirit arts can only produce flames from the terminal parts of her body like hands or feet.

But now, she only had her right hand and left foot left.

To destroy a rock of this size with flames, she would have to sacrifice one of those, as she did before.

If she lost her right hand, she couldn’t grab me.

If she lost her left foot, she couldn’t chase me.

Either way, she would be immobilized—my victory!

She looked up in shock at the massive rock flying towards her.

And then—

“—Darn. I didn’t want to do this.”

She took a deep breath.

Her cheeks puffed up with air—

And when released, it wasn’t air.

It was crimson flames.

Like a dragon—she breathed fire.

The immense heat caused the rock to glow red and shatter.

The fragments fell into the basin, raising steam.

She exhaled and covered her mouth with her right hand.

“I didn’t want to show you something as unladylike as breathing fire. You’re such a demanding person, brother.”

Unladylike…?

You chose to blow off your limbs for that…?

Amazed, I met her gaze.

Her eyes no longer seemed human to me.

Using her right hand and left foot, like a beast.

Yet at an incredible speed, she charged.

There was no escape behind the waterfall.

“Gotcha☆”

Her right hand pierced through the water, grabbing my neck.

“How was it, brother? My skills?

Surprised? More than you expected?

Even though I’ve been in this world for fifteen years, I made good use of my reincarnator’s advantage.

No matter how strong ‘Spirit-Bound Roost’ is, you’ve only known spirit arts for a few months. With your physical limitations, in a battle involving spirit arts, I’m superior.

No matter how many rocks you throw, they won’t work against me. So—”

With absolute certainty, she declared.

“This is my victory, brother♪”

You think so, right?

I grabbed her right wrist and nullified its weight.

Noticing, she raised her eyebrows.

“What are you doing, bro—”

Her words cut off, likely because she understood my intention.

A person bound to something much heavier can’t move.

It’s not about muscle strength.

Even in space, if you’re tied to a space station, you can’t move.

It’s about the difference in mass.

So naturally, in this state—

With her weight nullified and her hand grabbing my neck.

She was immobilized by my weight.

This was a restraint.

Earlier, you said this:

—No matter how many rocks you throw, they won’t work against me.

That’s true. No matter how many rocks I throw, you’ll block them with flames.

But what if it wasn’t a rock?

What if it was something you couldn’t block or destroy with flames?

“……ah…ahh…!”

She looked up and let out a faint voice.

—Before the battle, I flew around the forest looking for weapons.

Knowing that she—Anelli—would use [Dawn’s Light], I devised numerous countermeasures.

And I set it up.

A deadly trap at this waterfall.

Now she finally noticed.

She noticed the large amount of water held at the top of the waterfall.

This waterfall originally had a much higher water volume.

I used [Feathered Wings of Departure] to dam it.

To release it at the right moment and crush my hated sister.

You can’t stop falling water with fire.

“Oh… I see…!”

Facing imminent doom, she smiled.

“At first… your clothes were wet not from sweat, but because you set this up…

Haha, hahaha! Hahahahaha!! I didn’t notice! I didn’t notice!! Not at all!!”

Laughing while bound by zero gravity, I pointed three fingers at her.

As long as she kept grabbing my neck, I would be the weight holding her down.

But if she let go, she might escape the falling water.

I planned to give her a three-second grace period.

Even though she did something unforgivable, she was my sister.

If she backed off now—I wouldn’t take her life.

But.

“Brother…”

There was no sign of her letting go.

She just looked at me with eyes full of ecstasy.

“Brother, brother, brotheeer…!”

I folded one finger.

She paid no mind to the remaining two.

“I love you… I love you, brother!

I’m the only one in the world—the only one who truly loves you!

So, so, so—! You must love me too—”

…I see.

I should’ve said it clearly.

Not because we’re siblings or because of morality or law.

Clearly—how I felt.

I folded another finger.

I grabbed her arm

with the last one.

And at the same time, I pressed her face with my free right hand, blocking her view.

So I wouldn’t see her face anymore, and she wouldn’t see mine.

Finally, I said it.

“I…hate you.”

She let out a tiny, tiny sigh—at that very moment—

“3.”

The dam burst.

A massive amount of water, enough to move even the largest boulders, fell.

My sister, who couldn’t use her flames, was caught in the flood and swept away into the waterfall basin.

She desperately tried to say something.

With her mouth, she tried to convey something.

But I no longer cared about that.

I quickly climbed the rock wall to avoid the torrent.

So I didn’t know.

Her final words, as she was engulfed by the water.

◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆

After taking a short break, I headed downstream from the waterfall. And, without much difficulty, I found her. A girl in a maid’s uniform was stuck to a rock protruding from the river’s surface, like a log.

Her face and limbs were swollen and dark blue. There was no longer any resemblance to the girl who had taken care of me since birth… It was obvious at a glance… She was a drowning victim.

Still, I cautiously approached her using spirit magic and checked her pulse. …It was gone. There was no pulse in her wrist or neck.

I returned to the riverbank and collapsed, exhausted. …Did I kill her? No, that’s not it. I defeated her. I finally defeated the monster known as my sister.

“Ahh! I found him! He’s over here!!”

From afar, I heard a voice.

Using the last of my strength, I turned my gaze towards it, and I saw familiar servants and—my father and mother—pushing through the foliag

e and running towards me.

Thank goodness… Honestly, I don’t have the strength left to get back.

Relief washed over me, and my consciousness rapidly began to fade into sleep.

Finally, I had regained it.

The life that my sister had taken from me.

So, this time.

This time, I will live it.

My—my very own life.

On the edge of the darkness closing in, I made a firm resolve.

—

The Determination of Infancy: Sibling Reincarnation Arc

THE END