I was Reincarnated as the Villainess's Older Brother, but it seems My Sister is Obsessed With Me. And for Some Reason, the Male Love Interests are also Doting On Me.(BL) - Chapter 28

Are those… undead!?

Monsters should only be able to survive inside dungeons. Why are they out here?

For the record, the dungeon only reopened six months after the Dullahan incident.
No one ever figured out the cause.

I’ve gotten stronger since then. Every time we had a school break, I dove into the dungeon. I even ranked up to B-rank recently.

But still… this is undead we’re talking about.
Living corpses. Basically, zombies.

Terrifying.
Seriously, I suck at horror.
Why can’t a giant or a giant snake show up instead!?

“Senpai… are we going to die here…?”

Alice was trembling, paralyzed by fear.
No one was coming to help this time—not like with the Dullahan.
I had to be the one to protect her.

“I’ll handle this. Stay back, Alice.”

I drew my sword.

There were at least ten of them. I charged in and cut one down.

It collapsed more easily than expected.
Maybe I could actually take them—so I started cutting through one after another.

Just when I thought I had the upper hand…
The first one I took down began getting back up.

“N-No way… They’re immortal…?”

Well, they are dead already…

To make matters worse, more undead began pouring in from deeper within the forest.
The number quickly swelled to around thirty.

Come on, think… dig into that RPG knowledge!

Undead are weak to… fire and holy magic. Of course—fire again.

There’s also holy magic, but I glanced over at Alice. She was still frozen in place, trembling.
And there were way too many enemies for her to handle alone.

What else… Oh, the summoner!
Undead are often being controlled by a necromancer or some kind of spellcaster.
If I can find and defeat the one controlling them, this might end.

But how do I find the caster?

I had no time to think—more undead were closing in.
I cast a wide blast of wind magic, sending about ten of them flying.

But they just got back up.
There was no end to this.

“Ah—Alice is in danger!”

A group of undead had turned toward Alice and were approaching.
She still couldn’t move, frozen in fear.

I couldn’t get to her in time—

“Damn it! Just freeze already—ALL of you!!”

Crack, crack, crack, crack—

Acting purely on instinct, I unleashed a massive burst of ice magic across the area.
The undead all froze in place.

“…No way. Did that actually work?”

I didn’t even know how I did it.
But until I found the summoner, there was always the risk they’d reanimate—or that more would come.

“Alice! Are you okay? I’m going to find the one controlling them. You stay in the cave.
No matter what happens—don’t come out until I return.”

“U-understood.”

◇◇◇◇

Once I made sure Alice was safely inside the cave, I cautiously began searching the area.

“They’re probably nearby… watching all of this unfold. If only Finn were here…”

Finn was a Horn Rabbit.
Not a dog, but still had a great nose—excellent at tracking people and objects.

The moment I murmured Finn’s name—

Pop.

“…Finn?”

No way. That couldn’t be real.
I must be hallucinating from stress.

I tried to walk away, but then—

“Master. You called for me, didn’t you?”

I turned toward the voice and found a silver-haired, red-eyed girl standing there.
She looked around Fiona’s height, maybe a bit shorter.

“…Who are you?”

“How could you! You called for me just now, didn’t you, Master!?”

The girl puffed up her cheeks in frustration.
I glanced around, wondering if she was talking to someone else—but we were completely alone.

“Master… you mean me?”

“Of course! You called, so I came out!”

The girl turned away with a huff—and something about the way she did it seemed… familiar.

“Wait… are you… Finn? But… you’re human?”

“Exactly. You were about to run off somewhere, right?
I can’t speak in my rabbit form, so I took this shape instead.”

“You can do that?!”

—As I later found out, after over a year of absorbing my magic, Finn had evolved to the point where she could not only take human form, but also use the same magic as me.

In terms of monster ranking, she was apparently S-class.

So yeah.
Turns out my familiar isn’t just a cute pet—she’s totally overpowered.

“So? What do you need me to do?”

Right. This wasn’t over yet.

“I need you to find whoever’s controlling the undead. Can you do that?”

“That’s easy.”

Finn closed her eyes. Wind began swirling around her.
Then she snapped her crimson eyes open and pointed east.

“There are two enemies. About fifty meters straight ahead—hiding in a tree.”

“Thanks.”

I gave her a quick nod and sprinted in the direction she’d indicated.
Just like she said, there were two figures in cloaks standing in the trees.
Judging by their build, they were men—but their faces were obscured by deep hoods.

“So… you managed to find us. Not bad.”

“What’s your goal?”

“Since you’re about to die anyway… I suppose I can tell you.”
The man grinned slyly before answering.

“To kill you, of course.”

Kill me…?

I’m just a background character in this world.
A law-abiding citizen.
Why would some shady organization type be targeting me?

While I stood there processing that, the roots of nearby trees began writhing.

He was an earth magic user.

The roots sharpened into spear-like points and lunged toward me.

“Uwaaah!!”

I dodged and slashed at the incoming roots as best I could, managing to avoid any fatal blows—but I was getting torn up.

“Oh, rejoice. Looks like the undead will be back in action soon.”

You’ve got to be kidding me…
I used way too much mana freezing them earlier—I’m already running on fumes here.

“I’ll finish you before they even get a chance to move!”

“Try it, if you think you can.”

I dashed forward, closing the distance, and swung my sword.

But the man parried it with ease.

Metal clashed over and over, ringing through the otherwise quiet forest.

If the second guy joins in with more earth magic, I’m finished.

“…Sorry, but I’m gonna fight a little dirty.”

I figured I’d apologize in advance. I’m considerate like that.

“Ugh! What the hell—!?”

“Winning’s all that matters.”

I froze the ground beneath his feet, and the man lost his balance.
Seizing the moment, I struck him hard across the head with the pommel of my sword.

He collapsed, unconscious.

I… I couldn’t bring myself to kill him.

“Even if the undead don’t come, let’s see if you can handle my earth magic.”

The second man began casting again. Tree roots erupted from the ground, transforming into deadly spears.

“Urgh—!”

I dodged as best I could, but one caught me clean in the side.
It drove straight into my abdomen.

The moment the root withdrew, bl00d gushed from the wound.

Fiona… This might really be the end for me.

“Huh? Where did that come from?”

The man suddenly looked around in confusion.

“You… hurt my master. I won’t forgive you. Never.”

Finn stood in front of me, her hair bristling, her body wrapped in icy wind.
Shards of frost spun around her like a protective barrier.

“Don’t be ridiculous. One little girl won’t change anything.”

The man summoned more roots and sent them flying at Finn—just like he did with me.

“Finn, watch out!!”

I shouted, but Finn didn’t move.
Then I saw it—the icy wind around her body blocked every attack. Not a single root got through.

“Alice-san, please—heal him while I hold them off.”

“Right!”

Finn had brought Alice with her.
What an amazing familiar.

I’m giving her a whole basket of her favorite carrots when we get home.

I felt that same warm sensation as Alice’s healing magic began to work.
Just like before, the pain vanished and the wound sealed almost instantly.

“Thanks, Alice.”

I gently patted her head in gratitude. Alice blushed and lowered her gaze.

“Ah—sorry. It’s kind of a habit.”

“It’s… fine.”

Lately, her reactions have reminded me of Fiona, and I find myself treating her the same way without thinking.
I really need to get a grip before someone sues me for harassment.

More importantly—what happened to Finn?

I looked around frantically.

“Finn!? Stop! That’s enough!!”

Finn stood over the second man, an icy blade poised at his neck.

“Why? He hurt you. He has to pay.”

“You don’t need to dirty your hands for scum like him.”

I tried to reason with her, but she didn’t move. Her blade didn’t lower.

“Finn… come here.”

I opened my arms like I always did when calling her.