I Escaped the Exile Story Only To Find It Was a Regret Trope

42 – 8# The Reunion with the Redhead Was the Worst (3)

Doppelganger.

The sage called the doppelganger a legacy of the future. But in reality, it was nothing more than a private soldier used by the sage. In fact, he personally used the doppelganger.

Pretending to be a savior, he kidnapped famous heroes and nobles. Then he duplicated them with the doppelganger and turned them into puppets that blindly followed him.

As a result, Yushin, who was a hero, was quickly branded a traitor. Even the people who believed in Yushin lost their lives or were replaced by doppelgangers.

But to see such a sight again here. From Yushin’s perspective, it was unpleasant. But what could he do? If the mess came over there, he had to clean it up again.

Yushin took out his phone to contact Yuri, who was with Athena. But of course, the communication didn’t work. Yushin furrowed his brows and muttered.

“They’ve already started their tricks.”

It seems they have no intention of letting us join easily. But something is strange. No matter how much of a sage he is, could he already create and use magic to block communication devices?

There’s no way he could grow that fast.

Then there’s only one answer. Someone is helping the sage from the side. Coincidentally, Yushin recalled the middle-aged man he met in his dream before. Maybe that guy is helping.

‘Then why did he appear in my dream to warn me?’

Questions kept coming one after another, but Yushin soon shook them off. It was because a red-haired boy appeared in front of Yushin and Seolyeon.

“Hyunwoo!!”

Seolyeon called out the name of the red-haired boy who appeared in front of her desperately. This time, it was real. It wasn’t just a doppelganger, the real Hyunwoo had appeared before her. Or so she thought.

‘What is that?’

However, Yushin, who was watching the scene from behind, felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort. Even though Yushin was someone who didn’t store anything in his mind if he wasn’t interested.

If you meet someone three times, whether you like it or not, you can’t help but remember them to some extent.

But the Hyunwoo in front of him now felt different from the Hyunwoo he had seen so far. Rather, this eerie and dirty feeling was closer to that of a sage.

“Hey! Step back for now!”

“What are you talking about? This guy is my real brother.”

“Sorry, but that’s not the case.”

Hyunwoo smiled and reached out his hand. From the palm of Hyunwoo’s outstretched hand, a purple glowing magic circle appeared. The moment he saw it, Yushin was already moving.

Boom!!

Countless pieces of flesh extended from the magic circle and covered the place where Seolyeon had been. If Yushin had been a little late, Seolyeon would have been devoured by those pieces of flesh and become part of them.

“You b*stard.”

“Long time no see, hero.”

“Explain first. What the hell have you done?”

It was definitely a sage. The magic he just used, his tone of voice. But his appearance was that of a redhead. It wasn’t that he used some trivial transformation magic or such a petty trick.

Even Seolyeon, who had a sharp sense, and even Yushin, who was used to this kind of thing, initially recognized Hyunwoo as Hyunwoo. Even though the atmosphere was very different.

“The answer is simple. Was it Kang Hyunwoo? I took that child’s existence.”

“Took his existence? So, you took over his body?”

“It’s not such a trivial magic. Literally, from the beginning, ‘I’ became ‘Kang Hyunwoo’.”

“……Crazy.”

Taking someone’s existence. In other words, the current Hyunwoo. No, people would recognize the sage as Hyunwoo. Whatever the real Hyunwoo had done until now, it would all be erased.

“Don’t you think so? Sister.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“……Oh?”

“A wicked person like you, a vile creature like you, could never be my brother!!”

“This is amazing? To think you would resist the magic that overlays existence.”

The sage was genuinely impressed. He had expected that the hero and Athena, whose souls were mixed with those of another world, wouldn’t be affected, but he hadn’t expected that there would be someone in this world who could resist.

However, that thought was half right and half wrong.

Right now, Seolyeon felt like she was going to lose her mind. Her head, her coldly sinking reason, kept trying to convince her that the wicked being in front of her was her brother.

Memories and recollections were all overlaid.

However, even so, Seolyeon could not acknowledge the wicked being in front of her as her brother. The instincts close to her unconscious were desperately blocking it.

“Where is my real brother?!”

Seolyeon barely managed to speak, her voice chewing on her anger. She wanted to tear him apart right now, but still held onto a sliver of hope. Seolyeon asked the sage.

A glimmer of hope that her family was alive.

She could never give up. Because they were family. However, the sage easily crushed that glimmer of hope. In the worst possible way. The sage smiled lightly.

“Haven’t you already met?”

“Nonsense…!!!”

“The doppelganger you met before coming here.”

“…?!”

“Was that really a fake?”

That one sentence overturned the burning lake. The doppelganger she thought was fake, the one she thought was mimicking her brother. What if it was real?

What if it was her family, imprisoned by the doppelganger, calling for help from his sister?

Then who was it that finished off the doppelganger? Yes, none other than Kang Seolyeon herself. The once strong Kang Seolyeon was now staggering greatly.

Did she kill her brother?

By whose hand.

By my own?

Just before the once strong Kang Seolyeon’s mind collapsed from the shock, it was Yushin who stepped forward. He had seen and experienced this countless times.

Therefore.

He knew the answer to solve this problem.

The blade Yushin drew aimed at the sage’s neck in an instant. The sage tried to block it with flames, but Yushin’s slash, imbued with anger, easily cut through the flames.

“So you were the culprit all along. You b*stard!!”

That b*stard was always like that. Always doing unimaginable, trashy things. And then shifting the blame. But was that Seolyeon’s fault?

No, it wasn’t.

From the moment his existence was overlaid. Hyunwoo was as good as dead. Of course, if you look hard enough, there might be a way to fix it. But that’s very unlikely.

At least, with the great evil that is the sage in front of them. There’s nothing they can do. Moreover, the opponent is a doppelganger, and if the sage gives the order, it will attack without hesitation.

In the end, they had no choice but to make the best decision. It was a cold judgment, but there was no other way. If they didn’t think that way, Yushin’s mind would have collapsed long ago…

“Even a rotten hero is still a hero? Not bad, but just that much won’t…”

“Revil is not alone!!”

“?!”

If alone, I can somehow handle it. Even in a weakened state, the hero is his greatest adversary. So, he deals with it here. The sage’s judgment was very sound, but…

The opponent did not remain idle.

Tearing through the barrier set in the space, Athena, who had intruded from the sky, fell upon the sage like moonlight. The sage, torn by overwhelming power, could not withstand the force and retreated.

Of all things, such a monster had to come.

Moreover, others might cross over besides Athena in the future. But the sage suppressed his desires. Even if he fought here, at best, it would end in mutual destruction.

“Let’s leave it for another time.”

In the end, the sage had no choice but to retreat, promising another day. After all, he had obtained the vessel to overlay his soul. For now, he would be satisfied with this and withdraw.

Naturally, Seolyeon did not intend to let him go. She wanted to say, “Give me back my brother.” But she was choked up and couldn’t speak. Guilt kept surging.

Finally, after the sage disappeared from sight, Seolyeon collapsed to the ground. Yushin, who had been watching her for a moment, sighed deeply and approached her.

“Are you okay?”

“…I don’t know. What should I do from now on?”

“It’s my fault for calling it a doppelganger. It’s not your fault.”

The harshness of dark fantasy had struck her hard. Yushin understood that feeling better than anyone. The story of the family who boiled their child, which he had mentioned before.

At that time, the child boiled by the parents was one of Yushin’s comrades. He was a junior who joined late. He was innocent and polite, and Yushin had unexpectedly liked him.

Until the very end, he believed in himself, but was imprisoned and tormented by his parents. In the end, he was boiled by his parents and served on the dining table.

[How about it? This is a special feast I prepared for you.]

And in front of him was the sage. The one who manipulated people at will, causing them to hurt others. That trash. Hearing those words, Seolyeon’s gaze turned to Yushin.

“…No, no matter how much I think about it. Even if I try to redirect the arrow of resentment.”

“….”

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“That situation was inevitable. Even if I go back, I would have no choice but to do the same.”

“You are strong.”

“No, I am weak.”

It feels like I could collapse at any moment. What kind of head of the disciplinary committee, what survival of the fittest? I can’t even protect my precious family. What she needed now was just one thing.

Someone to rely on.

Before she knew it, as she came to her senses, Seolyeon found herself being embraced by Yushin. Was it sympathy, or a sense of kinship? She didn’t know the reason behind his actions.

But at least, thanks to him…

Seolyeon could shed the tears she had been holding back for a long time.