Chapter 431

Eom Jun-yong, a politician of South Korea, graduated from the Australian National University with a degree in Political Science.

In Korea, he is better known for participating in “Show Me the Money” under the rap name Randi.

His father was a famous law school professor but was essentially a political has-been after failing four times in his bids for a National Assembly seat. In the political scene, he was of little significance.

The father expressed his inferiority complex and feelings of inadequacy towards his son, who seemed to be wasting time on silly songs.

However, Eom Jun-yong defied expectations and was elected as an independent in the ‘Gangnam-gu Jeong’ electoral district.

In his twenties, he had already realized his father’s lifelong dream.

But he chose to resign before completing his term.

His father angrily declared that he would sever ties with his son, but Eom Jun-yong paid no attention.

“Not all National Assembly members are the same.”

There is a theory that Korea has been mimicking Japan as is for the past 20 years.

In line with that, the Korean National Assembly is aging, filled with politicians on their fourth or fifth terms.

Political nepotism has become prevalent, where election outcomes depend more on the political backgrounds of one’s parents rather than campaign promises or individual qualifications.

Among the 300 members, only 30 are the key figures who truly move the National Assembly.

Thinking it would be a waste of time to maintain his position any longer, he boldly returned his golden badge.

The Valpurgis Special Commission is a place completely ignored in the political arena.

Conversely, it was ideal for him to operate freely without any interference under a fixed budget.

He set off for the Middle East without a specific plan, accompanied by his aids.

“Why not just act crazy and meet with Valpurgis?”

“To do politics, one must stake their life.”

These were the words his father would repeat constantly.

Thus, he boldly sent meeting requests to Valpurgis, no matter the circumstance.

Then one day, he received a call to come from a faction of Valpurgis known as Israfil.

While his aides fled one by one, and the local guide in Iraq said, “This is a bit…,” Eom Jun-yong took a daring bet on his life.

Wearing a black blindfold and handcuffs, he moved several kilometers to enter a residential house.

“Welcome.”

—

[This is to certify that the above-mentioned patient has been diagnosed with the mentioned condition following a neurology consultation at our facility. The patient currently has reduced muscle strength in the limbs due to motor neuron paralysis, unable to raise the right arm, and has difficulty walking up stairs. It is also accompanied by speech and swallowing disorders. The patient’s current condition has been assessed using ALSFRS-R (maximum score of 48), yielding a score of 35, indicating the need for assistance from others starting from this point. The current illness is expected to progress continuously and lead to death within a few years; hospitalization may be required if it worsens.]

From 2024, ten years after the end of the war, South Korea was undergoing a period of chaos.

Middle Eastern and North African countries fell into anarchy after the Middle Eastern wars.

In South Korea alone, over 200,000 refugee applicants arise each year, accelerating urban slumification.

Seol-a, who was from an orphanage in the heavily slumified district of Bupyeong, Incheon, was once trying to learn about her mother.

At one point, I also made efforts to find out about her.

The only information I could gather was that she attended Uhwah Girls’ Middle School and Uhwah Girls’ High School.

Even that little information revealed she was a quiet student who missed many classes due to frequent illnesses.

As the years passed—more than ten—she faded from everyone’s memory.

“Lou Gehrig’s disease progresses at different rates in individuals; symptoms might have suddenly paused in between.”

“I heard this after consulting with doctors, but they also explained it only happens when combined with drug injections or physical therapy. By the time Seol-a was diagnosed, it has probably been three years since Lou Gehrig’s disease began.”

This is all correct.

As far as I know, in the early 2020s, the cause of Lou Gehrig’s disease hadn’t even been discovered yet.

In other words, one could only diagnose the condition through elimination based solely on symptoms; by the time of diagnosis, the disease would have already progressed significantly.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“During this time, illegal stem cell ma-do procedures were rampant. I suspect that at such a young age, it wouldn’t be possible for her to raise hundreds of millions of won… I wonder if Seol-a has been involved in crime since she was young-”

“My mother was a criminal?”

“I’m only speaking in terms of possibilities. Even if it were true, if you tear up that paper, no one in this world would ever know. Personally, I hope for that outcome.”

“What’s your game? You should just be honest.”

A particularly dark inner youth.

I immediately raised my aura, sequentially imposing pressure around him.

I severed all the fine threads filling the world and enveloped the entire space in my aura.

Intense golden energy converged from all directions.

Eom Jun-yong contorted his expression, intermittently clenching and unclenching his fists.

His hands trembled as if electrocuted.

He deliberately refrained from resisting.

I calmly withdrew my aura.

Eom Jun-yong, the vice chairman, awkwardly smiled and handed me all the envelopes.

“To speak frankly… High Mage Noname, I went on a business trip to the Middle East last year.”

“To the Middle East?”

“Hahaha, you can’t believe it, right? I even had a meeting with a Valpurgis executive all by myself! And this is the hypothesis I’ve established by cross-verifying Valpurgis members captured in France with those from Ophelia in Britain.”

“If you’re fooling around, you might just get in trouble with me.”

“Fooling around? I put my life on the line for this. You need to know about this terrifying experience that had me traveling blindfolded.”

I took out each document from the envelope.

As he said, there were dozens of pages in a dialogue format resembling an interview.

“The original recording file is on this USB. Also, the summary is on the last page, yes.”

Hearing his words, I quickly flipped to the last page.

“What is this…”

“It’s exactly as you see.”

My hands trembled, making the letters unclear.

Yet, I had to read it.

Because it was related to my mother.

“It seems not all Valpurgis members acted with the same purpose. Among them, the Seraph that reached out to Korea is regarded as a heretical faction within the organization. The faction of Israfil I visited was also hostile towards the Seraph.”

[The purpose of Valpurgis-Seraph is to create a ‘Messiah’]

[The base is in Libya, a spiritual successor to the group responsible for the hijacking of Algerian Airlines Flight 8318]

[Seraph-Ophelia-Aleph connection reconfirmed]

“Anyway, they are all terrible terrorists, yet why do they engage in petty politics, arguing who’s right and who’s wrong among themselves? The nature of humanity is indeed ugly, isn’t it?”

[Seol-a: Entered Korea during the 3rd refugee resettlement operation in 2025 (Egypt → Incheon)]

“Last August, I met someone approximately the fifth cousin of Seol-a. Both her parents ran a business in Africa but presumably passed away during the war. They said the three-year-old Seol-a was left at an orphanage. It was said that they had never contacted each other, so there wasn’t much more useful information.”

[(Hypothesis) ‘Messiah,’ possibility of an artificial life form with ASI brain integration]

“It’s certain that Valpurgis has conducted human experiments in Korea. However, in Seol-a’s case, it seems she had connections with Valpurgis long before.”

“My mother has been a victim of Valpurgis for a long time?”

“Victim? What’s certain is that Valpurgis tried to save Seol-a. The reason remains unknown.”

[Valpurgis-Seraph: Evidence of extensive use of stem cell Akashic Records in Lou Gehrig’s disease]

—

Eom Jun-yong’s report was something I planned to read thoroughly later.

More than that, I couldn’t grasp his motivations.

“You said you risked your life to meet with a Valpurgis executive? I might not take that at face value, but let’s say I do. However, you still haven’t answered the question of why.”

“Haha!”

Eom Jun-yong laughed heartily.

He swept his unruly bangs back and knelt before me.

“High Mage Noname, this is, you see, a kind of loyalty oath. I, Eom Jun-yong, pledge my loyalty to you, High Mage Noname.”

“Is this the Middle Ages? What loyalty oath?”

“People say I am a greedy person. On the other hand, I think I am quite lazy. Why do I struggle like this? There’s a clear shortcut to success in front of me. Wouldn’t it seem too much like a scam to say this is all to win the favor of a nine-year-old mage?”

Eom Jun-yong’s eyes sparkled fiercely.

“So ultimately, you want to use me.”

“Correct. I want to change this Republic of Korea according to my appetites, and I’m clinging to High Mage Noname for that. Lately, I’ve been feeling a bit unfair, considering I recognized your value long ago.”

“Do you wish for me to return to Korea?”

“Do as you will. You can leave Korea forever or come back. If you leave, this fox can reign in a den without a tiger; if you stay, you’ll have a reliable ally in the tiger. Therefore, I would like the mage to tear up the diagnosis paper about your mother right here.”

If the diagnosis stating that Seol-a has Lou Gehrig’s disease disappears, the fact that she had long contact with Valpurgis would vanish from this world.

“This is a truth only the heavens, the earth, you, and I know. Silencing it is as easy as pie.”