Chasing Time

“Next, we have the most noble recipient of the Order of the Garter, the Grand Cross of Saint Michael and Saint George, the Grand Cross of the Bath, the Victoria Cross and the lower grades of Knighthood, the leader of the anti-colonial movement, the bell-ringer of the East India Company, the hero of the Crimean War, a Fellow of the Royal Society, a lifelong dear friend of literary giants such as Dickens and Great Dumas, a steadfast supporter of scientific luminaries like Faraday and Darwin, having served as assistant under-secretary, deputy under-secretary, and permanent under-secretary in departments of the Home Office and the Navy Department of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the inaugural Cabinet Secretary and head of the civil service, the first graduate and most distinguished alumnus of our school. Please welcome Sir Arthur Hastings to deliver a speech on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the University of London.”
Arthur's gaze swept across the crowd before him, looking at the young faces and murmured, “Agares, what do you think I should say?”
The Red Devil's wraith hovered behind him, saliva almost dribbling from the corner of his mouth, “Look at these ignorant souls; they still worship you as a hero. Why not say something they'd like to hear?”
Arthur took a deep breath and let out a deafening roar, “Oxford is a bunch of whores' bastards!”
“Oh!!!!”
The audience erupted into thunderous applause.
“Cambridge is the same!” he added immediately.
The applause grew even more fervent...
(The protagonist, possessed by a devil, travels through 19th-century Britain in a world without magic)

The Shadow of Great Britain

London's rain poured throughout the night, and Arthur was busy almost all night in the police station.


The station's doors were frequently pushed open, and although everyone entering and exiting was dressed in the same uniform, those in the know could distinguish their different police districts by the identification numbers on their epaulets and collars.


From XH of Islington in the westernmost part of Greater London to KD of Havering in the east, from YE of Enfield in the north, down to ZD and PY of Croydon and Bromley in the south.


Almost overnight, the Greenwich police station had seemingly become the center of Scotland Yard.


"Sir, we have almost finished checking all the hospitals in the Greater London area, and the results… seem rather pessimistic,"


"The hospitals contain unexplainably sourced cadavers, exceeding our initial estimates…"


Chapter 34: Storm in the City