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

In the midst of the audience's discussion and laughter, suddenly, the lights in the Astley Circular Theatre went out abruptly.


Patrons in the theatre bar, who had been toasting and savoring delicacies from all over Britain, also halted their actions, looking up through the glass windows at the stage below, yet they could see nothing at all.


Under the silent night sky, the only thing left for the crowded ten thousand spectators inside the Astley Circular Theatre to admire was the dazzling twinkling of the stars above.


The weather was fine today; there were no clouds, no drizzle, and although a chilly wind whistled by, one could still see the charmingly seductive pale moonlight.


Inside the theatre's third-level royal box, enjoying fine wines and a feast, King William IV, who had been earnestly conversing with the Duke of Wellington beside him, could not help but stop speaking.


Chapter 258: Collision of Eras (5K6)