Age of Cosmic Exploration - Chapter 69: Harvest Season

The Apocalypse is in full swing. Defiled - powerful creatures corrupted by the Great Collision - prowled the lands in search of prey. Unfortunately for them, the human race had long since retreated behind the secure walls of the Sanctuary of Everlast. During one of his regular excursions outside the Sanctuary, Alden is separated from Celeste. - his childhood friend and crush. In that moment, he came to regret never summoning the courage to confess. Somehow managing to survive thanks to some trickery, Alden awakens as a mage. Instead of receiving a normal power, he gains the ability to decay. What’s more, during his ascension, he received a vision from his future self advising him not to trust the Asterons - celestial beings who had saved his race from inescapable doom. Normally... such a revelation wouldn’t faze Alden. However, there was only one major problem with the declaration, though. Celeste was bound with an Asteron. And not just any normal Asteron... She had made a pact with one of the Divine Sovereigns.

Stella Wilson, a nice rural lady who went to New York to pursue her Veterinary degree. Also, she works part-time as a pet sitter to a three little cats. Her boss, Alice Adelson instructed her to keep the cats away from the next-door neighbor Sebastian, the billionaire. An Alice cat, however, managed to escape from Stella's care and make the way to Sebastian's property, where caused her trouble. Stella is caught by Sebastian while trespassing his property.Sebastian informs her that she must keep the cat away or else he would punish her. Sebastian has already made the decision that he will going to own her and has stated that she will be responsible for the payment. But it's not in monetary value that he's looking for.

“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)

Because of a mission, Bruce White entered prison as a criminal, but his family was abused and bullied as a result. After three years of life in prison, he finally completed his mission. Yet, he received truly shocking news when he came out of prison. His father had passed away, his mother went missing, but he knew nothing about it. Filled to the brim with rage and grief, Bruce gathered his forces and headed towards the city as fast as possible.