November 20, 1987, 9:54 AM. Five hours until the Time Death Judgment.

Outer London, Lambeth District, Waterloo Station.

Baron bought the latest copy of the London Times, from which he learned the new password and location for boarding the Dragon Subway. He then used the Chain of the Imitator to evade the police patrols inside the station and, just like last time, snuck onto the subway platform.

The Waterloo Dragon Subway Station was constructed much like the one he had seen on New Street, with the only difference being the murals on the platform’s support pillars: a special Inner Side edition of Napoleon’s Battle of Waterloo.

Baron only needed a quick glance to understand the true story of the Battle of Waterloo.

The world knows the French army was defeated at Waterloo, and that Napoleon was defeated because of Grouchy’s failure to provide timely reinforcements.

But what people don’t know is that Grouchy had his reasons. He wasn’t the pedantic, rigid, and mediocre man history made him out to be; he had simply encountered something beyond the realm of common sense.

According to the plan, Grouchy, under Napoleon’s orders, was to lead his army to pursue the retreating Prussian forces. Then, he was to cut in from Waver to get between Waterloo and the Prussians, blocking the Allied reinforcements.

However, the Prussian army, led by Blücher, had actually broken away from Grouchy’s pursuit early on and was already on its way to reinforce the battle.

But the inflexible Grouchy rejected his subordinate’s proposal to split their forces. He stubbornly insisted on carrying out the Emperor’s original order, leading a large contingent of men on a wild goose chase down empty roads, pursuing a phantom Prussian army.

They could even hear the rumbling cannons of the main battle at the time.

It sounds unbelievable, but if an Alchemy Array was involved, the whole unbelievable affair becomes rather mundane.

The Inner Side must not interfere with the Outer Side. This was a consensus among all the Old Races of the world.

But the Illusionary Array set up by London Tower Master Isaac Newton had been a casual creation from his youth. Back when he was just a humble Wizard Apprentice at the London Tower, he had set up the array in a small village near Waterloo as part of a practical extracurricular assignment from his teacher.

At that time, Napoleon was still on the island of Corsica, climbing a large tree in his hometown with his brother Joseph to prove who was braver, sitting on its branches to gaze out over the sea at the Continent that would one day await his conquest.

In response to this, after the war, he faced legal accusations and a trial from the French Old Race before an international Old Race tribunal.

Isaac Newton passionately argued in court, "Who could have possibly guessed that an array I casually set down years ago would one day influence a war that decided the fate of an Empire?"

Although the French Old Race was extremely displeased, Isaac’s defense undoubtedly moved the jury and the judge. They declared Isaac Newton not guilty, but ruled that he still had to pay a certain price.

"In reality, the London Tower paid no price at all. Isaac was already a Silver Mage at the time, destined to become a Golden Mage. No one would dare provoke a future Golden Mage."

Jack had appeared by his side at some point.

To avoid being recognized, he wore a long, thick coat. His shoulder-length blond hair was tucked into a knit cap, and light-colored sunglasses concealed most of his face. He was even holding a cup of steaming coffee.

If Baron hadn’t recognized that familiar, somewhat smarmy voice, he would have assumed this was some urban elite on his way to work in the Financial City.

"Why was he destined to become Gold? Doesn’t the Trinity Theorem of the Law state that there can be at most three Golden Tier masters of the same profession?" Baron raised an eyebrow.

Jack took a sip of his coffee and continued, "The Trinity Theorem exists because when a Law shatters, it always breaks into three pieces. Only a Law Enforcer who obtains one of the three Law Fragments and is acknowledged by it can become Gold.

The Wizard Law was created by the London Tower Master, Leighton, and at that time, there were no other Golden Mages besides Leighton himself."

Jack didn’t say any more, but Baron already understood. There were still two vacant spots for Golden Mages, and Isaac Newton was bound to claim one of them.

Furthermore, after Leighton died, the Golden Tier of the Wizard Law was left vacant. After Isaac Newton became Gold, he was the only Golden Mage in the entire Old Descendant World. Two of the three Gold spots were empty.

This was also why, in the Inner Side, many Old Race families chose to send their children to Wizard Schools.

They all dreamed that their child might one day become one of the remaining Golden Mages.

Baron grinned. ’Parents hoping their kids will become successful is a universal trait, it seems,’ he thought.

Just then, a broadcast announcement rang out. The Dragon Subway slowed to a stop at the platform’s edge amidst a cloud of cooling mist sprayed from high-pressure water guns. Baron was about to blend into the crowd when Jack pulled him around to the front of the subway, to the dragon’s head.

"Are we being followed?"

Baron glanced at the chain hanging from his waist. He was sure he’d been continuously channeling Spiritual Power into the Taboo Item; there was no way he could have been exposed.

"Not followers, fare evasion... As a D Level Commissioner of Westminster Cathedral, you have to learn how to save money. Only an idiot would buy a ticket for One Ounce of Gold."

Jack eyed Baron suspiciously. "You didn’t buy a ticket, did you?"

Baron shrugged. "Do I look like I need to pay?"

He looked over at the Bone Dragon, which was also looking at them, a faint fiery light glowing in its empty eye sockets.

The area around the dragon’s head was shrouded in mist from the water guns. The conductors were all in the rear cars helping passengers, so there was basically no one else around except the two of them.

Baron scratched his head. "Even if we’re skipping the fare, what are we doing here? Don’t tell me we’re going to ride on the outside?"

That’s a skill for the Indians.

"Just follow me."

Jack hopped off the platform onto the tracks, his burly frame looking somewhat small in front of the massive, skeletal dragon’s head.

Baron almost thought he was about to fight the Bone Dragon, because he took a very long... colorful stick? from his ring.

Jack placed the colorful stick near the Bone Dragon’s mouth. The fiery lights in its eyes darted around as if observing the situation, and then its jaw opened wide enough for a person to crawl through.

Jack tossed the colorful stick inside first, then waved for Baron to follow as he climbed into the Bone Dragon’s mouth.

...

The Dragon Subway sped along the tracks.

Inside the Bone Dragon’s mouth, feeling the fierce wind rushing in through its empty eye sockets, Jack explained to Baron:

"Bone Dragons love sweets. So if you buy a big enough lollipop, you can hide in its mouth. It’s a tradition passed down from each D Level Commissioner to the next."

Baron retorted, "Why does being a D Level Commissioner sound like some kind of hereditary title? You museum-robbing Divine Thief."

Jack’s expression froze for a moment, then he declared with righteous indignation, "The collections in the British Museum are all artifacts plundered from the colonies! I sell them to local antique dealers. I’m helping the artifacts return home! It’s a good deed!"

Baron: "..."

They stayed in the Bone Dragon’s mouth for about half an hour. When the subway stopped amidst a spray of mist that poured in through the eye sockets, Baron and Jack, now soaked to the bone, hastily escaped from Waterloo Subway Station during the deboarding rush.

After another period of hiding and sneaking through Inner London, they finally arrived at Bagins Clinic on Prussian Street.

Jack made a small blunder in front of the clinic. He mistook a passerby at the clinic’s intersection for Bagins. (Jack had never met Bagins before.)

Before Baron could stop him, he went right up, slung an arm around the man’s neck, and said, "Master Bagins, I’ve got a batch of goods to move, real pure stuff..." The pedestrian, terrified, ran away.

It wasn’t until Don Quixote opened the door while holding Sangji that Jack finally realized his mistake. Seeing the short Master Bagins before him, he crouched down, draped an arm over Master Bagins’s shoulder, and said with a wink:

"Master, I’ve got a batch of goods to move. Real pure stuff, containing enough ’Time’ for Alchemy... Oh, by the way, Master, have you ever considered getting taller? I’ve got some height-increasing medicine from the United States, guaranteed to work..."

CLANG! Bagins retracted his fist. Jack clutched his groin and dropped to his knees. Don Quixote shut the door.

The Master looked at Baron, sizing him up. He stroked his beard and spoke the first words of their meeting:

"You’re not dead yet, kid?"

’Seriously, Master? Are you really that eager for me to die?’

The Dragon Knight didn’t say much. The Gentiana Pattern Ring flashed, and an herb shaped strangely like the hand of a clock fell out. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

The Master was silent for a moment, his expression trembling as if he had a thousand things to say. But in the end, he spoke only a single word:

"Good."