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- Limehouse District, East End of London.
Sebastian stayed back to fight Undertaker as Mey-Rin, Baldroy, and Finnian helped the former earl escape the collapsing opium den. They made it above ground safely, but-
“THAT BRAT!!!” Randall’s shout came from their left.
Mey-Rin quickly fired her distraction shots as the others rushed to a carriage nearby. The driver shook in fear, but got down from his seat with a smile right after the former earl offered him a box of premium opium paste.
Sebastian then made it above ground, battered and soiled by blood. He told everyone to get inside the carriage and hopped on to the driver’s seat after Baldo closed the door. Randall fired his pistol after the carriage as the lower ranking officers chased after them with their billy clubs.
“Damn it!” Randall threw his emptied gun away, “FIRE! YOU FOOL!!!”.
“Y-Yes, sir.” Abberline obliged reluctantly.
Then the butler stood up from the driver’s seat and leapt to the carriage’s rooftop. Abberline backed away in horror as he saw Sebastian's eyes glow red, and the pupils narrowed into vertical slits. The bullet did nothing to him, and all the officers froze in shock as the butler turned into a thick black liquid with smoke, consuming the entire carriage.
The Yard officers with clubs ran back to Randall and Abberline in terror as their two jaws dropped at the sight of the entire carriage, with horse, disappearing from the street along with the inky blackness and smoke, as if it were never there.
“I-If we turn around, will they be behind us?” one officer said in horror.
“O-Of course not!” Randall stuttered, then turned to Abberline, “You fool! You let them escape!!!”
"How was I supposed to stop THAT from happening?" Abberline shouted back as he was still shaking.
“W-Where did they go?” Another officer looked around terrified in his confusion.
- Empty Road, Outskirts of London.
The servants looked out the window in shock as their Young Master’s reaction remained neutral. They’re only a few hours’ leisurely walk away from Phantomhive Manor… the place everything started.
The servants jerked nervously, as the carriage’s door pulled open, and Sebastian casually climbed in to sit next to his master.
“A-Are you alright?” Mey-Rin asked.
“Y-You’re a demon!?” Baldo added.
“How did you become one?” Finnian asked curiously as Sebastian coughed out his own blood, “How long have you lived!?”.
The butler shut his eyes… and then opened them with a crimson glow on those slitted pupils.
"You now know my true nature, and that's not going to change, so we can save the questions for later. I'd pretty much prefer a peaceful silence than a meal, at this time." The trio froze warily; his tone was calm, but it didn’t help anyone feeling less threatened by the chances of the demon changing his mind.
The young master observed his butler as the demon closed his eyes and laid his head back. Meanwhile, the horse’s eyes began to glisten crimson with slitted pupils as it started walking.
- The Spare Camp, Far Outskirts of London.
The first tent sprang up and filled out when Sieglinde and Wolfram used the contraption she had newly designed to erect tents. Soma secured the tent with stakes and then paused to look again at the letter Sieglinde had previously handed to him.
‘Set up the camp by sunset - S. Michaelis’
The young prince balled up the paper into a wad as he couldn’t shake off the lingering anger, confusion, and frustration. Then a horse with glowing red eyes stopped before them with a carriage. Wolfram quickly put Sieglinde behind him with weapons ready as Soma clenched his fist tight, preparing for an attack, but-
“Help!” Baldo shouted once the carriage’s door pushed open, “Get out the aid kit!”.
Sieglinde's and Wolfram's jaws dropped at the sight of still-battered Sebastian, being supported by Finnian. Soma couldn’t move, the sight of Sebastian soiled in blood and with numerous wounds mirrored the last memory he had of his fallen friend.
The former earl's uncovered eye followed his butler's progress towards and into the tent, where he disappeared behind the flaps. He stood there, left eye fixed on that tent, while memories of his late Borzoi flashed before his mind's eye.
“Are you alright, Young Master?” Finnian asked his boss after he got back outside.
“Yes,” the boy turned to his employees, “Let’s get the other tents done.” He rolled up his sleeves and walked away.
Soma turned his head toward the tent Sebastian was in. Nothing he has faced since he first met that butler is normal! And yet today he saw that man battered, wounded like anyone could, but something wasn’t right… he needed an answer.
Sieglinde and Wolfram had already taken off Sebastian’s uniform by the time Soma got inside. Wolfram grabbed a bucket and soap, intending to find a stream and clean the uniform, as Sieglinde cleaned the wound. The young prince noticed a big hole piercing the white shirt, the surrounding fabric drenched in blood.
“Was zur Hölle!?”
Wolfram rushed to his lady’s side and Soma followed close. The three’s eyes went wide at the sight of a deep, gaping wound slowly healing itself! The slanted gash went from the right side of the butler’s upper abdomen down to the left side below his navel. The vital organs would surely be too severely damaged for any human to survive, and yet he’s healing… by himself.
The Butler grinned and looked away before he looked back at them, and casually stated, "You may stitch up the wound, if it makes you feel more comfortable… and useful.”
- Young Master's Tent, The Spare Camp.
As soon as his tent was constructed, the boy located some supplies and walked in. He wrote his letters by candlelight, the golden flickers reflecting in his shining eye. He grew increasingly numb with each letter he wrote, finishing each one by writing the intended recipient's name on the corresponding envelope. He has faced nothing but struggle lately, and even having a demon on his leash… he couldn’t shake off the feeling he had nearly four years ago when he found the faithful family pet breathless in a pool of his own blood.
‘McMillan…’ he started the last letter but-
“Young Master?” Tanaka’s voice came from outside.
The boy rose from the floor and left his tent, greeting the old man before him.
“Is everyone alright?” Tanaka asked guiltily.
“They’ll be fine.” Ciel answered as he looked around the quiet camp.
“Here, Young Master.” The old man handed him an envelope.
“Thank you.”
“I apologise for my apparent treason; it is inexcusable that I've not contacted you until now.” Tanaka bowed his head.
“Don’t apologise,” The young boy looked at him, “You did what you had to, Gramps.”.
Tanaka nodded and bowed one last time before he disappeared into the woods. The boy turned towards a campfire near him, walked over and took a seat on the ground. He could hear gentle footsteps behind him.
“New information, my lord?” Sebastian took a seat next to him, neither of them worried about keeping up their appearances as master and servant, at this point.
The boy nodded and handed him the envelope. Sebastian still had his typical black trousers, and his tailcoat was hanging loosely over his shoulder, but the grey vest and white shirt were completely replaced with bandages.
“How’s the injury?” The boy looked at the blood that seeped through the bandage.
“Typical, My Lord.” The Butler’s eyes remained on the golden fire.
“I demand the full truth…” The boy said monotonously ,"That is an order...”
How long do we have left? Was the question Ciel couldn't bring himself to ask, but Sebastian seemed to know anyway.
“Everything… must end tomorrow, My Lord.”
The boy’s blue eye went wide at the answer, he'd been wanting his revenge since that day, and yet it felt… so soon. But what could he do anyway? He couldn't keep playing Master & Butler with Sebastian forever.
“I see…” Ciel sighed. “Then, we’ll get this done by tomorrow’s sunset.” pulled off his eyepatch, “And the rest by midnight.” then tossed it into the fire.
“Yes…” Sebastian took off his gloves, “My Lord.”.
The two watched as the fire consumed the items that once covered their symbols. There’s no point in hiding it anymore.
“So you’re really a demon?” Baldo took a seat at the other side of the fire “Do all of them fight with kitchenware?”.
Ciel and Sebastian froze at the ridiculous question as Mey-Rin and Finnian arrived with their usual smiles.
“Can we join, c-can we?” Mey-Rin asked, somewhat hesitantly.
“Be our guest.” Ciel replied with a cheeky smile as Sebastian sighed.
“What do demons do everyday?” Finnian asked curiously.
“How do demons consume souls? What will happen to the body after it’s done?” Baldo added.
Ciel grinned and patted Sebastian's shoulder before he stood up and walked away from the campfire. Then the boy noticed Soma sitting on a low tree limb behind a tent.
"Oh my, you three actually believe the stories about people disappearing after their souls are consumed?" Sebastian sighed.
“What does the soul taste like?” Baldo asked excitedly, as if they were now discussing one of Sebastian’s desserts he hadn't yet sampled.
“Will it hurt?” Mey-Rin’s question got everyone’s attention, “Young Master is your contractor.”.
Ciel and Soma watched the three interview his demon butler up from the tree.
“Are you scared?” Soma asked, looking down at Sebastian.
“Anyone would be if they’re bound to be eaten by a demon.” Ciel answered solemnly, “But I chose this path; I have no choice.”.
His life is constantly surrounded by danger, there’s no way he could thrive on his own. There’s no real winner in this chess game, because even if he wins in the end… his life’s already over, ever since he made that contract.
“I’m sorry for being stubborn.” Soma turned his face to the boy he apologised to, “You were trying to protect me weren't you?”.
“I just do what benefits me.” Ciel’s eyes remained down at the group surrounding the campfire.
“It’s okay to embrace friendship and love, you know?” The boy finally turned to him, “It can be scary knowing happiness won’t last, but if we are to die one day, wouldn’t it be better to have no regrets?”.
The young boy smiled and closed his eyes. Ain’t it funny? ‘If we are to die one day, wouldn’t it be better to have no regrets?’... I said the exact same thing to him to teach him a lesson, and somehow it made its way back to me , he thought to himself.
“Take care of this, okay?” The boy handed his friend the envelopes.
The boy's eyes, now both visible, looked hopeless yet trusting. Soma nodded and took the envelopes. Each of them was addressed to a specific person with full addresses: ‘ Aunt Frances ’, ‘ Mr. Underline ’, ‘ Professor Arthur ’, and…
“Lizzy…” Soma looked at the top envelope, the cursive ‘Lizzy’ gazed back at him, “If you could have it your way, then what would you do?” he asked curiously.
“I would let things take their course” The young boy replied without a second thought, “Lizzy already knows I’m not him, and if I didn't have a demon waiting to eat me… I'd have no more reasons to be afraid.”
Baldo, Mey-Rin, and Finnian looked at the fire ruefully, wanted to do something, but at the same time… knew there’s nothing they could do. Whatever will happen next is beyond their control.
“Can you at least let us give him a send-off?”
Sebastian smiled lightly at the blonde young man, “If I couldn’t let my Master have a proper farewell with his fellows, what kind of a demon would I be?”.
“Why do you guys eat souls anyway? Is it really that yummy?” Bard asked, and Mey-Rin jabbed his ribs.
The demon grinned and calmly closed his eyes.
“Unlike humans, or even humans who turned into demons, we’re born empty…. The life of a demon is extraordinarily long... and mostly quite boring, to be honest, and yet… the passage of time does nothing to us. We gain energy – we learn – from souls. In that way, our masters are what we are made of.”
“Why?” Mey-Rin asked.
“Human souls taste like nothing on our tongues; it’s not that kind of taste we’re after… it’s the emotions from their life-long experiences”.
Ciel and Soma joined the group at the campfire.
“It doesn't hurt physically for them, but the souls face everything they've felt through their lives again… until those souls are completely consumed.” the demon explained, “It’s the only way we learn emotion.”
“I see…” The former earl sighed and stretched his back, “I hope you enjoy ‘tasting’ my misery.”
The demon butler grinned mildly, but before he could open his mouth, three pairs of footsteps landed behind them. Everyone turned to look at the arrivals in confusion. But, if they’re here, then I guess that’s a guaranteed body count , Ciel thought as Othello and Ronald stood behind the red haired reaper with their death scythes at the ready.
“What did we miss, Sebastian darling?”