The demon's footsteps rang loudly on the stone floor, breaking the deafening silence in the room. He approached the figure at its center. Soft but clear, his voice joined the echoes of his footfalls.

"Check..."

The young man took a deep, shuddering breath, wide eyes surveying the carnage around him.

"...Mate," He finished, turning halfway to look at the creature that for so long had been his protector. The black-clad butler wore the same smile he always had; a smile pleasant enough on the surface, but truly dark and empty as his soul.

He had had plenty of time to find every nuance and subtle cruelty in that smile, and now could only see naked lust and malice in it.

"Five years..." The demon spoke again. "Five...long...years..."

Ciel could only nod in agreement. For five years Sebastian had posed as his dutiful and devoted butler, lying in wait for this very moment. Waiting for every last piece that opposed him to topple over, and leave only the two of them on the board.

"...And now the knight betrays the king," The boy murmured, eyes straying again to the gore at his feet. Sebastian had gladly and rather messily killed all but the ringleader of the cult; the man had been broken and pleading at the demon's feet when Ciel had ordered him to stop. Infuriatingly obedient, he had immediately stepped away, grinning at his master.

"Would you like to finish this one off yourself, my lord?"

His eyes had been glowing with delight at having been able to cause such pain and destruction, things he had for five years been unable to truly enjoy as he pleased. He had reveled in it, elegant, poised, and agile as ever even when tearing limbs from torsos and heads from necks. He had obviously-terrifyingly-enjoyed every shriek of fear, every cry and yowl of pain, and every drop of blood spilled.

While Ciel had not derived such pleasure from the debacle, there was a twisted kind of closure, the kind that can only be felt after the worst kind of wrong has been repaid, that began to knit over the old, half-scarred wounds in his soul. And the wounds that for years had only pulsed with mild pain suddenly shrieked again at the sight of his most hated tormenter begging for mercy on his hands and knees. He had barked the order to Sebastian without being truly aware of speaking it.

He ignored the half-mocking comment of his servant, stepping forward and drawing the pistol that he carried. Six bullets, and he had yet to fire one.

With an expression of the deadliest calm, he pressed the muzzle to the man's forehead.

"P-please-no-!"

He watched the last vestiges of desperate hope drain from the man's eyes as he pulled back the hammer.

"Why would I listen to your pleas, when you were deaf to mine?"

Bang.

The man's eyes glazed over and shot out of focus as he fell heavily onto his side. And yet, once again, Ciel cocked the gun and shot. Then for a third time. Then, fanning the hammer with his palm, he emptied the cylinder into the man, who had been dead before he had hit the ground.

"He is quite dead, my lord," came the demon's reply. He mocked the boy with his old title, grinning all the while. Silence fell between them for a long while, the blood-drenched demon and his pristine prey. It remained until Sebastian approached, speaking that one word, reminding him of their contract, and pulling him from his memories of the very recent past.

"Betrays?"

Ciel realized Sebastian was speaking again, and half turned. The demon continued, easily and arrogantly.

"Was this not decided upon the minute I joined you? 'Betrayal' denotes the unexpected, the improbable revolt of one thing against another. I have not-and in many ways, cannot-betray you. You have been aware for the entirety of our contract that, in the end, the king would fall to the knight."

Ciel could not argue. The terms of their contract had been simple and clear: the demon's servitude in exchange for his soul. He had known this for five years; had come to accept it, become terrified of the concept, and swung back and forth between loathing and looking for comfort in his dark guardian, all in equal measure. It was cyclic; he would resign himself to his fate, not think about it for weeks or months...and then a look, a passing comment, or a thinly veiled threat would shatter that resolve and he would become, yet again, the terrified child he was. He would never know how unsuccessful he had been at hiding his reactions from his servant, or that every single 'reminder' had been absolutely intentional.

He found himself saying the words he'd sworn never to say when the time came, breaking the pact he'd mad with himself. He had sworn never to beg.

"Perhaps-just a few days-time to set everything in order-"

"You know quite well I will not grant you that," came the cool and amused reply.

"But-Lizzie! And Maylene and Bard and Finny and Tanaka-!"

"Will find ways to move on. Albeit, in your cousin's case, it may take quite the while."

"My estate-the Funtom company-"

"Grasping at straws now, hm?"

"The...my duty to the Queen..."

"Grasping at straws indeed..." Sebastian confirmed, shaking his head with a sigh. "Even the Little Lord Phantomhive is not too proud to beg."

The words were like a slap in the face, but once again, it was the truth. That left only one way out...

"Go ahead," Sebastian said, still grinning easily...and hungrily. "Run, if you want. But remember..." He reached out-Ciel shuddered as he watched the demon's glossy black nails lengthen into claws-and brushed the black patch away from the boy's eye. "That mark will allow me to find you. Wherever you go, Ciel Phantomhive, I will never be farther away than any shadow in the room."

Ciel let out a low moan as he clutched at his hair, knowing he was bound and had to uphold his side of the bargain. Sebastian could only smile more widely.

"Shall I take my prize now, or are you going to take off? It would only take me all of a second to catch you, of course, and in even that short amount of time you will have expended all of my patience."

Choice; the opportunity for redemption; he knew he had given all of them up. The demon smiled benignly again, his head tilting to one side.

"The doors are open, my lord. Despite myself, I may enjoy the pursuit...watching that fear you could never truly hide spill out on the surface at last..."

"No." He smacked the demon's hand away from his cheek, suddenly repulsed by his touch. "I won't run. Take it, then. Take your payment."

The demon stared, nonplussed, for a moment, then gave a single, soft laugh.

"Ah, there's that old spirit. You can't run. You can't...'give me the satisfaction', is that right?" He stepped closer to the boy, gazing down at him from a gulf of inches. "How like you. Stubborn to the end."

"Isn't that like a child?" He returned, his voice shaking lightly. "'I'll do it because I want to, not because you tell me to' and all that."

"Very much so," The demon's voice was smooth and wry. "But the time for talking is long since passed, and as we speak the reapers may be bearing down on us as your death approaches."

"They can still track my soul?" In spite of what he faced, the boy's natural curiosity won out against horror and fear. The demon's face was still expressionless.

"I'm not entirely sure. But if they can, I would rather enjoy my meal in peace than have to fight them for it."

As his eyes lit to their burning crimson, fear shot down Ciel's spine. He remained rooted to the spot, unable to move, transfixed and terrified by the demon's eyes.

"You won't feel any pain," He was saying with that same cruel smile. "Just...heat."

Before he could react to the demon's words, he was surrounded by him; darkness seemed to accompany him, shadows sweeping out of the corners and flowing off the walls to wrap around them. He could see only out of his contracted eye, and even then could only see the glowing seal on his ex-butler's hand and the vibrant shine of his burning eyes. He could only perceive the heat Sebastian had mentioned from his other senses; it rolled over his skin, invaded his nose, seemed even to pound in his ears and taint the very air enough to taste it. The dark and the heat pressed in on all sides, and as terror finally flooded every inch of him, he felt the demon's hands on him and the mocking mouth on his own. The embrace was gentle but impossible to break, as was the touch of the demon's lips. The heat that pressed in on him seemed to blossom within him as well, spreading and seeking a way out. It built in his chest, burning, spreading, and finally consuming him in its white-hot blaze.

The boy's frame went limp in his arms as Sebastian lifted his head, closing his eyes as strength flooded his body and hunger's clawing hands began to recede. He knew that the one soul would only keep at his hunger at bay, but after so long the boy's soul was simply too good to take in slowly. Savoring the lingering sins on his tongue, he arranged the body with a grin on his face. Lying serenely down as if in sleep, his arms crossed over his chest, spotless in all the blood around him. What a discovery for the next man to walk here.

He stood and turned to the door, walking calmly out as if nothing had transpired there. If not to fight him for the boy's soul, the reapers would be there to collect the souls of those he had killed; it wouldn't do to dwell.

He laughed to himself quietly as he walked; everything had gone perfectly. To pass unrecognized under their noses, on more than one occasion... the time had finally come. Countless arbitrary contracts and countless names bestowed upon him; they had never found out his true name and by now tracking him would be near impossible. This contract with the Phantomhive boy, extended as it had been, had been the final test.

He had to laugh quietly to himself. They thought they were done with him.

Those poor fools...