Sorry for the wait! It wasn't writer's block, but rather a complete lack of physical motivation. Anyway, 500 reviews! WOW. I don't even... tears of joy. Thank you all so much (if I could post a hugging gif, I would)

AR- That was a long and in-depth review! (I was following the movie instead of the book, though- never read it) To be honest, when I first saw it, I cringed because I was hoping nobody would notice my blatant mistakes, hehe. But I'm honored that you cared about the chapter enough to give me such a well-put critique. It's very appreciated! And I'll be sure to edit the phrasing when I've got the time. Your suggestions will be taken to heart.

And you are absolutely right, the fake wing was complete physics fail. I just didn't care that much because I wasn't treating this fic with that much logic/ was using too much "magic" without the "realism", but you're right- people could find it annoying.

If it takes some of the annoyance away, I could just say the wing functions more like a glider and balance-part rather than a flapping wing (not that this is any better than what I've got so far). Thanks for mentioning "clots"- I'll keep the phrase in mind for editing and for future writing. Also, I know my fic is littered with awkward phrasing- that's because I never proofread this story and typed it directly on (my readers, DO NOT copy me- I'm positive this is a bad habit that'll bite me in the butt) as to make updates faster.
But you made me think about this a lot; yes, from now on, I'll be more careful with my wording and proofread more often. Thank you again!

Now on to the fic. I don't own HTTYD or Kuroshitsuji


Ciel stood firmly, trying to keep his sweaty hands from slipping off the sword's hilt. Divine blood dripped down the blade and the sound of howling souls surrounded his being. Sebastian was a bloodied mess- he would have to depend on himself now. The angel stared down at him, glared, glowered.

Bright lavender eyes burned at him and the boy shuddered involuntarily. Bloody hell.

"Ciel, darling," Ash cooed, Rachel Phantomhive's voice ringing clear as a bell, "don't do this."

He swung the excaliber again and the angel caught it with the tips of his fingers. The glare intensified. "So you would walk away from salvation?"

With a roar, Ciel shoved the sword forward with more strength than he expected, and it almost reached the angel's chin. "Stop that voice!"

"What voice?" Mother smiled.

"You. Do. Not. Use. Her. Voice." Another wild cry and the blade's tip touched pale skin. Damn it! Not enough. Panting, Ciel tried to shove the scythe further in- it wouldn't budge, even as the angel's hand began to bleed.

Ash's foot dug into the boy's torso, and Ciel felt a wad of spit leave his mouth before the pain set in. With a hard shove, both he and the sword were sent flying across the rocky ground. His back slammed against a cavern wall and he slid to the ground, the excaliber slipping out of his grip.

Coughing and cursing, Ciel propped himself up. Maybe he had been too confident in his survival rate- maybe his survival streak had finally come to an end. His scraped body certainly thought so. His hands clenched- all because he failed to kill the angel with his first blow.

But he couldn't die here, not when they were all depending on him. The light emitting from Ash was blinding by that point; Ciel narrowed his eyes. Standing up shakily, he ignored the burn in his side and lifted his father's sword.

"Why won't you let me save you all?"

"I won't honor you with a reply."

Ciel had never considered himself a selfless person but he would be damned if he let this creature "save" any human. They circled one another, the burning light obstructing his vision.

"You call it salvation," he spat, "but it looks like all you've done is trap unsuspecting souls- it's demonic."

A sickening grin cracked across the angel's face. Several fountains of lava shot upwards and Ciel could feel the heat increase.


"Earl, we've been at this forever!" Ronald shouted, shoving his bent scythe over a pile of demons.

"I love red, but this amount is ridiculous," Grell complained, emerging from a mountain of carcasses, literally soaked in blood.

Ignoring their complaints, Vincent refused to budge, although he had to admit that his hands were getting quite sore. Spears darted toward him- no, that was one of the demons. They did look alike, in his defense.

"Uncle!" Elizabeth called, "Ciel's in the core!"

"Should I be elated or terrified!"

"Maybe both!"


Sebastian's vision came back groggily. The young master had been-

Had been what? He sat up, involuntarily coughing a bout of blood in his hand. That was a pleasant reminder of what had just happened- the young master had been standing before the angel.

Panic surged as his eyes fell on the sight of the boy between moving lava... and the so-called holy being. He jumped up and promptly stumbled back down- and again he was reminded why there was a pool of crimson around him in the first place. And why it seemed to be growing with each movement.

The two were shouting- no, the angel was shouting at his master. Incoherent babbling that made the boy's human ears wince. There were very few curse words in the angelic language, but Ash made them sound fitting for a devil's mouth.

He hoped the boy didn't plan on attacking spontaneously because he had a feeling that he would be the one taking any other blow the angel chose to send the young master. Oh, why was he even thinking this way? Of course he would take his master's blows.

Besides, he was already unfathomably upset at the bruises on the boy's form.


Ciel dived past the searing rays, ignoring the feeling of burning skin, and stuck the excaliber through the angel's wing. He tore and skidded away, the blade successfully ripping through the wing, a reel of records whipping out. Ash screamed, arms reaching toward the boy and nails tearing into his shoulders.

"Did you really think I'd attack so blindly?" Ciel shouted before he was tossed toward the lava, an array of feathers flying toward him.

He shut his eyes and prepared for impact. Nothing happened.

He landed a good few inches away from the lava pit, cushioned by-

"Sebastian!"

Ciel rolled out of the demon's arms and examined the blood-smeared face; lids shut, shallow breaths. He smacked him.

"Young master, what was that f- for?" Sebastian winced, bringing one hand down to pluck the sharp feathers from his mangled leg.

"I wanted to make sure you weren't dead." Sorry.

The angel was struggling to fly toward them, his injured wing slowing him down significantly, but not significantly enough in Ciel's opinion.

"You're hurt," Sebastian stated, staring at the gashes on the boy's shoulders. Thank you for telling me.

"No, you're hurt. Can you move?"

The demon took a moment to fidget with his limbs before nodding. Ciel knelt beside his ear and whispered, although he was sure the angel could probably hear him anyway.

"We need to get him into the lava, burn him to bits, let those souls trap him."

He grabbed the excaliber again. "I need to tear through him."

The angel landed and before another ray of light could strike them, Sebastian leapt out of the way, Ciel in tow. The boy clambered onto his back and tugged at the sling. "This is an order- fly into that pit."

The dark souls reached for them as Ciel guided Sebastian lower, the angel at their tail (coat). Embers flew, steam shot, and the wind of motion swept past Ciel's face- this was the fastest he had ever felt Sebastian move.

Ash was persistant, even with a torn wing- Ciel would give him that. They were deeper into the pit. Deeper. Hotter. Deeper. Hotter.

"You can't bAeaT Me, chIlD, I kNoW THat!"

The sticky substances tugged at his clothing- the souls were touching him- Ciel steeled himself; he could focus on the horror later. The demon swerved desperately as Ash caught up, barely an inch above them. They dove down.

Ciel positioned the excaliber.

"tHat Won'T WoRK anyMoRE!"

"But it will!" he countered. Sebastian flipped as the angel's nose bumped into his.

Ciel jumped abruptly, the world a blast of orange and red and black and white- the sword pierced the angel's throat- a flash of records, light and shadow- Ash wrapped his arms around the boy- "impure!" "impure!" "impure!"- sputtering and choking on bile and blood- squeeze- "young master!"

He dragged the excaliber downwards, feeling the rip of flesh as it trailed into the chest, bones breaking- records shot, the sticky blobs reached out, yanked at his ankles- blood splattered- the sword continued, a long jagged rip down to the crotch- out the back

He could hear nothing but a monstrous screech. Desperate hands clawed at him, caught at his face- and

The records blinded him- flashes of red- "young master!"- and his whole body was engulfed in the heat.


Alois' eyes widened as hundreds of white puffs flew into the sky. They looked familiar- he knew what they were.

"I killed more!" Peter argued. Dagger shoved him back. "No, I did!" Canterbury stayed impassive until a gleam entered his eyes as the puffs caught his attention.

Claude grumbled, Alois digging his hands into the demon's scalp. "The souls! They're free!"

Elizabeth gasped beside him, Doll clutching at her arm. "Smile, he did it."

Pluto, charred and panting wisps of smoke, barked in agreement. Alois didn't think the souls were that interesting, but everyone wanted to just stare at them. He looked behind him- the horde was breaking up. That was good- his scythe was broken anyway.

The demons took to the sky in an uncorordinated mess, eager for a feast, no doubt. That was, unless Professor Spears beat them to it- the dispatch was already jumping at the air, reaping left and right.

"All this paperwork," William grumbled, adjusting his broken glasses.

"Bet you'd love to eat some, huh?" Alois asked Claude. The demon growled. "But you can't! Ha ha!"

Claude accidentally elbowed him in the ribs and just happened to smile when the boy cried "Oof!"


"Thank the gods," Agni sighed, Soma slumped against him in agreement. Vincent stayed rooted to the spot, staring at the volcanoe hole in a trance.

"Master Vincent?"

The earl waited tensely. "Master Vincent?"

Finnian prodded him as Bard reloaded the cannon, both covered in soot. "The master's just worried about more demons, Finny."

"Where's Ciel?" the earl asked blankly.

The servants said nothing. Everyone around him said nothing. "I'm sure he's fine," the Undertaker said with a shrug, approaching the man.

Seeing as those words came from the Undertaker, Vincent wasn't comforted.

"Look there," Maylene said, pulling her glasses off.

A large blast of smoke shot from the hole and a dot flew out. The dot- the figure came down, and after several painful thumps against the ground, landed at the earl's feet.

The demon that had been with his son was lying face down, battered and curled up, red and white feathers sticking out of its back like the spikes of a porcupine. And there was no boy.

Vincent fell to his knees.

"Ciel..." Not you too. He couldn't think. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't fill his mind with anything coherent- just one big blank.

And for the first time in his life, the Earl of Phantomhive allowed himself to break down for all to see. He sobbed, shouted, cursed, roared, and sobbed some more.

It was contagious- the servants had broken into sobs behind him, along with the prince and his man. But their noise was nothing compared to the earl's own cries.

"Noisy."

Vincent stared down, the demon attempting to move. A smirk formed on the creature's lips as he rolled aside, revealing Ciel Phantomhive, covered in soot, ash, and fresh bruises.

The earl's watery eyes locked with the demon's tired orbs. "You..."

He picked up the battered boy and felt his heart stop as his son breathed. The right side of Ciel's face was covered with blood, but that didn't matter now. None of that mattered.

"You saved him... most of him."

The demon- Sebastian was still staring at him, content. Vincent laughed, the salty tears leaving his eyes in amounts that surpassed his fit just seconds prior, something he didn't think he was able to do.

"Thank you."

With a mumble, Sebastian's eyes shut. Vincent hugged the boy to his chest. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you," he sighed, "thank you, thank you, thank you."


Ta da! 2 more chaps to go, then it's all over.

Next time: I'm not telling you anything.

Hope that was worth the wait! And thank you to everyone that's been following and reviewing and faving and alerting until now! This story wouldn't even exist this long if it wasn't for you all.