At Vanel's safehouse, all his men had been slaughtered. There were no survivors and his left arm was twisted to the point that the bones were shattered, the muscles were torn, the nerves were severed, and the pectoral muscle was torn completely from the shoulder. This was the arm he had used to hold Ciel Phantomhive hostage as his last resort. He could have sworn that he had squeezed the trigger of his pistol to kill the boy, but Ciel was still safe.
What had shocked the mobster the most was that when Ciel's eyepatch had come off, he could see his right eye. Where there would normally be a pupil was the sign of his contract. In the boy's eye, there was a pentagram, the same thing that was on the back of the butler's hand. The same butler in black who had mercilessly slaughtered the army of mobsters at his disposal, all on the order of this one boy who he was carrying to safety.
"No, wait!" Vanel called out, "Come work for me! Be my bodyguard and I will pay you ten times what he does! Not enough?! Twenty times! You can have all the liquor and women you want too!"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Vanel," Sebastian said while ripping Ciel's restraints apart like they were paper, "It's an attractive offer, but I have no interest in such materialistic things. You see, I am simply one hell of a butler. So long as my master holds the contract, then I shall be his loyal servant. A wish. A sacrifice. And this." He gestures to the pentagram tattooed on the back of his hand. "All of these things keep me bound to Lord Phantomhive until the day I swallow his soul."
Vanel's eyes widened in fright. The servant's supernatural abilities had been explained, but it was the last thing he wanted to hear. "Unfortunately, for you this is game over."
He then turned his back and walked away. He was going to leave Vanel to die of his injuries; a slow and painful way to die. His arm was useless and was slowly coming undone by the threads, causing internal bleeding that would eventually kill him.
"What do I do?" Vanel asked aloud, "What do I do?"
"What you do is reflect on all of your stupid mistakes." A familiar voice resonated in the room.
"G-Grimm? GRIMM! Help me! I can still get that kid! Just save my life!"
"Would you two get him up?" Edward asked Ash and Angela calmly. The two did not hesitate to follow his orders. The two angelic servants lifted him up by both of his arms.
"AAAH! CAZZO IN CULO!" Vanel cursed in Italian, "Couldn't you stand to be gentler?! CAZZO!"
Edward walked toward the broken and battered mobster.
"May I be frank with you, Mr. Vanel?" Edward asked. "You look pathetic. Utterly and irreversibly disgraced."
"Gee, thanks a lot." Vanel said sarcastically, being in no mood to be polite to the man who was paying him.
"No need to be hostile." Edward told him, "After all, you only have yourself to blame for your situation. I specifically remember saying not to hurt the boy. And what did you do?"
Vanel was briefly silent as a result of shock. Was this guy serious?
"You expect me to believe that he did all of that to himself?" Edward asked.
"Who cares about that spoiled brat?!" Vanel demanded. "What the hell is all of this about anyway?!"
"I'm afraid that's a… how do they say? Need to know sort of thing." Edward said, "And you were just a guinea pig. You were a simple pawn. A tiny cog in my grand machine. It seems that you have forgotten your place, Mr. Vanel and you have caused a lot of damage."
Vanel was silent. He could not believe what he was hearing. Who did this guy think he was?
"How very frightening you are. I am absolutely terrified of a man who is so spineless he can only hurt little boys." Edward said sarcastically. His mask hid the smile on his face at seeing Vanel's reaction. He knew exactly what buttons to push, and he did not relent in his teasing.
"YOU BASTARD!" Vanel yelled, "DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU'RE MESSING WITH?! YOU SAY SHIT LIKE THAT YOU'RE GONNA BE PISSING OFF A LOT OF DANGEROUS PEOPLE WHO WILL BE OUT FOR YOUR HEAD!"
"You have greatly angered a dangerous person yourself when you put your filthy hands on my brother." Edward said, his face morphing from a smirk to a frown. "Need I remind you that I specifically requested that no harm come to the boy? You completely disregarded my request, and you did it of your own volition."
"What does any of that matter?" Vanel said, "That butler was a monster! He killed all my men, and he did it all by himself! We shot him! We all shot him! I swear the bullets hit him, but he got back up! He walked around like nothing happened! That… That thing slaughtered them all!"
"I told you that he was of demonic origin." Edward said, interrupting his panic and pain-laden rant. "The truth of the matter is, that butler you were so confident about killing is of a hellish nature; a dark being from an even darker place where ancient evils slumber. I do not know his real name; all I know is that the world must be rid of him and you served as an experiment to see the limit of his abilities. We have only scratched the surface and I must admit your failures have shaken my faith in the Italian mob being good test subjects."
"You… You knew about this?!" Vanel said, "You knew what that thing was and what it was-a capable of?! YOU GOT US ALL KILLED YOU SON OF A BITCH! BRUTTO FIGLIO DI PUTTANA BASTARDO! A FANABLA! AVERE LA FACCIA COME IL CULO!"
Vanel continued to curse in Italian but Edward was unaffected. He just stared down at the mobster with no emotion and the hurt expression on his face did little to sway him.
He let Vanel continue to rave as a parent would lett a child have their tantrum; he was just waiting for him to tire himself out. After a while it began to annoy him. Edward then gripped the top of his cane and pulled. The top of the cane slid from the stick to reveal a hidden knife. The blade was short but very sharp. It shone brightly in the light of the room.
Edward slowly knelt on the ground with limited help from his cane so he could look Vanel in the eyes. Edward put a gloved hand on Vanel's good shoulder in what seemed to be an act of reassurance, but it was a false one. Vanel felt the sting of the knife being driven into the side of his neck. What scared him though was the look in Edward's eyes. Rather the lack of a specific look in his eyes. The man he knew as Grimm had no emotion in his eyes. There was no light. His eyes were just… dead.
"If I may ask." Angela said gently as the body dropped from her and Ash's grip, "What is there to do next?"
"Next?" Edward said, "Next, we continue our experiment, but this time we don't use a mobster."
"What do you have in mind, master?" Ash asked.
"Well Ash," Edward said, "I haven't really thought about it but now that you ask… Are you familiar with Jack the Ripper?"
"What do you mean 'concluded?'" An impeccably dressed Italian man asked Edward while sitting in his office.
"It's as I said, our business is concluded. How else can I put it?" Edward said, "The mob is no further use to me. I've learned how truly limited you are against my enemy. I simply cannot rely on you to succeed."
"You little shit." A particularly disgruntled mobster said, exhaling the smoke from his cigar while approaching Edward. "You've got some nerve to say that sort of stuff to us. You must not know who you're dealing with if you think you can just say whatever you like."
"Are you forgetting that you're all guests in my home? Since you're all on MY property I can say what I wish. I care very little if it wounds your absurdly fragile ego. The point remains, I am no longer in need of your services."
As Edward finished his sentence and rose from his desk, there was a knock on the door. Edward turned his head and gave the knocker permission to enter. The door creaked open and in walked Ash and Angela. Angela pushed a cart into the office, which held a large dish with a metal dome hiding the contents. For that moment, the only sound in the room was the squeal of the cart's wheels as it was driven through the office. Ash had silently strolled into the office and took his position standing at Edward's left side. Angela stopped the cart directly in front of Edward, who was standing in front of his desk and she then assumed her own position at her master's right. Both had their hands behind their backs and pleasant smiles on their faces. They would never admit it, but the mobsters all felt a small twinge of anxiety creep up their spines at their smiles.
"Alright den." A man with a muscular build said while standing up from his seat. "So now ya owe us."
"Hm?" Edward said, while turning his attention to his client.
"Ya promised us money. Ya brought us here and ya wasted all of our time, sayin' ya needed our help and not even a week later ya call us back and say 'I don' need ya's no more.' Since our business is finished ya still owe us." The man said again, threateningly.
"I promised you money if you offered me promising results." Edward said. "Since your services were worth nothing against my enemy, then that is what I will offer. It's just business, right?"
"Oh, so you think you're bein' funny?" An older man said, standing up from his own chair. "You got jokes? Guess what, we're not in a clownin' mood, Grimm. I don't think you've noticed who you're talkin' to, but let me tell you now… We're the last people you want to piss off, you rat prick. Capice?"
Edward sighed but then started coughing behind his mask. It started small but then got more violent. The older man and the muscular one both rolled their eyes and the same thoughts went through their heads, 'this again?' Angela hurried to assist her master while Ash made a move to help in case it was needed. Edward then forced himself to his full height once again with the assistance of his cane. Angela slowly and hesitantly backed away from him, a look of concern on her face.
"I'm fine." Edward wheezed out calmly and quietly through his sore throat. He took a few deep breaths and looked back up to his impatient guests.
"Gentlemen, I apologize but I simply cannot offer any payment for incompetent service and failure to meet specifications." Edward continued, "You see, you have your friend Mr. Vanel to thank for that."
Upon mentioning that name a thought suddenly came to a small, rat faced mobster.
"Speaking of, where is he?" The man said, his pointy face darting back and forth as if he were looking for his scarred colleague. "He was workin' with us, wasn't he? Is he late?"
"No sir." Edward said, "he's here with us. You'll have the opportunity to share all of your grievances with him. I think you'll find that he will be more than happy to hear your concerns."
The men stared at Edward in confusion as he slowly made his way in front of the cart with the metal cover over the plate. Once he was confident that he had all of their attention he lifted the cover. He smirked under his mask at their looks of horror, which was the desired reaction.
The hardened mobsters were all responsible for many deaths and acts of violence but given their positions they hardly had to witness the acts themselves. Several were unprepared to see their comrade's severed head resting on the plate. His eyes were closed, his blonde hair was matted down, and his face was smeared with the dried blood, which was turning a dark brown. His lips stuck out meaning that something was in his mouth.
"I think you'll find that he won't complain." Edward said while reached towards the plate and lifted up a small milky white object. It was so small that they could barely see it and they couldn't make out the object until their host explained it. "It will be very difficult without any teeth. Also, he knows it's very rude to talk with his mouth full."
Edward placed the small tooth back on the plate and his gloved fingers pried open the severed head's lips. Upon seeing a singular eyeball peeking out from Vanel's lips the muscular man dropped his tough persona and could not stop himself from vomiting on the rug.
"Sir." Edward said calmly, "I don't suppose you realize how expensive that rug was?"
"YOU SICK BASTARD!" The rat faced one shouted, ignoring Edward's comment, "WHAT DA HELL DID YOU DO TO HIM!"
"I did not kill him I assure you." Edward lied while gently stroking the hair of the severed head. "It was the target I gave you. That butler not only slaughtered your friend without mercy, but he also massacred all of his men. He did this all by himself."
"You're full of shit!" The youngest mobster of the group spat venomously. His most noticeable feature was his eyepatch, but other than that he was a rather handsome man. "Vanel had a fuckin' army with him. You expect me to believe one butler killed them all?!"
"If you don't believe me then feel free to pursue the butler in whatever way you wish. That is if you're alright with meeting the same fate." Edward said while gently patting the severed head as if it were a puppy. "With that in mind, I strongly implore you to just accept that the deal is off. You won't be getting any payment for your lack of service, rather you will be allowed to see another day of leeching off of society and orchestrating your usual scummy activities."
A silence swallowed the room and looks of horror and disgust were etched into the faces of Edward's guests. They couldn't take their eyes off of the severed head, his mouth still hanging open and that damn eyeball staring straight at them. Unblinking, unfeeling and wreathed in red.
"You're crazy." The older man said, "You are completely insane! All of you!"
"Question my sanity all you like." Edward said, "But let's not forget that I was not responsible for your little friend's circumstance. I simply am showing you the results. If I were as mad as you say, would I be willing to let you all leave and never return?"
The room had an oppressive atmosphere. The Italian guests were stunned into silence once again as Edward gingerly lifted up the severed head from the plate by gripping onto a large clump of hair and his jaw. His jaw felt rough in Edward's fingers because of the stubble. One of the two eyeballs then grotesquely slipped out of the head's lips, leaving a red trail of blood and saliva streaming out of the mouth.
"You had no qualms with my supposed insanity when you agreed to work for me." Edward said. "But never mind that. If you don't want to end up like your little friend here, then you'll take my advice and back out while you can."
The men were all startled by a loud squeaking, their heads jerked quickly to the sound. They felt the anxiety alleviate slightly when they saw that it was only Ash, who had swung the door open and gestured towards the exit by holding his arm out.
"You're taking us for fools aren't ya?!" The muscular man said.
The others turned their heads to their comrade, horror etched into their faces. One thought shot through their minds, 'SHUT THE HELL UP!'
"Perhaps we should show ya what happens when you don't deliver what ya promised!" He stomped towards Edward who wore the same bored expression, even when he was roughly lifted from his chair by his shirt and tie. "They end up full of lead and they end up as worm food! Perhaps I should teach ya a fuckin' lesson ya British cocksucker!"
The threat to Edward's life was brief however, as the man's neck was quickly and viciously twisted with a sickening crack. Angela watched the man she had just killed fall to the ground with a loud thump, never once losing the content smile on her lovely features. Ash joined her side in front of his master, an identical smile on his face.
"What a rude little man," Ash began, "with your permission my lord, we will take care of them."
"That would be perfect." Edward said, trying his best to smooth out his shirt, reflecting on how expensive it was, "Just try not to make a mess… and do enjoy yourselves."
"Of course, master." Angela said calmly, savoring the scent of the meal to come. "Leave everything to us."
"You needn't worry, master." Ash said, "For if we could not fulfill such a simple request…"
"…What kind of servants would we be?" The two then said at the same time before carnage was unleashed. All in the name of their beloved master.