"Remember your personal demons should be afraid of you, because you are their home, their food, and as you heal, their executioner." - Laurell K. Hamilton

"Tanaka, what are you doing?"

Ciel watched with curiosity as the elderly servant began pouring a thick line of salt in front of the door. He then proceeded to pour holy water heavily in a line going from one side of the room to the other.

"These were Mr. Sebastian's specific instructions,' Tanaka explained, "If I may ask something of you, sir, could you please stand still for a moment?"

Ciel nodded, and watched as Tanaka poured a large circle of salt around him. It was big enough for him to lay down in it comfortably if he chose to.

"According to Mr. Sebastian, the salt and the water has created three titanium walls. He said to lay down at least three, because he'll manage to get through the first two, but doing so will make him too weak to break through the third."

Ciel looked at the three barriers that had been laid down, then to Tanaka who had his pistol drawn. Maybe it was because he hadn't been able to fully comprehend the situation that had unfolded, but he was beginning to realize how serious this was. Had Sebastian never bothered taking any precautions, had he simply obeyed the order Ciel had given him and stayed in his room with him until he fell asleep, the young earl would have likely been killed by the creature his butler had become, and he was beginning to realize that Sebastian was trying desperately to keep his word; to always keep him out of harm's way, even if it meant utilizing the other servants and turning them on himself.

His master's life always came before his own.

Tanaka and Ciel both froze when a voice suddenly called to them from the other side of the door.

"Young master . . ."

It was barely a whisper, but in the silence that engulfed the drawing room it was more like a scream.

"Young master . . . Young master, are you hiding in there? Young master?"

With each beckon, the voice grew louder, and it chilled Ciel to the core. It sounded like Sebastian. It was Sebastian, but something still felt off about it, somehow. It was like the demon was struggling to mimic his own voice, and as Ciel glanced out the window and saw the Blood Moon still holding its blood-red glow, he knew that that's exactly what it was. The demon was trying to lure him out, or at least give away his position, by making him think that he was back to normal.

Two knocks landed against the door; Sebastian's signature way of requesting permission to enter, but even the knocking didn't sound right. They were heavy and made him jump rather than got his attention, and as the voice kept calling, it started to distort into a hellish and inhuman tone.

"YoUNg MAstER!" Four clawed fingers slipped underneath the door and began raking against the wood, etching four long claw marks deep into it, "LeT Me IN!"

In a swift motion, the demon pulled his finger back, taking a large chunk of the bottom of the door with them. In the hole that had been created, Ciel saw those burning red eyes and that horrible toothy grin. Tanaka fired two shots at him, and the demon retreated for a moment before punching a hole through the center of the door. He slid his arm through the hole he'd made for himself and reached for the inside handle. He seemed to ignore the bullets that burrowed into bicep and forearm as his hand rattled the handle before snapping it off like dead tree branch.

Sebastian was done playing.

With a single kick, the demon sent the door flying off of its hinges. Ciel managed to dodge its path, leaving his circle of salt for a moment as the door clattered to a stop against the wall behind him. The young ear jumped back into the circle of salt and turned to face the demon.

Sebastian sat crouched a few feet away from the doorway, pacing back and forth as he growled in frustration.

"It's working," Tanaka stated, "He can't get past the salt. It's keeping him away, for the moment."

The elderly servant stepped between the snarling demon and Ciel with his pistol in front of him.

"Sebastian, this has to stop," he said calmly, "I know you don't want to hurt the young master. That's why you set all of this up to make sure Ciel was safe. You need to snap out of it, or you'll just live to regret it."

An inhuman smirk parted Sebastian's lips as a chuckle eased out of throat. It sounded metallic and ancient; born from an entirely different universe.

"I don't want to kill you," Tanaka continued, "But I will if that's what it takes to keep my promise to you. To keep the young master safe."

"Tanaka . . ." Ciel said slowly, not taking his eyes off of the pacing demon, "there's no point in trying to reason with Sebastian right now. His mind is gone. The Sebastian you see before you is nothing more than a beast looking for its next meal."

Tanaka turned a glance back towards the young earl, "Then . . ."

"I order you: do whatever it takes to keep me safe until this cursed Blood Moon passes!"

"Yes, my l-"

Before the elderly servant could finish, Sebastian let out an ear piercing shriek as he threw his body through the doorway. He shook his head and winced, almost as if the line of salt was disorienting to cross. Tanaka fired at him several times, hitting his limbs, joint, shoulders, and even buried a few bullets in his abdomen in a desperate attempt to to not kill him, but slow him down; weaken him so he couldn't make it past the second barrier.

It seemed to work. Blood pooled out of the wounds and his lumbering gait slowed as he limped with an ankle, both knees, an elbow, and a wrist blown to pieces with several more injuries to his shoulders and haunches. However, his features held great determination as he closed the gap between him and the holy water that had soaked into the carpet.

Tanaka fired again. The shot managed to graze the Sebastian's neck, but it didn't slow his advances. The demon threw himself across the barrier of holy water and grabbed the elderly servant by the front of his shirt. Despite his weakened state, the demon managed to throw Tanaka across the room towards the doorway. The pistol was immediately thrown from his hands, and as he landed against the wall he lost consciousness.

Ciel was stunned. Not once in the two years Sebastian had severed him had he ever seen him lay a hand on any of the other servants. He could guess that the demon always wanted to rip off Mey-Rin's limbs whenever she fell and broke a tea set. He may have wanted to drop Finny off of the roof whenever he destroyed the garden, or accidentally broke something that wasn't his own neck. He may have wanted to gut Bard like a fish whenever he burned down the kitchen with his flamethrower, or blew it up with dynamite. But he never did, because those three imbeciles were just as capable of protecting Ciel when they worked together as Sebastian was working alone.

This case between Ciel and the demon that stood before him was no different.

"Sebastian!"

The demon's head turned as he dropped back down onto all fours and began circling the outer edge of Ciel's circle of salt. The Earl was finally able to get a good look at the creature that had been stalking him all night. In this form, he walked less like a human and more like a dog with a body akin to that off an emaciated greyhound, only lacking a tail. Each limb looked relatively human, but the hands and feet were merely bone with pale grey skin stretched over them and jet black claws tipping the fingers and toes. Dead, gnarled black hair twisted down to his armpits and appeared to be covered in a layer of ash and grease. Those burning red eyes were sunken into their sockets, and nearly every feature of the demon's skull was visible under the deathly grey skin. And, of course, there were those sharp yellow teeth grinning at him through those dead blue lips. The only thing of the butler that Ciel could recognize were the few tatters that remained of his uniform.

Looking at him closely now, Ciel understood. It wasn't just the Blood Moon that was causing this. If it were, then why not try to kill every human on the estate? Why was it him specifically that Sebastian was after? No, this wasn't just the Blood Moon. This was a demon mad with hunger. The Blood Moon just made him lose control over it.

"Sebastian," Ciel said, trying to hide the tremors in his voice, "I gave you an order!"

The demon paused, the smug smirk falling from his features into a look of annoyance and confusion.

"You swore to protect me, even at the cost of your own life, " the earl continued, "that's why you left me this gun. That's why you wrote that note. That's why you tossed the key under the door after you locked it when you tucked me into bed. Tanaka might have hesitated to pull the trigger, but don't you dare think for a second that I won't!"

The smirk returned to Sebastian's features as he took a challenging step forward, nearly grazing the circle of salt. The demon's limbs trembled as the mineral sapped him of his energy, but he persisted.

Ciel's arms trembled as he attempted to steady the gun. His finger rested atop the trigger as a clawed hand lashed out at him.

"I never thought of it as God. I didn't know what to call it. I don't believe in devils, but demons I do because everyone at one time or another has some kind of demon, even if you call it by another name, that drives them." - Gene Wilder

For a moment, Ciel thought he was frozen in time. His finger trembled as it hovered over the trigger, and the clawed hand that lashed out to grasp at him seemed to have stopped halfway and froze there; not moving towards or away from him, just staying there. The only noise that broke the silence between them was the steady dripping sound made by the blood running off of the demon's limbs and torso.

Then, Ciel couldn't help but notice the beams of moonlight that streamed in through a nearby window. He noted their silver and blue aura, and the peace that seemed to come with it. The beams of light illuminated the room, and Ciel noticed the hand that had been reaching out to snatch him. He noted the ivory color of the skin and the finely trimmed black nails that tipped the fingers. He noted the locks of silky, straight black hair that draped his slender porcelain-skinned face down to his chin. He noted the eyes, which no longer burned bright red and held hunger, but had dulled into a red dimmed by the darkness of night and were narrowed with exhaustion. He noted the scraps of clothing that seemed to hang on for dear life onto a body that was thin, but not emaciated. The person that sat crouched before him was no longer a ravenous demon mad with hunger, but his butler sitting motionless, confused, wounded, and drained.

"Sebastian?"

Sebastian didn't respond. He seemed completely lost, unsure of here he was, what he was doing, or what he was going to do. Cautiously, Ciel reached out towards the hand that hovered stock-still in the air. His finger grazed the butler's, and he felt himself shudder as he realized that the demon's skin was ice-cold.

The sudden touch provoked a reaction from Sebastian, however, and Ciel watched him with a guarded stare as the demon slowly lowered his hand to the floor. He seemed to enter a trance-like state as he stood up, turned an limped towards the doorway. Despite his injuries, Sebastian moved with little hindrance as his footsteps faded into the depths of the mansions corridors.