Important A/N at the end.

Chapter 5

She took a step back before a splash of crimson could stain her boots.

"Do you really have to be so messy?" Seir questioned with a grimace.

"Of course, dear," Grell sang, dragging the scalpel down the struggling abdomen. "I'm an artist, and my canvas is disgustingly plain!"

The whole room reeked of blood. Her superior eyesight let her witness the scene in graphic detail, but she didn't really care to see it. Bent over the pitiful woman was Grell, being the one to get his hands dirty, while Madam Red stood a ways off, gazing at the prostitute with such disdain that even Seir felt small. An assortment of surgical tools precariously hung from the table as the reaper chose them with abandon, uncaring as long as it had a sharp edge.

Great, I'm an accessory. Her lips turned downward on their own accord as dark droplets of blood found their way onto her dress. Like clockwork.

"Are you sure you don't want to add the finishing touch?" Grell inquired to her with a maniacal grin. He held out the bloodsoaked scalpel to her, as if it would incentivise her to take it.

She looked at the knife, then to the shuddering body in his embrace.

"No thanks," came her slow reply.

He shrugged. After what was a half hour of bloody carnage, he delivered the fatal blow to her beating heart as messily as he possibly could have done. At this, she let out a scream of pure agony as the last bits of life she had been desperately clinging to slipped through her fingers. Grell gracelessly dropped the corpse to the stained earth, admiring his handiwork with a fanged smile.

"I'd say she's been painted beautifully, right Madam?"

The noblewoman only gazed at the lifeless doll in pity, arms crossed in what Seir assumed was nonchalance. "She didn't know what she had. People normally don't until it's been taken away - I'm just showing her the error of her ways..."

Seir stared at the woman who seemed to wallow in regret at that moment before whipping her head to the door and inhaling sharply.

It's a presence she'd become well acquainted with recently, and Grell's grin only grew wider as he recognized it as well. Noticing something was wrong with the way her two guard dogs seemed to change their moods, Angelina found herself growing wary in turn.

Both she and the demon retreated into the darkness of the room just as the door was forced open. A cloaking spell was instinctively cast from Seir's fingertips as she caught sight of the Phantomhive boy in the entryway, eye narrowed and determined. That is, until he chanced upon the lifeless form of Mary Kelly, her body utterly desecrated like a lamb to the slaughter.

A strangled gasp escaped his lips before Sebastian covered his face a moment too late, leaping back to a safer distance. The two women watched as the Queen's lackey shuddered in shock and retch where he stood shortly after, completely unprepared for the ghastly horror of Grell's work.

The reaper in question could only stand before the body, drenched in the harlot's blood as Sebastian looked at him with a smile. Knowing he was caught (perhaps voluntarily, she mused), he stepped through the scarlet puddles and approached the Phantomhive servant.

"You've made quite a beautiful mess, Jack the Ripper," he stated casually as the Dalles butler came into the view of the light, soaked in his work's medium. "Or perhaps I should say... Grell Sutcliff."

The brunette looked utterly distraught, blood staining his lenses and dripping from brunette locks. Staggering forward, he reached a hand out to Sebastian in denial. "N-no, this isn't…"

His next words came out quickly, almost jumbled. "I heard the scream and came to help but it was too..."

"Will you really claim innocence looking like that, Grell?" The demon spoke casually as he stared at the droplets of blood on his clothes mix with the puddles of rain at his feet. "Though to be fair, this is the first time I've seen one of your kind in the human world."

Ciel remained in the butler's arms, still reeling in shock, though his heavy breathing seems to have calmed.

"You played the helpless butler quite well," he continued, features turning smug. "You had everyone fooled."

She knew her companion wouldn't be able to help it. He didn't know it, but Sebastian was just stoking the flames of the reaper's pride by holding his acting abilities in such high regard. They all knew that the jig was up, and it was just a matter of time.

"Quite well…"

A sinister chuckle escaped Grell, and his toothy grin morphed into grotesque features. "Really?"

Pulling at the ribbon in his hair, his voice grew arrogant. "That's right," he continued. "I am an actress. An amazing one at that."

Off came the wide rimmed spectacles. Strands of previously dark brown hair flowed red, as if by magic. Delicately, he wiped the blood from his face, applying his fake lashes soon after. Like a maiden at her vanity, pouring in countless hours to make herself look like a princess, Grell managed to not only do it standing in the rain, but embody the likeness of a goddess as well.

She isn't afraid to admit it - guy looked good.

"But you're not normal either, are you Sebastain?" Grell's features turned excited as he pulled off the stained servant gloves and donned his black, custom ones. "If that's even your real name."

"It's the name my master has given me, so I am Sebastian," the demon replied. "For now."

"My..." he purred, satisfied that he can finally flaunt his true beauty at his person of interest. "You're quite a submissive character. However, I suppose that's also splendid in a handsome man like yourself."

At last, the red rimmed glasses came on, and the reaper sensually gazed up at the butler underneath knowing lashes. "Well then, once again, Sebastian… no, Sebby."

Seir certainly enjoyed watching the demon's smile slowly drop as the redhead continued his monologue.

"Allow me to properly introduce myself: I am the Dalles family butler Grell Sutcliffe. Let's get to know each other better~"

Pouring all of his pent up attraction into this one action, Grell blew a passionate kiss in Sebastian's direction - to whom was completely and utterly horrified by the gesture that he could not contain his shudder.

Truly, bless this Sebastian character.

Completely ignorant of the butler's ill reception, the reaper gushed. "My, I finally get to meet you as the real me. When I realized you were a demon playing butler, I was quite surprised."

"I could say the same," the butler jested, pulling himself together from his moment of weakness. "For a reaper to be acting as a butler... aren't you supposed to be the neutral being between gods and humans? What is your motive?"

Grell shrugged at his genuine curiosity, smirking. "Perhaps…I fell in love with a woman."

This statement elicited a reaction from the otherwise comatose Ciel. Pressing forward to what he knew was the inevitable outcome, Sebastian took the obvious bait. "Which is?"

From her place in the corner of the murder scene, Seir watched as Madam Red took her cue to come forward. Walking past her newest accomplice, her confident voice bounced against the solemn stone walls, them being the only witness to the agony of the poor woman whose life was stripped from her not a few minutes before.

"You already know, don't you?"

This feels strangely scripted, she mused as Angelina emerged from the building. It was at this point that Ciel pushed Sebastian's arm away - this, he was expecting. He could handle this much.

"Madam," he addressed in a somber tone.

Grell kept a grin on his face, and the noblewoman couldn't help hers either. "I never thought that someone would be able to tell of Grell's true nature. I would have never expected it."

"You were on the preliminary suspect list, of course," he pushed, ignoring her statement. "However, your alibi was perfect."

"Even me?" She seemed genuinely disappointed by this fact. His blank expression betrayed nothing as he said in a firm tone that blood relations had no bearing in this kind of situation. Sorrow enveloped her, but Angelina wiped her face of any emotion at his statement.

Seir knew that this child was well beyond his years in terms of maturity and intellect. His language, the way he carried himself, the decisions he's made: none of them carried a childlike innocence about them.

His initial shock at the sight of Mary Kelly? Any rational man would have had the same reaction, whether they were a detective or not. Only a truly seasoned man in dealings with the underworld could have chanced upon that scene without so much as blinking. No, what he lacked was just raw experience. The fact of the matter is that Ciel simply has not lived long enough to desensitize himself to these sorts of things; given time though, he undoubtedly will.

Ultimately, he would have left no stone unturned in this case.

"If the accomplice wasn't human, then that would change everything," he elaborated. "Or perhaps... an unnamed third party."

Quite literally, no stone.

Grell tilted his head at this, and Madam Red raised an eyebrow.

The Phantomhive boy felt the shadow of doubt rear its ugly head at their reactions, but steeled his resolve.

"And here I thought you had everything perfectly predicted," the reaper crossed his arms with a grin. "But perhaps you weren't as meticulous as we thought."

"That girl earlier today," Ciel interjected, confident in his hypothesis. "She claimed to be Grell's brother. If he is a reaper, then surely she can't be human."

Grell shrugged indifferently. "Who knows? I barely knew her."

Her eye involuntarily twitched. So much for 'actress'.

"Then perhaps you'd like to tell me she's not in the vicinity?"

Her feet were rooted in her spot. Despite the metallic scent of blood was overwhelming her nose, she was not going out there.

"She's at my estate, last I checked," Madam Red replied coolly. Her posture betrayed nothing.

For the shit she's given her, Seir had to admit that the woman had both nerves of steel and acting skills rivaling Grell's.

"Sebastian."

"Yes, young master?"

"Check the house."

The butler bowed. "Yes, my lord."

At his first step, Grell moved in front the noblewoman. A protective streak possessed him in that moment, and his scythe was in position to strike without remorse if he dared take another step.

Not to defend Madam Red, persay.

"Come on, Sebby," he smirked seductively, chainsaw whirring to life. "Let's play."

Author's Note:

-I'm trying to avoid making the story too cookie cutter from my source material. When I revise later, hopefully I can amend that. :)

Anon: Thank you! We share that pity. I've toyed with the idea of another demonic main character for some time now since there simply aren't enough stories that use the trope, and I have a budding interest in Christian religion and theology from a non-believer standpoint. Despite being completely in the dark on where I want to go with this story, I'm determined to finish it, so we can look forward together. :D I'm glad you enjoyed and thank you for taking the time to review!

IMPORTANT:

I have changed a core part of the backstory. The prologue has been removed to reflect this, as well as some aspects throughout what I currently have. As I am taking a blind approach with this story, this may happen consistently. The more I plan out the backbone and end goal of the plot, the more things may shift.