Sebastian has arrived on the scene, he catches Alex before she hits the floor, however something inside him snaps when he sees who is responsible for the trouble.
Who exactly is Seiki?
Can they save Alex?
Why is Sebastian still in pain?
I hope you enjoy,
~Kuro
P.s. I know how much you guys hate cliffhangers so I will be nice and post this earlier than planned. However, I don't plan for the series to end for a while so stick around.
Chapter 47: Scarlet Moon
Sebastian's heels clicked against the floor as he caught Alex before she fell from the bar. He looked down at the unconscious girl, his eyes flickered pink and Ash took a step back, a massive black shadow covered the wall and Sebastian seemed even more terrifying than usual. He held Alex in his arms like a bride and stepped off the bar as though there wasn't even a height difference. The sound of his heels falling on the floor seemed to echo through the room and they heard another soft tap. Standing beside Sebastian was Claude, his shadow was no where near as terrifying as Sebastian's however his eyes were no longer a familiar golden yellow, they flashed to his true nature, a bright pink with black slits. The Undertaker stared, it had been a very long times since he saw Sebastian's aura visible, it was a dark green and crackled as he became even angrier. The playful smirk had left his lips, which were now firm and unforgiving. Claude's aura was visible as well, his crackled purple and he could tell the lineage difference with the two standing side by side. The Undertaker got out of the booth and placed his scythe to the side before holding his arms out to take Alex. Sebastian's eyes narrowed, it was clear he was furious with the entire situation including the shinigami. In fact he was unwilling to let her go after seeing the blood bath before his eyes. "She needs medical attention or she'll bleed to death," said the Undertaker. Sebastian was about to object when Claude placed a hand on the furious demon's shoulder, urging him to do so after noticing the amount of her blood on his hands and clothing.
Sebastian nodded and slowly handed Alex to the elder shinigami. He was reluctant however he knew full well that it was for the best. The Undertaker was careful as he placed her on the counter of the bar and William began digging for rags. "We have to stop the bleeding before we can do anything else," said the Undertaker as he applied pressure to the artery in her neck which she had sliced with the knife. William was quick to find a rag and handed it to the gray haired shinigami. He watched as experienced fingers applied pressure to the wound, he looked up and muttered, "I don't think I can save her this time." Ronald froze he had opened a bottle of vodka to disinfect the cut she made to her face. He was bleeding and was fumbling about after the demon had broken his glasses with the kick to the head. "Try," said Ronald stubbornly, "Do anything you can." Ronald placed a particular emphasis on anything and the Undertaker paused. There were many things a death god could do, however that didn't mean he should. Grell was still surrounded and he looked in the corner nervously.
"Enough!" commanded Sebastian and the demons froze, his voice sounded more powerful than usual. The demons stepped back for a moment; it was as though the demon lord himself had given the command. They slowly retreated, leaving Grell alone and stood before Sebastian. The red head shinigami scrambled toward the bar and a look of relief swept across the Undertaker's face. Sebastian looked over at Haru, his eyes narrowed and he said softly, "How many times must I tell you not to touch my things, Seiki." Seiki flinched, he had heard his name spoken once before however it didn't have the power behind it that it did as it left Sebastian's lips. "You have been conducting an illegal auction, no matter how old you are it is still illegal to auction souls," said Sebastian his voice was still soft and yet it felt as though he was yelling. Each word tore at Seiki, making him back up slowly. "You have broken several laws tonight, including taking someone before their timely death," said Sebastian. Seiki's black eyes widened with terror, "She took her own life!" he shouted. Sebastian's jaw locked and he snarled, "No you caused it, if you hadn't set up this small auction," he began and Seiki interrupted. "What auction, this is the preview!" he screamed. Sebastian paused and looked confused, "Preview?" the word it's self was more irritating than auction. "The auction isn't till December, I was told that she was fair game since you hadn't claimed her," he said defensively. Claude looked at Seiki with confusion, "Do you have a contract?" he asked. Seiki froze; he should have known Claude would bring up contracts. "No, I was ordered to," he said defensively. Sebastian became even more irritated, his eyes flickered dangerously and his massive onyx wings appeared. "Besides neither of you is holding a contract with her, and I've been waiting for so long to add her to my collection," said Seiki after a moment. Claude noticed how irritated Sebastian had become and looked at Seiki.
"She's grade A quality I have to admit that, a true delicacy," he said smugly, "The only thing I don't understand is why a prince like you isn't holding the contract." Grell, Ronald and William looked in Seiki's direction; the only one whose hands did not still was the Undertaker as he continued to apply pressure to the wound. "What?" whispered William in shock, this was the first time he had ever heard of Sebastian's true position. Sebastian was silent, he couldn't contract another human he loved, his heart wasn't prepared for that. Knowing that he would have to take her soul in the end was too much; he had done it once and was a mess afterword. Sebastian's fingers clenched into a fist and Seiki continued, "Unless the prince has grown weak." Claude watched as he noted something snap in Sebastian, something deep inside which had been locked away since long ago was released from its cage. Claude's eyes widened with terror and Ash trembled, it was the same thing he had experienced on the bridge, the reason he was encased in bronze. He sprinted to the bar and said, "We have to find a way to break the barrier, this isn't something she needs to witness." Grell was confused for a moment and commented, "She's unconscious and almost dead how can she witness anything?"
Ash looked at the Undertaker who sighed, "Her soul can still pick it up, it's the reason why she has nightmares, even though she was on the brink of death she learned everything which had gone on around her. That's what the screams are," he responded. Grell shivered and William looked down at her, he had forgotten about the nightmares, it had been such a long time since he had heard a word about them.
Sebastian grinned wickedly and pointed a finger at Seiki, the sound of bones breaking filled the room along with a blood curdling scream. "Seiki, it's a blood moon," he whispered with happily, "You should know better than to fight an arch demon during a blood moon." Claude looked at the other demons and who were about to flee and smiled with joy as they hit sharp strands of his web, it was so fine that it was impossible to detect unless you were looking for it, and even then it was invisible. The demons screamed in agony as they were sliced to pieces by the fine silk he had woven around the room. Seiki's body contorted as he felt each bone snap, "Stop," he begged and Sebastian laughed, which caused Claude to turn around. Sebastian's lips were curled in a devious smirk as he lifted his hand and curled his fingers, "I thought you liked to play games Seiki," he whispered. Claude's expression changed to one of concern as he watched his lover's jet black wings spread and horns appear. "You were so fond of them as a child," he continued and took a step forward. Seiki's body fell to the floor as though it were a rag doll which had been thrown there by Sebastian. His limbs were knurled and his cheeks were stained with blood. Sebastian grinned as he took another step toward the demon on the floor, the sound of his heel echoed through the room along with his distinct chuckle. He curled his fingers and squeezed the air causing Seiki's breath to catch. "Stop," he begged and Sebastian slowly squeezed the air again. Seiki felt Sebastian's ghost fingers wrap around the heart in his chest and he screamed in agony, as Sebastian squeezed it. He could feel the walls of his ventricles caving in and the pressure building alarmingly high. There wasn't much which could kill a demon, decapitating them was a way, however in court there was an even more frightening manor, arch demons had elegant ways to execute a felon. He felt Sebastian's grip on his struggling heart tighten and his breath hitched. It was even more painful than feeling each bone in his body being broken and his limbs being twisted out of place. An agony which Sebastian was clearly enjoying more than anything, a sweet pain which made the demon lick his lips.
"I remember what you used to do to the birds and cats in the garden Seiki," he said darkly, his shoes were a breath away from Seiki's face. "My tutor who was supposed to teach me all he could about humans," he said softly and Seiki knelt on the floor, his black eyes were fixed on Sebastian's slender build. The amount of power which he was wielding was frightening; however it wasn't nearly as intimidating as the fact that Seiki was well aware that Sebastian was capable of worse. He could feel Sebastian's fingers clench his heard even tighter and he clutched his chest. "The one who killed what I held dear," he whispered darkly. Seiki's eyes widened, he honestly thought Sebastian had forgotten about that night. "It wasn't me, that wasn't my doing!" he shouted in a panic. He looked over to Claude who ignored him and continued, "I was told to do that as well!" Sebastian laughed and pulled his hand toward him, his fingers still squeezing the air. Seiki felt his heart being pulled forward and he fell to his chest which hurt. Sebastian wasn't even allowing the demon's bones to heal; he intended to make it as painful as possible. "You are every bit responsible," he said angrily, "You told them where we were!" Sebastian pulled harder causing Seiki to scream in agony and the Undertaker said to Ash, "Apply pressure here." Ash looked confused until he heard the sound of a scythe slicing through the air.
A wave of blood fallowed and there was a moment of silence, the tension in the room was so high that it felt as though it was cracking the base under their feet. The Undertaker held his silver sickle above his head and looked at Sebastian. "How dare you interfere!" he shouted angrily and was about to attack the gray haired shinigami when Claude caught him. "Sebastian that's enough," he whispered. "Release me Claude! That was my task!" Sebastian spat, his words stung again and Claude squeezed him tightly. He hoped that Sebastian would calm down soon, only it wasn't fast enough. "Undertaker her pulse is gone!" shouted Ronald and Sebastian froze. It was as though his heart had stopped, and time stood still. William pulled out his book and a panic and looked at the list, she wasn't listed to be collected. Grell did the same and so did Ronald, none of them had her name. Claude slowly released Sebastian and walked over to Alex. She looked as though she were asleep and he slowly touched the side of her face, her skin was cold and she looked so different, so quiet, peaceful. He felt as though his heart had been ripped out as he looked at Ash. "She's not dead," he whispered, "But she isn't alive." The three were confused for a moment and Ash nodded, "This isn't the work of an angel or a demon, her consciousness is trying desperately to stay alive, but her body can't sustain her," he said as he swept a lock of her hair from out of her face. Claude licked his fingers; they glistened in the light as he slowly traced her wounds with them. The shinigami watched in shock as the wounds knitted them selves together. He slowly placed a kiss on her forehead and whispered, "Please wake up." His voice was laced with pain and Grell looked over to see Sebastian standing motionless, he looked as though he were a statue which had been placed in the middle of the floor. He rested his head on Alex's and whispered, "Please, he can't go through this again." Claude paused and muttered, "I can't go through this again."
Claude felt as though he was going to be ripped apart until he heart it, the most relieving sound in the world. A heart beat, it was faint and weak, but present. His eyes flickered open, he managed to hear it again and he began pressing on her chest. "Ash please tell me you have a deliberator," he said quickly, it sounded more like a command than a request, which irritated Ash however he wasn't willing to see the statue in the middle of his floor, there permanently. He jumped off the floor and flew up to his office, he disliked breaking the window of his office, however, this couldn't wait. He reached the wall and pulled the red case from the wall and jumped out the window again, landing with a tap on the dance floor. "Here," said Ash as he thrust the case at Claude. Claude ignored how rude the action was and quickly pulled the paddles from the case and tore away her shirt. He looked up and began to wonder where Steve was, he looked around to hear a muffled shout. "Grell get Steve out of the closet," he said sternly. Grell nodded and ran to look for Steve, as Claude finished attaching the leads. "Charging," he said before he could disperse the charge Sebastian was at his side and said sternly, "Clear." Claude looked at him and watched as he waited to hear it, the sound of a fighting heart. It was a soft and precious sound one which mattered, the most in the world to the couple. Claude was waiting for the device to recharge when Sebastian said, "Don't. Listen."
Claude heard a faint rhythm; it was enough to put him at ease. He slowly picked her up and cradled her in his arms. He noticed how Sebastian was still in pain, and he moaned, "Let's go home," whispered Claude. He looked at the shinigami and Ash who were battered. "Ash, I will pay for the damages," he said firmly. Ash held up his hand and sighed, "As much as I would like that, I'm afraid you can't, you see I'm more interested in how they managed to get in without being detected as much as you are," he said honestly. It was clear Ash was not happy about a night where demons had managed to enter his club, he didn't mind the dj however the others were the tip of the iceberg for him. Claude nodded and looked at the Undertaker who didn't receive a single scratch, "I'll clean this mess up and treat Grell," he said pensively, it was clear he was thinking of a way to dispose of the demonic remains without causing an issue. William looked at Ronald. Once again, the blond haired shinigami had gotten himself nearly killed. This upset William and he slowly wrapped an arm around Ronald's waist to support him. "Come with me," he whispered softly, "I'll take care of those." Ronald hummed in acknowledgement and leaned his head on William's powerful shoulder, it was warm and soothing.
Grell had found Steve and Claude noticed how disoriented the photographer looked. It looked as though he had been drugged and Claude sighed, "It looks like we will be taking Steve with us, I have an IV at home which we can use to flush out his system." Sebastian nodded and took Steve; he slowly fallowed Claude out the door. This was going to be difficult to explain to Steve what had happened. The three walked out of the club and looked up, the moon had been a perfect silver disk prior to this, now it was tainted a bright red, it was almost the same color as Sebastian's eyes. He looked over at his raven; it had been a while since he had seen Sebastian use that kind of power. Claude looked at Alex and then Sebastian. He had selected to take the Quattro which meant that he had room for the four people. He opened the door and slowly placed Alex on the back seat and Steve got in on the other side. Claude watched as Sebastian managed to slowly get into the passenger side and sighed. Claude turned the key in the ignition and watched as Sebastian slipped to sleep. "You over exhorted yourself again," he whispered as he rubbed his thumb over Sebastian's cheek.