For the rest of the day, Edna and I stayed at Undertaker's shop to discuss our plans for fighting Lord Black, along with figuring out how to save the servants...if they could be saved.
Undertaker said multiple times that we had to accept the fact that the servants could be dead, especially if the demon's target, which we guessed was Edna, was not present anymore. Edna snapped at Undertaker every time he made a comment like that, her eyes flaring up as she tried to hold back grief of what could have happened. I too tried not to focus too much on that subject, I did not want to cloud my mind with vengeance and grief...
Though I could still feel my heart ache with pain at the thought.
In the end, we decided that our best bet was to have Undertaker do most of the work on fighting the demon while Edna and I went after the servants. Undertaker said that, from what I've told him about Lord Black, that he should be able to handle him without much problems, since he seemed to be a younger, less powerful demon with the taunts he had given me. Eventually, Edna and I went home to pack up our things and get as much sleep as we could.
About sunrise, we rode off in our carriage with Undertaker driving, which he for some reason insisted on doing, and we then started to make our way to Redwood Manor. Edna rode inside the carriage while I sat next to Undertaker. It was a quiet out of London, it being very peaceful and relaxing atmosphere. I let out a large yawn, feeling my eyelids grow heavy. Undertaker chuckled.
"If you are really that tired, little red shinigami," he said sounding mildly amused, "you can sit with your dear lady. I can drive by myself."
"No, I'm fine," I replied, looking up at him from the corner of my eye. "We are asking you for help, it wouldn't look right if Edna and I both rested while you drive the whole time."
I narrowed my eyes.
"Though is there a reason why you keep calling me 'little shinigami' or some variation of that? I have a name, you know."
"He he he, so do I, and yet you still call me 'Undertaker.'"
"But you never told me what your name was!"
"You didn't ask, so why should I tell you my name if you never asked?"
I sighed heavily while Undertaker continued to laugh. Man, was this guy a loon!
"So, what is your name then?" I asked, feeling slightly annoyed. "Or is your name literally 'Undertaker?'"
Undertaker grinned.
"It has been decades since I've had anyone call me by my real name, almost to the point of me forgetting what it was! In fact..."
His voice trailed off.
"...The last person I ever told my real name to was a very special human I met a long time ago. One who I have yet to see another like her."
I raised an eyebrow.
"A woman you say? Was she a past lover of yours?"
Undertaker chuckled softly.
"He he he... No. Not really. She was married and already had two children by the time I met her. But that did not stop me from becoming...curious about her."
His smile grew, his hand tightening on the reigns.
"Like how Lady Redwood is to you, she was someone who I could never get off my mind. She was strong, yet elegant. She was kind, yet cruel, trapped in what society wanted her to be, but not what she wanted to be. She had a never ending curiosity, always trying to push the limits she could push. She was very fascinating, and so was her son and now her grandson I see from time to time."
"...You sound like you miss her a lot," I commented, noticing the slight somber tone in his voice. "What happened?"
It took a moment before Undertaker replied. Though he did hide it well, there was still parts of his expression and voice that showed that it hurt him to talk about it. It wasn't really any of my business, but I couldn't help but feel slight curious about a grim reaper who was in a similar situation as I was in now.
"...I had warn her many times that she needed to take good care of her soul," Undertaker finally answered. "That the more she put herself in danger, she had to remember that she is only mortal. And...she did not listen. She wasn't arrogant, but she did not know when to stop pushing her limits."
"I...see," I said softly. "I'm...so sorry for you."
Undertaker glanced at my direction and gave a small smile.
"I do not tell you this to make you feel pity for me, I tell you this as a way to forewarn you that you will have to feel the exact same pain I did, and still do. That is the tragedy of us grim reapers. We are forced to witness the death of everything, and while it is grained into our heads when we are children to be emotionless, it never does work. We can feel just as much as a human, perhaps even more so. One day Grell...you will have to watch as your dear Edna decreases in health before your very eyes. And when she dies, you cannot stop it, you cannot prevent it. The most you can do is to take her soul before the shinigami actually do, but that may only break your heart even more."
He focused his hidden gaze on the road, pausing for a second.
"No matter how pure your love is, she is still human and you are a death god. And nothing you do can change it."
I stared at the Undertaker, his words going straight through me. I put my gaze back on the road, staring blankly at nothing as the word 'death' repeated over and over in my mind.
Edna...
I would have to watch her die, I would have watch as her soul leaves her decaying body and see the end of her cinematic record. No... No, I can't do that! My mind refused to comprehend that concept of me having to go on with my life without her, or that she would grow old while I barely gain a wrinkle. And not to mention that when we return, the border of servant and mistress will come back into play, and if she was to keep up her fake identity as a noblewoman, she would have to eventually marry a nobleman. To see Edna in the arms of another, even if her heart belonged to me...
"Calm down, my little red reaper." Undertaker's voice threw me out of my swirling thoughts as only now I realized that my eyes were watering. "Worrying about the future is not going help you."
I glared at him.
"Well then why put that thought in my head in the first place if you didn't want me to worry!?" I unintentionally snapped. "How can you say this so casually when...when..."
I could not finish my sentence, my voice choked up too much for that.
"...I never did say that I took this sort of thing lightly," Undertaker finally said. "But the sooner you come to terms with it, the less pain you will feel when the time finally comes. Just remember to protect dear Edna and enjoy as much time as you can with her. That is all you can really do."
There was a long silence, me trying to calm myself down as I fought the tears trying to form in my eyes.
"...Is that why you are helping us?" I asked quietly. "Because Edna and I remind you of you and your lost love?"
"He he he, that may have been one reason," Undertaker answered with a smile. "But it wasn't the only one. You have the chance to be free from our species controlling ways. Might as well help you enjoy your freedom while it last, for unless you hide carefully like I am, you will most likely be found out."
I raised an eyebrow, curious to hear the little hostile tone coming from him.
"I...take it you are not too fond of our kind?"
Undertaker chuckled.
"In simplest terms, yes. Our kind's systematic, never-changing lifestyle did not fit me. And so I left, ran away."
Just like that?
A part of me found it hard to believe that he just simply 'left' the shinigami. My memory of our kind had not returned that much...but something told me that one does not simply 'leave the shinigami.' I also had a feeling that if I had said I had wanted to return to our kind, Undertaker would not be as cooperative as he was now.
After hours and hours of riding in the carriage, Undertaker and I continuing to chat, we finally arrived at Redwood Manor. A cold feeling ran through me at the deadening silence that was on the grounds, no wind passing by or any animals making noises in the countryside.
It was like the area was deserted of any form of life.
Undertaker parked the carriage outside the front gate to the grounds. I glanced around, my heart beating faster as I realized that even though it was a perfectly good day outside, Jasper, who would be working obsessively, was nowhere to be seen.
Something...something was not right.
"Oh God...no!"
Edna came out of the carriage, her whole body shaking like she was standing face to face with a ghost.
"...I-it's happening again!" she exclaimed, her voice cracking terribly. "It is just like the day Lady Holloway! The stiff, deadly silence..."
She looked like she was about to faint. Quickly, I jumped out of the passenger's seat and put my arms around her.
"It is okay, Edna," I said in a vain attempt to calm her. "We won't let anything happen to them, I promise."
Edna said nothing in reply, only pressing herself closer to me as she tried to keep herself together.
"Well, looks like our little demon has decided to come out of hiding," Undertaker commented as he walked up to us. "Seems like he suspected you two to find out his little secret, and thus prepared himself."
Hidden beneath his large black coat, he took out what I presumed to be his death scythe, disguised as some large wooden stick. Wow...that was an impressive weapon.
Undertaker smiled.
"I don't know if you can sense it too, Grell, but I can clearly tell that the demon is nearby. But whether or not he is in the manor or not I cannot tell."
"Can you sense if the servants are okay?" I asked, tightening my embrace on Edna.
Undertaker tilted his head to the side.
"...I'm afraid I cannot tell from this distance," he answered after a moment's pause. "A human's soul is not as powerful as a demon's, not to mention I've lived so long around humans that I've become very used to sensing them all the time."
He turned to face Edna and I.
"Give me a moment to scan the area and see if I can pinpoint the demon," he said with a large smile. "In the meantime, you wait here until I find it safe for you two to go search for your servants."
"N-no!"
Making eye contact with Undertaker, Edna got out of my grasp and glared at him, clutching her fists tightly.
"Every moment we waste, my servants could be suffering by the hands of that wicked demon!" she cried. "Grell and I cannot afford to just stand here and do nothing while they could potentially be..."
She shook her head as faint tears tried to form in her eyes. She took in a deep breath of air.
"If you want to go around and make sure Meriwether isn't outside the manor, fine, but Grell and I will go ahead and try to find my servants. If we run into the demon, we can defend ourselves for a short amount of time until we find you again."
Undertaker chuckled softly, sounding as if Edna's words amused him.
"A reckless move...but I should warn you that your demon friend will most likely try to weaken you with words at first then with immediate combat. It will not take me long to search the area, and if you do run into him, distract him as long as you can till I am able to find you again."
He moved closer to Edna, poking her cheek slightly.
"Do you understand, m'lady?"
"Yes, we understand."
I gave him a death glare as I pulled Edna away from him. Undertaker giggled.
"He he he! Good. Then I shall be off."
Turning his back towards us, I could faintly see him pull his bangs back as he used his shinigami strength to jump high into the air. Once he was gone, I tightened my grip on Edna's arm, knowing that without Undertaker around, we had very little defense against Lord Black. And even less for Edna.
"One day you will have to watch as your dear Edna decreases in health before your very eyes. And when she dies, you cannot stop it."
"Come on, we need to move quickly."
I blinked, noticing that Edna was already making her way to the manor. My heart stopped for a second.
"Edna...wait!"
I caught up to her, us walking side by side as we made our way to the manor. I could feel fear rushing its way through me. We had no idea what Lord Black was capable of, no clue as to what conditions Christine, Daniel, Martha, Simon, and Jasper would be in. For both Edna and myself...I had no idea how we would react to see what was inside those closed, silent doors of the large manor. Edna was having a hard time going through with this, no doubt having memories of Lady Holloway's murder going through her mind. I put my hand within hers, our fingers intertwining as we comfort each other's silent fears.
After what felt like an eternity, we arrived at the front door. A door that once felt welcoming, now felt cold and tainted. Signaling Edna to stand back, I opened the doors, prepared for any kind of resistance or horrors that Lord Black had planned for us.
But...there wasn't any.
Nothing held the door closed when I opened it, no scent of death or signs of struggles within the entry hall. Everything looked just like how it did when we left. Edna and I quietly stepped inside the manor, closing the door behind us. A faint stench went passed my nostrils, causing my stomach to twist slightly as I started to recall that I breathed in heavy amounts of this scent back when I was in duty as a grim reaper, and even more so as Jack the Ripper.
"...I can smell blood," I said quietly to Edna. "I can't tell where it is coming from, but Lord Black has made his move."
Edna's face paled.
"...Do you think...we are too late?"
Her voice shook as she spoke.
"I can't tell," I answered. "But we need to move and fast before that demon finds us, if he is still here."
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed from the hallway, breaking the dead silence in the manor. Edna and I froze, our eyes moving towards the right hallway. Lord Black came out of the dim shadows, a large twisted smile on his face with his hands clasped together.
"I'm happy to see that you two have returned, Lady Redwood, Sebastian," he said, walking towards us. "From the way you two left so suddenly, I thought you would have runaway together, being the lovers that you are. And that I would have to hunt you down."
He halted his movements, making sure there was a fair distance between us.
"But I'm glad that you have returned, saves me the trouble. After all, the rest of the humans here are not as entertaining. Along with the shinigami remembering who he truly is."
I glared at him, placing myself in front of Edna in case he tried to come after her. Lord Black gave off a soft laugh.
"Aw, how cute. You grim reapers never cease to 'amaze' me. Your kind claims to be emotionless and have no attachments, but yet every time a pretty woman shows her face, like our dear Edna here, you fall madly in love with the animals you prey upon."
His smile grew.
"It is pathetic, making me loathe your kind even more."
"...What do you want?" I demanded. "Why have you come here? Did you come because of a contract?"
Lord Black shook his head.
"No, I haven't had the time to come up with a new contract yet. I had thought about making a contract with your little human lover..."
His hazel eyes turned red as he made eye contact with Edna.
"...but she appeared to be more stubborn and resistant then most mortals."
"...You fowl creature!"
Edna moved past me, leaving my protection as she moved a few inches closer to Lord Black. My heart pounded in my chest as I wanted to grab her and pull her back, however I did not want any sudden movements to alarm Lord Black. My body tensed.
"What have you done with my servants!?" Edna shouted, sounding louder than she should have been. "Do they still live or have you already feasted on their souls?!"
"There is no need to shout," Lord Black replied calmly. "A lady should never raise her voice, weren't you taught that?"
He sighed.
"To have your immediately concern on your poorly entertaining servants rather than your own well-being is rather foolish. Especially when you have no good way to defend yourself."
He met my gaze and smirked.
"So tell me, shinigami, how much do you remember? I would very much like to know."
I sneered.
"Answer my question, Black. Why are you here?!"
It took a moment for Lord Black to reply, him staring at me for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh.
"You haven't figured it out yet? Damn, even with your memory back, you are still a dense fool."
He rolled his eyes.
"I came here because I have some unfinished business here, business I hadn't been able to take care of until now. You see, Sebastian, I had a certain prey of mine slip through my grasp, and while I could have finished it off at any point, I decided to experiment with it and see how much it could entertain me. After all...it is not everyday a demon like myself gets to not only severely damage a god of death, but to also play with its mind as well."
At first, nothing he said made any sense to me. Damaging a god of death? What was my kind, a delicate object?
But slowly...something clicked in my subconscious. A flash of memory went past my eyes, where I saw myself guarding against a powerful, hate filled demon using my own strength against me...
A demon with bright, hazel-red eyes.
"If you remember what your true nature is, along with knowing my own, then you must remember that it was I who caused you to lose your memory," Lord Black said with twisted enjoyment. "And not only that, but you were sent to, I assume, investigate and take the souls of the residents of this manor. After their schedule deaths, of course."
W-what...?
My mind went blank as Lord Black's smile sent cold shivers down my spine. A strong headache was trying to come on, and I could feel myself wanting to slip into a memory.
Edith Ayre.
Matilda Gavan.
Christine Doyle.
Daniel Knight.
Simon Pattison.
Jasper Forrester...
I could see their names on a list of paper, all with a schedule due date to die on March Second, 1889, cause of death being savagely killed by an 'unknown' force...
Lord Black laughed cruelly.
"Aw, did you not remember that little detail yet? That must have been quite a shocker, considering you have fallen for a soul who you were originally supposed to take."
He glanced over to the side, his eyes gleaming beneath his specs.
"How ironic that if you never would have lost your memory, you would have taken the life of the one you now love and your new friends. What a twist of fate!"
I cringed, as I used all my inner strength to keep myself in the present. I remembered that when I got my...To Die List for my evening shift, I remember seeing Edna's portrait and noticing how much she resembled Angelina. I...had wanted to see her before she died, but I only came early enough to meet a demon, who I immediately figured out was the one who was going to kill them...
"Will you stop this, Meriwether!" Edna shouted, coming close to my side. "I...I won't allow you to hurt Grell like this!"
"'Grell?' So that is the shinigami's real name..."
Lord Black chuckled.
"A strange name to fit a strange being. But it does not matter. It is time to end this amusing game and kill you vile and worthless beings. Though not before I break you completely, Grell..."
Pulling something out of his coat, he slowly came to show a strange red machine with a sharp, moving blade that could cut through anything lightning fast.
My...my death scythe!
"And let the end finally come!"
Turning on the scythe, he then charged at Edna and I. Coming to my senses, I grabbed Edna and shoved her out of the way. The moving blade of my death scythe move right between us, so close that it was hard to tell if it touched Edna or not. She screamed, and by the high pitch sound of it, the blade had hit her.
My eyes widened when she fell to the ground, Edna putting her hand to her side as that area of her clothes became darker. She was injured, though I didn't have time to help her as Lord Black aimed my death scythe at my head.
I dodged, trying to get him away from Edna while also trying my best not to get hit. I had no proper way to defend myself, and one wrong move would get me killed. A bloodthirsty look appeared in Lord Black's eyes, a look mixed between madness and hatred glowing in them. I was then able to lead Lord Black out of the manor, hoping that Undertaker would see us. Lord Black aimed my scythe's blade to chop off my legs. I jumped into the air, however, the blade scraped calves, an intense pain going through me. Lord Black smiled, using all his strength to jump as I high as I did and use the back of my scythe to push me down. I had no way to defend myself, as I fell straight down on my back.
I cried out in pain, hoping that I was loud enough for Undertaker to hear, for there was still no sign of him. I heard Lord Black land on his feet, rushing towards me before I had the chance to get up, where he put his foot on top of my chest. Our eyes met where he prepared to make the killing blow.
"He he he! Not so fast, little demon!"
Literally coming out of nowhere, Undertaker appeared right next to Lord Black and used the back end of his death scythe to stab him in the stomach. Lord Black flinched back, in shock as he quickly parried Undertaker's attack with his now fully revealed classic designed scythe. A large grin was on Undertaker's face, looking as if he was playing a game of some sort, using his scythe's blade to aim for all of Lord Black's weak points almost all at once. I sat up, trying to fight the pain in my legs as I watched Undertaker's amazing speed and fighting skills.
Soon enough, Undertaker was able to slice in a large gash on Lord Black's left side, causing the demon to let out an inhuman cry of pain. He quickly distant himself while Undertaker laughed.
"He he he! You have yet to learn how to properly fight with a shinigami's weapon," he chastised, shaking his finger in the air like he was scolding a child. "Best you put that toy down before you kill yourself, young demon."
Lord Black's eyes flashed.
"Silence, grim reaper!"
With his eyes glowing bright red, he used his demon strength to jump up to the roof of the manor. Undertaker soon followed, glancing over at me for a second before he did so. I stood up, watching their distance figures as they fought from the roof, back to the ground, towards the garden, everywhere. As I watched them, seeing Lord Black fight, it allowed me to recall my first encounter with him.
He was not as powerful as Sebastian, but he did have a great amount of skill with him, especially when fighting shinigami. He had originally took me by surprise, was able to match my speed and movements perfectly. The original fight was still hazy, but I do remember that he was able to outlast me in terms of stamina, taking me from behind and throwing me to the ground, where I landed so hard it caused me to lose consciousness.
While he proved to be an equal with our fight, Undertaker on the other hand was completely destroying him. Undertaker's fighting style was very ruthless and quick, using physical attacks as well as attacks on the mind with many taunts and insults. He fought like no other shinigami, that I could recall, had ever fought. Lord Black rarely went on the offensive, and while he was able to defend himself well against Undertaker, it was not enough to defeat him.
From moving across the grounds, eventually Lord Black and Undertaker went back to the area where they started. I was shocked to see how bloody Lord Black's clothes had become, his true demon nature showing more and more underneath his human disguise. Undertaker had a few good cuts as well, his black coat stained with red, though it was hard to tell if it was his blood or Lord Black's.
Undertaker lifted up his scythe and aimed to decapitate Lord Black's head, but at the right moment, Lord Black was able to parry the attack and block it. Their blades collided, both using all of their strength to overpower the other.
"He he he! Your wrath is very amusing!" Undertaker taunted cheerfully. "Never have I seen a demon show this much hatred! You would think this fight is personal, from the way you are acting..."
Lord Black grunted in reply. Looking back, his gaze met mine. He smiled.
"...Perhaps my hatred has gotten the better of me," Lord Black said to Undertaker, a sinister tone in his voice. "However, my emotions won't destroy me as it has done to your kind oh so many times!"
Letting back in strength, Lord Black leaned down and allowed most of Undertaker's strength to come forward, causing Undertaker to lose his balance and the demon to get away from him. Lord Black had started to quickly move toward the manor when I realized what he intended to do.
"Edna!"
Without thinking, I rushed after him. With Lord Black injured, it was not hard to catch up to him. I had no weapon, so all I could do was tackle him from behind. We both fell together, me on top of his back, when I saw he'd dropped my scythe. We both noticed, and Lord Black crawled underneath my weight to reach it. In response, I grabbed a tight hold of his head and smashed it as hard as I could into the ground, so hard that I heard his spectacles shatter in the process. I went after my death scythe, and from the moment I touched it, a sense of completion came over me. I had my scythe back, my most valuable property...
Lord Black slowly lifted up his head, a dazed look in his eyes as blood gushed out of his forehead. I turned to him, turning my death scythe on. I could feel my lips form a wide smile, a strange sensation going through my mind as I wanted nothing more than to make Lord Black's beautiful makeover more complete by staining his whole body in his red blood.
"I loved you dyed in the deepest crimson of spattered blood..."
Without warning, the bright sun turned into moonlight and Lord Black's severely injured body transformed into Angelina. There was a hole in her chest, her beautiful bright red blood gushing out of her as she fell backwards, lying dead. I looked down, seeing that my death scythe's blade was covered in her blood. My hands shook, me dropping my death scythe, for I just realized that I had killed her! My mind went into shock, my whole body frozen, muttering to myself in a mix of denial and regret.
"Aha ha ha ha! You really are pathetic!"
I saw Angelina's body get up from the ground, her limp corpse moving to me weakly. She wrapped her hand around my neck, falling onto me as she pined me down to the ground. Her glassy eyes showed nothing, but her smiled showed the deepest of hatred.
"Once again, your weak mind is playing tricks on you!" Angelina exclaimed, and though it was her voice coming out of her mouth, the words she was saying did not sound like her. "You are truly the lowest of your arrogant species! And now for you're-"
She was cut off as a blade went through her already wounded chest, blood spitting out of her mouth and landing on my face. I screamed out her name, as I witnessed a shadowy figure absorb her cinematic record. He then pull her off of me and made me sit up.
"Grell, snap out of it. Madam Red isn't here. This is the demon we going after, not your old mistress."
I blinked a few times. Slowly, I began to recognize the figure as Undertaker, his bangs once again covering his eyes. My heart pounded in my chest, my head aching horribly as I saw what my true surroundings were. Undertaker gave a gentle smile.
"You are safe, Grell. See? Your Angelina is nowhere to be seen."
I looked around, seeing that I was sitting on the ground with Undertaker beside me. My death scythe was at my feet and on my opposite side, I saw Lord Black's corpse, a large wound where Undertaker had stabbed him in the back. My breathing steadied, Undertaker wiping off Lord Black's blood off my face as I calmed down.
"Can you sit up, little shinigami?" he asked, getting to his feet as he used his coat to clean the blood off his scythe. "I'm sure Lady Redwood and the others will need you soon."
My eyes widened.
"Edna!"
Ignoring the light-headedness I felt, I dashed back inside the manor. Edna was nowhere to be seen in the entry hall, my mind going into a swift panic.
"Edna! Edna, where are you?!" I cried out.
"Grell!"
Hearing her voice from the hallway, I rushed towards it. There, I saw Edna weakly standing, leaning against the wall. My heart stopped.
"...Edna!"
I ran up to her, holding her close as I could feel the heat coming from her body.
"Edna, how badly are you hurt?" I asked. "What are you doing, moving around this injured!"
"...I had to try to find the others."
Edna clutched her teeth together as she held her side tightly.
"...I had to find out if they were alive..."
She fell into my arms, and when my hand met her injured side, I could feel her damp and bloody her side was.
"No...Edna, we have to get you to a hospital!" I cried, tears forming in my eyes.
"Grell, really, it isn't that bad. Just so long as it is covered..."
Her voice grew weak, her eyelids dropping. A cold feeling went through me.
Carefully I scoped up Edna in my arms, having to where her injured side faced me. I turned around, but before I could make another move, I saw that someone stood at the other end of the hallway. But it wasn't Undertaker, but a different grim reaper entirely.
He wore a professional black suit, tightly combed back black hair and very pale skin. He held his long death scythe close to him, his cold shinigami eyes glaring right through me, his dark frame specs emphasizing his dark gaze.
My blood turned to ice, for I stood face to face with the grim reaper I had worked with many times, who was my partner in our final test to become full ranking shinigami, and who I had lusted after for so long.
"So you really are alive after all," William T. Spears said in the most monotone of voices, "Grell Sutcliff."