Huh?
Ciel.
Ciel Phantomhive.
This is your past.
Even though some moments radiate light,
there is also impenetrable darkness.
I see. So, this is the past you are going to choose.
Father!
You…
His Butler,
Redi
rected
Where is the young master?
Isn’t this the Library of Death Gods?
This is where the Cinematic Records are kept.
Argh! That’s dangerous.
I was just wondering about that offensive odour.
Surely enough, it was you.
Will!
For a demon to break into our domain…
Wait, Will.
We just followed your order to return the Doomsday Book.
Oh, my.
For a Death God to personally invite vermin…
Greil Sutcliffe,
it seems to me that you desire further demotion.
What will become of me this time?
Exterminating vermin is surely an important task.
However, is it reasonable to leave the presence of a stray mite unattended?
An angel.
Yes.
It looks like you won’t be able to return just yet.
Have you woken up?
So, it was your doing,
Angela Bran.
How did touching the past feel?
Was it the alluring smoothness of velvet,
or the roughness of washed-out cotton?
Quiet!
Back then…
That hand…
It was my father’s hand!
You killed him.
Why?
Why did you kill my parents?
What benefit did it—
“Kill”. “Kill”. What an eerie word.
Was it really me alone who took your parents’ lives?
That butler of yours…
But no.
Was it not you yourself who put them to death a second time?
How splendid.
Even after having touched that distorted past,
you are still able to retain some presence of mind.
Why you…
You are full of stains.
However, if you throw off this thin skin of yours,
a precious brilliance will emerge.
Shall I rewrite
this unseemly past that has stained you?
Angels possess the power to alter Cinematic Records.
They can change the past?
Not even God Himself can do such a thing.
They just give people a false sense of peace.
Stop this nonsense!
Aren’t you the one who sullied me?
One beset by negative experiences to the point where his soul is about to break
wishes for that past to be undone,
yet it will haunt him eternally.
It’s all right now, Ciel.
The death that called on us is nothing you should lament.
That’s right, Ciel.
We don’t want to see you suffering.
Though leaving the past untouched, an angel uses its powers
to manipulate the person into believing that whatever came to pass was not necessarily negative.
This is a lie.
This is a lie!
Both my father and mother—
We saw a light back then,
a rich and peaceful light, full of affection.
Through death, Father and I were able to become one, in body and soul.
Yes, and we two, who have now become one,
Ciel,
we can embrace your entire being, body and soul.
Ciel.
We love you.
Father.
Mother.
Young Master!
His past is being rewritten at this very moment,
purged white and clean.
Purged?
No one wishes to live burdened by hatred.
He is no exception.
Young Master!
What a thoughtless thing to do.
If forcibly halted now,
the past will not be fitted correctly into this boy,
causing him to change into an incomplete human being.
That’s right.
Become a pure human.
My young master is being purged.
Ciel, come here.
We do not bear a grudge towards anyone.
That’s right, Ciel. That’s how it should be.
Don’t be deluded by those foolish, negative emotions.
Cast off your hatred!
Hatred is impurity.
What’s wrong, Ciel?
Did something happen?
W—Won’t.
Ciel.
I won’t.
What are you talking about, Ciel?
Even if Father and Mother don’t hate anybody,
that has nothing to do with my own hatred!
Ciel, what are you…
Didn’t you love us?
I do love you, Mother.
That is why it was so painful.
It hurt.
There is nothing left to me except hatred.
So, discard it—
I won’t!
Ciel.
Should I cast off my hatred,
my self from that day would cease to exist.
I wouldn’t be me anymore!
Ciel?
Ciel.
I won’t give it up.
I won’t give this hatred up!
What? He restored the Cinematic Record all by himself!
Young Master!
What a reckless thing to do.
Sebastian, I…
You never fail to exceed my expectations.
I should expect nothing less from my soul…
No, from my young master.
Ah, how dreadful a tainted heart is.
Corrupted, stagnant, dark.
Showing mercy was no use, just as I thought.
Let me purge you right here.
I will be your opponent.
Disturbances in the library fall under the jurisdiction of Death Gods.
Let us join the altercation, Greil Sutcliffe!
Oh, yay!
Ah, a Trinity!
A heated battle is about to begin!
Yes. Yes. Would you let me through, please?
Let’s see. Number 8 under the letter “N”… Number 8 under the letter “N”…
Undertaker?
Hi.
Wait. Why are you—
Mind your language! This paragon of reliability
passed judgment on the soul of Robin Hood himself, and sent Marie Antoinette to Hell.
Even a crying child would willingly hold out their soul
to this legendary Death God.
Wait a moment!
He is nothing like your imaginary description.
Besides, which part of this small-fry is a legendary Death…
Embrace me!
As you appear rather busy,
I will start by taking care of the filth in that monastery.
Are you going to flee again?
Let me show you what end the world will meet,
if ruled by impurity.
This is…
An angel’s barrier.
What should we do now that we have lost the Founder?
There is no need to be sad.
After all, the coffins you’ve collected can finally be put to use.
A—An angel?
Entrust everything unto me.
Give the tainted Doomsday Books,
whose pages hold no hope of a future,
to me!
It won’t open!
Good grief. It seems we have been locked in.
This is
the Cinematic Record of a person from that monastery.
The monastery?
I see.
A slaughtering angel has descended upon the monastery on the outskirts of Preston.
A slaughtering angel?
Those assembled here all have impure souls.
Dependent on honeyed words, dependent on God,
all of you have given up on trying to rewrite the future yourselves.
Erase the barren.
Erase the useless.
Erase the unclean!
Hmm. I see.
Let us stop her!
Oh, Young Master? An act of kindness?
Were you not inclined to eradicate that monastery in time?
It isn’t because I want to help them.
I just don’t want to let her do as she pleases. That’s all.
But what are you going to do?
We can’t even move from here.
No, we still have one thing:
an ultimate tool of the Death Gods that only the highest ranks of the Dispatch Management Division are permitted to use.
Its name is the Death Bookmark.
Bookmark?
A pink bookmark!
If we end the story this way, the Red Pen can be used.
The girl’s name is Matilda Simons.
“Purified by the hand of the angel Angela in the monastery.”
Is that all that’s written in there?
“At that very moment, Sebastian Michaelis appeared onstage.”
Ah, Sebby!
A demon’s scent emanates from that woman.
Yes. I already put my mark on her.
It’s you!
Wishing to be buried by an angel? What a commendable demon you are,
Sebastian Michaelis!
Do you think a demon can fight equally with an angel carried on pure wings?
A wingless demon is bound to the ground eternally.
To the ground? Maybe it is so,
but if that is the case, you should be stuck to the sky!
Greil Sutcliffe!
An all-new Death Scythe!
I did it!
Return it to me after cleaning.
Ah, so mean…
“Before Matilda’s very eyes, which are intently following the struggle,
William T. Spears and Greil Sutcliffe appear.”
A convenient tool.
Though it is not omnipotent.
This is rather entertaining.
Let us put this dart board to use.
Oh, did I miss?
Now, where should I place the next one?
I want to play, too!
How distasteful.
What are you trying to do,
destroy us along with yourself?
Erase the unclean.
Erase the useless.
Wait a moment! It’s crumbling!
To escape, or to stay here,
is entirely up to you to decide.
R—Right!
Greil Sutcliffe, we are withdrawing as well.
Really! Not only will I apply for overtime, I shall also want a day off to make up for this.
Is it all over?
The existence that cast me down into impenetrable darkness is gone.
Even though I still can’t comprehend her reasoning.
As promised, you can take it now.
Why, Sebastian?
Why won’t you take my soul?
She should be dead now.
Or is she…
Could there possibly be others?
Please let me stay in your service a while longer, Young Master.
By the way, what brought you to the library?
You should have retired from active duty.
Well, there is something I remembered, thanks to him.
I completely forgot to return those Cinematic Records.
What are you talking about?
And amongst the books I borrowed
were the those of Mr. and Mrs. Phantomhive.
Genuine Cinematic Records, unaltered by the angel.
Do you want to know what is written inside?
No, thanks.
Let’s go, Sebastian.
As you wish.
Interesting!
Are you really content with this?
If you read the books, you could learn the identity of your opponents.
I don’t care.
Are you being sentimental?
No, it’s just…
Coming into contact with that abomination again…
I don’t like to disturb the peace of the dead over and over again.
The young master has made a friend.
He is an assistant police inspector with plain features and no notable merits.
Just what one would expect from the young master: an unimaginable coupling.
Next time:
Preview
His Butler, Detained
His Butler, Detained.
After all, I am one hell of a butler.