#soul devouring

soooo i think the likelyhood of Sebas eating o!ciel's soul is hella likely towards the end of the series.

and although i think this isn't a bad ending, i am TERREFIED over how it will play out visually.

In the black butler live-action movie, Sebas kisses our earl in order to eat his soul, and in the end of the season 1 anime, a similar implication was shown.

I mean, I know we can't exactly conclude what scene Yana will draw out for us or even the solid conclusion in general, but do you believe that visually, a "kiss" between both characters will be shown in the manga?

Personally, I would be utterly dissapointed to follow a manga for so long for it to show a whole minor and adult kissing, even if it isn't romantic, because people will interpret it the wrong way (s*baciel shippers) or just be justifably uncomfortable by it (normal kuro fans).

have a nice day!

How will/would Sebastian collect our earl's soul?

Well, keep in mind that the live action movie doesn't even have "Ciel" in it. It's Sebastian brought back to the human realm by a female direct descendant of "Ciel", suggesting that "Ciel" lives to be old enough to have kids. It's implied that Undertaker is out of the picture by now, as the somewhat steampunk reaper is no one we've met before.

In the downright horrible adaptation, everyone in the future, by then, is now Japanese. The girl has to deal with situations that are ridiculously similar to her ancestor's ordeals. Basically, it was like... a way to have that kiss without both characters (or actors) being male, as if that made the age difference no longer relevant. Age of consent in Japan is rather low (like 13?), but still. And they work-in the idea that she has to dress as a boy to be taken seriously by others (and get her inheritance?), just like our earl thinks he has to pretend to be his older twin. This gives those shippers something to work with, despite the fact it's a female actor and a female character.

However, in s1 of the anime, Sebastian does look like he's about to go in for the kiss of death. That's not necessarily what he's about to do -- he might just get close to our earl's face and literally (and not sexually) suck out his soul. Like... we might see his soul physically ripped from his body and passing through the air from one to the other. But, again, fan service prevails in the anime, so they stop right before Sebastian begins to feed... leaving the intended next move to the imaginations of the viewers.

What worries me is the fact the manga series is also chock full of fan service for shippers. I'm hoping it's a "rip his soul out" scene without locked lips, though I expect their faces to get close, as they have before several times throughout the series.

Chronologically, we have this scene (drawn twice) from ch138 and ch139, depicting when they first made the contract. He gets right into his face (and upside down) when discussing payment.

Then ch62, the infamous bath scene shortly after Phantomhive Manor is restored.

And ch147, just after our earl destroys a roast duck.

There have been other occasions, I'm sure, but these are three very memorable ones... and two are about eating.

It's interesting to note that the only time we've seen Sebastian approach our earl's face upside down (so far) is when clarifying the terms of his payment once the contract is completed.

I would like to see something similarly creepy (like upside down) when it's time to collect that payment... if their faces even have to get close. Reapers collect souls without getting close to faces. Then again, they use special tools and don't eat the souls. However, I imagine that demons don't necessarily have to remove souls through the mouth/nose, either, if they don't want to.

Sebastian, being the "perverted gourmet" that Yana-san calls him, is likely to choose a method that adds some garnishing touch to his meal. I honestly can't say what that might be, other than doing something that brings forth certain emotions (from the master) that enhance the flavors he seeks.

🃏 If you do prey on humans, how do you affect them and what happens to them afterwards?

When I attack a human to consume their soul I use my aura to crack through theirs and rip their soul from its attachment to the being itself. As a result, it is dissolved in their blood and all I have to do is to bite them and hold onto the wound with my fangs while I drink it from them. Usually any spot would do, but I prefer biting my victim’s lips… for some reason I feel that soul devouring is a much more intimate process than eating or drinking. If this helps any, imagine the human soul as a star and me as a black hole to understand how it is being drained; since souls are primarily other-dimensional energy. Needless to say, my kiss of death kills the human almost instantly; however I can choose whether I will make their passing painless or extremely painful. The funny thing is that I do not remain unaffected by the procedure either, for -especially when I am really starving- having a pure soul has the effects of a narcotic. Usually I return to my lair and sleep after my hunt; then wake up after some hours reinvigorated…until I go hungry again.

💕 Have you ever wanted to share immortality with a mortal?

Why for? Death is an essential part of being human and my duty is to make sure that it remains thus. Besides, I do not see my own immortality as a gift; rather as a necessary evil at best.🔪 Do you have physical weaknesses? (salt, iron, holy water, etc)

Yana-san's drawings of Claude

Considering what I think about Sebastian picking up not just aspects of his looks but also aspects of his behavior from real Ciel's soul... I am curious about the last soul Claude had devoured. I see this with Hannah and how she behaves after devouring Luka's soul. But, again, she's got more depth to her character than Claude.

But here's the thing: It doesn't matter what behavior Yana-san has him portray; he's not her character. He wasn't even brought to the human realm by Jim/Alois with a sacrifice; it was a rhyme or something. Claude might have actually already been in the human realm, hanging out as a spider. Reminds me of what Sebastian says regarding demons that show up in places on a whim. It looks like Claude might have once been summoned (or showed up on a whim)... and then he stayed here, just waiting for more prey to catch in his webs... because Lord Trancy was the sort of person to make many young boys plead for help to save them from him.

I do think that if a demon is actually summoned, the right one for the job is likely to respond to the summons. The "best match" idea, as you call it. Unless it's a matter of the summoning ritual itself. Perhaps that particular ritual only calls to this particular demon, and it just doesn't always answer the call. The demon says that it's this kid's sacrifice, because his older brother only means something to him, not to their captors.

I have no idea how long it takes a demon to digest a soul or make it no longer exist. It's possible that a part remains, making demons an example of "you are what you eat".

This would suggest that the souls Sebastian previously ate were from people who were selfish SOBs who never really felt love or a sense of loss. Desire, greed, hatred, etc., but not a particularly wide range of emotions.

Anyway, I don't think Undertaker can snatch a soul back out of a demon who ate one. Some in the fandom thought that's exactly what Undertaker was doing when he stabbed Sebastian on the Campania, so he could retrieve real Ciel's soul, but no. Real Ciel is definitely still missing a soul; he's still a bizarre doll, just one that's got its own goals and desires... instead of images of Undertaker dressed as Charlie Chaplin.

Of course, this makes me wonder what kind of soul real Ciel had, since Sebastian still has a hard time grasping the concepts of love and loss. However, I do think he felt a brief moment of something when he realized how Beast had died... and felt even more of something when Agni died.

This is why I'm interested to see what happens if/when he devours our earl's soul.

And I'm here to answer!

End game

1. Yes, I think Sebastian still has every intention of eating his soul. Yana-san has previously tweeted that this is the demon's very serious goal. That he'd truly eat the kid's soul sooner, too, if given the chance... like if our earl had given up on his wish after gaining the title of earl... or during the green witch arc. It doesn't matter to Sebastian how old or anything else his master is. Honestly, I think that both William and Sebastian underestimate our earl's soul. Or at least the impact it can have! Yana-san (I believe) confirmed there's nothing particularly special about his soul, in terms of human souls. It's just that it might turn out to be quite different than ones this demon has devoured before. Or perhaps, if our earl thanks the demon for its services, it's the "thanks" itself that makes the meal so much different. Harkening back to Hannah and Luka.

2. @midnight-in-town is quite right to say that Yana-san might choose to never actually reveal his name, at least not in the manga. I hope it's revealed, but I wouldn't bet money on it.

3. Undertaker might still be calling a few shots, but once he gets real Ciel to the level he's at now, real Ciel has probably been calling most of them. There's an odd dynamic going on here. Yes, I think Undertaker is his grandfather, but I don't think real Ciel knows this... yet. Real Ciel acts the part of the young noble who sees undertakers as low-class citizens, which they were considered at the time. Though real Ciel puts servants "in their place" and finds any disobedience to be offensive, he's extremely tolerant of Undertaker's laidback and visually lazy behavior. I figure that's because he knows he owes Undertaker some form of gratitude. I'd think if he knew his true relationship to Undertaker, then he'd never have asked if he'd serve as butler. Sometimes, he just has to let Undertaker do whatever is needed, particularly when it's about the physical upkeep of his body and the bodies of his fellow bizarre dolls. All the same, real Ciel likely bosses Undertaker around when he can. And Undertaker indulges him, probably because he wants to encourage real Ciel to be "himself" as much as possible. Which leads into #4.

4. Our Ciel and real Ciel are the kings in this game of chess, and neither one has given up just yet.

Notes on #3 and #4: I'd like to add that there are some Mother3 parallels very specific to these questions.

In regards to #3, Undertaker has a few character parallels with Mother3 and earlier games in the series, like:

Nippolyte, eccentric gravedigger with a special shovel... and keeper of a "treasured" family heirloom. He's only in Mother3. He has a secret garden where he raises particularly odd "crops", and though he doesn't raise the dead, he does have to fight zombies that randomly pop up. He's openly hostile towards the self-proclaimed king and is repeatedly punished for it; his house keeps getting burned down on the king's orders.

Dr. Andonuts, inventor of Fascinating Chimera and avid eater of red bean paste donuts. He's in all three games... because he's a time-traveler. Though, in Mother, he's only there if we are to assume Lloyd was him as a child; Lloyd looks like a younger version of him, and they both hide in trash cans. He's very quirky and likes to offer "an donuts" to protags, or at least to Lucas. He has a son named Jeff, and they have a rather strained relationship, though Jeff does leave his boarding school and finds himself at his father's lab.

Fassad, Magypsy who deserted their people and changed their name. They are only in Mother3.

George, ancestor of the mirror twins who started the whole thing by stealing technology from an alien race and giving it to humanity... including passing down certain abilities through generations. He's only shown in Mother/EarthBound2: Beginnings. However, he's alluded to later.

Here, there's another tie-in to the parallel with Dr. Andonuts, because the inventor of Fascinating Chimeras eventually creates what he calls the Ultimate Chimera. This UC quickly becomes completely uncontrollable, thanks to how it was designed. I see a couple possible parallels to the UC in the Kuroverse, and one of those takes form as these most-highly-advanced Bizarre Dolls. Though he hasn't said it yet, Undertaker might have a slightly different name for these upgraded BD's. If he ever transplants our earl's soul into the body of real Ciel, that result could end up getting the designation as Ultimate Doll (or something similar).

Sebastian is a young demon?

That's pretty much my thoughts on it. For a demon, he might be "young" and somewhat inexperienced, despite any humble bragging or outright boasting.

At some point, the demon gives up "messily sampling" souls and starts accepting contracts. But the only hints we have about his previous contracts suggest there might not have been many. In fact, we only have hints about two previous contracts: one in the second half of the 18th century in Austria and maybe one in the later 15th century in Italy. Those assessments are based on things he says about the Viennese Waltz and the outfits he changes into when our earl seems shocked by his first appearance as a human.

If he slept between those contracts, that means a lot of time spent in his own realm, away from human contact.

I wouldn't say our earl is the first child he's ever interacted with, but he's definitely the only child contractor he's ever had, and he says so. He admits he's not used to caring for a human who can do so little for themselves, and he's not used to masters who expect the demon to cook from scratch, appear to do things the human way, or generally "act human". And even though Sebastian suggests a human lifetime isn't a long amount of time for him to wait for his "meal", Othello suggests that most contracts don't last long at all, because most humans have very simple wishes when they make contracts.

The demon learns knowledge and skills from contracts, and judging by the things he didn't have skills with or knowledge about (like choosing dish patterns [according to the Character Guide], making tea, cooking, bathing a person, water temperatures that harm humans, particular illnesses like asthma, or even how to get the best work out of the other servants), he's never had contracts before where those skills or that knowledge was required.