Sebastian Michaelis

"I am simply one hell of a butler."

- Sebastian Michaelis

Sebastian Michaelis is the deuteragonist/anti-hero in the manga and anime series Kuroshitsuji. He is the butler of the Phantomhive household and acts as Ciel Phantomhive’s bodyguard/butler, two jobs that he is completely devoted to.

He is voiced by Daisuke Ono (Japanese Version) and J. Michael Tatum (English version).

History
Sebastian's real home is in an alternate world, but it is quite different from the human world. In particular, he has mentioned that the creatures kept as pets there are in no way comparable to cats. It is also indicated that Sebastian has been alive for at least one hundred years, possibly much longer; Sebastian has briefly mentioned that he met an ancient Egyptian mummy when it was alive, identified by Sebastian as Smenkhkare who reigned about three thousand years ago. He has also claimed to be responsible for the spread of the Black Death that occurred five hundred years prior. In short, he muses that Ciel's life in comparison would feel like an instant.

Sebastian states that, in the past, he engaged in "messily sampling every dish available," and has since resorted to only consuming "high-quality" souls. As a result, he is apparently starving, but claims that the "dinner" will be that much better the hungrier he is.

Three years ago, he was summoned to Ciel Phantomhive after the latter was about to be sacrificed in an occult ritual. After forming the contract with Ciel and placing the seal of the contract on his eye, Ciel orders him to slay his abductors. It is implied that Sebastian will take the role of Ciel's butler until Ciel has completed his personal mission of revenge - that is the substance of their contract. Sebastian's job is to serve Ciel, doing everything from the mundane task of serving tea to protecting Ciel from certain death, until Ciel's goal is complete. In return, Sebastian will receive Ciel's soul when said goal is completed. Sebastian is then given the name "Sebastian" by Ciel for the duration of his duties as Ciel's butler.

After killing the cultist that tried to sacrifice Ciel, they went to the Royal London Hospital to meet with Ciel's aunt, Angelina Durless. There, he meets Tanaka who gives him a watch that had been passed down from one Phantomhive butler to the next. After that, Angelina arranged for a carriage to bring them to the ruins of the Phantomhive manor. While Ciel was mourning his parents, Sebastian reconstructs the manor.

Ciel and Sebastian then begin daily life. He teaches Ciel the fundamentals of an Earl, and Ciel teaches him how to be a butler. He later attends Ciel's coronation as the Earl of Phantomhive.

Kidnapping
Sebastian first appears waking Ciel Phantomhive and informing him about the day's schedule. He then proceeds to prepare for the evening's special guest, Clause. The bumbling of the other servants almost causes catastrophe, but through quick thinking and quicker reflexes, Sebastian is able to keep things running smoothly.

The following day, Elizabeth Midford pays a visit, and Sebastian helps satisfy her wish to holding a dance party by teaching Ciel to dance. When Elizabeth breaks Ciel's heirloom ring, Sebastian later collects the pieces and fixes it for him, returning it to him that evening.

A few days after Clause's visit, Ciel is kidnapped by a drug dealer named Azzurro Vanel of the Fener family. When Ciel refuses to supply the information Azzurro is seeking, the dealer orders his snipers to kill Ciel's servants. When a sniper misses hitting Sebastian, he is alerted to his presence. The snipers leave in a vehicle, but Sebastian runs quickly enough to stop them. He gathers information from Azzurro's servants, killing them afterward by letting them fall to their deaths, and informs Azzurro from a car phone that he intends to pick up Ciel. Once he arrives, he is attacked, but is able to calmly eliminate most of Azzurro's defense using mostly silverware. Sebastian then enters the room where Ciel is being held and moves to provide the requested ransom. Hidden gunmen then inflict what appears to be multiple fatal gunshot wounds on Sebastian, but he recovers quickly and returns the bullets by spitting them out of his mouth. He eliminates all of Ciel's kidnappers, refusing Azzurro's offer of women and money if he left Ciel to work for him, and returns Ciel home.

Jack the Ripper
Ciel decides to spend the social season at his manor in London, where he discovers his aunt Angelina Durless, her butler, Grell Sutcliff, and family friend, Lau, looting his house in search of tea. As Sebastian prepares some, they gather information of the murders performed by an unidentified serial killer, labeled Jack the Ripper by police and other prostitutes. After meeting with Undertaker, they determine that the removal of the murdered women's wombs had to have been performed by an expert, meaning an individual with anatomical knowledge.

Sebastian quickly makes a list of potential suspects and whittles it down to the Viscount of Druitt, Aleister Chamber. They decide to attend a party Aleister is holding in disguise, with Ciel dressing up as Angelina's niece and Sebastian pretending to be his tutor. During the party, Sebastian creates a diversion by pretending to be a hired magician, so Ciel can investigate Aleister. Shortly thereafter, Ciel is drugged and whisked off to a hidden room in the manor where Aleister has begun to auction him off. Sebastian rescues Ciel, Aleister is arrested and they believe that the culprit of the murders is now safely behind bars.

However, another murder takes place, indicating that they have not yet found the real murderer. Sebastian and Ciel review the previous murders, and learn of the next likely victim. They lie in wait outside her home, sure that if the murderer were to enter, they would see him or her. However, the woman is killed anyway, and upon inspecting her home, they find Grell standing over her body. Angelina and Grell confess that they are Jack the Ripper.

Sebastian deals with Grell in his Shinigami form, whose modified death scythe is able to injure Sebastian. When Angelina moves in to attack Ciel, Sebastian momentarily returns to his demon form and moves to kill her. Ciel orders him to stop, because Angelina had hesitated in her attack. Grell kills Angelina when she refuses to kill Ciel, and Ciel orders Sebastian to eliminate Grell. Sebastian manages to overpower Grell, and moves in to kill him with his own death scythe. However, just as he is about to deliver the finishing blow, William T. Spears appears and stops him. Sebastian apologizes for his failure to kill Grell, but Ciel dismisses him.

Curry Contest
After the murders stopped, London faces another problem; British citizens who have recently returned from India are the victims of an attack that leaves them stripped and hanging upside-down outside of Indian pubs. Ciel, Sebastian and Lau begin their investigation and are attacked by some Indians in a poor district. Prince Soma and Agni help them out and reveal that they are in town to find Soma's servant, Meena. In return for their assistance, they come to stay at Ciel's manor, where Sebastian learns that Agni is on par with his fighting abilities, despite being just a human.

That night, Agni leaves the manor, and Lau, Ciel, Soma and Sebastian follow him to Lord Harold West's home. They discover that Agni is working for West, and has knowledge of Meena's whereabouts. Soma bursts in, but Agni obeys West's orders and begins to attack Soma. Sebastian bursts in to save Soma, albeit in disguise. Back at the manor, they speculate that West wants to win the upcoming curry competition in order to obtain a Royal Warrant. The attacks, then, were done to terrorize any competitors into backing out. Ciel decides he would like to obtain the warrant instead, and orders Sebastian to make a competition-worthy curry. In the manga Soma acts as a taste tester while Sebastian works on replicating the quality of Agni's curry. After finally achieving it, Ciel says it's not enough to merely be on par with Agni, and that he needs to win. Sebastian insists that he has a plan.

At the competition, it appears that Sebastian is ruining his curry by having the heat up too high and he is not able to make a perfect naan under the conditions provided. When it comes time to present their curries, Agni immediately wins favor, while the judges mock Sebastian's doughnut. However, once they taste it, they are evenly split over which curry is better and declare a tie, due to the excellent combination of flavorings from the chocolate that Sebastian added. He insists it was the orders of his master, to put the chocolate in the curry. Queen Victoria and John Brown arrive, though, and stop the judges. The queen then declares that Sebastian's is the winner, due to its appeal to people of all ages. Agni and Soma make up, and Agni tells Sebastian that he is a good friend.

Noah's Ark Circus
Ciel and Sebastian are sent out by the queen to investigate the disappearances of children that seem to coincide with the presence of the Noah's Ark Circus. They attend a show, and Sebastian is invited onstage, where he is bitten by a tiger. After the show, Joker approaches him and takes him to see Doctor to ensure that he is okay. While there, he learns that many of the performers have prosthetic limbs, and he investigates Beast's leg. Beast, however, accuses him of being rude, and Dagger attacks to defend his sister's honor. Due to his skill in evading the attacks, Joker is impressed and invites him to join the circus. Sebastian agrees and the following day, he brings Ciel to take the entrance test, which he is able to pass with Sebastian's help.

Joker takes them on a tour of the tents, pointing out which ones are off-limits because they are the first-tier members' tents. Afterward, Sebastian tells Ciel that the children aren't present and suggests they inspect the first-tier members' tents that are protected by Snake's poisonous snakes. They work on assimilating in with the rest of the members while they wait for an opportunity to investigate further. They are given stage names, with Sebastian's name being Black. While in the practice tent, they discover that the Shinigami, William T. Spears, is also present, under the name Suit. They agree to not interfere with each other, which is made more difficult by Spears' assignment as Sebastian's roommate. His presence prevents Sebastian from investigating while the circus members are sleeping, because William is worried that he would be consuming souls if he was let out.

During a performance Sebastian and Ciel are able to infiltrate the first-tier members' tents, which is possible because Sebastian captured the snakes. However, when Wendy is injured, Sebastian is asked to stand in for her and Spears is asked to stand in for Peter. Ciel investigates further on his own, and asks Sebastian to hurry back before the first-tier members do, in order to release the snakes. When Spears makes this more difficult by refusing to touch Sebastian, Sebastian grabs his death scythe, so they can finish the performance. After the show, he is able to hurry back and release the poisonous snakes, despite knowing that Ciel was still investigating.

Ciel reveals the information he was able to gather, and asks Sebastian to investigate further. When the first-tier members learn that Ciel and Sebastian were searching in their tents, Joker leaves to consult Father, and Sebastian takes advantage of Beast's distress in order to seduce her into revealing Father's name. In the morning, Sebastian and Ciel leave for the London manor, where Ciel attempts to prepare for further investigation. However, because Ciel is sick, Agni convinces Sebastian that part of his duty as a butler is to look after his master's health. Much to Ciel's dismay, Sebastian follows this advice, and delays him from confronting Baron Kelvin until that night.

Upon reaching the manor, Ciel and Sebastian learn that Joker and Baron Kelvin were expecting their presence and had prepared dinner. Sebastian tests the wine for poison, but Ciel says he has no intention of eating. Baron Kelvin has Joker put on an impromptu circus act, using the untrained, kidnapped children for the cast. After two children are killed by their acts, Ciel orders Sebastian to put a stop to it. Ciel pulls a gun on Baron Kelvin and orders him to lead them to the kidnapped children's whereabouts. He then learns that the Baron has recreated the place Ciel was used as a sacrifice, which results in Ciel recalling his trauma and shooting him. When Joker attempts to go to his father's aid, Sebastian cuts off his left hand and orders him to not disturb his master.

Doctor arrives and reveals that he used the kidnapped children to create the prosthetic limbs the cast members wear, and Sebastian comments on their exceptional quality. Doctor then grabs one of the kidnapped children and slices her open. This reminds Ciel of his own past and traumatizes him to the point of breaking down completely, screaming and vomiting out of shock. However, Sebastian is able to calm him down slightly by grasping his hand and reminding him he was 'outside of the cage' now. He holds Ciel and takes off his eye patch, telling him to call his name. Ciel orders Sebastian to kill everyone and burn the place down. Sebastian hesitates, then reminds Ciel that their mission from the Queen was not yet completed. Ciel responds by yelling at him and reminding him of his place. Sebastian then obeys the order and, using the seal, uses fire from candles to set the building ablaze. After setting the building on fire, Sebastian then carries Ciel out, where they encounter Doll who had gone looking for her adoptive brother. Doll becomes upset upon learning of Joker's death and attacks them. Sebastian is later seen walking away from the mansion, and it is implied that he killed her.

Afterward, Sebastian boards a train with Ciel, and is forced to join him in first class, as third class was full. There, he questions Ciel's kindness in visiting the Renbon Workhouse, where the first-tier members grew up, and comments that it is at odds with his willingness to slay the children he was supposed to save. When Ciel states that it is because they would be better off dead, Sebastian calls him arrogant. After the train ride, they get a short ride from a local to a hill that they climb to find the workhouse. There, they discover that the workhouse is in ruins, and must have been abandoned quite some time ago. Sebastian comments that Baron Kelvin lied, and he likely allowed Doctor to carve up the brothers and sisters Joker referred to for more artificial limbs. Ciel finds it darkly amusing that humans would fight to defend something nonexistent, commenting that he himself is a human like them, something to which Sebastian cheerfully agrees and states that humans are interesting.

Later, Ciel and Sebastian return to the manor, where Elizabeth comments that she wants to get new clothes and go on a boat ride. To satisfy her wants, he calls in Nina Hopkins, a tailor the Phantomhives have worked with previously. Sebastian initially insults her designs, saying that the colors red and yellow do not suit Ciel and would make him look too childish. As a result, she throws Ciel, Sebastian, and Elizabeth out of the room.

When Ciel returns for a fitting, she removes his top, unhappy with the silhouette. In order to prevent Elizabeth from seeing Ciel's slave mark, Sebastian places his hand over it according to Ciel's order, forcing Nina to suffer through awkwardly measuring Ciel. Thinking that it was safe, Sebastian removes his hand only to have Soma and Agni burst into the room. Sebastian then rips down a curtain, covering Ciel long enough to dress him and cover the brand. He then leads them back to the dining hall, where Elizabeth learns that Ciel had recently been ill. She asks why Ciel never tells her anything, and Sebastian states that although it is a hard question to answer, Ciel seems more relaxed than he had been in a while, thanks to her company.

Phantomhive Manor Murder Case
When Charles Grey and Charles Phipps arrive at the manor, Grey attacks Baldroy and Mey-Rin upon entrance. Sebastian intervenes in enough time to prevent Grey from stabbing Baldroy in the head. He then lets them in to see Ciel. They announce that Queen Victoria wants Ciel to host a banquet and a guest, which Ciel reluctantly agrees to do. Ciel then orders Sebastian to begin preparations and contact Lau and Undertaker.

When the day arrives, he and the other servants make sure the event runs smoothly. Afterward, they clean up in the kitchen when the guest of honor at the party, Georg von Siemens, requests their attention. Mey-Rin and Sebastian go to see what he wants, and they hear a loud scream, which attracts all of the guests from the party. When he does not unlock the door, Sebastian breaks it down, and inside, they find Georg's corpse. Because the majority of house guests blame Ciel for the murder, they decide he must be watched by one of them. Arthur Wordsmith is chosen to watch Ciel, and they are handcuffed together. At this time, Sebastian makes arrangements with the other servants of the house, giving them instructions to last several days. In the morning, Sebastian is found dead and does not wake up even on Ciel's order.

He is moved to the basement with the other bodies. Later the residents searched his body for a key but do not find it. When Jeremy Rathbone arrives, Sebastian's corpse, along with Phelps's and Siemens's corpses, are moved into rooms according to the time they were murdered. After Jeremy examines the bodies and everyone leaves, Charles Grey suddenly rushes back upstairs on a feeling and peers under the blanket at Sebastian's corpse. He finds nothing amiss.

Later, after the case is solved, Arthur Wordsmith is thanked by Jeremy for taking care of the Young Master. Arthur suddenly realizes that something is odd about Jeremy and he rushes back to the Phantomhive residence where he accuses Jeremy of being Sebastian. Removing the disguise it is revealed that Sebastian had been alive and well and posing as Jeremy since he arrived. He even went so far as to "borrow" Phelp's corpse and dresses it like him at one point so that it would appear that Sebastian and Jeremy were two different people.

Sebastian explained to Wordsmith what really happened that night, and in the process reveals that Charles Grey was the one who killed him and Siemens. He also revealed to Wordsmith that he isn't human, scaring Wordsmith.

After Wordsmith left, Ciel asked Sebastian about Phelp's murderer. He checked if Ciel really wants to see the murderer and opened the box where the murderer is in, which is Snake. Sebastian explained how he encountered Snake and later asked how Snake found his way to the mansion. During the process, they discovered that Snake got to the mansion because Soma gave him a carriage trip to the mansion, surprising the two of them. Ciel learned that Snake came to his mansion because of how his friends went missing after Ciel and Sebastian joined the circus. Ciel then decided to take Snake as a servant, surprising both Snake and Sebastian. At first Snake hesitated, but then accepted his offer.

Sebastian's corpse was buried soon after (likely the same day). Before everyone left, the bell on Sebastian's grave rang. Undertaker told them that if the bell rings, it means that he is still alive. Everyone quickly dig him up and when Sebastian got up, stating that he was glad he could finally get out of the coffin, Elizabeth, Mey-Rin, Finnian and Baldroy jumped at him at the same time, crying. Later on, Tanaka gave him back his badge, and Sebastian served under Ciel once again.

Ship Voyage
Possibly on the day after he came back to the manor, he introduced Snake to the servants as the manor's footman. He was asked by Bard if he's really recruiting someone like Snake, even calling Snake a "shady character", but Sebastian stated that it's his master's decision and he couldn't do anything about it. After Ciel finished his breakfast, Lau arrived and was surprised that Sebastian is alive. Lau then complained about missing his chance to sneak some of Ciel's food, and talked about Karnstein Hospital, which was believed to have the ability to revive the dead. He told Ciel that they come down to the back docks to shop for foreign slaves illegally quite often, but lately the number was quite unusual. As a result, Lau was saying that they might be having an illegal human experiment. Sebastian was ordered by Ciel to investigate it and returned in a doctor's costume. He informed Ciel that the hospital and upper class doctors opened an association called the Aurora Society. A nurse told him that they hold presentations of their results regularly and collect donations from nobles. The true face of the Aurora Society is that it's a secret society and have "The Complete Salvation of Mankind Through Medicine" as their motto. It has been confirmed that they conduct the illegal human experiments daily within the hospital. He reported that there was no sign of slaves anywhere in the hospital and nothing pertaining human experiments and/or the revival of the dead. Ciel asked him where they're holding their next meeting and Sebastian revealed that it was scheduled to be holding in the Blue Star Line's luxury ship Campania, which is the same boat Elizabeth invited Ciel to earlier, and so Ciel, Sebastian and Snake went on the boat. Shortly after arriving, The three find the Midford family. Elizabeth asks Ciel to escort her to a dinner party, an invitation which he accepts, influenced by Sebastian. He informs Ciel that the meeting for the Aurora Society will he held on the nineteenth, additionally suggesting the young master take a rest.

Three days later, Sebastian accompanies Ciel, along with Snake to the dinner party. Sebastian informs Ciel that the meeting is that evening. He reveals to Ciel the signal is an empty glass. Before spotting an empty glass being served, Snake overhears some guests whispering about his odd snake-like appearance. Ciel and Sebastian both comfort him, saying he is a "footman of a distinguished noble family." Upon spotting an empty glass, Sebastian quickly takes it and he and Ciel head upstairs to the meeting.

Sebastian is seen disguising himself by tying very long hair back with a black ribbon, leaving the right side of his bangs untied. For entry into the meeting, Sebastian explains each member must purchase purified water, priced at thirty pounds at the front door to fill his or her empty glass. He also whispers the greeting used in the Aurora Society into Ciel's ear, resulting in an extremely shocked expression. After Ciel and another man exchange a verbal greeting, both Ciel and Sebastian pose imitating a type of bird pose, saying "The Phoenix" with completely straight faces. Both then receive their pins. While pinning the pin on his master, Sebastian is interrupted by The Undertaker's laughing. Shortly after, the Viscount of Druitt greets them. Sebastian reminds Ciel that the Viscount has a medical license. Ryan Stoker, the founder of the Aurora Society begins a presentation about the society's goals of perfect health. He has a dead body presented in a coffin, confirmed dead by Sebastian's distaste of the smell. The corpse is brought "back to life" by what appears as electrical shocks. However, the corpse begins attacking the spectators. Sebastian attempts to slay it by flinging silver dinner knives at the corpse, inflicting what should be fatal wounds. Sebastian states the moving corpse is "a being he does not understand" therefore, unable to stop the corpse. Then a young Shinigami, Ronald Knox, appears and uses his Death Scythe (a lawnmower) to kill the corpse, stating that you must bash the head in to stop it. A quick exchange of words between Ronald and Sebastian takes place, where Ronald reveals he's investigating reports of corpses that move on their own after their souls have been collected, followed by a fight, and then the two eventually part when Ronald realizes he'll have to work overtime if he doesn't get moving.

Sebastian then appears in the cargo where Ciel, Lizzy, and Snake are trapped by the moving corpses. He kills several, then is given orders to "clean them up" from Ciel, and so he begins killing the giant crowd of corpses by bashing their heads in. While watching Ciel describes the scene as "Splattering crimson. A demon dancing." and has a flashback to the first time he had seen Sebastian kill, when he was first rescued. When Sebastian finishes Ciel notes his gloves are dirty with blood, so Sebastian changes them before helping the three people down from their hiding place. Sebastian then captures Ryan Stoker, who had been sneaking around, and it is revealed that there are ten times as many moving corpses in another part of the ship that would likely have begun to escape their coffins. Ciel then orders Sebastian to find Lizzy's family and take them to a safe place. Sebastian quickly leaves to do as ordered.

Once he finds Lizzy's family Sebastian helps them in their fight against the corpses. He then explains he came to take them to a safe place, but is told that they will stay to protect their fellow Englishmen. He tells them to stay safe, then heads back to Ciel, Lizzy, and Snake, as was ordered of him. When Sebastian finally finds Ciel and Lizzy, who had been separated from Snake, they are falling out of ducts. He helps Lizzy down, Ciel had already fallen, and then, before they can make their way to find the contraption Ryan explained would stop the corpses, Grell and Ronald fall through a hole cut in the ceiling. Grell freaks out that he didn't have time to do his make-up because he wasn't told Sebastian was on the ship, and then a fight between himself and Ronald, and Sebastian ensues. During the fight where Grell flirts with Sebastian, much to the laters dismay, Grell accidentally cuts a hole in one of the walls, releasing a surge of flooding water into the room. The water throws Ciel and Lizzy out into the hallway where Ciel's leg becomes injured, but the fight within the room continues. Lizzy is then put in danger as a group of corpses move in on her. Ciel can't rescue Lizzy, and Sebastian is moving too slow due to the fighting to reach her in time so, as it looks like she's about to be killed, Lizzy makes a final statement. "I wanted you to think of me as cute... Until the very end." Then Lizzy reveals that she is a sword genius, and kills the attacking corpses, much to the surprise of Ciel and Sebastian. When she finishes with the corpses she goes to attack Grell, but Sebastian stops her. He apologizes for failing as a butler and forcing Lizzy to perform such actions, then states he will take over the fighting from that point on. Both groups, before more fighting can occur, realize that time is running out. Ciel points out that they must find Ryan. Grell then asks if "putting the screws" to Ryan will fix the problem. He is then shown a page by Ronald (likely the death list with the time of Ryan's death) and agrees they have no time to waste. The two Shinigami exit, and Snake rejoins the group. They then leave to head to the life boats, Sebastian carrying the injured Ciel.

When they reach the lifeboats Sebastian is forced to knock Lizzy out. Ciel gives up his seat for Snake, and the two then leave to find Ryan, and stop the corpses. On the way Ciel and Sebastian run into Viscount Aleister Chamber, who has the disarming device. Helping to carry the device is a very entertained Undertaker. They head to a main hall and there Ryan and the Shinigami rejoin the group. They then listen to the Viscount's plan to bethe leader of a new world, and all present perform the "Phoenix Pose" for him, though most everyone thinks about how much they want to kill him. However, when the Viscount then attempts to stop the corpses with the machine it doesn't work. Grell then, in anger and frustration, attempts to kill the Viscount. However he is stopped by Undertaker, who then reveals himself to be a Shinigami, or as Grell says a "Deserter" (in the anime he retired), and making a catchphrase statement of "How sad it would be, should laughter disappear." Undertaker then explains how his curiosity led him to create the moving corpses, which he calls Bizarre Dolls, by adding to the cinematic record so the body would believe it hasn't died, even though the soul has been removed. Grell attacks two dolls and finds after the "End" in their cinematic records is a continuation with Undertaker dressed as Charlie Chaplin. He then explains the dolls, since they lack souls, are trying to take them in order to make themselves complete, which is why they were attacking the living, however they can't make another soul theirs. He also explains the dolls were placed on the ship in equal amount to the living to see how much of each creature would survive.

From this point a fight ensues between Undertaker, Grell and Ronald, and Sebastian. Both Grell and Ronald, and Sebastian want to capture Undertaker for their own reasons. This results in an intense battle where both sides fail to capture Undertaker. This results in Grell and Ronald using a full on frontal attack, which still fails because Undertaker reveals he still has his own death scythe (which is the more classic grim reaper style). Undertaker then attacks the pillars holding up Ciel, however Sebastian rescues him. But then Undertaker captures Ciel. As a result Sebastian attacks Undertaker, falling for a trap. Ciel is thrown off the upper level balcony, and as Sebastian attempts to rescue him he is run through with Undertaker's scythe. From here Sebastian's cinematic record is seen, and his memories of after killing Ciel's captors, bringing Ciel home, and both training Ciel to be a proper gentleman and earl while simultaneously being taught to be a proper butler, all come into view. Sebastian snaps out of these memories, reminded of how greatly he desires Ciel's soul, and rescues Ciel, despite his injuries. Then, while Sebastian is injured and on the floor, Undertaker goes to kill him, stating it was better because he was really making Ciel miserable. However just then the boat seriously tips. Here Ryan falls to his death.

Now Ronald makes a comment about Sebastian acting tough despite being seriously weakened by the blow delivered by Undertaker. Sebastian proves him wrong by beating the young Shinigami, and throwing him in the way of Grell, who had begun to again attack Undertaker. Sebastian then smugly remarks that youngsters (like Ronald) are feeble, and rely too much on their death scythes, which Sebastian has taken possession of. Just then the boat begins to sink. In a last effort Grell attacks Undertakers legs, Sebastian (who is holding Ciel again) attacks Undertakers head. He dodges both, but the chain of lockets worn hanging from his waist, are cut off, and caught by Ciel, to Undertakers dismay. He then smiles and asks Ciel to take care of the chain because it is his treasure. Undertaker then slices the ship in two with his death scythe.

Sebastian is having a difficult time ensuring Ciel's safety while carrying him and promptly puts a life ring around Ciel, then throws him overboard into the icy ocean. Ciel nearly drowns, but is saved when Sebastian pulls him out of the water and into an unoccupied lifeboat taken from the sinking ship, then proceeds to kick them to safety. While kicking, a Bizarre Doll emerges from the water and bites Sebastian's leg, accompanied by countless others. Ciel tells Sebastian to get in the lifeboat with him, but the dolls begin to destroy the boat in an effort to get to Ciel. Sebastian attempts to fight them off with an oar, but there seem to be too many. He is then ordered to eradicate them, and proceeds to do so using the oar but making quite a mess. Finally, Sebastian succeeds but immediately winces in pain. The Undertaker's Death Scythe wound has significantly weakened him and he begins to cough up blood. Sebastian apologizes to Ciel for his unseemly state, but instead, Ciel congratulates him on a job well done and advises him to rest once back at the manor.

Public School
Queen Victoria informs Ciel that students at Weston College have been refusing to return home and asks him to investigate. Ciel decides it would be best to infiltrate the school himself. He orders Sebastian to figure out his own way into the school.

Ciel enrols after he and Sebastian open a spot by doing something to a student and making him unable to attend. On his first day, some of his dorm mates "welcome" him by throwing him on a sheet and launching him into the air. Before they can do it twice, Sebastian, in disguise, appears and stops them. He then 'introduces' himself to Ciel as the dorm supervisor, Michaelis.

Houndsworth
He accompanies Ciel to the village of Houndsworth to investigate the number of suspicious deaths and continued dog fights, despite Queen Victoria declaring that it's animal cruelty. Sebastian, Ciel and the Phantomhive servants stay with Henry Barrymore and learn that the devil dog is a ruse that he manufactured to keep the villagers under his control. When the villagers go maniacal, and attack the Phantomhives, who were trying to protect James' dog, they reveal that Henry had made up the myth, and was really responsible for James' death. In response, the villagers carry Henry off to jail, but that night, Henry is taken from his cell and killed.

After some investigation, they learn that there is a real devil dog, named Pluto, who Sebastian subdues, through what he calls a carrot-and-stick method. Angela Blanc reveals that Pluto was her dog, which makes Sebastian quite suspicious of her, as taming a devil dog is quite difficult. She then asks if she can send him back with them, which Ciel agrees to, knowing how much Sebastian hates dogs.

Sebastian's finding of a hot spring while taming Pluto also makes the trip successful for the queen, as the town can now be modified into a spa resort. When they leave, it is shown that the village is happily working toward that goal.

Phantom Image
After their visit, Ciel tries to get a picture of Sebastian with a special camera that shows who the person cares about most. He enlists the help of Finnian, Mey-Rin, Baldroy, and later, Lau, who are all also curious to see Sebastian expressing something human like caring for others. However, Sebastian is able to avoid his attempts, until Ciel puts himself in harm's way. He states that Ciel could have ordered him to stand still for the photo, but Ciel denies knowing what he is talking about. However, before Baldroy and Finnian can develop the film, Pluto sets them and the film (without killing them) on fire; then he runs to Sebastian and gets a reward. That night, Sebastian takes a picture of Ciel sleeping in his office. An image of both him and a sad Pluto in the background outside of the window confuses the servants as to which one was the one the camera revealed to be the person Ciel cared most about. Sebastian meanwhile thanks Ciel mockingly for the compliment, much to Ciel's annoyance.

Shard of Hope
When Ciel and Sebastian learn that the Shard of Hope ring is needed for evidence related to a string of kidnappings from Fred Aberline, they follow him to Undertaker's place to gather more information, and discover that the ring has been incorporated into the ice sculpture's contest's prize. They try to win the ring from the Frost Fair ice sculpture contest, and while Sebastian's ice sculpture is awe-inspiring, the original thieves of the ring bomb the ice, causing the ice to crack, and the ice sculpture the ring was in to fall. They decide not to worry about it anymore, as they have supposedly lost it to the frozen waters. However, it ends up in Elizabeth's hands anyway, and leads to Drossel Keinz kidnapping her, which they learn about from Paula. Ciel sends Sebastian off to gather more information while he invades the Mandalay manor with Pluto and Grell. Inside, he encounters Drossel and is rescued from Drossel's dolls by Sebastian. Sebastian reveals that Elizabeth must be in the sealed tower in the back, and they use Pluto to get in. Inside, they find her easily, but encounter Drossel again. After a brief fight with Drossel, they learn that he is being controlled by someone else, but Sebastian decides not to give chase, because the owner of the puppet controlling Drossel was not nearby.

Afterward, as per Elizabeth's wishes, they celebrate Ciel's birthday with a small party including Elizabeth, Paula, and the Phantomhive servants.

Curry Contest
Very similar to the manga, Sebastian competes against Angi in a curry cooking contest. Before the contest starts, Queen Victoria and Ash Landers enter the room. While the englishmen sing the British National Anthem, Sebastian remains silent. Later, while the judges decide the winner of the royal warrant, the Queen requests one of his curry buns. Through ash, the Queen praises Funtom's curry bun, saying it brings both adults and children together. Soon after, Meena eats a bite of curry sprinkled with Kalima, a forbidden spice, as it targets the heart's darkest desires. She then goes on a rampage, insulting the queen, as well as all of England. Everyone affected begins to fight alongside her, all surrounded by a purple-black glow. Sebastian and Agni fight off the people affected together. He is seen battling Meena, who seems to have abilities similar to the Goddess Kali's, such as multiple arms and enhanced speed and strength. Agni then tells Meena to come and step on him, hoping it will shock Meena out of her rampage. Meena slips and falls on a lobster, giving Agni the opprotunity to step on her. Then, Ciel orders Sebastian to force feed the curry buns to everyone affected by the spice. He does so by throwing several into everyone's mouths which ends the rampage. According to Ciel, Sebastian infused the buns with happiness, a complete joke seeing as he is a Demon. Finally, Funtom is declared the winner and recieves the royal warrant and a trophy of an angel holding a silver spoon. Afterwards, Agni thanks Sebastian and the phantomhive household for teaching him so much, then says he's embarrassed to have relearned his gods' teachings from an englishman. Agni then says Sebastian is his friend, to Sebastian's surprise, as he has never been called that by anyone else.

Haunted Castle
Ciel learns the castle he is trying to modify into a hotel is home to two ghosts who are scaring off the workers. He and Sebastian go off to investigate, and encounter King Edward and Richard, two ghosts who have inhabited the castle since their deaths 400 years ago. Ciel initially loses Sebastian to them in a game of chess that Edward cheats at to win, because Richard has taken a liking to Sebastian.

However, after learning more about them, Ciel and Sebastian help them find peace with their murders, which is done by Sebastian forcibly taking Richard's skull from him. Although initially distressed, he explains to Edward that the skull is not his own, and the recall the day they were murdered. After finally finding some peace, they move on to heaven, allowing work to resume on the castle.

Book of Doomsday
Ash informs Ciel and Sebastian about an occult that is planning to overthrow the government, and they go see Undertaker, as the occult has been taking shipments of coffins lately. With his help, they go in undercover, with Grell in tow, to investigate. They learn that only young boys who are a member of the heaven's choir can get close to the mysterious priest who oversees the cult.

Ciel goes in and finds that a creation of his mother and father has been made into the priest, who Sebastian kills once it tries to strangle Ciel. Angela reveals herself and kidnaps Ciel, taking him to the Shinigami library. Sebastian and Grell give chase to try to stop her, but learn from William that if they interfere while she is changing Ciel's magic play, then they will alter his history. Nonetheless, Ciel is able to resist on his own. Angry, Angela goes on the rampage, but with Undertaker's aid, Sebastian, Grell, and William stop her, for the time being.

Conspiracy and Revenge
When the body of John Stanley shows up in the river, Ciel and Sebastian try to retrieve something off of it, as per Ash's request on the queen's behalf. However, with so little to go off of, as Ash refuses to reveal any information about what precisely they're looking for, they go to Lau for help, who promises to spread a rumor on their behalf.

Later, though, Ash has Aberline and Randall arrest them, stating that they found large quantities of opium in Ciel's warehouse. They separate the two, and Sebastian is tortured by Angela, for no particular reason. However, Ciel saves him by calling him. Ciel and Sebastian go after Lau, who has betrayed Ciel, themselves. They chase Lau and Ran-Mao on to their boat, and Sebastian takes on Ran-Mao while Ciel confronts Lau. When Lau becomes violent, Aberline saves Ciel from his first strike, but falls down quickly afterward. Before Lau can attack Ciel a second time, Sebastian deals a fatal wound, and Ran-Mao and Lau decide to jump ship, presumably to their deaths.

A few days later, Sebastian and Ciel go to the exposition, where Queen Victoria confirms that she is responsible for Ciel's parents' murders. Ciel orders Sebastian to take out Ash and the queen, but their fight endangers the citizens below, so Ciel stops Sebastian, much to his annoyance. As a result, Sebastian abandons Ciel briefly, as he thinks Ciel's hesitation has made him unwilling to carry out his plan of revenge. He appears a bit later in the form of the cat, watching over Ciel.

Sometime later, when Sebastian sees Ciel regain focus in a burning London, he abandons the angel Ash/Angela, with whom he had been hanging out, to go back to Ciel's side. Ciel then orders him to kill Ash, so they go confront him, and he is able to take Ash out by turning into his true demon form. Afterwards, they travel down a river that is flowing with Ciel's cinematic record and arrive at an island that strongly resembles the Isle of the Dead (a painting by Arnold Böcklin.) There, Sebastian moves in and presumably consumes Ciel's soul. The last frame shows Sebastian leaning into Ciel's face, with his eyes glowing red.

Revival at Trancy's Tragedy
Sebastian arrives at the Trancy manor as a mysterious traveler carrying a large steamer trunk, requesting shelter from the storm for the night. Alois Trancy agrees after saying that he smells good. He uses the opportunity to go down to the storage room with the child's guidance, taking a box of tea leaves of a flavor called New Moon Drop. A bit later, it is revealed that he is trying to revive Ciel, whose body was stored in the trunk Sebastian was carrying. He is attacked by Claude but manages to flee safely into the woods. Once there, he opens the trunk and gently places an unconscious Ciel in a sitting position. Patting his master on the head, he tells him that it's time to wake up. He opens the New Moon Drop box and takes out the Phantomhive family ring, which had been stored there for an unknown reason as of yet. As he slips it onto his master's thumb, the ring sparkles mysteriously. Ciel awakens but appears confused and less feisty than usual. His eyes have become dull in colour.

Afterwards, Sebastian resumes his role as Ciel's butler while trying to help him seek and complete his revenge a second time to complete his soul to be devoured. Upon doing so he makes a contract with another demon, Claude Faustus, in which Sebastian will make Alois Trancy the target for Ciel's revenge. Although the contract is still active as symbolized by the dark rose he wears on his jacket, Sebastian makes clear his dislike of Claude. He states that he will never allow Claude a taste of his master's soul and goes into frequent competitions with him such as cooking pastries or participating in a Danse Macabre. Later, when Claude breaks their contract by taking Ciel from him, as opposed to the conditions set down, Sebastian is clearly enraged. When Claude teases Sebastian by kissing Ciel's foot, he becomes so jealous that he tears apart an entire forest to vent his frustration. He, along with Grell, travel to the remains of Alois' (Jim's) village where a woman tells them the story of what happened to the village before she is killed by the triplets. Grell uses his Death Scythe to kill the triplets, revealing their role in the burning of the village. A scene also shows Hannah kneeling before Ciel, holding his hand in a rose garden. Sebastian is again furious with jealousy, as shown by the demonic aura behind him, and goes to take back his Master. After confronting Claude, he throws the blackened contract rose into the air as a distraction and punches Claude in the abdomen, then declares their deal is off. In episode 11 when Ciel alters the maze of Alois's Heart- which Sebastian & Claude are racing through by answering questions based around Alois- however now Ciel has changed the questions to be based around himself in order to aid Sebastian. When Sebastian got the question: Why did Sebastian Michealis not eat Ciel Phantomhive's soul? He explains that it was because he had lost his arm which beared the seal of the contract and in a short amount of time Claude had stolen Ciel's soul.Ciel comes to and calls out to Sebastian and orders him to come and eat his soul already. But Alois quickly returns and both he and Hannah go into the clock tower. Both Sebastian and Claude agree to work together in order to retrieve Ciel. However they found that Alois in Ciel's body had contracted with Hannah.

Hannah makes the butlers battle each other to decide who will ultimately gain Ciel's soul. Sebastian eventually kills Claude with the demon sword. While claiming his prize, Hannah reveals her contract with Alois is not to let either butler gain Ciel Phantomhive's soul. She then jumps into the sea with Ciel and also reveals to Sebastian that Ciel shall be reborn as a demon so that he will never be able to obtain Ciel's soul. This is Alois Trancy's ultimate revenge on both Claude and Sebastian. By having Sebastian kill Claude and turning Ciel into a demon, she effectively prevents both butlers from acquiring Ciel's soul.

With Sebastian's contract with Ciel still valid and now Ciel reborn as a demon, Sebastian has been given an 'everlasting spell'. He is forced to serve Ciel Phantomhive for all eternity: unable to devour his soul because of it's new demon properties, Sebastian cannot break the contract seal. Sebastian then hands out gifts to all individuals in the series that know Ciel while Ciel prepares to leave the Phantomhive household. When Tanaka appears, he is wearing the silver lapel pin of the Phantomhive head butler, signifying that Sebastian has returned the pin and in effect tendered his resignation from the post. Ciel and Sebastian are last seen in a field of black and white roses. Sebastian, holding Ciel in his arms, disappears together with him to an unknown place where 'demons and humans are equal'.

Appearence
Sebastian takes on the appearance of a tall, male adult with black hair and red eyes. He typically dresses in an outfit consisting of black trousers, a tailcoat, vest, with the Phantomhive Crest on his shirt cuffs and tie. He also sports a pocket watch with a chain, and a chained silver lapel pin bearing the Phantomhive Crest, traditionally worn by the house's head butler.

His white gloves conceal the mark of his Faustian Contract with Ciel Phantomhive on his left hand. He occasionally removes these, revealing black fingernails.

Sebastian's demonic form has never been fully shown. Details of this form include high-heeled stiletto boots, a shower of black feathers, sharp claws, glowing fuchsia irises, slitted pupils, and longer, sharper teeth. Prior to transforming.

Personality
Sebastian is a dutiful and dedicated butler to Ciel Phantomhive. He follows each order faithfully, while always ensuring that the Phantomhive house runs smoothly. However, whenever Sebastian sees a cat, he ignores whatever Ciel says to him. As such, he is noticeably annoyed whenever they end up behind schedule. The way he responds to Ciel's demands is quite notable, as the servants are pleased when they can successfully imitate the way he says "Yes, my lord" to Ciel.

Despite his ability to appear like a perfectly normal human, especially one who is able to smile, be cheerful, and be understanding, Sebastian is, in actuality, quite heartless, sadistic, and malicious. This comes out when he attacks others on Ciel's orders, such as when he kicked Grell Sutcliff's face because it was the thing that Grell wanted the least damage to. It is also shown with his cruel sarcasm and his inability to see good in much of anyone. At times, Sebastian can be indifferent and deliberately delays Ciel's wellbeing, as he frequently teases him and has put his life in mild danger for his own amusement. Once, he responded to Ciel's kidnapping as "terrible" but only because the tea he prepared would go to waste. However, despite all the troubles he goes through on a daily basis, he has said that he doesn't think it's such a bad way of living.

Sebastian often contemplates about the nature of human beings. He seems to find humans, in general, to be "difficult creatures," but he also states that their struggles and lofty goals make them "interesting." He is also intrigued about how insatiable they are as they are willing to "drag others down to get what they want, even in death".

Trivia

 * Sebastian's name is similar to Father Sebastien Michaelis, who wrote a classification of demons in Hell.
 * Sebastian is the first demon to appear in Kuroshitsuji and the only one in the manga.
 * Both Azzurro Vanel and Grell Sutcliff have compared him to Romeo.
 * Sebastian has a great distaste for Shinigami, a feeling that is returned.
 * He can speak fluent French. It is also apparent that he may understand Latin as well, as he was seen teaching the language to Ciel.
 * Sebastian is briefly a second-tier member of the Noah's Ark Circus, where he goes by the stage name Black (ブラック, Burakku).
 * A running gag in the anime and manga is Sebastian pulling out simple silverware from his coat and using it to completely beat an enemy into submission.
 * Another running gag is for Sebastian to ignore Ciel anytime he sees a cat.
 * He keeps many cats hidden in his closet, to make sure Ciel doesn't find out.
 * His nickname is "Black Butler" (i.e. Kuroshitsuji).
 * While being "tortured", Sebastian confesses that he is the one who spread the Black Plague.
 * He was a guest at the Schönbrunn Place from time to time.
 * While fighting Ash/Angela, Sebastian took his demon form. In this form, there were feathers dropping on the ground. This may suggest, that his demon form is connected with a raven or crow.
 * The meaning behind having the contract on his left hand is that the left hand was believed to be the hand of sin. It is implied that he is generally left-handed as he can be seen dueling with a sword in his left hand and when he writes, he also uses his left hand.
 * In Kuroshitsuji II, it is stated that Ciel's soul was able to be stolen in the brief period when Sebastian's left arm was gone, the hand in which his contract seal lies.
 * In the anime, he seduced Mathilda Simmons. In the anime/manga, he seduced Beast.
 * In both times, he was able to gather information from the women.
 * It is hinted that he can transform into a crow/raven as seen that a crow/raven was carrying a ring with Ciel's soul.
 * Sebastian is named after Ciel’s deceased dog.
 * Sebastian had met King Sumenkukara of Egypt while he was still alive, over 3000 years ago.
 * On Sebastian's grave, beneath the inscription 'To The Memory of Sebastian Michaelis. Died March 1889', there is a line which says 'May ye be in heaven an hour before the devil knows you're dead'.
 * In the extras of Volume 1, Yana Toboso said that his age is a secret.
 * In the Victorian era, butlers were called by their last name. So Sebastian should technically be called Michaelis by Ciel and Mr. Michaelis by the other servants.
 * When Sebastian was summoned in the manga, he appeared in his true demon form, while in the anime, he appeared as a crow or raven accompanied by a rain of feathers.
 * In the manga, it seems that Sebastian was summoned accidentally, but in the anime it is made apparent that Ciel knew about the existence of demons and how to summon them all too well.
 * Sebastian never calls Ciel by his name.
 * It is known that Sebastian does not sleep, except as a luxury, and frequently does tasks for Ciel at night.
 * He views money as "rubbish" and is more than willing to give out generous amounts of pocket money given to him.
 * He views Finnian, Mey-Rin, and Baldroy as incompetent idiots but places Tanaka in high regard, frequently telling him that he is doing just fine and ordering the other servants to look to Tanaka as an example.
 * Sebastian got his last name from the japanese word mikairi meaning "repayment".
 * Sebastian Michaelis invented the curry doughnut to win a curry contest. It is also shown in the anime version.