Unfortunately, this conflicts with the part Ciel asked Sebastian if Agni was alive, which Sebastian shook his head, and given Ciel's shocked expression, that meant either Agni was dead or only had a few precious moments left, and his complement in the present tense was Sebastian's final complement to someone he seemed to actually respect.
You have a point there, i just, i didn't want either one of them to die, and to think that Agni departed while protecting Souma, I just....the tears won't stop....I see you're point but, part of me still wants to believe that there is some way they'll bring him back
Well considering what happens when humans are "brought back" so far, I doubt that will happen - unless the author wants torment us more, which, after this chapter, is entirely plausible...
But I digress, I too hope that Agni isn't dead, but since how my mind handles these things, my mind is forcing me to see and cling to logic rather than the almost non-existent hope that Agni is alive. The only bit we see that points to Agni being alive is what could be considered a final tribute (which is echoed in the chapter title) is delivered in the present tense.
Okay, okay, maybe i'm still trying to process the events that have occurred or i'm in total denial and refuse to believe that Agni is dead, but, Sebastian said, 'You ARE an exemplar butler' not, 'You WERE' meaning, maybe he is still alive or, can be brought back somehow? I don't know just a crazy thought of mine