The Way of a Shaman
"Well, mister! You have some explaining to do!" Raynor's mother waited for his explanation.
Her son was away for over four days! Thankfully, Sona covered for him in the meantime.
"I do? Well, I was away dealing with some renegade devils." He explained to her as he returned to his cooking.
"..."
She sighed briefly before deciding not to care about the details anymore. If her son doesn't care, so will she.
"That reminds me. Your father called me; he will be back in two days."
"Oh–" For a second, Raynor recalled his father. In a way, a carbon copy of the hunter pseudo merged with his father's face.
It was a strange experience for the Shaman. His time in Westeros has warped and changed him so he can barely understand who he is.
"Nice. I haven't seen Dad in years."
"...Son, just take things slowly. No need to rush."
He nodded at her concern.
"I know well enough. A patient hunter gets his prey." The Shaman said with a smile.
"...Yeah, that."
~~~
The following day, Raynor, alongside Sona, was walking to school.
The always serious Devil Heiress was briefing him on the lost lessons.
"You do realise that I don't care that much about this? While I don't find this that interesting, I still treat this as a party; there is some amusement from this." The Shaman said that while hugging his fiance with one hand.
"...Ugh…fine." Sitri Heiress sighed as she gave up on explaining the missed classes.
"Good girl. Now, let's enjoy the walk."
"As you wish."
The girl caved in as they continued to walk in the silence.
Around ten minutes later, they were in the class.
Raynor walked over and sat down next to Arno.
"Yo! Where have you been!?"
"In the Underworld, dealing with renegades." The hunter replied while taking out the books. He looked at his deskmate and opened the same page he had it on.
"...Whoa…How is the Underworld?"
"Hmm, similar to Earth but more— I don't know, darker? More death and magic to it? The area I got is an old forest full of primal animals."
"Cool. I guess it's all you ever wanted?"
"Similar to that. Yes, apart from that, I have more business with the Lucifer."
"Oh? As amusing as it sounds that Satan himself wants things from you, what business did you cook up?"
Arno asked him curiously.
"We will be opening a Spa for devils."
"...Spa? Okay, that wasn't what I expected!" The blonde friend of his looked confused as hell.
"What DID you expect?"
"A Bounty? You are a hunter; you could do some bounty hunting."
"...True, that's a great idea."
~~~
After Raynor's classes, the Hunter received a message from Crimson Lucifer.
[Crimson Lucifer: About the Spa, where would you want to open it? There are possibilities of getting them in Iceland and Japan. We have some contacts there.]
'He works fast.'
The Shaman was pleased with the Devil Kin's speed. They don't waste time at all.
"Sona. Read this." The Shaman handed over the phone to his fiance.
"I see. What do you think?"
"Well, we will be moving to Japan, no? So I think we could have it there."
"I see your point. But we can teleport. While devils rent out the town in Japan, our relationship with Shinto is not as great as with Norse.
I would say you should pick Iceland." Sona suggested it to him.
"...Hmm, Iceland is more reclusive." For a bit, he pondered.
"Or do we just take both?" He proposed to her.
Then he had an idea!
'Why don't I mark these places as my own? It could use them as a quick travel point!'
"You could. It's your call." Sona didn't mind either way.
Raynor swiftly replied to the Crimson Satan.
He took both locations.
Sirzechs was more than happy to agree with that idea. Two Spa's mean twice the amount of people that can visit such a place.
Just like that, he was the 'proud' owner of two spa centres!
Regardless, before he returned to his lands in the Underworld, he went to Dragonstone and picked up several banners.
Then he returned to his house and placed one behind his house outside.
"...Hmm, it did work. Just like that? I suppose symbolism and intent are key."
He pondered on the meaning of how this works. Not that he cared that much for the mechanics; instead, he looked at the faction overview.
[Faction Overview]
[Ruler's Official Name: Lord Raynor Valeron of Dragonstone (Planetos)
Lord Raynor Valeron of Gusion Lands (Underworld)]
[Rank: Lord (Westeros and Underworld)]
[Lands: Island of Dragonstone (Westeros)
The entirety of Gusion Lands (Underworld) ]
[Holdings: Dragonstone (Westeros)
Ruins of Gusion Castle (Underworld)]
[Population: 476 Small folk
25 Household guards (Westeros)
0 (Underworld)]
[Wealth: 135 Million gold coins, 554 Million Silver coins, 541 Copper coins (Westeros)
0 (Underworld)]
[Fast Travel Options: Valeron Residence (Earth)]
'Oh my. That's a hack I don't mind.'
Raynor was pleasantly surprised about this.
Now, he can mark his spa locations.
Since Sirzechs is busy with Spa preparations, the Shaman returns to his Underworld Forest.
Before he went there, he messaged his Fiance to tell her where he was.
Her reply was simple.
'Don't cause a fight, huh? Well, at least she said please.'
The Hunter chuckled, seeing the praying emoji from Sona. How hilarious is that? Devils using such an emoji, those two are indeed sisters.
Well, that may be what his power does to people. They need to pray.
As Raynor returned to his place, he swiftly walked to start carving the totem.
As always, first is the wolf totem. On top of it is the Bear, and on top of that is a Boar.
Around late afternoon, the totem hummed with power as Raynor finished with carvings and the totem was activated.
The Hunter placed his hand on the totem. He could feel the synchronisation was complete.
"Well, this is it. Now to place the fourth one on the top."
He looked at his handiwork. To place the fourth one, he must put it on the top of the boar's totem.
Like in the Spore video game and Native American tribes, these totems are stacked.
"Well, let's see what you will give me, Gusion Elk." Raynor smiled as he recalled all the magic-like abilities the elk had.
Before he started to work, his hand stopped as he frowned. His gut feeling is telling him the regular carving tool won't work.
So, instead, he pulled out the crystal antlers he had.
'I see, so this is what you want.'
He frowned quite a bit. He needs to turn this into a carving knife.
For that, he needs a proper forge.
"A picky one, aren't you?" The Shaman sighed, realising that the more unique the animal is, the more stuff he needs to 'refine' to suit his powers.
For now, he decided to shelve this. He needs to return to Dragonstone to build his forge.
But then his eyes went to the hanged devils.
He stroked his chin for a few moments.
Then he looked around.
'To work in a volcano, I need power to keep myself from burning away.'
The first thing which comes to mind is Serafall, but she is not there yet.
Until she is entirely loyal to him, she will keep her at hand reach; simultaneously, an extra person can be considered an interference in the ritual.
"In that case."
As he pondered more, his eyes then widened.
'Of course! The devil kind doesn't go to a proper afterlife! That means the Original Satans are in the abyss!'
If he can fish the original Leviathan, he will have power over water! Like no other! That means he can build his forge, improve his weapons and armour and, lastly, carve the Gusion Elf's totem!
With new ideas in mind, he swiftly looked around and located the closest artificial lake.
He swiftly walked over it.
At that moment, he envisioned a water-based totem to scry for souls.
In other words, he can use water like a mirror to gaze at the abyss and look for a soul.
He has Katerea's blood and soul. He can use that as a medium.
Slowly, he walked on the lake's surface and proceeded to walk to the middle of the lake.
He looked around.
'This is not a bad location.'
For a second, he closed his eyes and sent a pulse of magic through the water.
The moment the pulse reached the bottom, the ground started to rise.
The process was quite a long one.
With Raynor's mana reserves, it will take a while.
Thankfully, he returned to the shore to rest; once he recovered, he returned to the exact location and raised the ground again.
He continued with this till the morning arrived.
But in mid-morning, he was standing on the stone floor in the middle of an artificial lake.
"Phew, this was good training! I should do similar stuff some more."
The teen inspected his mana. He spent the whole night training his mana. That includes consuming several souls.
He is confident that his soul 'weight' went up by half or even more so.
"Now, to carve this the way I want."
The Shaman said that as he looked around. At first, he thought about making a small puddle inside this raised stone platform, like a water-scrying device.
But then, at midnight, he changed his mind. He will be doing a stone bowl in a water-like temple.
That means he will build a temple in the middle of this lake.
The more powerful the symbolism, the higher the chance he will succeed.
And having the ultimate class devil, Satan, no less in the form of a weapon or a gear.
'Hmm, I should make it with a shaman-like tool. What was that anime called again? Shaman King?'
Raynor pondered once he connected all the dots. He then grinned. Of course! Now he has an idea.
He will copy that! His arsenal fits like a glove for that use!
With newfound motivation, he started to raise more of the stones!
~~~
"Guh! Damn that, Raynor! Why do I have to be the one who has to fix all this mess!"
Sona stomped through Gusion territory and appeared in the location where his camp was.
Thanks to the connection she had with him, she was able to find him quickly. Of course, she needed to push down her nervousness to walk through such primal lands.
Eventually, she found him!
"What is that!"
Her eyes bulged out when she saw a stone temple in the middle of a freaking lake!
She could sense mana rolling from it.
'What in Four Satans is that!'
She saw a stone pavement built to the temple! She is sure it has never been here before!
On top of that, she can sense that Raynor is there! So, without waiting, she proceeded to walk towards the temple.
It took her several minutes, but once she arrived, Sona quickly entered the temple.
What she found was a water circulation system. Like a whirlpool in the middle, there was a large water-filled stone bowl.
The water moved strangely, as well! It's constantly overflowing like a fountain.
"Sona, do you recognise the symbolism here?" Raynor asked as he looked at the bowl of moving water.
The Sitri Heiress didn't even look surprised that he knew she was here.
"You have been away for another three days! Your father has returned from abroad. I had to cover your ass again!"
"Oh, was it? Sorry about that. But I have been building a place to contact dead devils."
"...Excuse me?" Sona squeaked!
"Indeed. The circulation represents life, the whirlpool represents the abyss, and the bowl in the centre represents a mirror to look at the abyss where dead devils end." Raynor explained to her.
"...What is this for?"
"To get a soul for one of my 'true' weapons." The Shaman said with a slight grin. He finally realised how to 'fight' like a Shaman.
He knows how to hunt, yes. The hunter taught him. But, how to fight like a 'Shaman'? He never was taught.
So, for that, he will get a powerful soul, a Leviathan! He could try contacting Lucifer. But Lucifer doesn't attract as much as a massive Sea Serpent who could drown cities with a tail wave.
On top of that, he needs blood and a soul to act as a catalyst to locate the soul.
"...True Weapons?" Sona was confused.
"Indeed. A Shaman fights with souls, animals, beasts or even legendary creatures.
It doesn't matter.
What matters is the catalyst, a conduit to channel the power of the soul.
I will summon the Original Leviathan and make her my 'weapon'.
"...Is that even— no, I guess I understand the angle. But will that even work? Would a megalomaniac Satan even listen and help you?" Sona was more concerned that the returned soul of an original Satan Leviathan would not listen to anything!
"We will see. I do have preparations in place for such a scenario."
"Good. Then are you ready? Or do you still need to do something?"
He shook his head and pointed at the bowl. The Sitri Heiress could sense the surge of mana.
"The ritual is almost done. At this moment, I am simply gathering mana. To pierce the abyss."
As he said that, he walked towards the overflowing bowl.
Then he pulled out a small glass canister and opened it. Blood dropped into it.
And then, the tattoo on his right hand glowed, and he used Katerea's soul as a catalyst to locate his target.
His eyes slightly frowned. He located two aimlessly floating souls. They are brown-haired bombshells. Both were emitting water power and were at similar levels.
"What pickle they nearly identical, with how their souls fluctuate; they are the same!"
He complained, but Sona couldn't see what he was seeing. Does she need some sort of awareness?
"Can't you just take the one who looks older?"
"...Are you serious? You devil don't age after that twenty-plus birthday! How am I supposed to differentiate!?" He complained even more.
"Geez! Then just take the prettier one!" Sona just sighed as she gave up.
"Now you make sense!"
Just like that, Raynor grabbed the one with longer hair and better hips.
His Tatoo glowed, and the new soul was taken in.
Once he was done, the water from the overflowing bowl was empty.
"...What happened!? The water simply ceased to exist!?" Sona looked around in disbelief. What she just witnessed was some sort of miracle magic.
"The water was full of mana for the ritual. As you can see, the temple's water is slowly restoring itself." He pointed at the water slowly filling in.
"And the Leviathan soul?"
He pointed at his hand.
"Stored safely in my tattoo."
"Wait, don't you need to beat her?" For a second, she looked confused.
"Ah, you are paying attention. Yes and no. You see, this is the magic of this totem temple."
"...Totem in the shape of a temple?" It took her a few moments to place those together.
"Yes, you see. I used the water in the temple as fuel. Thanks to your underworld's magical qualities, fueling the ritual is easy. Then, I used Katerea's blood and soul to locate and exchange the souls.
Magic of equivalent exchange." He pointed out.
"...But Katerea Leviathan wasn't as strong as Original Leviathan."
"Agh, that. Do you realise that your body generates demonic energy and not your soul? Sure, some things dictate the quality and such.
But it's mostly the magical blood; otherwise, the pillar traits wouldn't be that sparse." He pointed that minor detail out.
"...Oh, I see…"
"...In that case, is it possible to train Soul?"
"Heh, so you want me to train you? You couldn't notice the content in the bowl, couldn't you?"
"...Yes, I couldn't see anything."
"I see. So it is like that."
At that moment, Raynor pondered on a few things.
"...You could start with some magic symbolism, get exposed to nature magic. Just from that, you could increase your soul awareness."
Sona slowly nodded as they proceeded to leave the temple and walk towards the main camp.
"That reminds me. Satan Lucifer contacted me. He said the Spa centres in Iceland and Japan are under your ownership.
You can start doing your thing."
"...Nice. I will start with them once my Shaman power is fully functioning."
Once again, Raynor is impressed by the devilkind's speed. They are masters when it comes to such paperwork.
'But hilariously, they are slow regarding their paperwork.'
"You can rest for a while now. Don't forget your father wants to see you."
Sona pushed her glasses while reminding him about that.
"Thankfully, I was there to smooth him in on your 'adventures'."
Once Raynor heard that, he hugged his fiance. The girl knows what to do!
"As expected from my Sona!"
"...Ugh! Don't copy my sister! Jeez! I know, okay?" The girl looked flustered.
"Relax, it's not like I am copying her. It's just you know what to do."
"Of course! I am planning to run a school in the future!" The Sitri Heiress spoke with a confident voice.
"Such a thing should be obvious!"
Raynor nodded at her before they appeared in front of his house.
"..."
"..."
"What the!? Such a seamless transition!"
"Yep, I placed a banner in my house. This method allows rapid transition between my territories." As he explained, they started to walk towards the doors.
As they entered the house, Raynor could hear the TV was on. Unlike his mother stuff, he could hear documentaries
That's his father's thing.
"Ray, is that you?"
"Yep. I am back; sorry, I was busy." The Shaman didn't know how to face his father.
Before this, his father was proud of his school achievements. Now, he was a wild man, killing armies, blowing up cities, and hunting wild beasts.
"So, son, when can we retire? According to your— Fiance, you are loaded now."
"Hehehe, well, anytime you want?"
~~~
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