บท 32: Territory in Underworld
*Alarm Clock*
Sounds of an alarm clock blaring through the room awaken Raynor, whose eyes snapped open.
His hand, like a snake, snapped to the side and picked up his phone.
With a press of a button, the alarm was disabled.
After dealing with the phone, his gaze went to the snoozing beauty sleeping on him.
The ethereal Valyrian beauty did not react to his phone at all.
Well, he did make her pass out last night. So he decided to let her snooze.
He slowly sneaked out from the bed and walked to get a shower.
A quick shower later, he returned to his room to dress up for school. This time, he was pretty excited for the day.
Excitement is not for the school but what comes after. The Crimson Satan will take him to his new land.
He can't wait to see what kind of game he can hunt in that place.
A new totem is something he wants to get his hands on. But since it's the underworld, he could build something new.
After all, nature is different there; if nature is different, nature magic works differently.
It's simple logic, but it means so much. The underworld there is directly linked to worlds of the dead, like Hades' realm.
This means Nature magic works differently from the sheer difference in core essences.
Well, he can explore that once he is in that place.
Once he finished dressing up, he went to the kitchen to cook food for himself and his gorgeous Valyrian beauty.
Around twenty minutes later, he finished cooking; the Hunter went back to his room and started to poke Daenerys' cheek.
"Wakey, Wakey, my sleeping beauty~"
"Hnnn~"
"I have some food ready for you; it will get cold if you continue to sleep." He whispered into her ear; such action tickled her, which made her start moving, pulling her out of her dream world.
"...Hnnn… okay~ I am getting up~"
The silver-haired girl slowly got up into a sitting position. For a second, she looked confused, but then she somewhat got herself together.
"...Oh right…"
Regardless, she was still lazy and quite tired from the looks of it.
"After eating, you can return to sleep. I have to go to school."
She looked at him when she heard that.
"Is it alright? I mean, I don't know anything here."
"I will be away till three-ish." He pointed at the clock on the wall.
"See that smaller arrow? I will be back when that arrow is close to three. Till then, you can sleep or explore my room; once I am back, we can go to the Underworld. One of the Satan's will show me the land I got from them."
"..."
The beauty doesn't know what to think about that!
Still, he quickly pulled her out of the bed and helped her wear an oversized shirt. Then he took her downstairs and ended up placing her on his lap.
It was quite a contrast between energetic him and tired her.
Yet, the dragon princess enjoyed this as they were alone without any extra females in his way.
It got even better when they started feeding each other.
However, the time was running out as after getting breakfast done, Raynor got Daenerys back to his bed as he had to leave for his school.
Once he was out of his house, his devil girlfriend awaited him.
"You do know you can visit me anytime~" He instantly started to tease her as they began to walk towards school.
"I will have to pass that. It appears you were having fun with Daenerys." Sona said that with a knowing smile.
"Oh? You can sense her?"
"I can. Targaryens have a distinct magic signature; it's hard not to notice them. They are quite alien to our world."
"... That's because they are aliens in our world." He replied with an eye roll. There are no Targaryens in their world!
"Precisely. Daenerys' signature is so unique that anyone with mana could tell. Not everyday someone could feel a person with blood, fire, and dragons mixed into one."
He nodded at her; well, he never paid that much attention to how her signature 'feels' like. Maybe it's more of a devil thing?
Or maybe he never considered looking like that. Perhaps he could utilise this in his hunts.
"Hmm, interesting. I should invest time in training my sensory skills like you do."
"...Hmm? How do you sense now?"
"A mix of augmented senses and something akin to a soul feeling."
"Soul? You can feel souls?"
"Yeah? I mean, I practise soul magic, and my soul is more sensitive than my mana is."
"...Wow…Shamanism sure is unique…"
Sona was out of words. Mana is so prevalent in her society that she has never even heard about such a thing as 'soul feeling'.
~~~
The school was a tedious endeavour; Raynor wanted it to end as soon as possible this time around. To waste that time away, he trained his mana after listening to Sona and her ability to sense. The more means he has to pick up a target, the better.
Regardless, after finishing school, Sona accompanied Raynor to his house after he told her that Crimson Satan would pick him up.
"So you only now tell me that Satan Lucifer will come to visit you?" The Sitri Heiress asked with twitchy eyebrows.
"Yep! Oh, and I forgot to mention~" He leaned closer and whispered into her ear.
"Apparently, your devil council is 100% behind our engagement~" Sona's cheeks suddenly got rosy.
"... That's…" She fixed her glasses.
"Fantastic news!"
His hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer.
"Indeed~"
Around ten minutes later, they arrived at his home and proceeded to enter. Raynor went straight upstairs to look at what his Princess was doing. Sona followed him.
They found Daenerys reading one of the Valyrian books he had left behind.
"My Lord, you are finally back!" The beauty rushed over to his side and hugged him.
The Shaman stroked her long hair. The girl was acting like a cat.
"I thought you would be sleeping."
"...Umm… I couldn't? I didn't have any heat source." She said that with a small, coy voice.
"I see, it makes sense."
Sona, who heard that, frowned for a bit. She needs to start getting more serious now that the council has full approval. There is no need to hold back anymore!
"You should dress up properly." The devil heiress interrupted the pair." I assume you want to take her with us?" She asked Raynor once she realised he hadn't called Daenerys back yet.
"Yes. Dany, you need to dress up appropriately. We will go into the wild Underworld."
"O-Okay."
Sona quickly got some clothes for the Dragon Princess, and the Targaryen learned of the comforts of the Devil Magic.
With a few hand motions, the Sitri Heiress made Daenerys look like a safari explorer. After changing her clothes, she did the same for himself.
When Raynor saw their clothes, he slightly chuckled.
He recalled that these were safari clothes; he kind of forgot they existed.
Still, in a way, they look sexy with shorts and tight shirts.
"Umm…are my legs supposed to be exposed like this?"
"Yes. This is for the best movement comfort and to look beautiful for your man—two things in one." As Sona explained, Daenerys listened attentively.
"I see. I understand; in that case, it's fine." The Princess nodded and then looked at her Lord.
"Does it…look good?" She asked him with a slight blush.
"Yes. Now, let's get something to eat before Satan crashes the party." He said with a joking tone.
The Sitri Heiress sighed. She can't understand his puns. Why even say that? Though what he said is true.
"Okay."
"Yes. Let me show you around the house so you won't be bored when I go to school." He added that as he proceeded to show her around—the house before going to the kitchen once more.
Daenerys was excited as she didn't expect him to show around so quickly as he did and said he would do it when she taught him High Valyrian, but he did either way.
It made her gush internally, as he is very kind to her! Much better than her brother ever was.
For a second, she wondered how he was doing. But then she decided not to think about that.
A few minutes after finishing their food, the doorbell rang.
"What is that?"
"Doorbell. We use these to tell when someone is visiting the house."
"Oh, convenient!"
Raynor walked over to see who it was. He was 90% certain that it was Crimson Satan himself.
Sure enough, when he opened the doors, a crimson-haired man was dressed in a black suit. Behind him was a legitimate maid.
"I am on time?" He asked casually.
"Yep." Raynor exited the house, and behind him was the pair going with him.
Sirzechs and Grayfia looked at the silver-haired girl with interesting looks. They never sensed anything as strange as this girl.
Her mana is as unique as it gets.
"...I assume she is with you?"
"Yep. This girl is Daenerys. She is a natural dragon tamer~" The hunter said while touching her shoulders.
"It's an honour to be such a person." The girl was confused about what to call Satan. Is it 'Lord', 'King', or just 'Satan'?
"It's fine, don't worry. Now come, I have things to do; we can talk once we are in the Underworld."
With a simple hand motion, a large circle appeared under their feet. The transition was as smooth as it can get! The only difference Raynor noticed was the smell.
By the time he realised, his senses were assaulted by new things.
It made him excited.
"This is your land. The limits of your land are straightforward to find.
The moment you see grasslands, it marks the end of the land. It's like that in all directions.
All the forest is yours." Crimson Lucifer explained to the Hunter.
"I see…"
The shaman went on one knee and touched the ground. He felt the nature in this place.
It was different than he expected. Very different; if he didn't believe before that he was transported to the Underworld, now he did believe.
"...Interesting."
"What did you sense?" Sirzechs asked with a curious tone.
"Nature is very different here. It reeks of death. I assume it's because of how close this place is to the legitimate realm of the dead."
"I see…"
"It's very different from nature, I feel, on Earth or Westeros." He explained for a second before getting up on his feet.
"Regardless, I could make some unique totems here."
"Speaking of totems. Could you make a fertility-based totem?" Sirzechs smoothly asked that.
"Not in the Underworld. Nature here is the opposite of life. That may be one of the reasons your kin has such a low fertility rate." Raynor shook his head in denial.
"I could make something on Earth, but not here; the land simply doesn't support that."
"...I see… we could arrange something if you ever consider making such a totem." Sirzechs smiled while saying that.
He then looked at Sona.
"Sitri, you have permission to bring Valeron here anytime he wants. This land now belongs to him."
"I understand, Satan Lucifer."
"Good, and Valeron. If you ever want to sell more of the potions, you have my number. Enjoy the territory."
After saying that, he teleported away with his Maid.
"...So…umm…can we leave this place?" Daenerys asked that the very next moment as she freaked out! The Satan just left them like that!
"Yes. I can take you back to Earth any time you want." Sona said while fixing her classes.
She looked around the area. There is a certain chill going through her spine.
This place smells ancient.
There are a lot of lands unexplored properly in the Underworld.
Especially after the Civil War. The transition of the government made things disappear. Even before that, many pillar families died off in the war, their lands empty.
"Good to hear!"
"Yes. Anyway, what do you want to do, Raynor?" Sona asked her boyfriend.
"Explore; my soul is tingling with excitement; I must hunt at least something before we leave."
As the Shaman said, he brushed his finger down and summoned his Eagle.
Once the Eagle was in the air, Raynor switched his clothes into his hunter gear.
"I see. Then I will take Daenerys and return to Sitri Castle."
"Hmm, sure, but how will you find me?" He asked the obvious.
"...I could give you my circle?"
She said with a pondering voice.
"Or…"
Raynor grabbed her waist and pulled her closer, which embarrassed Sona. Before she could comment, he kissed her and added her to the summon list.
In the eyes of magic, she was already his 'wife'. He won the chess match, which was the 'requirement', and then it was approved by the devil council. It was more than enough to add her to his list.
It's funny how he completely bypassed her parents. Well, it was their fault for allowing Sona to choose her husband in a chess match.
For a second, Sona moaned into his mouth as she felt something invade her and do something to her!
The Heiress realised what just happened to her! It was the same thing which happened to her sister!
After a while, he pulled back and looked at him; the devil beauty looked back at him with misty eyes.
"...You…"
"Me. Now you are mine completely." He said that while his hands squeezed her rear.
"...I suppose it was coming." Sona didn't complain. She should have expected this!
"Now I can summon you when I finish the hunt."
"Fine."
Eventually, Raynor let her go; the Heiress walked over to Daenerys, who looked at that hot kiss as if it was a theatre play.
"Let's go, Daenerys; we will spend the afternoon in Sitri Castle."
"O-Okay!" the rosy-looking Sona grabbed Daenerys hand as the pair disappeared with a blue circle.
As they disappeared, the Shaman summoned his Summon interface and looked at the newest addition.
[Sona Sitri]
[Type: Devil]
[Bloodline: Sitri, From 72 Devil Pillars]
[Magic: Water, Devil, Dark, Soul, Human]
[Talents: Administration, Education, Logistics, Tactics, Governing]
[Obedience: 90%]
[Loyalty: 100%]
"As expected, she is the perfect wife for a Lord," Raynor commented after seeing Sona's talents; he was even surprised that his Fiance was also good with Human magic.
Not bad at all.
"Hmm, what do we have here…"
[Serafall Leviathan]
[Type: Devil]
[Bloodline: Sitri {Mutated}, From 72 Devil Pillars]
[Magic: Ice, Devil, Dark, Soul]
[Talents: Charisma, Diplomacy, Ice Magic, Acting, Dancing]
[Obedience: 91%]
[Loyalty: 85%]
"The parameters took such a sharp rise." The Shaman wonders if the pep talk he had affected her this much.
Well, whatever; he can check with Serafall later.
For now, he proceeded to prowl around his new area, looking for anything of interest.
~~~
The Forest he got in Underworld is slightly strange. There was a certain uneasiness in the air.
Raynor looked around for a while, but he could not find anything. For a second, he thought that this forest was a bust.
But eventually, his Eagle picked up something.
The Shaman used his Skinchanger magic to take over his eagle and inspected what he saw.
It was some strange elk; instead of having regular antlers, it had some sort of crystalline ones. It looked purple-ish, and the animal's fur also had weird markings.
This animal screamed 'supernatural' to Raynor.
Is this his first proper supernatural hunt!? Only one way to find out.
The Hunter pulled out his ritual bow and an arrow before aiming and shooting towards the elk's head.
As the arrow got close, the elk's antlers glowed—
He missed!
The arrow flew around! As if it was guided!
'Wind magic? Could be…'
Regardless, instead of running away, the elk moved around and faced him!
There is no fear in the animal whatsoever!
"Aren't you just precious? It appears Sirzechs kept his side of the bargain. This place already rocks!"
Raynor realised this place was so wild that this animal hadn't seen a human, or in this case, a humanoid creature, in ages.
The elk swung his antlers around as if challenging him into a fight.
"A fight to death it is, then."
The Shaman dismissed his bow and pulled out a pair of ivory knives.
"Let's fight!"
On the mark, the elk and Raynor charged at each other. The elk lowered his antlers as if like a bull rushing forward; wind started to gather at the single point around those sharp edges.
The Shaman could feel the sheer suction the wind had. It's like a vacuum cleaner; if he gives in, he could end up impaling himself on those antlers!
'In that case!'
To counter this, Raynor threw his left dagger; the wind only made it faster.
With a powerful smack, the elk received the dagger into its head.
Yet, it was not dead.
Which was surprising. Considering the knife ended up embedded into its head!
'Wait a second! It barely cut it!?'
For a second, Raynor was shocked at how little that knife cut it!
'There has to be an explanation. Some sort of crystalline protection?'
The Hunter got serious as he pulled out another knife and plunged forward. With a howl, his Wolf totem activated as his stabbing force went through the roof.
The elf dodged his right hand, but the left went straight for its neck. The stab was a direct hit, and the elk stumbled for a bit. Raynor didn't stop as he delivered his other knife.
The fight ended after the second stab. The supernatural elk died on the spot.
"...Phew… you gave me a couple of surprises. Who would have thought you would have such powers."
Raynor praised his first supernatural hunt. He is going to remember this for a long time.
Just like how he remembers his first true hunt, now he remembers his first actual supernatural hunt.
~~~
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