The Games We Play -Shaman c58

After coming up with a solution to the maid problem, Raynor wanted to find out where the haunted part was. So he stopped the conversation and walked to the Castle’s Keep.

The shift of attention from one to another was a bit concerning for Akeno, but Rias found it ‘hot’. 

According to the Heiress, he can do that to her, which makes the night activities ‘intense’. The reincarnated devil with holy lightning would find it nice, too. It’s just that the part about turning beings into Summons is a bit concerning to her.

The black-haired girl found it strange that Rias didn’t care about that. 

‘Maybe it's her devil nature? After all, devils constantly get summoned.’

Akeno pondered as she tried not to think about how creepy this castle they were walking through was. It was huge, black thing, it looked like it could suck in all the light. Those torches on the walls don’t make it look more livable. 

“Where do you think this ghost could be?” Rias asked in a curious tone. She was feeling like exploring. The best part was that she knew the castle to some extent, as she had been here for a couple of days now. So, the corridors were not unfamiliar to her.

“Beats me.” He shrugged, but then he looked at Tsufaame. “Tell me where you sensed the ‘haunted’ part, " he asked her as he gazed around. He felt like an idiot walking aimlessly.

Unlike his forests, where he doesn’t mind doing that as he is looking for a starting point, castles and the interior are a bit different, in his opinion.

Everything is organised and has its uses…he prefers organic…chaos? Something like that.

“The less-used parts of the castle.” 

Raynor deadpanned hearing that.

“You know that’s like twenty percent of this place.” With a sigh, he began to walk towards the closest part of such a place.

“Where are we going?” Rias hugged his arm as she was both excited and curious.

“Less-used parts of the castle.” He explained to her as his eyes went to his ‘drowning’ hand, it was sinking into the ‘valley’.

“Oh! I heard about it! Some of the castle workers told me that some parts of the castle used to be living quarters for the Targaryens.” The girl explained, feeling like a detective solving a mystery.

“I suppose it makes sense. The castle is huge, and there are not that many Targaryens at any point in time. Most of them were with Jaehaerys, but he was living in King’s Landing.” Raynor recalls his knowledge of the timeline quite well.

If one were to ask him about the kings and queens of some nation, he would tell them of Westeros.

As hilarious as it sounds.

“I see! So it could he someone older or maybe younger than him!”

“I would say the most emotional attachment.” Raynor, who knows a bit about ghosts, said to her.

Eventually, they arrived. He could see dust. This place was not touched like… at all.

It was a great starting point. 

“It would seem we are at the right place.” Rias used her free hand to cover her nose. 

Her peerage behind her noticed that too, they got a bit more serious and began to look around.

“Yes. I can sense a presence.” Raynor slowly nodded. He looked forward, his spiritual sense picking it up. There was something there, like a layer, something akin to an echo or a remnant.

It was anger and desire. There was something similar, too… not wanting to give up? It’s most of that. The Shaman got an idea of what it was and which person’s ghost it was.

As they walked forward into this corridor, they noticed the wooden doors were old, even rotten. No one had touched them for years, if not decades. 

Instead of checking door by door, Raynor went right where he sensed a presence.

It was the doors at the end of the corridor. Since there were no torches, it was dark, but the devils didn’t care. They saw in the darkness anyway. At the same time, Raynor sensed where he was.

That is why he knew where the doors were. He could even tell their condition, as weird as it was. He could tell that there was rot there. It felt light, almost like… hollow doors.

Regardless, he ignored the rot, placed his free hand on the door handle, and tried to open.

The doors creaked and released all sorts of noises before they moved and revealed an old bedroom. There is a window on the side, so Raynor can see a portion of the room. All he can see is that it was once a luxurious bedroom.

But all the dust and neglect turned into a relic of the past. 

**Inhuman Screech**

A spine-chilling screech erupted from the room as gusts of wind rose and sent items flying in all directions.

“Oh! A poltergeist!” Rias gasped in surprise. Instead of being terrified, she looked like a curious child.

Raynor looked at the crimson-haired girl for a second, then at the thing that began manifesting and becoming visible to him. 

It was a female with wild, long white hair, almost skeletal in appearance, and wild glowing lilac eyes. She had jewelry on her hands, like bracelets and rings, though it looked ugly. Her hands were thin, and her nails… were long and looked like knives.

“...I can sense intense emotions from her.” The cat girl commented as she was looking at this thing.

“The longer it's around, the more dangerous it can become.” The blonde knight commented. But none of them looked particularly scared. Raynor wondered if it’s a devil trait.

“Should I eliminate it?” Akeno asked as she was ready to deal with it.

“No, no. That’s a valuable resource.” The Shaman stopped her, making them all look at him, particularly Rias, as she wondered what he could do with this ‘resource’ he was talking about.

“If you say so, it does look angry.” Akeno lowered her hand and looked where the angry ghost should be. It was twitching and spasming and ready to lash out.

Raynor paid a bit of attention and noticed that it was not coming at them. The most likely reason is that he was outside the room.

The moment he placed his feet inside the room, the poltergeist rushed with mad speed at him.

But at that moment, the tribal tattoo around his left hand glowed as he lifted it and pointed at the incoming angry ghost.

The shamanic ritualistic magic poured out of his hand and slammed into the ghostly being. It became less solid and began to blur and disperse.

‘He can impact its solid state? Can he somehow manipulate it?’ Akeno, up close, saw how Raynor’s strange magic is working on the poltergeist. If he can manipulate it like that, then he could easily perform an exorcism.

Not that he could, as he is planning to do something with it.

“Damn… this thing is ancient.” Raynor grimaced as sweat began to drip from his forehead. The ghost was resisting it. But this is where he focused as his eyes turned yellow, canine-like. His magic over nature surged, and the brightness of the tattoo glow intensified, forcing the ghost to lose its form and turn into wind; it rushed into his hand, forming an energy orb.

“Phew…” A sigh escaped his lips as he looked at the ghostly ball of energy emitting black whisps.

“It has potent anger, hate, and even lust.” He commented as he was sensing things from it. The ghost is a full bag of everything.

“What is going on?” 

A familiar voice said from behind. Rias’ peerage turned around and saw a girl who looked similar to Sona, except for the size of her assets, eye colour, and hairstyle…

It was Serafall. Behind her was a silver-haired maid. Akeno and the other two peerage members looked surprised to see her in this environment. It was Grayfia! Well, it would seem they confirmed what Raynor said beforehand.

As hard as it is to believe, this guy was able to ‘tame’ Ultimate Class Devil!

“A poltergeist.” He showed an energy ball in his hands. Making her look at it.

“Oh, so that's what it was.” Serafall, just like Rias, didn’t look bothered or anything.

“So you tell me you could sense it all along, but you didn’t say a thing to me?” he groaned in annoyance for a second.

“Hmph!” 

The girl huffed at him. “You made me do plumbing, not ghost hunting!” She crossed her arms and looked away.

Raynor sighed as he walked over to her. By this point, he had gotten out of Rias’ hold. 

“Naughty girls need to be punished.” His free hand went to Serafall’s nose. The Satan girl looked at what he was doing with a bit of confusion. She didn’t expect his ‘punishment’ to be a nose squeeze!

The black-haired devil girl’s eyes widened as her cheeks heated up! She can’t believe someone would do that to her! She is not a small girl!

After the squeeze, he leaned forward and whispered into her ear. “We shall discuss your behaviour in my bedroom.”

Her expression turned into pure horror, and before she could reply, he placed his right index finger on her lips.

“Shhh, it's okay~ I will make sure you understand why you should not be naughty with me~” He teased her before looking at Grayfia.

“You sensed that something was here, yes?” Raynor asked the maid.

“Yes.” The Lucifuge maid sharply nodded at his question.

“Then from now on, notify me if you pick up anything.” He ordered her, making Grayfia slowly nod in understanding.

“I can do that too! I was joking before!” Serafall chipped in as she was feeling a bit afraid of what would happen to her in that bedroom!

He turned back at ex-Sitri, who was close to him. “ Relax, since you are such a great worker, I will take care of you properly~.” His free hand went to her bum and squeezed it, making Serafall tremble from excitement and fear.

He did something to her that made her like this. The current Leviathan’s expression was clearly visible to everyone.

“Rias, who is she?” Akeno leaned to the crimson-haired girl next to her for a bit as she whispered. From the looks of it, this devil was powerful. Is she perhaps the Satan Leviathan she had heard about?

“Serafall Leviathan.” 

Akeno’s eyes perked up, so it was her! To think that kind of expression was on a Satan. 

~~~

After teasing Serafall for a bit, the group walked into the dusty bedroom.

“Now that I have the poltergeist, I want you all to look through the room and look for any valuables. That ghost had a bunch of them, meaning it has a personal attachment to them.” Raynor spoke as he looked around.

“Most specifically rings and bracelets.” He explained to the gathered devils.

“I see, so you want the anchor,” Serafall commented while her hand held her chin.

“Indeed. With the anchor secured, I will be able to turn that possession into a proper artefact useful in a fight.” He smiled a bit, but the older and more experienced pair of devils knew what he was talking about.

Haunted items like the one he is speaking of are voodoo magic or curse hexes, especially with the poltergeist this strong. It might not be much for a devil who has a natural affinity for ghosts, but to be used on a regular human or a clueless mage, it would be horrifying.

“Fine. Let’s split up.” Serafall nodded as she looked at Rias and her peerage.

“Ria, you help us as well. Look for gold items; those are the ones that are usually the anchors, " the Leviathan instructed as she walked towards the vanity table, where females usually kept their accessories. 

Rias nodded, and her peerage joined to look through the big room.

“Lady Serafall, you know quite a lot about ghosts and haunted items.” Rias noticed that Sona’s older sister is quite experienced with the whole ordeal.

“Ria, you have no idea how often I am getting summoned to deal with rich human haunted homes.” The Leviathan rolled her eyes.

“They have the money, so they summon one of the Satans, and you know their egos; they won’t settle for anything else but the best to deal with their supernatural problems.” The Satan explained as she opened the drawer and found a luxurious-looking box.

“Bingo~~~” Serafall smiled as she pulled out the box and opened it. It was full of jewelry.

“Let’s see~~”

By this point, Raynor was next to her, also checking the items.

There were necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings, and all sorts of trinkets in this proper jewelry box of a noble woman.

Serafall spread out the content on the vanity table one by one until, at the bottom, a ring with a red ruby and a three-headed dragon was carved on it.

“There it is.” The black haired devil pulled it out and showed it to the Shaman.

“I can sense raw emotions radiating from it. They are so potent that it became magical.” 

Raynor slowly nodded. She was right; with his augmented spiritual senses, he could pick up that even more clearly. It was like a black fog radiating from it.

“This is what I have been looking for.” He took the ring from her and brough the energy orb close to the ring.

“You are going to merge them? Isn’t it dangerous!?” Serafall looked surprised at what he was about to do! By this point, the rest of the devils walked over and looked at the ring.

Honestly, the younger generation can’t properly perceive ghosts to the level the older generation can, with Raynor being an exception, as he literally eats souls to make himself stronger.

They can’t see how potent this ring’s negative energy is. This castle is the perfect breeding ground for ghosts like the one captured. The castle walls are built with dragon and blood magic, but they lack a proper magic warding system, making them susceptible to the birth of ghosts and eventually Poltergeists.

Mix some magic residue, strong emotions like Targaryens usually have, and you have a Poltergeist.

“No, I am going to weave them; this way the ghost can’t solidify or reappear.” As he explained, he began to weave the energy ball around the ring.

Thanks to his left-hand tattoo, he can do it. Usually, he would need a motion or a process, like cutting a tree or carving wood, but his left-hand tribal tattoo skips all those stages.

The orb began to shrink bit by bit, and the ring gained a black, dim glow.

This glow started to intensify as negative energy flowed into it and bonded like wet paper sheets that kept piling on top of each other.

Eventually, it was done, and Raynor sighed in relief. It was a bit tense, as the negativity from this poltergeist was intense.

“Not bad. Though, how are you going to turn it into something more than a cursed item?” Serafall asked curiously as she realised that the process he had just done was nothing more than the creation of a basic cursed item.

If he were to put that one in, he would most likely be possessed by negative emotions. It’s nothing substantial. Apart from the item's durability, it’s probably unbearable for regular tools.

“I need proper infrastructure for that.” He showed her a knowing smile, telling her he had an idea. But, until then, he threw the ring into his inventory.

“For now, the place is secured.” Raynor switched the theme of conversation. He looked at Grayfia.

“Tell the maids and servants to clean this place. It’s no longer dangerous.”

The silver-haired maid slightly nodded before turning around and leaving the room. She had a small smile on her lips, happy that she had escaped without attracting more of his attention, unlike Serafall, who, from the looks of it, was doing things like that on purpose.

“In the meantime, Rias, show your peerage the castle and select your rooms for the night. Tomorrow we leave for the Crackclaw point.”

“Okay~," the girl motioned for her peerage to follow, as she could barely contain her excitement. Tomorrow, she would go on a proper adventure for the first time in her life!

Though the rest were not as excited as she was, they had no idea what he meant or what this place was…

Seeing that she is the only one left, Serafall thinks she will follow after Rias and disappear into the corridors of the huge castle.

Sadly for her, Raynor took her hand and didn’t let her go.

Once Rias and her peerage were gone, the Shaman made her face him. There was a smile on his lips.

“You will keep me company today, right?” he asked her, making the ex-Sitri's eyes dart from one side to another.

“...Umm...don’t you have your wife?” she asked, clearly sensing Skadi in the castle.

“Don’t worry, she kept me busy last night in the forest.” He pulled her closer as his hands wrapped around her waist. The way he did it was far more gentler than last time.

That made the Devil girl notice. He was acting a bit differently with her. 

Such action made her curiosity rise. She wondered why such different actions. 

“Okay," she smiled back, wrapping her hands around his neck and bringing her face closer.

Raynor smirked for a bit as she didn’t expect her to flip this quickly. The current Leviathan can be as flippant as one could get.

However, they will have some fun before bedtime, as there is enough time to do other things until then.

The Shaman kissed his Twin tails devil for a bit before taking her out of the dusty room. Instead of going to his room, he went outside the keep and the castle and went to his lodge.

That was something Serafall didn’t expect. She was a bit worried that he would do even naughtier things to her in the wilds.

However, instead of doing that, he took out logs of wood from his inventory.

‘...What?...’

She was confused, to say the least!