Cursed to Infinity Chapter 22

What was the soul of a man? What was my soul being a dovahkiin? Dying a little as I leaked blood from my slit throat made me think about that a good bit... Even as I failed horribly to get Reverse Cursed energy to actually work but my thoughts were silenced as Shoko Ieiri stomped into the side room I had been moved to.

She was a rather beautiful brunet even if she was smoking a cigarete and had very deep bag's under her eye's. "Jake Bariss, I am assuming you consent to being healed. Don't respond and just let me get to work." She said in a scratching voice.

Likewise I didn't move as she touched my bare skin around my neck uncaring of the blood soaking my chest and shoulders then her hand glowed with cursed energy that instantly flipped into Reverse Cursed Energy

"So you got, got huh." She spoke tiredly and she saw my unspoken question in my pained eye's... Or she just wanted to torment me mentally and added calmly. "That guy who stabbed you, god knows if he was controlled by curse, devil, spirit, demon, a spirit beast. Or hell just a criminal who wanted the bounty on your head as other countries don't like you living." 

Already I could feel the searing agony of drowning in my blood ending with Shoko casually pulling the tube out of the throat wound while sealing it internally so I woudn't be leaking blood into my air pipe.

"Yeah... Me and you have bounties us. Us Support sorcerers are after all strategic assets of our nations though you are odd in clearly being of European or American descent." She said casually.

I managed to rasp out. "How come Toji... Didn't tell me?" 

And Shoko just raised an eyebrow and replied flatly. "You trust Toji to be responsible and be proactive? That's rather stupid." 

Which made my eye twitch in irritation as frankly. She had a bit of a point.

Then she added. "Plus it's very much a black market thing. No country in their right mind would admit to putting a bounty on a healer who has healed dozens of Special Grader Sorcerer's and Devil Hunters."

"The last country to do that... Was a small island nation of little importance in the south that had their prince get mauled by a shark after he went swimming. That little island nation doesn't exist anymore as Satoru Gojo sunk the island beneath the ocean after the island king demanded a healer be sent there." She finished off with a disinterested tone.

I remained silent as that little sentence I spoke had torn the quickly healing flesh Shoko Ieiri was conjuring up with her Cursed Technique.

There was a silence for a while before Ui Ui who was sitting off to the side asked quietly. "Will he be able to heal himself more? Will this affect his innate technique?" 

Shoko just shrugged and with a hum, she said calmly. "Almost certainly yes. His throat muscles are stronger by far than the average human's. Much stronger than most Inumaki clan members' throat and voice box.

Frowning I held out a hand to Shoko who raised an eyebrow and pulled back her bloodied hand. I took a deep breath that hurt due to the blood that had gotten into my lungs and I spoke with the Thuum ringing out powerfully, and I could feel the strength of my soul having increased after eating the dragon's flesh and soul.

[Vokrii Slen Zu'u] I spoke with my form vibrating as I accelerated time to naturally heal my throat.

With that done I coughed out some blood to clear it out with Shoko who hummed in interest. "Hmm, so that's how you do it. You truly do have a better variant of the Inumaki clan's cursed speech. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if that guy who stabbed you wasn't on their payroll... Or being controlled by them." 

I just relaxed my head on the shitty hospital pillow and I just said flatly now that I was healed. "Either way... I am not going to chance getting close to new assholes until I learn Reverse Cursed Technique to heal myself." I grumbled.

Mei Mei hearing me coughed and said in amusement. "That goes against your contract with Toji, Jake. And he won't care you got hurt because you left his protection which he basically told you very much not to do so with Makima's actions."

I very much... Didn't want to fucking deal with Toji's smug face as he drawled out sarcastically. 'Dumbass, you already know you can't fight for shit. And there you go getting shived like a prison bitch.'

I could literally hear his damned voice as he said it as well.

But before I could sink into insanity and wonder about how Toji, and my 'besto friendo' Aoi Todo would react... Or give me shit in other words.

My phone began ringing as word finally got to Toji himself as I looked at the caller ID with Shoko saying blandly. "Well seems like you aren't going to die now, so I am going to go. I have other patients who ARE dying currently." 

Meanwhile, I just looked at the call that was from Toji and I just sighed and accepted the call. "Hello." I said dryly.

There was a pause before Toji said boredly. "Heh, you are still alive. That's good. Get your ass back home within the next three days... Ehh be back in a week if you want to play around with Tokyo's Jujutsu Sorcerer's."

Then Toji's voice became more sharp as he said coldly. "But, be careful. The old capital is filled with snakes in the grass. And tigers and dragons in the mountains. The Devil Hunter's are also based in Tokyo."

"Whelp have fun. And congrats on surviving your first assassination Jake." Toji finished off with some bland amusement making my face twitch as a click rang out in my ears.

"He hung up on you, didn't he? He loves to do that." Mei Mei said with some amusement.

I dropped the phone into my lap before I brushed my hand across my face and grumbled. "Dammit... Whatever, alright I will need to stay here in Tokyo for a few days. Mei Mei, I assume you have a house here in Tokyo right?"

As there was no way in hell. With how Mei Mei was, she wouldn't have a safe house or three here in Tokyo with how Ui Ui could teleport her easily around the country.

Mei Mei raised an eyebrow and asked blandly. "You don't want Ui Ui to just teleport you back to Kyoto's Jujutsu Campus where you will be safe?" 

I pulled off my shirt so I could use it to mop up the sticky partially dried blood on my neck and chest before I answered her with some amusement. "No, I need to get my feet underneath myself... And I want to see what Tokyo is like, hell what any city is like outside of the walls of a Jujutsu Campus." 

Mei Mei shrugged and as I tossed back on my shirt she said. "Very well, you quite literally own me. So they are basically your houses anyway. Ui Ui, let us get going. Before the Jujutsu Sorcerer's and others hear that Jake is here and get noisy."

Ui Ui grabbed both my hands along with her sisters and with a flicker of motion we teleported instantly out of the hospital and I was teleported with my position changing from being in a sitting position to a standing one as my feet hit the soft floor of some plush carpet.

I took in the more European style living room I was in, and I noticed that where the large windows would normally be to let in natural light. There were large metal plates there with Ui Ui noticing my glance and speaking calmly.

"We only use this safe house once every couple of weeks. So it's better for any would-be squatters or invader's to be put off at the sight of one-inch thick plates." 

I nodded at the explanation and I took a deep breath before I sent off a text to Anya and Alyx telling the twins I would be in Tokyo for a few days and that they should 'behave'. Not that they were the type to get into trouble anyway.

With that bit done, I will make sure my... Maids? Housemates? Whatever the girls were to me knew where I was so they wouldn't be freaking out. 

I put away my phone and I looked between Mei Mei and Ui Ui and asked. "Soo... We are in Tokyo now. Anything you suggest we could do besides just looking around?" 

Mei Mei hummed in thought before she said calmly. "Well, if you want some excitement... We could go visit the Great Wall Engram. It's where the remains of several special grade beings were embedded into the walls to reinforce it with their souls and strength to keep the strongest of demons and spiritual beings away from the city."

I raised an eyebrow and asked with a hint of flatness. "And how would that be exciting? That sounds like it be a boring museum trip... Or entirely too much excitement as something will happen right?" 

Ui Ui nodded and said with a wry smile. "Yes you are right Jake. The Engram is also called the Well of Souls, or the Twisted Reflection of Heaven as Tokyo Sorcerer's and others have used it to throw the corpses and souls of spirits and other monsters that reform into it. Preventing them from reforming without losing much of their strength in reincarnation."

With Mei Mei adding on. "The Well of Souls is a transcendental Artifact after literally a hundred Special Grade beings have been sealed away... And it is able to block the gaze of even the Yaweh Devil and keep other transcendental being's out of Tokyo even if it's not as strong as the Great of China in defensive power due to it lacking the history and time to accumulate power."

"There is... Just much I need to unpack there." I muttered before I blinked and asked flatly. "Wait with how important it is. Why am I just hearing about it? And why would we even be allowed around it?" 

The two women blinked and Mei Mei just looked at me in confusion before she said flatly.

"Most people just focus on how Tengen formed the walls around Kyoto with their corpse and innate cursed barrier technique being integrated into the walls. And as for why we can visit... Why wouldn't we? The wall is massive, especially the core and only a transcendental being at this point can do any harm. Why wouldn't Tokyo want extra money from visitors coming to see it?"

I just shook my head as I realized it was just 'tourism' even in a shit hole of a world so I shrugged and said in amusement. "Fine, whatever. Let's get going then. I assume they will also have some food there so let's go as I am happy to skip having rations." 

We left the rather well-to-do house through the garage that was more of a damned bank vault door than a normal door. In a non-descript car with Ui Ui driving it and Mei Mei and I sitting in the back as I did want to get to see the city life that was outside of the safety of the Jujutsu Campus's.

As Alyx and Anya had told me horror stories of the slum's and low-income area's of Kyoto which often had spirits, newly manifested demons, and other horrors running through the area's.

And once we left the gated-in community that had a four guards with heavy machine guns patrolling around it we drove through the tight Tokyo street's. With myself looking through the windows as I took in the businesses and such and I could see how things were just so different.

As coming from a much different world, you really notice when like... Literally, seventy percent of all restaurants that should exist in the square were shut down or just didn't exit due to the food shortages that were common in this world.

As growing food on an industrial scale was obviously very fucking difficult when a spiritually enhanced gopher could and would happily burrow through concrete and rebar in order to get into some kind of grow house or food factory.

Let alone the impossibility of trying to have a massive farm out in the countryside. Yeah, when fucking ant colonies could have tidal waves of tens of thousands of enhanced ants that were the size of large dogs with the same insane proportional strength? 

Good luck to some random ass farmer trying to shoot a coyote that's eating its chicken with a shotgun. And said coyote turns out to be a Special Grade Spirit Beast that could turn its fur indestructible and summoned tornados.

So yeah, gathering food itself to feed the major cities was a major issue, hence why restaurants weren't much of a thing these days.

"Oh look at that, there is a demon hunter." Mei Mei spoke blandly and I looked over to her side and saw a man wearing a large leather coat that had several... I mean literally a dozen religious icons in medals embedded across his coat.

And the man was talking to what looked like police officers while leaning on the normal privacy walls in front of a house, and in a split couple of seconds I saw what he was doing, I knew he had just finished some 'work' as he was cleaning a large knife of some blood with a previously white cloth.

"Never seen them before. They don't show up to the Jujutsu Campus." I noted with some interest.

Ui Ui then said. "Yes they mostly stick in the Hunter Guild and their people are... The backbone of the Hunter's Guild a lot of time."

Mei Mei then spoke with bored disinterest after her little sister. "They are fanatics, they make deals with devils, demons, and worse only to kill themselves using those contracts to kill either their contract holders or other supernatural entities." 

Mei Mei leaned a bit on the door as rested her head on her fist as she looked over at me on the other side of the car. "Let myself be a good reminder about making contracts Jake." 

My lips twitched and I said flatly. "I will make sure to remember not to make a contract of eternal servitude with the Devil of subservience." 

Mei Mei chuckled and raised an eyebrow before she teased me. "Oh? With you, it hasn't been so bad. You are too kind to force me to break my already very... Actually ehh, I don't really have any morals so there isn't much you can force me to do that would upset me."

I just shook my head at Mei Mei's irreverent manner as it was honestly fucking weird to me how calm and accepting of this situation she was. But then again she wasn't exactly the picture of sanity in the first place anyway.

Then as we kept going in relative silence in the better side of Tokyo apparently as shit did spawn and become spiritually empowered within the city due to the heightened spiritual energy within the city's limit surrounded by its special wall.

Just like back in Kyoto as well even.

My phone rang making me blink as I looked down at the caller ID that had the title of [The Prettiest Princess.] 'Who the fuck is this?' I muttered before I answered the call with a question. "Who is this?"

And a female voice... Which made sense with the name spoke out and in an instant I could tell they were a brat.

"Yahallo!" The voice went on cheerfully and then without even fucking answering she was off. "So I hope your little tour of Tokyo is going well, and seeing as you are visiting my neck of the woods. Do you have a gift from Kyoto for meeeee?" 

I just looked at the phone and then I shrugged putting it back to my ears and said with a differently toned voice. "New phone, who dis?"

There was a pause and then the voice made a huffing noise and spoke in a bratty childish tone. "You know who I am! Everyone knows who I am!"

And with an evil grin I spoke hurriedly. "Oh no! The Toilet Devil just broke out of the sewers!" 

A click rang out as I hung up on 'whoever' called me even if I was pretty damned sure of who it was. And Mei Mei and Ui Ui just gave me amused glances before Ui Ui spoke up. "Well Jake, we are almost to the wall. You can probably even see it from the windows as well between the buildings." 

She was right. The Tokyo grand wall that surrounded it and protected it from invading horrors outside of the walls. Was like ten stories tall and made out of purest obsidian black-like stone that reflected various lights upon it when I could see past or around the other larger buildings around us.

My phone began bleeping and I looked down... Only to see a certain someone was spamming emoji's of all kinds in angry expressions and fingers being flipped off at me in text. So I did the adult thing and just sent a tongue-out emoji before turning off my phone.

All to make sure I got the final word in.

Our drive came to a close as we reached a large open square that we parked in and I saw a lot of people hovering around a massive obsidian staircase that went up the wall with what looked like a large square at the top of the wall in front of the staircase.

"There is the Well of Soul's Jake. To feed the bodies of a slain being to the Well of Soul's someone has to drag the bleeding corpse up the stairs there and in doing so the blood feeds into the creases of the stairs and when you reach the top, the square at the top has a hole that you throw the corpse into. Which will prevent devils from reincarnating with all their strength and other effects."

Ui Ui happily explained as she opened the door of the car for me.

Taking in the wall... I could feel a disconcerting feeling. Like someone was walking over my own grave. That wall itself was very fucking dangerous and my very soul was telling my brain and body to stay the hell away from it.

"Yeah... I can see what you meant about it being a Transcendental existence." I spoke quietly, not moving away from the car.

As I could see the wall and the tour group like two hundred meters away just fine thank you very much. Going up to the soul-devouring wall with the soul of a dragon devouring existence sounded like tempting too much fate honestly.

And I already took one too many chances in dangerous situations today.

"Jake, are you scared of the wall?" Mei Mei asked calmly as she stood next me while Ui Ui stood on my other side with her hands held demurely in front of herself.

Without a hint of shame I stated. "Yup, eating the soul of that dragon has put me more in touch with my own soul. And I know a predator of bodies and soul and when I see it."

Mei Mei nodded and said with a small smile. "Good, I would been disappointed if you didn't sense its dangers. We, humans, don't even like to use it as we fear it could awaken to akin its own spirit and a Transcendental being awakening around the capital city would be... Very problematic." 

I nodded in agreement before I blinked and raised an eyebrow as from a small shrine seemingly built next or even into the Wall that was a good ways away from the stairs leading up to the Well of Souls.

Came a woman wearing a miko outfit and a large veil that covered up their bodies and was also followed by a half dozen men carrying heavy machine guns that all had wooden bodies that I recognized as PKM-style machine guns.

"Well well, a priestess of the Tamamo No Mae curse." Mei Mei spoke with something akin to caution in her voice before she spoke. "Jake, I suggest we leave. I will explain as soon as we get into the car, but we should leave."

I nodded and without a word hopped into the car with Ui Ui jumping in the drivers seat with Mei Mei actually pushing me in to hurriedly get into the car on the same side I was on.

"What's up with them? What's the rush?" I asked with some concern as I held out my phone in case I needed to call the local Jujutsu branch or something.

Mei Mei sighed and said coldly. "Beyond myself... Let that priestess be a warning to you in making binding contracts. You know those two ladies the Jujutsu Branch threw to you?" 

At my nod Mei Mei continued with a cold tone. "Whereas most men who are overly cursed, just get their souls eaten by curse, devil, spirit or demon. Women have other horror's to behold. The Cult of Tamamo is one of those horrors and a necessary evil Tokyo put's up with to keep the Well of Souls and other powerful things asleep and sealed away."

I took a breath and asked bluntly. "What is that priestess then?" 

Mei Mei remained silent and I looked over at Ui Ui who met my gaze before looking away and not responding until Mei Mei ordered her thoughts and said without inflection. "A Priestess of Tamamo is one of nine... They are all Special Grade and have special abilities of their own, but they all have a shared ability in Charming other's and illusions which is how they keep things in Tokyo and other parts of Asia sealed up."

"The terrible thing is that the priestesses themselves... Don't last long. The power of a shard of a Transcendental being is too much for them and they burn up. So when their lifespan is burned away they transfer them to another woman who is tortured past insanity into a state of hollowness by the Cult. To allow the shard of Tamamo to more easily fit into the host and buy it more time."

I remained silent at that and that itself was some terribly grim dark shit... But I couldn't exactly eat the souls of some fox curse monster. And even then, who knows how many horrors the Cult was actually keeping sealed away and even if I could or did destroy them.

What of the destruction caused by said horrors that were sealed away and woke up without the cult to keep them sealed away?

I just sighed and said tiredly. "Fuck it." I leaned sideways and I landed my head in Mei Mei's soft lap that had a core of steel in the muscles of her legs with her voice coming out in amusement past her large breasts that hung over my head.

"Oh? Is my master so tired, he needs the comfort of his servant's thighs?" Mei Mei teased me.

"It's your fault your thighs are so lap pillow-worthy," I grunted out making Mei Mei snort in amusement with one of her callused but smooth hands coming down to play with my hair while Mei Mei spoke calmly. "I see, Ui Ui. Take us... Take us to that steak restaurant near the Tokyo Jujutsu Campus."

I actually blinked as I hadn't gotten a chance to have steak in... A damned long time. The beef wasn't something that could be farmed that easily after all.

But then my phone loudly buzzed and I groaned as I took it out of my pocket while grumbling. "The hell happen? I turned off my phone."

And as I looked at the message my eyebrow twitched as it was the emergency message system that Toji had installed that would draw power from an emergency battery in my phone to do a variety of things.

A- To track me so if I was kidnapped they could find me seeing as I wasn't the best in a fight. 
B- Get my attention if a Special Grade Sorcerer or another VIP got mortally wounded and needed my care.

Also, apparently. Allow this fucking troll to bully me.

[Hey! You can't ignore me like this! I will have your maids replaced with dudes you know!] She messaged me with angry-faced emoji's following behind quickly.

I sighed and then after a moment of thought I asked flatly. "What's the steak restaurant called again?" 

Mei Mei hummed and said in clear amusement at my suffering. "It's Takeda's Steak House... If your little friend isn't someone special, they won't even be allowed into the restaurant. The only reason I am allowed is because I have a pass I won from a lottery they open every week."

As I messaged her back I was heading to Takeda's Steak House if she wanted to bully me in person I said in despair. "I think that... Satoru Gojo won't have an issue in getting in. She is going to be there to bully me I suppose." 

Mei Mei's stroking hand that was going through my hair paused and there was a moment of silence besides the quiet noise of the car before she said blankly. "Ah... Yes I forgot she would likely want to play with you. As she likes to haze all the new Special Grade existences that enter Tokyo." 

The drive was over all too soon and as soon as I got out of the car at the somewhat hidden steakhouse that was between several buildings near the Tokyo Jujutsu Campus I felt a hand fall on my shoulder and I sagged at seeing Mei Mei still in place and look past me in resignment.

I looked behind me and then I was stopped as my movement grinded to a halt as a grin was aimed at me with a finger aimed at my cheek with Gojo Satoru's Limitless 'Infinity' stalling my neck movement.

"Really?" I said tiredly and she nodded with a shameless grin before she stepped back and held out a hand towards me. 

"Come on! Where is my gift for entering my home!" She asked shamelessly and then she paused as I slapped a pair of hundred yen scissors I got out of the equivalent of a dollar store into her hands.

While Gojo was likewise stunned at my overwhelmingly terrible gift I took in her form and honestly. Damn she was hot.

Long silver hair that went down past her backside and her all-black outfit clung to her rather voluptuous frame. And her infamous gleaming blue Six Eyes were concealed by a black band of cloth that she could still see through partly.