Axel and Gizmo were taking their time while Lilith simply observed them. As Gizmo said, Lilith was famous throughout the Universe for the carnage that she had caused.
[Axel, she had been missing for more than 50 years and there were even talks of her untimely demise. But it looks like someone has sealed her in a remote place.]
[Although she is sealed, she could still very easily end you. Looking at the circumstances, it seems like Silas knew about Lilith and has sent you to your death. But I don't think Silas would go to such lengths just to have you killed. He could have easily arranged your death in the mansion itself. So why go through all this trouble for simply eliminating a cripple?]
[I have analyzed the contract. It states that you have to visit this place once you become a level 5 Elementalist and perform a ritual to free Lilith, in return Lilith would transfer a skill of her own onto you,] said Gizmo.
Axel was really surprised by Gizmo's words. He was too preoccupied with getting out alive that he didn't want to focus on Silas's issue at the moment, but what Gizmo said made a lot of sense.
What was even more surprising was that Lilith had given him a fair-looking contract that even looked appealing to him. Axel knew he truly did not have a choice in the matter, so he was considering getting out of the sticky situation quickly.
'Gizmo, you said she would transfer a skill onto me. What's that about?' asked Axel.
[Well, the thing with skills is very tricky. In most situations, anything to do with skills is really difficult, but higher lifeforms like Lilith might be able to transfer a Skill onto someone if they wished.]
[Well, the situation is very tricky for even the Higher Lifeforms. As a Skill is related to an enlightenment, Lilith will basically transfer that enlightenment itself onto you. But the problem is that if that enlightenment had led to her having developed other powers, she might lose it all.]
[For example, in a big town, let's say there are many tall buildings. Now, take any one building with 20 floors in it. Now, if you remove the ground floor from this building, what would happen? The whole building comes down, right? The same is the scenario here. Skills are tricky. They cannot be taught, but at a certain level, can be transferred, but there is a price to pay,] explained Gizmo.
'Gizmo, considering all that you said, I don't think it would be entirely wrong for us to accept her proposal. Although it does not look like we had a choice from the start, but still, the situation does not look that grim,' said Axel while still uncomfortable with being stared at by the Demoness.
[You would have been right, if this deal was being offered to us by anyone other than a demon. They are cunning and tricky to deal with, and I don't think...] Gizmo was explaining something when he suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Axel thought maybe it was Lilith's doing, but after a short period, Axel could again hear Gizmo's voice.[Axel, tell Lilith that you would accept the deal but want to have a closer look at the soul contract. Just trust me and do that. I will explain everything later.]
Axel could feel the tension palpating as Lilith's eyes were constantly on him, so he simply chose to put his faith in Gizmo like he had done in the past."Oh, the mighty being, I would like to accept the Soul Contract but only if you could allow me to have a closer look," said Axel with a small and respectful bow.
Lilith spoke nothing and merely lowered the blood-red soul contract just above Axel's head. The truth that Axel and Gizmo didn't know about Lilith's special condition was truly scary.
Lilith had been caught in this sealing formation for more than half a century now. The formation in itself was very strong, and in normal circumstances, it would not have been possible for Lilith to exert her will over Axel to this extent.
But Lilith had been gathering elemental energy for a long time to break free from this formation, and she was sure that within another century she would gain enough to break free from this formation.
But today, Lilith had sensed something that truly piqued her interest, and now she was adamant to have Axel as her chess piece in the grand game that was going on in the universe.
For that, Lilith was forced to use her collected reserve, in order to have what she wanted. Indeed, Gizmo was right in speculating foul play in the Soul contract itself, but the intricacies of this contract were out of even Gizmo's league.
Gizmo could not figure out the true essence of the Soul contract that they were presented with, as it was essentially a slave contract wherein Axel would have to, not only serve Lilith for eternity but even his thinking would be slowly changed to best serve Lilith's interests.
That's how powerful and nefarious the Soul contract drafted by Lilith was. Axel and Gizmo had truly underestimated Lilith. Axel was right in speculating that maybe death was better than having to face Lilith.
Even now, Lilith was pressed for time but still wanted to ensure that everything went down smoothly. That is how enticing the prospect of having Axel for her own was to Lilith. It might seem quite obnoxious to a third person, for a higher life form to go to such lengths and plotting to this extent for a Non-Elementalist, but Lilith had sensed something that they didn't know.
Axel carefully looked at the Contract in front of him but still couldn't figure out what Gizmo wanted to accomplish. [Axel, you need to loosen the control over your core,] said Gizmo.
Axel did what Gizmo asked without any questions. Suddenly, the elemental energy started pouring out of Axel's body, and the texts on the Soul contract started changing. After a while, the letters stopped moving, and the contract floated away from Axel.
The huge circular arrangement of blood-red text hovering in the air now occupied the middle ground.