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Designed, at most, to house several thousand people at a time in one gigantic complex, Chaldea was furnished with various facilities ranging from training grounds to experimental laboratories and from spas to internal production shops. Not one that is able to rival industries, mind you, but rather to produce small parts and repairs. Of course, even with all its facilities, Chaldea was not intended to be completely cut off from the world for too long.

Still, the warehouses were suitable for at least several months of autonomous existence for all the supposed several thousand employees. After all, given the remoteness of Chaldea, it would be the height of foolishness to call in a helicopter delivery of furniture every time some desk or door broke down in another office for random reasons.

And yet, despite the general, seemingly almost inexhaustible supply of all sorts of activities to be found in Chaldea, somehow or other it was very boring to stay in it.

Or, to be more precise, it was boring for the common man or Servant, unaccustomed to staying in the same confined space for long periods of time and, in fact, without being able to see any new faces around him. If for some instance there existed a human or Servant that enjoys such a thing, then Chaldea would instead be paradise.

And while many humans and Servants were coping in one way or another, some by fighting, some by drinking, and some trying to get to know the Servants around them by generously sharing stories of their lives.

Baal, the demon emperor, was not enthralled by such pastimes.

He played no console games, drank no alcohol, didn't have exciting chats with Servants, and few were willing to have idle chats with him anyway. Nor does he have the time to waste.

After all, from when he first appeared in Chaldea, he was fully occupied by a single objective. Saving his demonic kin.

That is, of course, he was not doing it out of any sense of kindness. Saving the demonic race was more akin to necessity for him. I mean, how could he call himself a demon emperor if there were no demons around to rule over? He viewed himself primarily in terms of ambition, relative to which how great he was could be judged by how effectively he ruled over the other demons. How high a position they held in the world, how strong their armies were, and so on.

So, if there were no more demons, then there would be no point in it, no. In this case, Baal himself therefore aimed to save his entire demon empire.

Even… even if he had to go against Ainz to do so… I mean, of course he did not want to die, but if there was even a tiny chance that his plan would succeed, he had to try. After which, if his plan failed? He would beg for mercy and try his best to appease Ainz, only to later create a new, more perfect plan to betray him and try to set it in motion again.

But in the end, none of that was necessary, Ainz had known of Baal's plan and even decided to show off by talking about it in front of him. To be expected of the great evil that is Ainz, but it was still not that good for his heart! And, while he was steeling himself for a life or death struggle, Ainz simply shrugged, as if the conversation were about something minor, all the while offering Baal a different way to accomplish his goal.

Of course, the implied 'or else' need not be spoken out loud. It was loud and clear for Baal, anyway.

But really? A whole planet for demons? He would be a fool to gainsay Ainz. Still, colonization of an uninhabited planet was a more labor-intensive undertaking than assimilating Earth and enslaving humanity. But again, a choice between death or perhaps a less comfortable completion of his goal, was a no-brainer.

As in, only a person lacking brains would even bother thinking about it. Well, in this case Baal's life was still important enough, not to be discarded so easily, risking the wrath of Ainz with his machinations for no reason.

However, while the resolution of such an important problem for Baal was a purely positive development, it also meant that Baal's primary occupation in Chaldea, the careful creation of plans to achieve his goal, was also no longer necessary. Which, in turn, meant that Baal was beginning to get bored.

This problem was in turn solved by Medea. At least her reactions and desire to create a plan against Baal himself, so similar to his own thoughts and reactions, were amusing in themselves. But, as one would expect from a resident of this dull world, hero or no hero, they also bored Baal rather quickly.

So he had to invent new ways of entertaining himself, unless he wanted to find himself one day drinking cheap beer in the company of, he dreaded to think, Servants.

One of the distractions he found, hmm… In a way he could even thank Ainz for it, otherwise Da Vinci would not have agreed to any decent dialogue with him. But what had happened to her to make her come to him? Baal was not aware of the specifics, but something had clearly shifted her paradigm, broadening her perception of the horizon, including her willingness to heed the words of the demon emperor.

Which was why, at the current moment, Baal was, um… He'd like to say that he was 'enjoying' his hostess' hospitality in her lab, he wasn't. Even if she had cleaned out her workspace, transforming it from cluttered chaos into something that could be perceived as a private office for some time, it didn't make the tea served any better or the cookies any tastier.

Although, hmm, okay, the cookies were tasty enough on their own, Baal even made a small note to invite Archer as his personal chef in the future. If not his fighting abilities, at least his culinary talent deserved recognition.

In any case, a conversation with Da Vinci, someone who was at least intelligent enough to maintain a minimal dialogue, was preferable to complete inactivity in anticipation of other means of entertainment that might come up by chance to Baal. So, taking a small bite from a cookie, he looked at Da Vinci carefully, and began their 'conversation'. "So what exactly did you want me to tell you today, my dear?"

At his question, Da Vinci, whose hands flickered over the tape lying on the table, paused for a moment before raising her gaze to Baal,- "Everything."

"That's… quite the broad subject, isn't it?" Baal smiled a half-smile, sensing no particular emotion from Da Vinci's words. "I can tell you both how my day went, and the identity of my parents, at least according to those who knew them in the past. But I don't think that's what…"

"That would also do," Da Vinci shook her head vaguely, cutting Baal off. "But still… I am more interested in the history of Yggdrasil."

"Hmm?" Baal raised one eyebrow, "I think I've already told you about that…?"

"Yes, about the Creators, the World Eater, their battle, the Creators' revenge, and how it all ended in the death of the World Eater." Da Vinci paused, then looked at Baal carefully, before continuing. "I need all the information about what came after that."

"'All' the information, hmm?" Baal thought for a moment on how he should handle this, before answering. "There's a great deal of information about what happened after that, the history of Yggdrasil is vast indeed. I could tell you about the fall of the Eternal Empire, about the crisis that that dreck Cainabel caused. Though it was a small crisis compared to others, it was still an event that affected all Nine Worlds in one way or another, at least she likes to say it is, though my opinion differs. Then there's about the internal wars of the Higher Beings, about the creation of great Guilds, like the Triple Alliance, the discovery of World-Class Items…"

At the mention of the last item, Da Vinci suddenly perked up for a second. "World-Class Items?"

"Perfect artifacts, each one embodying an entire world," Baal said calmly, "As far as I know, Ainz Ooal Gown possesses at least a few of them… More than any other of Yggdrasil ever did, in fact."

Da Vinci, hearing this information, pondered for a moment, then exhaled, clearly coming to terms with the fact that she needed more basic information than the one she was clearly interested in, before shaking her head,- "No… From Cainabel I've heard that…"

Baal grimaced, what is it that Cainabel could have said in her stupidity?

"That the World Eater was destroyed, and it ended in a cataclysm." Da Vinci thought for a moment before she nodded slowly. "I need information about the World Enemies and the events in which they were involved in."

Baal felt a sudden urge to find Cainabel and kick her in the head for revealing such information, but outwardly neither his posture nor his voice, mannerisms, or expression changed. So, he only calmly took another bite from the cookie. "Hmm, so… Well, in that case, I guess, hmm… I can satisfy your curiosity, and I won't even take anything in return!"

After that, Baal smiled an insincere smile,- "Astonishing, isn't it? A demon agrees to grant the favor for free, no need even to draw pentagrams and mutter ancient spells! Hmm, if all demonology were so simple…"

Da Vinci, even though she'd agreed to dialog with Baal, didn't let him sidetrack her topic to demonology, which also interested her greatly but not now, by focusing on the question. "So, regarding the World Enemies…"

"The World Enemies…" Baal pondered for a moment where he should begin his answer, before he came to the most definite answer. " To put it simply, they are strong."

"How strong?" Da Vinci glanced intently at Baal, waiting for an answer, to which he was suddenly staying silent for a few dozen seconds, clearly pondering exactly how he should answer before sighing and shaking his head. "So strong that I cannot find a more appropriate word than 'too' strong."

In Yggdrasil, a creature's perception of power depended on its own level of strength. The weakest, say, simple peasants or goblins, were able to differentiate their own strength level by simple metrics. For example, if a peasant picked up a sword and wore armor, he would be stronger than a peasant without armor or weapons. If one peasant can lift fifty kilograms of weight and the other sixty, they will conclude that one is stronger than the other.

However, the larger the magnitudes we are talking about, the more difficult it is to determine the difference between them. Not from the perspective of the numbers, but from the perspective of the observer.

After all, it's not like that the higher-tier demons had any numerical indicators like their 'physical strength' and 'mana volume'. So, their comparison would sound like 'one of them can destroy all life in the world' and the other 'can destroy all the continents at once'. How do you even compare their strength at that point?

Simple. By comparing on whom they can take on of course.

This trend was apparent with everyone. A peasant 'knew' that the Empire's battle mage was a terrifying power, the Empire's battle mage sees the high dragon as a cataclysmic danger, and the high dragons fled in fear from someone like Baal, the demon emperor.

This chain did not end with Baal. He was powerful indeed… for his level at least. But the problem of trying to determine a 'power level' with Yggdrasil was that the levels of power did not stop at relatively certain values, like 'capable of destroying the world'. Even Baal himself was capable of doing so, albeit with difficulty. And on and on it went. Above Baal, on a qualitatively different level, were the Higher Beings. And among them were the World Champions, equal in power to, um… What was the term? Ah yes, Bosses.

The Bosses and World Champions were inferior in strength by an order of magnitude to the Realm Lords. And the Realm Lords themselves were, in the end, no more than fodder for the World Enemies.

"There were thirty-four in total," Baal sighed, wading out of his thoughts, reminiscing on those absolute existences, which Da Vinci was careful not to destroy. "The World Eater, Eight Primordial Dragons, Twelve Virtues, Seven Sins, Five Rainbow Buddhas, and the Lord of the Six Heavens. That makes thirty-four." Baal finished his recounting by taking a sip of the subpar tea.

"And, in powers, they are all similar, except for one, the World Eater. The first and true World Enemy," Baal grinned, "Though, how strong? Well, he was a being who had devoured the Root, an infinite number of worlds and the Creators, so perhaps the 'strongest' was not a hyperbole." Baal grinned.

"Still, no need to talk about the World Eater much. I assume that you know about the story?" And then, waiting for a confident nod, Baal sighed. At least he would not have to tell the whole story first, before thinking for a moment, on where to continue. "In that case, I think you also know about the cataclysm that happened after and because of his death…?"

At his question, Da Vinci only crossed her arms in front of her. "I would like to know more about that actually…"

Baal, at Da Vinci's request, thought for a moment, and then nodded slowly. "Hmm, to be honest, it's not really my area of expertise, but to put it simply… Ah, right, I thought of an example. Time in this world is linear, there are things that have already happened and are known as fact, things that are happening at this moment and can be changed, and things that may or may not happen. The movement of time goes from the past to the future, and space exists, for every object there is a certain coordinate that places it on the time stream, because it is a given…"

After these words, Baal took a sip of tea, grimacing at the cheap taste, and continued speaking. "But the World Eater, the true World Enemy, he had devoured the Root, and in doing so also devoured space or time. When he existed, by his very existence, he kept these things working, creating a living linear time, certain space, and separated worlds. But his death… a cataclysm." Hmm, nothing like having a captive audience. Too bad he can't use his Noble Phantasm at this moment.

"Oh no, I'm not saying he shouldn't have been killed! If not for his death, he would have destroyed everything in this world and, at the very least, I definitely wouldn't exist." Baal smiled slightly as he took a bite from a cookie, watching Da Vinci's hands literally flicker over her notebook, writing down hundreds of new details, as if free from Da Vinci's own control, before continuing.

"The death of a being who embodies, literally, everything, including all the world's laws, is a very catastrophic event as you can imagine. And, unfortunately, although Root, the Heart of the World Eater, had been restored, the terrible damage had already been done, and it was impossible to restore certain… World constants. Factually speaking, time is no longer linear." Baal simply shrugged at such a ridiculous claim.

"Space, time, worlds… the things that are 'defined' in this world, were not so in Yggdrasil. Rather, one could say that everything existed in superposition, where all events, time and space, are simultaneously true and false."

"The death of the World Eater himself is defined as a kind of starting point, an anchor, so to speak, around which everything else is built." Baal sighed. "But everything else? Like, who killed the World Eater, really? When? Where? Under what circumstances? To these questions there is no unequivocal answer, because all answers are true in one way or another."

"What an existence…" Da Vinci was shocked speechless for a second. "It was, like… the Primordial chaos. All concepts are simultaneously true and false."

"Approximately so." Baal smiled, feeling nothing from his simple narration, only a slight feeling of incomprehension at Da Vinci. Even he, a very powerful inhabitant of his world, had little knowledge of how exactly this worked in practice.

"But, hmm… Anyway, some world constants were damaged, even I, retain at least knowledge that there were countless copies of me. The vast majority of them were destroyed by Ainz Ooal Gown, in fact. The others existed almost indefinitely, some died by my successor's 'machinations', while some were killed by the others. Hmm, I can't say that there are many versions of me that have lived happy lives. Though I think several versions of me that were able to find contact with the other Higher Beings, eventually renounced the throne quite peacefully and withdrew into voluntary exile. Which, in my situation, might be considered a happy ending… But I got distracted."

Baal paused, taking a sip of tea, before he sighed. "World constants like time and place… Some of them were damaged forever, but some of them were restored, and therefore I can state about some events with certainty nevertheless. At least about the fact that after the destruction of World Eater, the Root was actually impossible to clear completely from its influence. The only possibility to clear it and restore all world constants to one definite form was to destroy it forever, but…" Baal shrugged.

"I see." Da Vinci merely nodded.

The death of the Root meant the death of everything, plain and simple.

"So the Root, what was left of the Root that could not be repaired, was intermixed with the World Eater and became the Heart." Baal suddenly realized that the thought of the great artifact made him want to lick his lips. No, unlike many of his fellows, he did not react to the word 'heart', for he was not a fan of eating the body parts of sentient beings. But the very thought of such an artifact fueled his desire. "'The Heart of Yggdrasil'. One might even say that it was Yggdrasil itself."

"Factually speaking, it was an artifact of infinite power, but…" Baal breathed slowly and exhaled. "Its use was forbidden. On the one hand I am disappointed that an artifact of infinite power, the Heart, was lost to all who longed for that power. But at the same time, I would still say that sealing it without the possibility of taking it back was the best decision that could be made in those conditions… Though, doing so had disastrous consequences."

"An artifact of infinite power, you can't just throw it away in the middle of the forest and hope no one will ever find it." Baal grimaced. "It was sealed, apparently forever, and the twelve greatest angels were supposed to watch over it. The Twelve Virtues."

"The Twelve Virtues?" Da Vinci caught on to what he was saying, "You've listed them as the World's Enemies…"

"Yes",- Baal nodded and smiled. "Like I said, never trust angels. The Twelve Virtues, the twelve greatest angels of Yggdrasil, were summoned as the strongest guardians of the Heart. They were incorruptible, powerful, the greatest of their kind, and… they failed. Catastrophically so."

"The Heart is an artifact of infinite power, everyone wishes to use it, one way or another." Baal smiled. "I suppose, in this world where Servants fight for the Grail, an infinitesimal part of the infinitesimal counterfeit of the Heart, I need not explain that even the most honest and incorruptible will one day find reason to be corrupted."

"The Heart did not possess a mind of its own, but it was something that was once part of the World Eater." Baal shook his head. "And the World Eater was once a being that 'defined' good and evil. He was strong, he was clever, but above all, he was without doubt that he was righteous. The Heart possessed only an echo of his personality, but that was enough for the greatest angels to be corrupted, and simply became puppets under his influence. And, in the end, they broke their oaths and broke the seals themselves in order to use Heart. Maybe they wanted to use it for good? As they saw it, at least. But, the Heart is an artifact that cannot be used for good. Not because it is evil in and of itself, but only because it is too powerful. An artifact whose mere presence distorts reality, time, and space, it cannot be controlled or used. It is not evil in itself, it is just, all-powerful."

"I'll say it again," Baal smiled, "Don't trust angels."

"And in the end, too much power applied to too little a world turned the Twelve Virtues into World Enemies, and they were destroyed." Baal sighed, reminiscing on his kind greatest enemy's fall. "And the Heart was sealed again, outside all the worlds, so that no one could ever use its power again…"

"But…" Baal shrugged. "As to be expected, perhaps, the death of such existences and the appearance of the Heart in the world would lead to another cataclysm again."

"The Twelve Virtues were angels, but they also represent virtues, direct goodness." Baal grinned at the angels' failure once again. "The very spawn of light. And if you destroy, in fact, the light itself, the very good, the twelve virtues, the balance will be broken. The twelve virtues, destroyed, meant that the balance of power was no longer balanced. And where the light lost, the darkness took. If the greatest spawn of good disappeared? Well, it was only logical that evil responded with its own…"

Suddenly, Baal was deep in thought for a moment. "Though, hmm… Regarding the Twelve and their destruction? Never mind, these are just minor distractions."

Baal shook his head, and went on speaking as if nothing had happened. "The Twelve Virtues were occupying a niche, and the niche was now vacant. So the Seven Sins were then born." Baal shrugged. After all, if the light had been destroyed, where could men turn but to the darkness?

"The Seven Sins were born through the death of the Twelve, having received no power from the Heart, but unlike the Twelve, they possessed a different power instead. The Twelve existed in a world where light and darkness were in balance, and therefore their death was possible. But the Seven had appeared in a world where there was no light. It was impossible to kill them because there was no opposing element. If all humans, stripped of their Virtues, were plunged into darkness, the Seven could be reborn again and again after their death." Baal nodded slowly. "My distant ancestor… in the sense of my title, not my actual ancestor, the First Demon Emperor, Lucifer, was one of the Seven."

"The Seven could not be destroyed, and so the Heart, which was supposed to be sealed forever, was used by the Higher Beings to achieve victory." Baal smiled. "First, the Heart was used to create the Virtues again. Not in the form of angels, though that would make for quite the spectacle, but in the form of the concept itself. And so with balance restored, the Seven were defeated then sealed within the Heart, destroying light and darkness, sealing them forever in the Heart and solving the problem forever…"

"But…" Da Vinci, realizing what the story was leading to, nodded.

"But if you destroy, in fact, all the Virtue and Sins all at once, what's left?" Baal gave a little chuckle. "If people are rid of sin, each of them is holy, if rid of virtue, each of them is sinful, but if they are rid of both? Well, that's how the Five Buddhas came into being, free from all evil and from all good… I think you could say in your terms that they…"

"Have reached Nirvana." Da Vinci added slowly.

"I suppose so," Baal sighed. "They became a new barrier, another calamity that cannot be destroyed. And so, once again the Heart was used, and the World Enemy was sealed. But it was simply a vicious cycle. Yes, perhaps it could continue on forever, the World Enemies were eventually to be destroyed by the Heart, but each new appearance of the Heart led only to new and new cataclysms, generating new World Enemies. This time was no exception."

"Judging by the number of devastating crises, Yggdrasil was not a very peaceful place, isn't it?" Da Vinci shook her head. "Was there a new adversary?"

"Yes, the Lord of the Six Heavens." Baal sighed, "The Five Buddhas, sealed for good, represented not light or darkness, but the origin, the power of all beings, the combined strength of existence. And so, when the world was deprived of that as well, the end of all was inevitable. And the Lord of the Six Heavens was that end. The Heart… the Heart was an artifact of infinite power, and it was worth realizing that even the world in which it was located was changed by its power. And if good and evil and the power of all things were destroyed, at the end there would be nothing but a void. Something which also fell under the sway of the Heart."

"So the next World Enemies were…" Da Vinci thought for a moment. "Emptiness?"

"In the original sense, yes." Baal smiled. "But it was emptiness in the sense of 'non-existence,' not as lack of something material, as 'emptiness as unoccupied space'. The World Enemies had crept into the world through a hundred of its followers, now exhausted and devoid of good and evil. Gods, humans, demons, all of them eventually under its sway, creating it, an avatar of everything. The gods were the only ones who still possessed power in the empty world of Yggdrasil, but they were nothing compared to it and in the end became a part of the amalgam, creating the final World Enemy. The one who was to finally end the cycle of destruction, the one who was to complete the will of the World Eater after so long after its death. Though perhaps it was a short time instead, for time is not linear… As previously, has already been mentioned."

"It, too, could eventually be sealed in the Heart, but what was the point in doing so if, in effect, the world would be permanently destroyed?" Baal asked rhetorically, "It was a pathetic remnant of existence, merged with a warped non-existence. From its point of view, it was probably even righteous in a sense, for it was a last desperate attempt of everything to fight against the Higher Beings, who were destroying all existence, light, darkness, and even power. In the end, it led to a stalemate, either the Higher Beings would lose and be destroyed, or they would have destroyed all that exists, what's left anyway, for the sake of victory…"

"But," Baal smiled, "They found another way."

"Instead of sealing the only remaining living part of the world, they connected it to the Heart instead. A crazy idea… which worked in the end."

"Evil, good and the primordial spark, instead of sealing all existence inside, they bound that creature to what was inside the Heart, bringing the Heart back into the world." Baal hummed under his breath, "And it worked… The insane world met its insane end, and the Heart was permanently bound to Yggdrasil again. I suppose you could even call it a happy ending to the story."

After the long story, Baal finally exhaled slowly, and then drained his mug of tea in a gulp.

Da Vinci froze for a second.

Does she have questions? Ha! That was an understatement.

"The Heart…" Da Vinci asked the first question she had. "It was connected to the world, but… It wasn't destroyed? It didn't dissolve, it didn't cease to exist, it just happened to be connected, didn't it?"

"As far as I know, yes",- Baal smiled.

"In that case…" Da Vinci asked her ultimate question. A question to which none of the others meant anything if it was not answered. "Where is it now?"

"The answer to that question…" Baal grimaced as if he had a toothache, unwilling to admit weakness. "I'm afraid I don't know…"

Da Vinci wanted to ask another question, but before she could, the door to her workshop opened with a crash. In fact the door actually crashed into the wall, before Da Vinci could see the white hair, and then its owner, on the threshold, the voice reached her first. "Baal!"

"Cainabel," He answered her calmly, knowing at a glance exactly why his 'friend' had come here, "What a surprise…"

Most likely, she has just 'found' his secret terrible plan to gain control over Medea, in order to then exert control over everyone else… A plan which did not exist.

As said before, Baal had achieved his main goal, the preservation of his demonic empire, and therefore was very bored… And one of his main amusements was to mock Cainabel. All because Cainabel irritated him, and it was interesting to see her go crazy with his non-existent plans, constantly terrified that Baal was about to overtake her in the game of 'who will be the right hand of Ainz'. In this case, adding some oil to her fire of paranoia, tracing her thinking and creating conditions in which she would reach the conclusions he needed was too easy.

However, this was actually quite inconvenient.

"BAAL!" Cainabel grasped his shirt with the gorilla-like strength she has, yanking him from his chair.

Unfortunately, his plan of entertainment worked in such a way as to interfere with his other amusement, a conversation with Da Vinci.

Baal's cunning plan had unexpectedly presented him with unintended consequences, hmm.

For a second, Baal even wanted to ask Ainz if he had ever encountered such problems. How he dealt when his secret plans backfired, before shrugging his shoulders and answering that question for Ainz, himself.

Of course, such a thing never happened. After all, it was Ainz.

Noble Phantasm: A Contract For Your Soul ~ An Offer You Cannot Refuse

Possessor: Baal

Classification: Anti-Soul

Range: 0-99

Rank: E ~ EX

The second of Baal's three Noble Phantasm, created from the classic idea of demons contracting people's souls in exchange for performing a service, and ending up screwing the other party through shenanigans or word games. In fact, this Noble Phantasm in essence functions in a similar way to a contract.

The Noble Phantasm itself is a spear, which originally was always in the form of a cane, with Baal himself transforming into the form of a spear after saying the name of the Noble Phantasm. As a combat weapon this Noble Phantasm does not provide any special abilities and is nothing but a simple spear.

When this Noble Phantasm is activated, however, Baal is able to make a 'soul contract' with his target. Or, more specifically, the spear's ability itself consists in the ability to seal the target's soul within his spear in a single hit, subsequently giving Baal himself full control over the sealed creature.

However, the power of this Noble Phantasm is highly variable from case to case, since, like any contract, Baal's Noble Phantasm relies on careful drafting and considerable precision to make a contract. Something which translates into Baal's need to know exactly all possible information about his target. Any information in this case is appropriate, appearance, age, name, class, favorite food, first love, but unique information unique to only one particular target, or that which is known to as few people as possible, is more valuable.

After receiving all the necessary information, Baal's attack must reach the target and spill at least one drop of blood, according to the idea of signing a contract with the Devil for a soul with blood. Then, and only then, will the contract be considered concluded and the target's soul sealed in the spear.

This Noble Phantasm is only capable of unleashing its full power when combined with 'Speak of the Devil', obliging the target to keep talking, and thus giving more chances to reveal any information about himself.

However, even such a powerful ability also has a number of serious limitations:

1) The Soul Contract will only work if the target possesses a soul, or its other equivalent, like the pseudo-soul of Demon Kings and other familiars, and will not work on, for example, a robot or magic doll controlled from afar.

2) The contract will only be made after the target's blood has been shed, so a target without blood is automatically invulnerable to such a contract. Although blood-substitutes fluids, such as machine oil for Babbage, are a valid equivalent.

3) Due to stories of how humans have managed to fool demons and outplay them in their own field, this Noble Phantasm will not work against a target if the information gathered is insufficient to absorb the target's soul. Either due to the target's excessive strength, their high Luck parameter, or false information used by Baal in preparing the contract could result in failure. It also cannot be used repeatedly against the same target, so Baal should only use this Noble Phantasm when fully confident of his strength and the information gathered.

4) The contract cannot be made with a creature significantly stronger than Baal. Although creatures somewhat stronger than him, such as Cainabel, are still suitable targets, but creatures superior by an order of magnitude, such as Angrboda or Ainz, will not be susceptible to this Noble Phantasm.