Coupled with the black, viscous liquid-petroleum-that accompanied Arrodes's appearance, this indicated that it came from the Chaos Sea, indirectly proving that the Chaos Sea lay behind the Bronze Gate.
Huh, Arrodes is with Lilith anyway. Why not just ask?
"Lilith, let me borrow Arrodes for a moment."
"Oh."
She turned her hand over and took out the Silver Mirror. "What do you want to ask?"
"Just ask him directly whether the Bronze Gate down below leads to the Chaos Sea."
Lilith stroked the Silver Mirror a few times and asked, "You heard Edward's question. Give him an answer, would you?"
"As you command, Miss Lilith, the greatest, loveliest, and most beautiful lady in the world."
Arrodes sounded like a seasoned bootlicker the moment he spoke. "Actually, I can't be certain whether that place is the Chaos Sea. I can only be sure that it is indeed connected to where I was born, but I don't know the specifics either. I only gained true consciousness after coming to the surface and becoming a mirror. I have practically no memories of anything before that."
"Okay, that's enough."
Edward nodded. "Lilith, I'll try to get back as quickly as possible. Promise me you won't follow me, all right?"
She pouted. "Oh."
"If it were simply a matter of fighting an enemy, I certainly wouldn't turn down your help. But that's the Chaos Sea's corruption. It's not a question of how strong you are. Do you understand?"
"All right, all right, I know."
"I'm off!"
Edward stepped out and arrived in the pitch-black basement of the Ancient Castle. With a light wave of his hand, he conjured dozens of hurricane lanterns, illuminating the entire basement, then looked toward the double Bronze Gate standing silently not far away.
The gate's surface was densely engraved with