"We're already trying to stop the Abyss from erupting, aren't we?" Douglas wasn't the least bit surprised by Gorsa's question.
He swirled the beaker in his hand. The liquid inside turned red for an instant, then quickly became clear again.
Gorsa walked over and took the beaker from Douglas's right hand, then swirled it himself. The liquid in the beaker also turned red for an instant before quickly returning to transparency.
"You're helping weaken the Worm Queen's Consciousness Entity? Giving it a false impression, too?"
"Yes. For a pure Consciousness Entity, this is the simplest and most effective method."
"Unfortunately, no matter how powerful the Worm Queen is, she can't destroy the Abyss directly."
Douglas suddenly set down his own beaker, adjusted his Wizard Robe, and leaned against the Experiment Table. He looked at Gorsa at his leisure. "You know who I am now? How did you figure it out?"
Gorsa was taken aback. He hadn't expected Douglas to be so direct. "I thought you'd keep up the act until you gave us an answer."
Douglas showed no sign of panic at having his disguise exposed. "I only kept it up because I didn't want you to rely on me completely, stop thinking for yourselves, and come to me for answers. I'm just a Tier 5 Wizard with no way to advance. How could I be absolutely certain I could solve a problem involving a Sixth Rank being?"
It sounded as if he were mocking Gorsa for coming straight to him for answers. But Gorsa didn't feel the slightest bit ashamed.
You want to guide us step by step along your own line of thinking, but now you say you don't want us to rely on you completely. Only Shaya would believe such a clumsy lie. The bandages on Gorsa's