(Sincere thanks to 'World's End Ballad', 'Yan Ai Ai', 'Long Lian Qingxue', 'Kong Cheng_Du Zou', 'Le You You', 'Death 9.0', and 'Divine Purification*Demon Slayer' for their rewards!)
Just as Noah had said.
After receiving word that Lamia Scale had arrived, Noah came downstairs with Wendy and met the Ichiya from earlier.
From that moment on, Noah had known there was something wrong with that Ichiya.
The reason was that he had sensed another presence mixed in with Ichiya's aura.
Of course, Noah had not been able to conclude at the time that Ichiya was a fake.
It was only when his exceptional senses detected a concealed stream of magic power connected to Ichiya, continuously supplying magic as though maintaining Ichiya's existence and strength, that Noah understood Ichiya was a fake.
However, Noah had not known that the one impersonating Ichiya was actually a Celestial Spirit. He had thought it was merely a somewhat unusual puppet.
Otherwise, there would have been no need for someone to supply it with magic power to keep it running.
After detecting that hidden connection supplying magic to Ichiya, Noah followed the trail and used his senses to locate an unfamiliar presence hiding within the villa.
By talking to the fake Ichiya, he had wanted, first, to buy time to follow the trail and find the mastermind behind it, and second, to learn a little about Grimoire Heart.
That was why Noah had not rushed out with Erza, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and the others.
Only after confirming exactly which corner of the villa that presence was hiding in did Noah decisively make his move.
After all, rather than questioning a fake, it was more straightforward to question the person controlling the fake.
"Angel of Oracion Seis?"
Noah immediately fixed his gaze on Angel.
"Surrender obediently here,