Time rewound to half a minute earlier.
Just as Witch Sharon had guessed, both the iridescent thread and Exus's warning had been created by Angel with illusion.
Under normal circumstances, Witch Sharon would have noticed something amiss with the thread and the voice. But the special effects of Nightmare Illusion had thrown her five senses into disarray, plunging her into a dazed state. That was why she had overlooked the inconsistencies.
Angel had not done this merely to toy with her. He had been making one final confirmation.
Before this, he had already more or less pinpointed the location of the substitute item. It was most likely on her necklace. But he had only one chance to act, so to avoid any mishap, he had needed to see it with his own eyes.
By warning Witch Sharon to watch her back and deliberately creating a flickering bloody glow, he had ensured that, in her panic, she would choose to dodge away.
And the method and direction of that dodge had both been guided by the bloody illumination Angel had created with illusion.
In other words, Witch Sharon's choice to roll aside, as well as the direction she rolled in, had all been deliberately arranged by Angel.
When Witch Sharon rolled, the necklace around her neck had revealed a corner due to the jostling of her body... Angel had used that chance to spot the miniature carvings of two Human-Faced Pattern stone pillars threaded onto the necklace.
This was the substitute item!
The instant he saw the substitute item, Angel acted.
At the time, Angel had already transformed into a shadow, lying silently across the ground. When Witch Sharon rolled, she stepped on the shadow Ermi had turned into. That was when Angel made his move.
Witch Sharon's necklace was not