The bishop is unfathomable.

"That's how it is. Reed, Black, what's your opinion?"

Boca, the director of the Beldor Inspectorate, leaned back in his office chair and looked at the deputy director and inspector general Black.

Deputy Director Reed crossed his arms, closed his eyes in thought, and did not choose to speak immediately.

Blake did the same, choosing not to speak immediately, but instead looking down at the documents Boca had just tossed to him, and then he couldn't help but frown.

Seeing that the two did not speak, Boca leaned forward and slammed his hand on the desk.

"I reported to the city council, requesting the lifting of martial law and the immediate evacuation of the people, and the speaker has already replied."

"They actually forbid it!"

"That good-for-nothing bastard, he still doesn't realize how dire the situation is!"

"With the Bureau of Oversight's capabilities, it's simply impossible to locate the positions of the Child of Sand's ritual formations in time!"

"We can deal with the cultists; our fighting strength is more than enough. But as for ritual studies, we can't find it in Beldor's Inspectorate."

"Even if we temporarily intercept and borrow a qualified ritual master from other places, it will still take at least three days to find a suitable candidate and have them come over by steam train."

"But no one knows when those children of the sand will initiate the ritual..."

The burly, arm-length Chief Boca was furious, but he tried his best to control his emotions. He knew the Speaker's concerns.

Felicia.

This witch of the west wind is currently hiding in the city of the Beldor Autonomous Domain.

Clearly, in the eyes of the bigwigs above, the destruction caused by the cultists was not as important as a madman who dared to challenge the authority of the royal family and openly carried out a bombing.

Deputy Director Reed raised his hand to signal Boca to calm down. Reed, who had long served as the director's external brain, began a calm analysis.

"There's nothing we can do now, no matter how urgent it is."

"After all, the Royal Military Police have already entered the city and have even started asking questions door-to-door within the bounds of the law."

"Even though Beldor has the title of an autonomous dominion, it is still imperial territory after all, and the pressure from the royal family cannot be ignored."

"But you don't need to despair. Ritual studies are different from other supernatural paths. Knowledge itself is power, and this process doesn't even require the person using the ritual to be a superhuman."

"In other words...we might be able to ask at the library."

"Lord Barris won't concern himself with these matters, but that administrator might."

Upon hearing this, Boca closed his eyes and thought for a moment before asking, "You mean that unfortunate guy whose appearance was taken by the faceless one?"

“That’s right.” Reed put down the materials and then began to speak eloquently: “Before becoming the administrator, he was a scholar at Miskatonic University, a proper expert in history and folklore.”

"Although he is still young, his mentor is Professor Albert, a renowned master in the field."

"Many of the simple dispersal rituals and protective barriers currently used in the Bureau of Supervision were found by him and his team from ancient ruins and various ancient documents."

"As his student, shouldn't you know at least some relevant knowledge?"

Blake shook his head: "You're being too simplistic. Mr. Levy is really just a scholar of history and folklore, and he doesn't know much about ritual studies."

"When I went to the library to apologize to him that day, Lord Barris mentioned that he had just given the book on basic ritual studies to Livy and told him to study it on his own."

"Let's try another approach."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a knock came at the door, followed by a voice from outside.

"Chief, I've brought the information and maps you requested."

"Come in," Boca said, gesturing for the person outside to enter.

Then, Vera, carrying a thick stack of documents and maps, pushed open the door and walked in. After nervously greeting Reed and Blake, she carefully began to put the things on the table.

The other three continued their conversation.

Boca rubbed his temples and continued, "How about we ask Lord Barris to grant access to the forbidden books? Let our people go through the books on ritual studies; maybe they can find something."

"Forget about it. Borrowing books is no problem, but you need to specify the titles. Lord Barris has always been like this for years." Reed waved his hand. "Don't even think about opening up the restricted library to anyone who wants to read it."

Blake countered, "So, you really think our people can't find the location of the ritual? If we can't find the ritual, we can find someone. We can interrogate them and find out the location, right?"

"You think I haven't thought about it?" Boca glanced at Blake. "Isn't this useless? These guys are incredibly stubborn."

"Moreover, if anyone dares to use soul-related magic to induce them to reveal information, they will explode with a bang, turning into a flesh bomb."

"The power of the bone fragments that flew out was no less than that of some bombs."

"...A ceremony?" Vera muttered unconsciously as she put down the documents and prepared to leave.

Because she remembered the ritual master with the distinctive appearance that she could never forget after seeing him just once.

But she soon realized her mistake.

In this situation, a junior policewoman like herself, who hadn't even been officially promoted yet, should pretend she hadn't heard anything and quickly leave the office.

After all, she was just there to deliver documents.

Even if you overhear something, you should go outside and gossip with your colleagues, not whisper it in front of your three bosses.

Unfortunately, by the time she realized what was happening, it was too late. Boca had already turned to Vera: "Hmm? You understand ritual studies?"

Upon hearing this, Blake couldn't help but retort, "Hey, Vera just graduated and started working here. The school only taught the basic principles of rituals, so she's pretty much the same as the people in the department."

"What we lack now is a proper ritual master, and one with a wealth of knowledge in ritual studies. Otherwise, we won't be able to investigate the anomalies in the entire city in a short period of time."

After saying that, Blake urged Vera, "Alright, let's go now."

"Wait, Inspector General! As for the ritual master... I think I know one."

Vera swallowed hard, and realizing that this might be a good opportunity to get a permanent position, she immediately recounted the little incident that happened that afternoon with Levi and Wag.

After she finished her introduction, Boca and Reid's eyes lit up.

Reed went on to ask, "You mean, that's one of Professor Albert's long-term hired ritualists? He's in town right now? And he knows Mr. Levy?"

"Hmm." Vera nodded, then scratched her cheek with her index finger, adding nervously, "He and Mr. Levi seemed to know each other very well, so they must have a good relationship."

Boca slammed his hand on the table: "Alright! It's settled then! Vera, go talk to Mr. Levi about this. As long as you can get in touch with that ritual master, he can name his price!"

"If you succeed, you'll be promoted to a permanent position immediately, I said it! Not only that, your salary and benefits will be a level higher than those of other inspectors at the same level!"

"Yes, sir!" Vera immediately stood at attention, saluted, and then hurriedly ran out, looking very energetic.

Meanwhile, Blake was recalling the details Vera had given about the ritual master's appearance.

"Bald, big, a ritual master, doesn't look like a good person... Why does he sound so familiar?"

"Could it be that guy Wag?"

"If it really is him..."

"Wait! Something's not right!"

Blake suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, as if he were enveloped in a tremendous sense of horror.

He recalled his guesses from that day.

Could the faceless one really not be dead?