Things about the female knight in black stockings

"These stockings have also been washed, but it's impossible that the victim did it... because the victim's lover said that the victim was wearing a new pair of stockings that night, the very same garter stockings they originally planned to use to enhance their date!"

There's no mistake! For some reason, the murderer would personally remove the victim's stockings, wash them, dry them, and then put them back on before each crime!

"Perhaps... the murderer was trying to wash away the bloodstains?"

Ereshkigal had by this point accepted the new clue Valensa had discovered and was proceeding with the deduction:

"After all, each time only the victim's legs were left behind. Although it is still unclear how the killer severed the victim's legs, no matter how the legs were cut off, the stockings on the legs would inevitably be stained with blood. Since the killer had a particular fondness for the victims' stockinged legs, perhaps he didn't want these stockings to be stained with blood, so he washed them?"

"Hmm...it's possible, but I think it's unlikely."

Valensa hesitated for a moment:

"It is not hard to see from the fact that the murderer specifically targeted young, beautiful victims who wore short skirts and stockings that his motive was most likely to satisfy his physiological needs."

For perverts with such fetishes and physiological needs, taking off stockings would be something they would try their best to avoid when committing a crime.

If the only concern is avoiding bloodstains on stockings, there are other methods available; there's no need to specifically take off the bloodstained stockings, wash them, and then put them back on.

"...Hmph, pervert. Stockings are just like clothes, just a layer of cloth. I really don't understand why some perverts like them so much."

Ai Lei made a sarcastic remark, then asked with a grin:

"So... Valencia, who knows a lot about stockings and loves them, why do you think the murderer washed the stockings?"

"...He had no choice but to do it."

Valensa ignored Ellie's sarcastic remarks, thought about it seriously, and guessed:

"The perpetrator likely required the victim to wear stockings to feel satisfied and fulfilled during some act, and this act would not damage the stockings, but it would soil them."

Chapters 97-99 Valensa's Deduction

"Valenza, are you saying that you suspect the murderer needed the victim to be wearing stockings to achieve physical or emotional satisfaction when he assaulted or harmed her?"

Ai Lei pondered for a moment and said:

"Given the killer's choice of targets, this should have been beyond doubt. However, we examined the legs of all the victims and found no signs of violence or any traces of the killer's actions... This is clearly abnormal."

Valencia, you also like stockings. If you were the murderer, when you were seeking physical and emotional satisfaction from your victim, would you refrain from touching their legs?

"That's definitely not the case... In fact, the victim's legs should be the focus of attention."

Valensa also frowned:

"But the fact is that the victim's legs were not violated or injured in any way, and even the stockings on her legs were not damaged... This is indeed very strange for a perverted killer who targets girls in stockings and short skirts, unless..."

"Unless what?"

Ai Lei pressed for an answer.

"Unless that pervert is even more bizarre than we imagine, but that's very unlikely. Because a beautiful woman's legs are one of the main goals for humans to satisfy their physical needs, which is determined by the instincts in our human life factors."

Valensa thought for a moment and said:

"It's highly abnormal that such a deranged serial killer committed over 200 crimes in nine years, yet never harmed or violated his victims' legs."

"...So, Valencia, what exactly are you thinking about?"

Ereshkigal finally couldn't hold back any longer:

"Can you just say it?"

"A guess, a guess about the killer's identity, just a guess."

Valensa hesitated for a moment before saying:

"I suspect that the murderer is not human, or rather, not of pure human blood. He obtains physical satisfaction in a different way than normal humans, which is why he can clearly like legs but not violate or harm them in any way."

It's like... it's like some men who can't have normal sexual relations with women, but can still get aroused by looking at pictures of beautiful women. The murderer might only be using the victim's legs for amusement; he might be achieving physical satisfaction in other ways.

"This... seems to make some sense."

Aileen's eyes gradually brightened:

"For nine years, we've only found the victim's legs; we've never found any other parts of the victim's body. I always thought it was just the killer's perverted hobby and morbid pleasure, but now that you've said this, Valencia... perhaps the killer did this to cover up his secrets, which is why he made the other parts of the victim's body disappear forever?"

"Very likely...and I can probably guess why the killer would personally wash the victims' stockings and then wear them back."

Valensa's mind raced along this line of thought, and she continued to speculate:

"The murderer is likely to be a germaphobe, or rather, he would treat the victim's legs like works of art, not tolerating any dirt left behind—not his own dirt, and not the victim's either."

So what if the victim didn't die when the killer obtained physical or emotional satisfaction from her? In that bizarre and dangerous situation, most women would be terrified, right? And it's normal for people to lose control of their bladder when they're in extreme fear... Even beautiful young girls need to defecate and urinate.

Of course, it's unlikely that the murderer would personally clean up the victim's excrement, so I'm more inclined to believe another possibility.

"What's possible?"

Ai Lei quickly asked.

"When the murderer is satisfied with his own physical and mental well-being, he can also bring great pleasure to the victim because of his inhuman bloodline talent."

As Valensa spoke, she touched her neck and then crossed her legs:

"For example, when vampires drink blood, they can give the person being drunk extreme pleasure, a pleasure that is even greater than that of real intercourse. No matter how strong a person's will is, it is difficult for their body not to react... This is why the murderer washed the victim's stockings afterward."

When I was in France, I did this with a vampire sister in the church. Every time we finished, we had to change into new underwear and stockings, without exception.

"So, Valencia, you suspect the murderer is a vampire?"

Eresh's brows furrowed immediately:

"But all the vampires currently existing in the world are faithful followers of Her Majesty the Goddess, and also our brothers and sisters..."

"No, I was just using the vampires' abilities as an example. In fact, there are quite a few races among the monsters that can do similar things, aren't there?"

Valensa thought for a moment and said:

"For example, succubi, dream demons, illusion butterflies, and various other dark creatures..."

"But……"

Aileen's expression suddenly became very strange:

"Valensha, the dark races you mentioned almost all worshipped Her Majesty the Goddess many years ago and became our good sisters..."

Oh, there are quite a few wild succubi like the ones from the abyss. Back then, the Church only cleared out those succubi that had stayed on the continent for a long time. If there are any new ones from the abyss, they will most likely still retain normal succubus characteristics.

But shouldn't normal succubi prey on men? This has nothing to do with XP. Unless a succubus has been transformed by the goddess's divine power, a succubus that doesn't prey on men will go hungry, just like a human who doesn't eat.

As for native dark creatures like the Nightmare Demon and the Illusionary Desire Butterfly... if you, Valensa, have ever been to the Divine Continent, you'll find their tribes everywhere. After worshipping Her Majesty the Goddess, they long ago abandoned their undesirable lifestyle traits and became pure and lovely, just like the vast majority of vampire sisters in the church never drink blood.

I really find it hard to believe that sisters like these could be that bastard, deranged serial killer.

"..."

Valensa was speechless and even couldn't help but mentally rant.

This Sun Goddess... seems to really enjoy letting the licentious and wicked dark races fall into depravity, doesn't she? She's almost wiped out the dark races on Eve?

However, Valensa quickly realized that she, as a half-demon, was most likely also a target of the Sun Goddess's corruption... and it was even very likely that the Sun Goddess favored her so much because of this.

"Yes, the brothers and sisters in the church would never do such a thing."

After mentally ranting a few times about her goddess, Valensa first acknowledged Ellie's assessment, then thoughtfully remarked:

"But not all similar dark creatures worship Her Majesty the Goddess, do they?"

"That's true."

Irene didn't deny Valensa's statement, but after quickly reviewing in her mind Valensa's process from discovering the clues to reaching her conclusion, her expression couldn't help but become a little strange:

"So, Valencia, you deduced from the discovery that the victim's stockings had been washed that the killer was most likely not of pure human blood?"

"It's not just this one clue. Actually, when I was looking at the investigation records and case materials that you gave me before, I had some vague guesses."

Valensa gently shook her head, resting her chin on her thumb and forefinger, and said:

"Almost every victim disappeared mysteriously without leaving a trace. For example, the rich young lady who wanted to go on a date with her lover but never made it into the villa. She certainly had magical items on her for self-defense and survival, but they were useless... Oh, right."

Valensa suddenly remembered something else as she spoke, and looked at Ellie:

"When I was in Fran, Ms. Diana told me that you and the Chamber of Commerce's law enforcement team once used yourselves as bait to lure the murderer, but you failed? The murderer didn't show up on your side, but wiped out the entire law enforcement team?"

“…That’s what happened.”

Ai Lei's expression immediately turned very ugly, and she remained silent for a few seconds before answering.

"Uh……"

Valensa knew it wasn't a good idea to pick on someone else's wounds, but to confirm her suspicions, she still asked again, forcing herself to be cautious:

"Could you tell me about what happened back then, Sister Ai Lei? Someone from the enforcement team who dared to use herself as bait must be quite capable, right? I heard she had quite a few helpers with her at the time?"

"...Alas, he was actually a good kid. He was one of the few good kids in the Business Federation's enforcement team who hadn't been corrupted by money and power and was wholeheartedly loyal to his duties...What a pity."

A pang of sorrow, along with self-reproach and hatred for the murderer, flashed in Irene's eyes.

"She was already 30 years old at that time, but she had just gotten a boyfriend. Her career and relationship were both on the rise, and she was very successful."

Although she never gets involved in the dirty dealings of power and money, she is quite concerned about her reputation, and one could even say she is a bit greedy and reckless.

She saw me as a rival and was determined to catch that psychopathic killer before me... So when she learned that I planned to use myself as bait, she followed suit and refused the support I had arranged for her.

However, her own strength is quite good, almost at the peak level of the Lighthouse... um.

As Ereshkigal spoke, she gave Valensa a careful look, her eyes even flashing with a faint golden light, likely using some kind of divine insight spell.

"She's about 20% stronger than Valensa in this state, and besides her, that enforcement team has several other skilled fighters. Theoretically, even if they encounter a Radiant-rank enemy, they should be able to put up a fight even if they can't win."

"And they were all gone before they could even struggle?"

Valensa had clearly anticipated this, and her face showed no surprise whatsoever:

"How long was it from when they had the accident until you found out, Sister Ai Lei?"

"It definitely won't take more than 8 minutes!"

Aileen's tone was very certain:

"Although she refused to let my people act with her, she did not refuse to let our two teams keep in touch at all times, and we agreed to communicate every 5 minutes."

I realized something might have happened to her after she failed to communicate on time, so I immediately led a team to the scene. We arrived in less than 3 minutes, but found nothing.

She and everyone in her team vanished into thin air, leaving no trace of the battle.

After that, I led a group that searched almost the entire city of Mosantina, but we still couldn't find her... until 16 days after she disappeared, someone found her leg on the side of a road in a small alley in the west of the city.

The law enforcement team members who were with her disappeared completely, without even leaving a trace of their legs.

It was after that incident that the Business Federation's enforcement team was practically terrified, completely handing over the investigation of the case to our Sun Church. At most, they would accept reports from the public, take statements from the complainants as part of the formalities, and rarely conduct any further investigation.

"Because almost all the truly outstanding law enforcement team members died in that operation..."

Valensa first thought to herself, 'Good people never live long,' before looking seriously into Irene's eyes and expressing her thoughts:

"Without leaving any trace of the battle, can a Star-level expert like you, Sister Ailei, make multiple outstanding Beacon-level beings vanish in just a few minutes?"

"It can't be done."

Eresh answered almost without thinking:

"Defeating multiple Lighthouses is a piece of cake for me, after all, the gap between the Radiant Rank and below is huge. If it weren't for an opponent with special abilities like you, Valencia, defeating a few Lighthouses wouldn't even take me half a minute."

But leaving no trace of the battle... I absolutely cannot do that. Even if I finish the fight quickly and then clean up, it wouldn't take more than a few minutes.

"So, Sister Ailei, that's why you overestimated the killer's strength without any limits, believing that the killer is definitely stronger than you and might even be a Moon-level expert, right?"

Valensa first asked a question, and seeing that Irene immediately nodded, she continued:

"However, Sister Aileen, all your speculations about the murderer are based on the premise that the murderer is human... right? Actually, this idea is not wrong, after all, the murderer is a perverted killer who specifically targets girls in stockings and short skirts... But what if the murderer is not human? Or what if he is not only human but also has the abilities of a monster?"

"The monster's abilities..."

Only then did Irene finally understand Valensa's deduction, and exclaimed in realization:

"You mean... the domain of a Radiant-rank monster lord?"

"Yes, it's the domain!"

Valensa nodded emphatically:

"To make multiple lighthouse-level beings disappear instantly without leaving any trace, it is not necessarily necessary to defeat them all in an instant. It is also possible to absorb them into the domain and then defeat them slowly."