After finishing a day’s work, the next thing on the agenda should be a pleasant rest period.
That’s what I had thought, and I had even taken a shower and planned to laze around in bed, but then Le Paxi suddenly sent me a message.
“Captain, I think… it’s that time.”
I had no choice but to leave my beloved little bed, change my clothes, and head to the room we usually use for this sort of thing.
That room had originally been left empty for emergencies, but now that we’re using it for this purpose, it’s not going to waste.
I took off my pajamas and put on a pure white robe that looked just like a burial shroud.
The room had almost no furnishings; it was purely a white space.
When I entered it wearing the white clothes, I seemed to blend into the surroundings.
I found a spot on the floor that looked comfortable to lie down on and did so, then heard the sound of the door opening.
“Oh my, Captain, you’ve already prepared yourself?”
Le Paxi saw me lying on the floor, and the faint smile on her face became slightly more noticeable.
“Yeah, so let’s get started quickly.”
“Don’t be so unromantic. This is precious time I get to spend alone with the Captain. I want to cherish it.”
“I don’t want your ‘cherishing’ to mean slowly cutting me apart.”
“Hehe.”
Le Paxi straddled me, holding a finely crafted short knife that looked like it was meant for carving.
“Then I’ll be a little rude.”
With that, Le Paxi unhesitatingly plunged the short knife into my chest.
A familiar feeling of death spread through my entire body—elegant, meaningful, and mad.
Le Paxi’s eyes gradually grew intense, and the curve of her lips made it clear that she was enjoying herself.
The short knife stuck in my chest sliced open my chest along my trachea, exposing the messy organs inside.
It felt cool.
Le Paxi blew on the short knife, now stained with my blood, then placed the next cut on my palm.
It sliced from my palm all the way up my arm until it lodged at my shoulder.
She twisted her wrist, and the shoulder blade that had been blocking the short knife was ground to powder, destroying the blood vessels in that area along with it.
“Mmm…”
I stared blankly at the ceiling.
This was a distraction technique I had come up with after experiencing this so many times.
Sometimes I just watched until it was over.
Le Paxi flicked the short knife, and my head separated from my body.
As expected, my vision went black, and my consciousness cut off at that moment.
When I came to, Le Paxi was nowhere to be seen.
I was just lying in that empty white room.
There was no blood on the floor, nor any twitching muscles anywhere.
It seemed I had fully resurrected.
To be precise, I had died just now, and then my flesh and blood had regenerated on their own.
I stretched my limbs and joints.
No problems at all—no inconvenience in movement, as flexible as before I died.
I pushed myself up and returned to my bedroom, but before going to sleep, I needed to spend a little more time with my squad members.
I walked down the empty hallway.
After all, it was already eleven o’clock; everyone had probably gone back to their own rooms.
But we, the members of the Madman Squad, all lived in this Security Department building.
It wasn’t because we couldn’t afford to rent places outside; it was because we were confined here.
Because of what had just happened.
My squad members—the Madmen—were those who had been eroded by the Mad Contagion but had not lost their lives, and had gained power far beyond that of humans.
Along with gaining this power, a desire to kill constantly brewed in their hearts.
After slaughtering Mad Beasts, that desire to kill would surge dramatically.
So basically, every squad member needed to release their killing desire after a few extermination missions.
If they didn’t release their killing desire, they would gradually lose control and want to kill any living thing they saw.
That’s why I had to be bound to them.
I possessed the superpower of Immortality.
Although my Immortality was also a supernatural ability, it wasn’t caused by the Mad Contagion.
The specific reason was unclear, but this superpower happened to meet the squad members’ need to release their killing desire.
Apparently, before I came to this squad, they used to regularly execute death row prisoners to release it.
But that would reduce the numbers quickly, and soon there weren’t enough death row prisoners to satisfy them.
Then, during one operation, I was gravely wounded.
My teammates saw the wound that pierced through my body and prepared to bury me on the spot, but after a short while, my flesh regenerated on its own, and I stood before them again as if nothing had happened.
So my situation was reported, and soon after, I came to this squad to serve as the captain of the Madman Squad.
My main duties, aside from command, were to soothe the squad members’ emotions in daily life, and to let myself die a few times when their killing desire overflowed.
At first, they were very rough with me, casually tearing me into pieces and constantly stirring my insides.
But now it’s much better.
They try to satisfy their killing desire with as few movements as possible, attempting to reduce my pain.
Not that I mind either way—as long as it satisfies them, that’s fine.
After walking down the long hallway, I knocked on Le Paxi’s door.
Le Paxi said “Come in” from inside, and I pushed the door open.
I had already seen the layout of the room countless times, but every time I came in, there were slight changes.
For example, sometimes a desk lamp would be placed on the bedside table, or the lace-trimmed pillow would be replaced with a plain white one.
Le Paxi was sitting in front of her vanity in plain pajamas, eyes closed, a face mask on her face, sitting still.
“Captain? Please wait a moment. I’ll be done soon.”
I casually found a chair and sat down, taking out the pocket-sized book I usually kept in my pocket and started reading.
After about five minutes, Le Paxi took off the face mask, tidied up her vanity, and sat down next to me.
“Here, tea for you.”
“Oh my, thank you, Captain.”
Le Paxi smiled as she took the teacup I handed her and took a small sip.
Graceful classical music surrounded us, soothing our moods.
“Is the Captain feeling okay?”
“Even if you say that in a tone that might make people misunderstand, no one here would misinterpret it.”
“Hehe.”
Le Paxi closed her eyes and covered her mouth with her hand, snickering.
“I told you, right? Atmosphere is important, and mood is a manifestation of atmosphere. Language is a good means of creating atmosphere. The Captain always cuts things off directly like that—it’ll make you disliked.”
“I’ll make sure I don’t make you dislike me.”
Le Paxi’s eyes widened a little, and she blinked coquettishly a few times.
“Hehe. Is the Captain that concerned about me?”
“Of course I’m concerned about my squad members.”
Hearing my reply, Le Paxi swirled her teacup boredly.
It seemed my answer hadn’t satisfied her.
“Captain? Are you playing dumb with me?”
Le Paxi stared at me with her slightly opened, narrow pupils, her face gradually getting closer to mine.
I straightened my arm to push against Le Paxi’s shoulder, but my strength was definitely no match for hers.
She grabbed my arm and pulled my hand toward her chest.
Personally, I would have liked not to resist and let her continue, but as a man with integrity and a professionally trained captain of the Madman Squad, I couldn’t have such careless contact with my squad member.
“Hold on a moment. Although I treat every squad member sincerely, that doesn’t mean I have no feelings at all.”
“Oh?”
But verbal interaction was fine.
“Le Paxi, do you know why I always pay extra attention to you on the battlefield?”
Le Paxi showed a slightly interested expression and sat back down in her chair.
“Because when you fight, your dancing steps are the lightest, the most elegant, and the most beautiful I’ve ever seen.”
But also the least free.
“I told you before, I don’t want you to treat every operation as a torment. I hope you can find something to enjoy in it—not necessarily killing enemies, but other things too.”
“And the Captain’s suggestion was to treat your killing movements as a dance, every twist of the body as a dance move.”
“Treat every operation as your own stage. I remember that’s how I concluded.”
When Le Paxi heard me repeat that, she happily curled her lips.
“I’ve always kept the Captain’s advice in mind, you know?”
“Of course I know that. I could tell from your dance steps.”
“Le Paxi, compared to Hai Shi and the other two, you’re the only one who has actually learned dance. That gives your dance on the battlefield a coordinated beauty, unlike theirs, which focuses on feeling rather than form. Every step echoes the previous one, a perfect integration of emotion and expression.”
“That kind of dance makes it impossible for me to look away.”
I added finally.
Le Paxi didn’t say anything right away.
She just rested her chin on her hand and looked at me with a faint smile.
The long classical piece stopped its chant.
Le Paxi stood up, took the record that had finished playing, and replaced it with another.
Lively music began to play.
Le Paxi extended her left hand.
“Will you dance with me, Captain?”
I tidied my collar a bit and stood up gallantly.
Then, just as I was about to take Le Paxi’s hand, something occurred to me.
“No, I should be the one.”
I suddenly withdrew my hand, causing Le Paxi’s attempt to grab mine to miss.
“Captain…?”
“D-don’t be mad. I just wanted to have my turn!”
I quickly bent my knee and solemnly extended my hand.
“May I have this dance with you, beautiful lady?”
Le Paxi gracefully placed her hand on mine.
“Of course, handsome sir.”
No gorgeous attire, no splendid lights—but we had dancers and music, and that was where the stage was.