Ethan used one arm to hold back the SCP-939 offspring’s maw, its mouth packed with terrifying needle-like teeth, while repeatedly driving his combat knife into the underside of its jaw.
After several brutal thrusts, the creature’s screams gradually weakened.
Then it stopped moving.
Ethan shoved the corpse aside and looked around.
The battle had completely reached its most intense stage.
There were at least several hundred SCP-939 offspring throughout the nest.
Worse still, the terrain here was extremely complicated.
The SCP-939 parent was located in a massive underground chamber connected to passages in every direction.
If the parent organism managed to escape, the situation would become far more difficult.
Only now did Ethan get a clear look at the chamber itself.
Human remains were scattered everywhere.
And beside those bones…
There was a pile of dark-red eggs coated in mucus.
So this is where the SCP-939 parent hatches its offspring?
Ethan frowned.
Perhaps the creature was using human corpses as nutrients?
But according to the Foundation information he remembered, SCP-939 didn’t even possess a conventional digestive system.
Could the human remains instead be required as nutrients for the eggs?
The reproductive characteristics of SCP-939 have been modified somewhat for this story.
The original method would’ve been difficult to use directly.
That also explained why the SCP-939 parent had refused to abandon the nest.
Of course, if it realized that it couldn’t defeat the Foundation containment force, there was still a chance it would attempt to flee.
“Ready!” The assistant gunner slapped the AT-10 operator’s helmet.
“You can fire!” The Foundation operator carrying the AT-10 launcher disengaged the safety.
Two rockets loaded with highly concentrated liquid paralytic agents streaked through the chamber.
WHOOSH!
BOOM!
Both struck the SCP-939 parent accurately.
The liquid payload instantly dispersed into a cloud of vapor.
The parent organism’s movements visibly slowed.
“Again!” “Keep firing!” “Hit it with another volley!” The order had barely been given when the AT-10 gunner suddenly screamed.
A massive claw punched straight through his chest and pierced his heart.
As the gunner’s vision faded, his eyes remained open.
The last thing he saw was his assistant gunner’s body nearby— Missing its head.
Another containment team was also overwhelmed.
Despite the dense suppressive fire covering them, the SCP-939 offspring were attacking with complete disregard for their own survival.
Two managed to break through.
The operators protecting the containment team immediately suffered devastating casualties.
The containment team leader had already lost his left arm.
Blood poured from his mouth as he coughed.
With his remaining right hand, he pulled out a grenade.
Then he yanked out the pin with his teeth.
An SCP-939 offspring lunged toward him.
He didn’t retreat.
BOOM!
Man and monster disappeared together in a cloud of blood and debris.
“Captain Lucas!” Ethan shouted.
“Cover me!” “Alpha Team, with me!” Ethan raised the Service Pistol.
BANG!
A charged shot blew apart an SCP-939 offspring attempting to block his path.
He immediately pulled out two white-phosphorus high-explosive fragmentation grenades, armed them, and hurled them with precision into the cluster of offspring protecting the SCP-939 parent.
BOOM!
BOOM!
The creatures released horrifying, almost humanlike screams.
Flames spread rapidly across their bodies.
Thirty-two remaining assault operators from Alpha Team surged forward around Ethan, charging toward the position where the containment teams had fallen.
Ethan threw two more grenades.
This time— High-intensity cryogenic grenades.
They detonated among the creatures blocking their path.
A wave of freezing force swept outward.
Several SCP-939 offspring were instantly frozen into grotesque statues.
Ethan reached the fallen containment team.
He grabbed one of the discarded AT-10 launchers and disengaged the safety.
At that moment, the surrounding SCP-939 offspring went berserk.
They charged toward Ethan with suicidal desperation.
The Foundation soldiers of Alpha Team were forced into brutal close-range combat, practically fighting face-to-face with the anomalous creatures.
Captain Lucas’s forces poured every available round into the area.
Suppressive fire thundered through the chamber.
Ethan aimed.
The AT-10 fired.
Another tranquilizing warhead struck the SCP-939 parent dead-on.
The creature released a furious howl.
Then it began turning away.
It was trying to escape.
Ethan immediately raised the Service Pistol.
Energy gathered within the living weapon.
He fired.
A brilliant charged shot pierced through several SCP-939 offspring blocking his path.
Ethan rushed toward the bodies of the fallen containment operators and grabbed one of their specialized containment stun launchers.
“It’s trying to run!” He shouted toward the nearby soldiers.
“Grab the containment team’s stun weapons!” Ethan led the surviving members of Alpha Team forward like the tip of a spear.
Every SCP-939 offspring that tried to stand in their way was torn apart.
With the Service Pistol’s Charged Shot Mode clearing a path ahead of him, Ethan and Alpha Team forcibly punched straight through the defensive line.
The enormous SCP-939 parent staggered deeper into the chamber.
Then— ZAP!
A rod-shaped, high-voltage electrified dart struck its body.
The already sluggish creature convulsed violently.
A second dart hit.
Then a third.
A fourth.
More followed.
By the time nearly twenty high-voltage darts had embedded themselves in its body, the SCP-939 parent released one final, desperate howl.
Its massive body collapsed onto the ground.
The moment the parent fell, the remaining SCP-939 offspring went completely berserk.
They began attacking the Foundation soldiers indiscriminately.
But without the parent organism, their coordinated behavior disappeared.
The Air Assault Company began eliminating them one by one.
Meanwhile, Ethan joined the surviving containment personnel from Alpha Team and secured the fallen SCP-939 parent completely.
Even after the parent organism was contained, the battle continued for another thirty minutes.
Only then did the nest finally fall silent.
It was 3:00 p.m.
The afternoon sun was at its brightest.
One by one, Foundation soldiers emerged from the underground nest.
They looked as though they had just survived a war.
Tony, Natasha, and Skye watched them return.
Only then did they truly understand how brutal the battle underground had been.
At least 130 soldiers from three assault teams had entered the nest.
Because of the complicated underground terrain, sending too many people inside would’ve actually reduced their effectiveness.
Only smaller units could maneuver properly and fight using assault-team tactics.
That was also why Tony, Natasha, and Skye hadn’t been allowed to enter.
But now…
All three fell silent.
One hundred and thirty soldiers had entered.
Confident.
Determined.
Full of fighting spirit.
When they returned, nearly a quarter of them were gone.
Many of those who remained were wounded.
Then Natasha saw it.
The enormous SCP-939 parent had been secured inside a reinforced metal containment cage.
She understood immediately.
They had succeeded.
The anomaly had been contained.
At that moment, every Foundation soldier who had remained above ground suddenly stood at attention.
Their voices thundered together.
“SALUTE THE FALLEN!” Every soldier raised a crisp Foundation military salute.
At the same moment, a system notification sounded inside Ethan’s mind.
[Containment successful.] Ethan stared at the surviving soldiers.
A trace of guilt remained in his expression.
Captain Lucas noticed.
He walked over and spoke quietly.
“Sir, you don’t need to blame yourself.” “You commanded the operation well.” “If I had been in command, our casualties would’ve been at least twice as high.” He looked toward the soldiers carrying their fallen comrades from the nest.
“Challenging gods with mortal bodies…” “There’s always a price.” Skye slowly exhaled.
She looked at the Foundation soldiers around her and murmured, “They’re…” “They’re all heroes.” Her eyes shifted toward Ethan.
“The Foundation really is an incredible organization.” Tony was equally affected.
Something about these soldiers had deeply shaken him.
He stared at them for a long moment before quietly saying, “I really hope…” “Someday, I can fight alongside people like them.”