"Dr. Reine, perhaps it's time I taught you a lesson—one about authority."
The GOC agent spoke with a smile.
Reine struggled to suppress her trembling. She lifted her chin and nodded toward her bedroom.
As if yielding.
"In the bedroom, bottom left red drawer, a manila envelope. I think what's inside will be quite interesting to you."
The GOC agent sneered in contempt.
He waved his hand casually.
"Go check it."
He ordered his subordinates.
Moments later, sounds of smashing and rifling through furniture filled the air.
The well-trained GOC agents took only a minute to completely ransack Reine's bedroom. Soon, they found the manila envelope she mentioned.
The GOC agent took the envelope and pulled out several photographs.
After examining them closely, he furrowed his brows.
"The hell is this crap?!"
He muttered as he carelessly tossed the photos onto the floor. The surrounding agents glanced over indifferently.
Then, due to the content of the photos, they felt annoyed and bored.
"I don't see what this ugly, disgusting-jawed bastard has to do with what I asked you to do!"
The GOC agent said irritably.
He felt he had been played.
Then, he snuffed out his freshly lit cigarette on the back of Reine's hand.
The searing pain left Reine gasping.
After committing that despicable act, the GOC agent flung the entire envelope aside. Then he looked at Reine and said,
"Let me tell you something. You SCP Foundation people are always so self-righteous. You think you're some great force lurking in the shadows, humanity's final line of defense. But that's just a pathetic delusion. Really—ridiculous!
Let me explain why you're wrong."
The agent dragged a chair from the side and sat opposite Reine.
His expression was full of mockery.
Even though Reine couldn't see any of this and no matter how revolting his next actions were, no matter how terrible the story he would tell, Reine would cooperate, and wait quietly.
"Back in the late '80s, I was working in Colombia Drug Enforcement Agency. I arrested enough drug lords to fill an entire prison. And those little bastards were just like you. They were just as uncooperative and kept repeating: 'Do you even know who you're talking to?'
They thought they were untouchable. They believed they controlled everything. They thought they were the true kings and rulers of Medellín.
So I asked them: If you truly rule this city, why do you hide your guns?
Why sell your white powder in secret? Why not do it all openly?
Then I pulled out my gun and shot that man in the knee. That's real authority. My gun doesn't need to hide. It's right here, in the open. That's the difference. Your Foundation hides in the shadows. Doctor, I want you to understand—power is always ours.
We control everything. Your anomalies belong to us. Your research belongs to us. Even your lives belong to us. Don't even mention your pathetic beliefs.
So once again, I ask you—where the hell are you hiding the SCP-610 sample? If you still want your—"
The fiery speech was abruptly interrupted.
"Sir! I think something's going on outside!"
One of his subordinates shouted.
The GOC agent froze.
A look of irritation crossed his face at being cut off mid-sentence.
But before he could react—
A long, pale arm, like that of a corpse, burst through the wall—reinforced to withstand artillery bombardments.
A deafening explosion echoed.
As if an RPG had detonated in the room.
The sonic boom followed moments later.
Gunfire erupted immediately.
But Reine knew—it was all futile.
She slowly inched her body toward the corner of the wall, trying to make herself as small as possible.
The gunfire pounded her eardrums.
The smell of gunpowder in the air drilled into her lungs. In the darkness, Reine heard terrified screams.
She heard bones snapping cleanly.
She heard the wet tearing of flesh and bones, followed by a disgusting gurgling sound.
After minutes of screaming and howling—
Silence.
Only a dull, ragged breathing remained in the room. Like a decayed ventilator wheezing beside her ear.
A sound one would never forget.
Reine fumbled across the floor.
She quickly found a sharp piece of metal. She cut the ropes binding her wrists. Then, feeling along the wall, she stood up.
Even though she had freed herself—
She still wore the pitch-black blindfold over her eyes.
She walked forward.
Her footsteps squelched on the carpet.
Clearly, it was soaked with some viscous liquid.
After some fumbling, Reine touched something dry and skeletal. Keeping her eyes tightly shut, she pulled off her blindfold and covered the remains with it.
She did not open her eyes.
Photos were scattered all over.
After the chaos just now, she couldn't be sure—
That she wouldn't see it the moment she opened her eyes...
Reaching the front door, Reine opened it.
"Let's go together, SCP-096… no, Shy Guy."
She said, turning back.
"There are many monsters in this world far worse than you… No—not just monsters."
The incident wouldn't end there.
Much work still needed to be done.
Necessary amnestics would have to be administered.
And fake news drafted.
A gas explosion.
That would let ordinary people return to peaceful lives—without constant fear.
This sudden event led to a severe containment breach.
Privately photographing and keeping images of the Shy Guy (SCP-096) is a punishable offense.
But compared to the potential theft of the Flesh That Hates (SCP-610), the current outcome was much better.
The Flesh That Hates—
This anomaly was discovered in the region of Siberia near Lake Baikal. It is a contagious abnormal disease.
Infected individuals develop scar-like tissue across their skin, spreading until it covers the entire body. The flesh grows rapidly and irregularly, infecting other matter and forming vast colonies of bloody tissue.
A full infection can occur in just five minutes.
It is now under containment by the Foundation.
Haruto and Tobiichi Origami quietly observed everything from the sidelines.
It seemed coincidental for the two to be present. But in truth, incidents like these happened all over the world.
No luck was needed to stumble into one.
After witnessing it all, Origami fell silent.
She had not known GOC behaved like this. In fact, she hadn't even known GOC had its own special agent divisions.
But Haruto was not surprised.
"The GOC was founded with the goal of forcibly eliminating all anomalies to protect humanity—whether humanity wants it or not. It's a philosophy not too different from SCP's on the surface. There's no true right or wrong. But in practice, the difference becomes clear. They gradually diverge into gray-white and gray-black.
Such is human nature. Everyone has both a dark side and a noble side—but if you give someone absolute power…
Then the dark side will be magnified infinitely. That's unavoidable. There's a difference between holding a scepter and holding a shield."
Haruto spoke calmly.
Origami looked again at the apartment floor—now a pool of coagulated blood.
In the past, whenever she saw an anomaly killing humans—she would always step in and fight.
But today—
She no longer had that impulse.