The crater was still smoking, but even the smoke seemed hesitant to rise. Waves of heat rippled through the air, distorting the horizon. Vaporized snow fell back down as a lukewarm rain, mixed with ash, melted ice, and fragments of vitrified ground.
All around, the land had been torn apart down to the bones of the world.
At the center…
SCP-469.
Or rather: what remained of it.
Its wings were the first to disappear, feather by feather, not falling, but dissolving into the air, leaving behind perfectly clean voids. Its main body fragmented into successive layers: matter, energy, anomalous structure…
The space it occupied began to vibrate, like a poorly healed scar, before slowly contracting.
When everything was over…
There was nothing.
Only a vast, vitrified, silent crater.
Around it, the Nephilim were barely standing.
Hercules was on his knees, breathing heavily, his fists buried in the burning rock, his gaze lost in the void left behind by the anomaly.
Sigurd leaned on Gram, the blade driven deep into the ground, as if it alone kept him from collapsing.
Mulan had fallen heavily, trying to get back up before giving up, breath short, limbs trembling.
Wukong and Anansi were both unconscious.
Levian and Ayris maintained a minimal barrier around the group, barely able to withstand Jeanne's attack — a fragile shell, more reflex than real defense.
And Jeanne…
Jeanne was still standing.
But she no longer seemed entirely real.
Her body had become translucent, as if light passed through it without resistance. The contours of her armor vibrated faintly, unstable, poorly anchored in space. Each passing second seemed to erode her a little more.
Hercules glanced in her direction.
Hercules:
— Jeanne, we have… Jeanne…
The others who were still conscious also looked at Jeanne and were horrified by her condition. They knew the backlash of Jeanne's ability ("I make the vow of…"), but this was too much. Normally, she was only supposed to enter a vegetative state. It felt as if she was disappearing. What kind of vow had she made to suffer such a backlash?
In that moment, they did not question why Jeanne's power had increased so much. But if her power had reached such a level, then she must have sacrificed something incredibly important.
The worst part of the situation was that they could do nothing. They were all exhausted. All they could do was scream Jeanne's name and pray for the situation to change.
And fortunately, their prayers were answered.
The sky opened.
Columns of pure light descended from the heavens, ordered, silent, immense. The ground trembled under the impact of thousands of winged feet.
The angelic army.
At the center, two figures descended slowly.
Michael.
Gabriel.
Their wings folded as they touched the ground.
Michael observed the scene.
The void left by 469.
His gaze was filled with sorrow and remorse as he looked at Jeanne and the others.
He approached immediately.
— She is becoming unanchored, Gabriel said quietly. She didn't make the vow on herself, did she?
Michael clenched his teeth. In this desperate situation, Jeanne had chosen to risk disappearing entirely to defeat 469 with overwhelming power, rather than sacrificing a part of herself that would not have given her the strength required.
Without waiting, Gabriel placed a hand on her head.
A dense, primordial golden light burst forth.
After seeing that she was regaining her appearance,
Michael turned to the other angels.
— All Nephilim are to be transferred to Heaven. Priority medical care. No exceptions. And transport Archangel Jeanne as well.
The angels moved immediately. Circles of light enveloped Hercules, Sigurd, Mulan, Levian, Ayris, Wukong, Anansi, and Jeanne.
As they vanished, a hologram materialized above the crater.
The Foundation's logo.
A neutral, cold voice:
"Status Notice — SCP-469.
Following the observed events, SCP-469 is now classified as: NEUTRALIZED.
No residual anomalous signature detected.
Any further intervention is deemed unnecessary."
A heavy silence followed.
Gabriel clenched his fists.
— Neutralized… all those losses, all those Virtues…
Michael raised his eyes to the hologram.
— You call this neutralized, he murmured, restrained anger in his voice.
The last teleportation circles placed by the angels activated.
The Nephilim disappeared, carrying Jeanne unconscious with them.
Unfortunately, Gabriel and Michael had to remain on Earth to repair the damage caused during the battle and ensure it had not had, and would not have, a major impact on humanity.
They were about to begin when they noticed the Foundation's hologram was still present.
[Hologram: Final Containment Report]
Object: SCP-469
Status: NEUTRALIZED
Operation Codename: SILENT FORGE
Strike Unit: Nephilim
Participant: Jeanne d'Arc
Participation Level: A+
Role: Final Destruction / Critical Decisions
Damage Sustained: Existential – Extreme
Reward Granted:
Unique Skill – Law Domination (Incomplete)
Jeanne can impose an absolute law within a restricted perimeter (e.g., "You cannot die," "Regeneration is null").
Drawbacks:
– Only one law active at a time.
– If the law contradicts a superior authority, Jeanne suffers severe backlash (partial disincarnation).
Participant: Wukong
Participation Level: A
Role: Continuous Pressure / Mobile Combat
Damage Sustained: Moderate
Reward Granted:
Unique Skill – Infinite Motion
Wukong can cancel all inertia, allowing him to reach absurd speeds without loss of control.
Drawbacks:
– Total immobilization after prolonged use.
– Ineffective in sealed or frozen space.
Participant: Sigurd
Participation Level: A
Role: Structure Breaker / Heavy Offense
Damage Sustained: Severe
Reward Granted:
Unique Skill – True Damage
Sigurd's attacks ignore all damage reduction, whether magical, divine, or anomalous.
Drawbacks:
– Applies only to conscious attacks.
– Causes progressive erosion of his own body.
– Ineffective against purely conceptual entities.
Participant: Anansi
Participation Level: A-
Role: Flow Control / Tactical Support
Damage Sustained: Low
Reward Granted:
Unique Skill – Probability Manipulation (Restricted)
Anansi can force an event to occur in the most probable branch.
Drawbacks:
– Activation requires the event to have at least a 10% probability.
– Extreme mental strain.
Participant: Ayris
Participation Level: B+
Role: Energy Support
Damage Sustained: Moderate
Reward Granted:
Unique Skill – Energy Domination
Ayris can absorb, convert, and redistribute any form of energy.
Drawbacks:
– Rapid overload.
– Risk of internal combustion.
– In case of excess: temporary loss of all energy-based abilities.
Participant: Hercules
Participation Level: A
Role: Frontline / Damage Absorption
Damage Sustained: Severe
Reward Granted:
Unique Skill – Undying Spirit
As long as Hercules retains conscious will, his body refuses to die.
Drawbacks:
– Injuries are merely delayed.
– Post-combat: extreme pain, risk of permanent disability.
– Ineffective against attacks that annihilate instantly.
Participant: Levian
Participation Level: B
Role: Defense / Collective Protection
Damage Sustained: Moderate
Reward Granted:
Unique Skill – Absolute Guard
Levian can generate a defense that completely nullifies an attack, regardless of its nature.
Drawbacks:
– High cooldown time.
– Nearly completely drains magical reserves.
Foundation Closing Note:
The assigned abilities correspond to structures classified as "Unique Skills."
Any unauthorized evolution toward a higher level will result in immediate intervention.
[End of Report]
The hologram did not dissipate.
It remained suspended above the vitrified crater, motionless, like a presence indifferent to the chaos it had just validated.
Michael stared at it for a few seconds too long.
Then a new line appeared.
[Hologram: Temporal Anomaly Forecast]
Next Anomalous Manifestation Window:
T – 01:00:00
The silence that followed was… different.
Heavier than the one left by SCP-469's disappearance.
Gabriel was the first to react.
— …One hour?
Her voice trembled. Not with fear. With pure anger.
— One hour after this? After the Virtues were slaughtered? After an anomaly of this magnitude?!
Michael stepped forward.
His wings partially unfolded instinctively, vibrating the air around him.
— You knew, he said slowly.
— You knew another anomaly was going to appear.
The hologram did not respond.
— How many? Michael growled.
— How many anomalies are you willing to let ravage this world before intervening?
Still nothing.
Gabriel clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white.
[Global Observation Chat — Reopened]
Messages exploded immediately.
Satan:
ONE HOUR?!
ARE THEY SERIOUS?!
Lucifer:
After 469…
They announce it like a weather forecast.
Charlie:
This can't be real…
They're really going to do this again?
Zestial:
Such a short interval…
This is no longer containment.
It's exploitation.
Angel:
Seriously, this is starting to look like a damn survival-mode video game.
Vaggie:
What if the next anomaly is worse?
Alastor: low laughter
Oh, it will be.
Otherwise, what would be the point for them?
But as the messages flooded in,
A new message appeared.
And this time, the displayed name forced silence.
[Administrator Access Granted]
User: Dr. ███████ (Administrator No. 6 of Operation [Reorganization])
The chat froze.
Even Alastor stopped smiling.
Dr. ███████:
Please calm yourselves.
Your emotional reactions do not improve the situation.
Lucifer:
Oh.
So here's the puppeteer.
Satan:
Speak.
And choose your words carefully, human.
He paused. He was not impressed by these threats, but he did not want to increase hostility toward the Foundation.
Dr. ███████:
SCP-469 was successfully neutralized.
The recorded losses were statistically predictable.
Michael clenched his teeth.
— Predictable…
Charlie:
Dozens of Virtues are dead!
Dr. ███████:
And humanity in your world survived.
That was the primary objective.
That is why they fought.
A shiver ran through the chat.
Sera:
But that does not explain why you did not intervene.
Dr. ███████:
We do not intervene until an anomaly reaches an exploitable stability threshold.
SCP-469 had not yet reached that state.
Belzebub:
— Exploitable for what?
A moment of silence.
Then the answer came.
Dr. ███████:
For definitive neutralization.
Or for recovery.
The word hung in the air.
Alastor:
Ah.
At least that's honest.
Asmodeus:
You use entire worlds as filters.
You let others pay the price to weaken your anomalies.
Dr. ███████:
We call that loss optimization.
Gabriel trembled with rage.
— And the next anomaly?
— In one hour?
Dr. ███████:
It will appear, yes.
I cannot tell you which anomaly it is, so I invite you to remain vigilant.
Mammon:
Alright, I have a question.
Dr. ███████:
What would you like to discuss?
Mammon:
How did this happen?
I mean, how did the anomalies from your world manage to come to ours?
Dr. ███████:
I intend to address this question to dispel doubts about SCP involvement in your world, but… I must already say that I will not speak about certain elements.
Michael:
As long as you don't lie to us.
Dr. ███████:
Very well.
The Foundation still does not concretely know what exactly happened.
All we know is that at ███████, at ████ hours, several Foundation sites reported a massive disappearance of multiple anomalies.
Hamiel:
And those anomalies all decided to migrate to our world?
Dr. ███████:
You are right… but only partially.
Hamiel:
What do you mean?
Dr. ███████:
Some anomalies migrated to your world, and others migrated to different ones.
Sera:
So you're saying our world is not the only one experiencing an anomaly invasion, but others are suffering the same fate?
Dr. ███████:
At this very moment, we are attempting to recover SCPs located in these different worlds.
As you can see from my title, I am the 6th administrator of Project [Reorganization]
Carmilla:
So if you are the administrator, you are responsible for the proper recovery or neutralization of anomalies in our world.
You are the 6th, which means there are five other worlds suffering this invasion.
Dr. ███████:
I would rather say ██ different worlds have suffered invasions…
Forgive me, but I cannot reveal the exact number.
However, I can already tell you that the Foundation has recovered nearly half of the escaped anomalies.
Lucifer:
And regarding 001, what do you intend to do?
Dr. ███████:
Nothing, unfortunately.
001… is not something within the Foundation's level.
Gabriel:
Then can't you at least inform us of what it really is?
It wasn't just a keyboard, was it?
Dr. ███████:
The information squad regarding 001 is classified, unfortunately.
Satan:
sigh
Angel:
But tell me, handsome doctor, if you're the one designated to supervise and organize the recovery of anomalies in our world, why didn't you come talk to us from the beginning?
Dr. ███████:
I would be lying if I said your theories about the Foundation didn't amuse me.
The group chat:
You piece of—
Dr. ███████:
But seeing how easily you handled 173, I didn't think you needed help.
Oh, don't you see the time?
There are five minutes left before the anomaly appears.
I'll first identify the anomaly with my unit.
I'll send you its containment file if I get authorization.
Dr. ███████ has disconnected.
Satan:
That was way too much information at once.
Asmodeus:
I hope this anomaly appears in space.
Michael:
We are indeed detecting spatial distortions in space, more precisely around Mars and Jupiter.
It would be ideal if it appeared there.
Alastor:
Oh, I would so love to see the victims of the different anomalies in the other worlds.
Mammon:
Me too.
As the countdown ended, a message appeared.
[A new anomaly has entered your reality]
SCP-682: The Indestructible Lizard