Matthew Atkinson & Natalie Russell
Third Layer of the Supernatural Realm
"Is this...a human?"
"It looks somewhat like it, but its skin color is unnaturally white."
"It might be a monster. Everyone, be careful."
Sam Harris and the others whispered among themselves.
Filip Walker looked at Natalie and asked, "Captain, what should we do?"
Natalie, however, looked at Matthew and said, "Ask Matthew."
Filip Walker was taken aback upon hearing this answer.
However, the young man was quite perceptive and immediately said to Matthew, "Mr. Atkinson, please give me your instructions."
Matthew did not refuse and gave his advice directly.
"Just call me Matthew. For now, don't go over there, just stay here."
He looked at the pale figure with a meaningful smile on his face and said softly, "Try not to make any noise or speak from now on. It's only half an hour, just bear with it."
Upon hearing this, although no one thought the suggestion was particularly brilliant, no one raised any objections.
Even for just Natalie's sake, they wouldn't say anything.
Then, everyone stood still and did not move.
Faintly, they seemed to hear shouts and sounds of fighting coming from the next carriages.
Five minutes passed...
Ten minutes passed...
Around the thirteenth minute, the ashen figure in the corner suddenly moved.
The other person seemed to have "come to its senses" and slowly stood up.
When it stood upright, its height was definitely over two meters.
If it weren't so thin, it could have looked a little more human.
An even more outrageous thing, its arms were exceptionally long. When its arms were hanging down, its fingers could actually reach its calves.
Upon seeing this, everyone immediately realized it was not human.
No normal person had arms that long.
What was more, the other party's fingernails were like sharp claws, long and pointed.
This was a monster.
Everyone immediately became wary.
When he saw the monster slowly turn around, Matthew immediately warned, "Close your eyes, don't look at it. Especially to its face."
These words took everyone aback.
Only Natalie, who completely trusted Matthew, immediately closed her eyes.
In that moment of dilemma…
Filip Walker and the others then saw the monster's whole body… and face.
His body was completely hairless, so thin that he was skin and bones, with no muscle visible, and his skin was frighteningly pale. His limbs were also severely disproportionate.
What's most terrifying was the monster's face.
It was a hideous and terrifying face, with a gaping maw filled with shark-like teeth.
Seeing that Filip Walker and the others were looking at its face, the monster let out a howl and pounced on them.
Matthew also closed his eyes.
With his current level of mental attributes, perceiving his surroundings through senses other than sight was not very difficult for him.
Hearing the monster's howl, he frowned and immediately pulled Natalie to a corner, instructing her, "Natalie, keep your eyes closed and stay here without moving."
Natalie nodded.
Matthew then turned to the others and said calmly, "Your reactions were too slow. You didn't follow my instructions in time. This monster is your responsibility to deal with."
Actually, Matthew also knew that they couldn't be blamed for this.
Since this was the first time everyone had teamed up, they were not familiar with each other. It was inevitable that their coordination would be imperfect.
Moreover, these people were all here to follow Natalie, and they had no idea that while Natalie was a Queen, he was the King. And no. This wasn't a game of chess.
So, it was normal for them not to obey his instructions immediately.
Therefore, Matthew was not angry.
The reason he handed this monster over to everyone was that if the monster in front of him was really the monster he remembered, then it wasn't too powerful.
These people could easily deal with it if everyone were careful.
The only troublesome thing was the monster's immortality.
And if this monster were something different… it wouldn't be bad to let these people test the waters first.
-Awooo
At this time, the monster was right in front of them, less than ten meters away.
Seeing the aggressive monster, no one dared to be careless.
So, they made the first move. The first attacker was that Flower-Flower Fruit user, Emma Jackson.
The opponent could have ranged abilities, so it was appropriate for her to make the first move.
Emma Jackson then crossed his arms and activated his ability.
Instantly, a pair of women's hands grew from the monster's shoulder, grabbed the monster's head, and twisted it hard.
Pity. Emma Jackson was still too weak and failed to break the monster's neck.
However, it also successfully caused the monster to lose its balance and fall over on the spot.
Then, Charles Francis, the user of the Bomb-Bomb Fruit, also made his move.
He picked a booger out of his nose and flicked it at the monster, which instantly landed on the monster.
-Boom!
It was a loud explosion, but its power was not that great. And frankly, throwing out his booger was disgusting.
The monster had good defense and appeared completely unharmed, but it was thoroughly enraged.
He roared and pounced on the crowd.
"Let me." Sam Harris shouted and stepped forward.
Then, he aimed a punch at the monster that was lunging at him.
His fist, like a spring, stretched out instantly and struck the onrushing monster directly.
That punch was quite powerful.
The monster was forced to retreat repeatedly before finally collapsing to the ground.
However, the monster's defenses were quite good, and it was unharmed. It quickly stood up again.
...
Three attacks in one round failed to inflict any real damage on the monster.
But the group did not lose heart.
Because the attacks just now were actually just probing attacks.
Through their probing, the group roughly determined the monster's strength.
"Aside from its decent defense and resilience, this monster is pretty average in every other aspect."
Filip Walker shouted, "People, it's time to get serious!"
When his words fell, Filip Walker instantly transformed into a werewolf and charged towards the monster.
The others also joined in, working with Filip Walker to gang up on the monster.
Only Matthew watched the show with a calm expression. He had already opened his eyes.
There was nothing for him to worry about while the others were occupied with SCP-096. Moreover, given the power of SCP-096, there was nothing for Matthew to fear.
Yes, Matthew was now convinced that this monster was the same one from his memories. This monster was called SCP-096.
Given that the train was called the SCP Elimination Train and their carriage was number 96, Matthew didn't think their encounter with SCP-096 was a fluke.
This train was a test to eliminate weaker teams before arriving at the arena where the tournament was to be held.
And apparently, each team was tested against an SCP entity corresponding to their carriage number.
Clearly, Matthew considered themself lucky to have encountered SCP-096. Yes, SCP-096 might rank among the strongest SCP entities, but that was primarily because of its immortality.
On the other hand, SCP-096 didn't possess high attack power and wasn't particularly fast.
Yes, it still posed a great danger to normal humans, but Matthew and his team weren't normal humans. For supernatural beings, the only problem with SCP-096 was its immortality.
But all they had to do to pass the test was survive until the train reached the arena. They didn't need to kill their opponents. And according to Matthew's observations, an above-average team could easily pass this test.
But the same couldn't be said for the teams in the other carriages. Although there were weaker SCPs, some SCPs possessed quite difficult-to-deal-with characteristics.
Although Natalie's eyes were still closed, she possessed strong mental perception and was aware of everything that was happening in the carriage.
The monster, overwhelmed by the swarm of people, was quickly unable to withstand the onslaught.
Bobby Burns, who possessed the Dice-Dice Fruit, seized the opportunity, raised his blade arm, and slashed at the monster's neck.
This strike finally broke through the monster's defenses, severing most of its neck, leaving only a layer of skin connecting it.
-Thump
The monster fell to the ground and stopped moving.
"Is it dead?"
Sam Harris curled his lip and said disdainfully, "I haven't had enough fun yet."
The others also found it easy to kill the monster.
Seeing this, Matthew laughed and said, "Don't be too happy yet. We don't yet know all the characteristics of this monster, and I don't think the Supernatural Realm will make the preliminary test this easy. This monster most likely possesses super regeneration or immortality."
Everyone was surprised to hear this and immediately looked at the monster's "corpse" on the ground.
As expected, the neck that Bobby Burns had just severed has somehow been reattached.
Then, the monster rose from the ground again, howling as it lunged at the group once more.
...
Ten minutes later, the group besieging the monster all turned pale.
In those ten minutes, they killed the monster at least a hundred times.
Pity. It still didn't work.
No matter what methods they used to kill the monster, it would soon regenerate and stand up again.
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[T.N: From now on, the story won't feature any more SCP-related entities, but still, for those unfamiliar with the SCP Foundation and SCP entities;
The SCP Foundation is a fictional organization featured in stories created by contributors on the SCP Wiki, a wiki-based collaborative writing project. Within the project's shared fictional universe, the SCP Foundation is a secret organization responsible for capturing, containing, and studying various paranormal, supernatural, and other mysterious phenomena (known as "anomalies" or "SCPs"), while keeping its existence hidden from the rest of society.
As for SCP-096, this monster dislikes its face being seen by other beings. If a living creature sees its face, whether directly or through images, videos, or other means, SCP-096 will pursue that creature wherever it may be and will not stop until it is dead.
Its most troubling aspect is its immortality.
Because of this characteristic, it is also known as the shy guy.]
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.86: Perfect Punching Bag
Ch.87: The True Opponents