The Cruelty Underground

Thud!

With a loud thud, a lifeless body of the man that Julian fought fell into his knees, filled with wounds all over his body.

The moment he died, almost at that instant, the dark mist started to dissipate.

"Finally," Delirious said with a sigh, 'I felt like I ended up becoming a burden.

Vanoss patted him in the shoulder, "Don't worry about it, you already helped enough before reaching here."

"Motherfucker, I did help."

With the dark mist now gone, the group could finally start to search for their target.

They went through the entrance the man before was defending and reached a long corridor. On their way in, nobody had spoken since the fight, and the situation didn't help either as they stayed tense throughout the whole trip. That is until Marcel started speaking.

"So, uh, this tunnel is really giving me the Azhir Cave vibes. Well, sort of."

"Yeah, just minus the campers, RPGs, rushers, claymores, and ever-shitty sweatlords." Wildcat added, "It kinda reels in more of the, um, Ahm-Bee-Yonce kind of thing.

Nogla giggled behind them, "Speaking of ambiance, I'm thinking we should play some-"

"Everyone, silent," Ellies interrupted the three as she came to a halt, not shifting her gaze as she continued to lay her eyes at the giant iron door at the end of the corridor, "This is the place," she said, "The prince is behind."

Without waiting for Julian to say anything, Vanoss pulls out his Mega AK-47 from his inventory and pulls the trigger.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRTATARRRRRRT!

After receiving hundreds of rounds in seconds, the door was utterly torn apart violently.

When the door was torn apart, everyone immediately rushed inside. But before their third step, their expressions changed.

"Ugh!"

"What the fuck!?"

"What the shit!?!" Wildcat exclaimed.

All of the beastmens in the group immediately covered their noses and mouths and their expressions turned purple. With the door gone, the fetid and foul smell trapped on the other side assaulted everyone's noses.

It was a mix of rotten flesh and blood, plus urine, shit, vomit, and whatever thing you could think. The smell had been concentrated inside the room, being completely released when the door was opened.

Unfortunately for the beastmens in the group, Vanoss, Wildcat, Ellies, and Julian's great sense of smell meant they were badly affected by the sudden stench.

Except for the non-beastmens like Marcel, Nogla, Moo, and especially Terroriser and Delirious who are completely immune to it, the two's reaction was better than theirs.

The place behind the door was completely dark, but with Julian's illumination stone, they managed to get a glimpse of the situation. And when they saw what was behind, the group was filled with anger and killing intent.

Tens of boys and girls, if not hundreds of them, were trapped like animals in small one-cubic-meter cages. Many of them were malnourished or injured, with whip marks on their arms and legs.

"My.. God... Such cruelty," Terroriser gritted his teeth in rage. Everybody could feel his killing intent spreading outwards. It was obvious he wanted to cut the people responsible for it into pieces.

Even Delirious, who normally was a psychopath on the inside, was disgusted with the scene in front of him.

"This is so cruel, so cruel that it makes me call it morally wrong doing, even though I'm a psychopath, I still have morals." Delirious said, "Like that one wise man once said, 'Professionals have Standards'."

"This... is.. I don't know what to say, guys," Nogla mumbled, "I don't think it's not the time for jokes right now.

"You're not the only guy who felt the same thing, man." Moo added.

"...This is worse than we thought." Basically said with a sigh. His friends nodded. They never thought they would see such a cruel thing in their whole life.

For the very first time, they realized how far humans could go due to greed.

"W-Who are you?" A boy opened his eyes weakly and asked the group. As though it was a signal, several voices sounded after him

"M-Mommy... Where are you, mommy?"

"B-Big brother…"

"H-Help..."

"P-Please... Someone, please…"

Julian looked away with a complicated expression. He could not bear looking at this.

"Ellies, where is the Prince?"

"W-Wait a moment." Ellies sniffed the air trying to filter the terrible smells in this place. A few seconds later, she walked towards a cage in a corner of the room.

"P-Prince?"

The young boy inside the cage opened his eyes with difficulty and stared at Ellies.

"S-Sis…"

"Prince!" 

Instantly, Ellies rushed to open the cage, "Damn it, where is the key!" she shouted.

"Calm down." Vanoss says, pulling out a Glock, "Let me."

"Wait, wait, wait, are you sure it is saf-"

Bang!

With one shot, the cage and the chains burst open.

"Prince!" Ellies rushed and hugged the boy tightly. The boy inside the cage smiled relieved. However, he started coughing up blood.

"No! No! No!"

Raising her hand, Ellies quickly used her magic, chanting something as white light glowed from where the wound is, but it is still open.

"It's not working!" she yelled.

"Try again! We could probably work something out." Julian said.

"O-Okay," she said before placing her palms near the wound once more. Once again, the light glowed from the wound, but it remained open, frustrating the two.

"Damn it! We need an advanced healing potion, a spell, or anything!" She cried.

All the while, some members of the Banana Bus Crew looked at the scene unraveling in front of them.

"I'm taking a quick guess and saying that boy's poisoned," Wildcat said.

"How'd you know?" Basically asked.

"I mean, come on! Our k9 over there started chanting mumbo jumbo stuff, so it was obvious she was trying to heal that kid. That and because I could see the swirl effects."

True to his words, Basically saw the green swirling particles over the boy.

"Oh yeah, you're right," Marcel responded. "So, uh, we gonna help them?"

"Yeah, I think we should," Wildcat then pulls out a small bottle full of white liquid from his Inventory. "And I got a solution for their little problem."

"Why isn't this working?!" Ellies yelled out.

Wildcat approaches her, who all had looked at him the moment he was in their vicinity, and kneels beside the bleeding boy.

"I don't think your spells workin'," he said. "I think she's poisoned."

"P-Poisoned," Ellies responded with wide eyes. "Are you sure?"

"I'm as sure as those dead fuckers over there," Wildcat says, gesturing to the corpses of their enemies in tue entrance. 

"Ah, it made sense, it's unfortunate we didn't bring any antidote." Julian said with a sigh.

"Actually, we do." Wildcat said as he pulled off the cover of the bottle he held and showed it to them.

What is that?" Julian asked, almost concerned.

"A little remedy for your sick friend," Wildcat responded as he placed his right hand under the boy's head and poured the contents of the bottle into his mouth. Eventually, he gulps down the contents and Wildcat places the empty bottle on the floor. "Alright, try one more time," he said.

"Yeah do your magic or whatever," Marcel said, to which Ellies nodded and raised her hand.

Just like that, the wound on the boy started healing, leaving no traces of the wound nor a scar. To which he proceeded to cough out the drink from earlier, along with blood and some bits of green liquid.

"T-Thank you," He coughed out. "What was that you gave me?"

The two friends looked at each other before looking back at the boy.

"Milk." 

Both Wildcat and Marcel responded in unison and everyone's reactions were expected.

All three of them had shocked expressions while the boy looked dumbstruck upon hearing what the two men said.

"I-wuh....m-milk…?" The boy stuttered, shocked that a simple dairy product could cure such poison. Not before long, he started to chuckle, finding it hilarious before closing his eyes. Seconds later, he fell unconscious.

Ellies bit her lips with tears on her face and an expression of wrath.

Such cruelty. This was something inhumane.

But when everyone thought things couldn't get worse, they heard Nogla's voice.

"What the fuck! Guys, take a look at this!"

They followed Nogla curiously and the group arrived at another room behind the place where the slaves were being kept. And when they saw what was inside, someone with a natural body, felt their insides churning.

"What in the hell?" Terroriser's voice was hoarse.

Inside the room, several young men and women were lying in surgical tables, dead.

Around them, there were several cabinets with internal organs floating inside bottles. Eyeballs, torsos, hearts, lungs. Every kind of human organ was there.

Some of the people in the surgical tables had their chest opened. When some of the group approached them, they noticed signs of something growing inside their chest and afterward digging their way outside. Just like in the movie Alien.

"This is worse than the worst parts in the Black Market I just went to." Delirious commented.

Nogla nodded, "Agreed."

Meanwhile, Basically looking around with a disgusted look on his face, he was shocked that this type of thing existed around here. He first expected when he first came to this world, he expected adventuring in this fun magical world but now, no matter which world you were in there will be something cruel and inhumane.

Watching with most of their eyes opened wide in fear, and a giant hole on their necks, Marcel felt his impulse to vomit. He had never felt so angry in a long, long time.

'Did they even deserve this?' he thought.

"They were using people to experiment with something." Julian said.

"Those Blight?" Basically asked.

"Perhaps," Julian said with a complicated expression, "But I'm not sure."

The scene shifts towards Brock as he looks around before he sees Vanoss standing there with a complicated look.

"Evan, are you alright?" Moo asked, concerned.

"Nothing really. It's just that seeing something like this leaves a bad taste in my mouth... literally."

To be honest, Vanoss himself was not sure how he felt. He simply... wanted to blow this place up.

Not what he means, he means BLOW this shit place up. Way worse than the Doomsday prank he did. But instead of a feeling of seeking for a great and the most ultimate prank...

...it's a feeling of seeking Justice.

"By the Gods, what is this?" Ellies entered the room at that moment. When she saw the scene inside, her brows crumpled.

Marcel shook his head and shifted the topic, "Have you guys already finished?"

Julian responded, "Yes. Ellies and I will take the prince to our base to give him treatment."

"But what about the other slaves?"

Hearing Moo's question, Julian's expression was complicated, "We simply can't take them with us... That is not realistic..."

"Are you shitting me, are you going to leave them here then!?" Wildcat asked fiercely.

"Calm down, Tyler. I'll tell Matilda about this, she will come for them later."

Vanoss thought for a moment before he had something in mind, "I have a better idea!"

"No, Evan!" Wildcat shouted.

"Please…"

"No…"

"Please…"

"No!"

"Please…"

"NO!!"

"Pweasssss, Tyler~" Terroriser cuts in, staring at Wildcat with sparkling eyes hidden beneath his helmet.

Wildcat snarled, "Kiss my ass, Brian."

"I rather kiss Evan's, because he taste so goooood~~"

"Okay! OKAY! All of you sick fucktards can stop now!"

"Yes!" Vanoss yells in triumph as he performs a fist pump. Not before long he pulls out a block of TNT.

"Ei! Ei! Ei!" Basically shouted, "Don't fucking rush there, Evan. You might cause somebody to be injured, also causing people to die up there at the surface!"

"Don't worry, I will make sure that nobody is injured." Vanoss said with a cheeky smile.

"Oh boy, here we go again."

——————————————————————

Inside the mansion, Matilda was looking indifferently at the dead body of the man she fought.

"Such a pity. I wanted to ask him some questions. But as expected, it's very hard to catch a Legendary Realm expert alive.

She then turned around to leave the mansion. On the way, a man in a suit approached her and bowed slightly.

"Director, we already suppressed all the enemies."

"Well done. How many did you capture?"

"We caught ten of them but..." The man in black suit showed a bit of hesitation.

"What happened? Spill it out, or your fucking wasting my time."

"My apologies, madam. Two of our captured enemies committed suicide after we caught them, and the other eight seem like they don't know much."

Matilda frowned, "How unfortunate, It could not be so easy. What about my brother? Do you have news of him?"

"Nothing ye-"

BOOOMMM!

A powerful explosion erupted, causing various parts of the city to tremble before the beastman could start to speak.

"What the bloody hell just happened!?" Matilda's face turned grave, but nobody around her knew what was happening.

It was only five minutes later that she learned about what happened. When Matilda heard that her brother's group literally caused a World-ending blast, blowing up an entire city district which creates a giant hole in the middle of the city in the process, she was absolutely stunned.

But then, her face broke into a huge smile.

"Hahahahaha! These crazy sons of bitches!"

——————————————————————

The events of that night quickly spread to the entire city.

The Midnight Order department realized an operative that culminated with the discovery of a giant net of slavery and human trafficking. The fact that several kilometers of tunnels existed below the city and were being used for criminal activities caused a great commotion.

According to the private organization, they found more than one hundred boys and girls in conditions of slavery. Several of them were suffering from malnutrition and several other affectations.

The next morning, the City Hall made an announcement praising the special law enforcement for the operation, but they also condemned them for mobilizing such a huge military power without informing the city hall.

At the same time, the city hall announced they would work to avoid something like this happening again.

——————————————————————

Julian and the others finished hearing the report with cheerful expressions.

Ching!

Currently, they are having a drink party celebrating their mission success. Right now, they are drinking the Shateau Alamau Vochta, it is one of Team 6's rewards after supporting them saving the main Target.

"Well, it looks like everything went alright, more or less." Terroriser said with a grin.

"So Miss Matilda is not in trouble, right?" Moo asked.

"Don't worry about it," Julian replied as he took a sip, "Matilda was already ready for the backlash when she approved this operation. Besides, she got results and cracked the biggest case of slavery in the last few decades. It's a big win for us… Well, even those weirdos in the Qanon movement. But still, even if the Duke is discontent with her, there is nothing he can do besides expressing his dissatisfaction."

Wildcat laughed, "Ha! Fuck that guy! Bet he lost most of his shit after we had Rainbow Six Siege his ass."

"Yeah, that man is fishy! It's obvious there is something wrong with him!" Delirious said, "We should simply go and catch him. Then, cut his ears off then let him swallow the whole damn thing of-!"

Basically interrupts, "Delirious, your inner character starts to come out."

"Oh fuck."

"Anyway, aside from something off-topic, how is the main target, Julian?" Vanoss asked.

Julian smiled bitterly, "The Prince? Oh, he is alright. Although he suffered some injuries during the time he was caught, he only needs a few days before he recovers. Fortunately, the prince was wise and did not reveal his true identity to his captors, otherwise, the situation would have turned ugly."

Vanoss did not need to be a genius politician to understand Julian's meaning. The fact that a prince entered another country in secret was already bad, but if that prince is then kidnapped, the situation becomes even worse.

Thus, Julian and the Midnight Order were trying to hide the prince's existence as much as possible. In fact, the number of people in the city that knew of the true reason behind last night's battle did not surpass five.

"Hold up a minute, how in the hell the prince managed to enter the Kingdom of Floral in secret?" Moo couldn't help but wonder.

With Moo's question, the Team could not help but wonder that. Hearing the question, Julian smiled wryly. 

"That is a long story, the only thing I can tell you is that the prince is a very mischievous child."

Everyone was speechless. This was way beyond being mischievous.

"Oh god, thanks Jesus we didn't have him as part of our group, or else we will have three pranksters in the team."

But in the end, it was not his problem. Instead, there was another thing the group were more interested in.

"And the Blight?"

Hearing the next topic, Julian's expression turned serious instantly, "I wanted to talk to you all about it. We searched the entire place, but we found nothing. Actually, Matilda is even doubting the Blight's existence in the city."

Basically sigh, "I'm also worried about that, I checked the corpses we found in that room, and some of them have traces of an organism being incubated inside their bodies."

"The Blight?"

"Opposite of luck, there is no proof." he shook his head, "Even though we are rather certain it's related to the Blight, none of us can prove it."

"So in other words, our clues end here?" Nogla asked.

"Yup."

"Damn." Vanoss said, drinking another round from the champagne.

It was not as though they could interrogate the Duke or something like that and ask him about the Blight. Not to mention that nobody would agree to it, but just the forces behind the Duke made it very hard.

They were sure that at least two Demigods were supporting the Duke.

"Anyway guys, now that our task is finally done, we will leave," Vanoss gulped another whole drink before he stood up and got ready to leave.

"Thank you for your help all this time, guys." Julian said with a grateful smile, "Right, I know I promised you an extra reward, but can you wait a few days for it? I need to deal with some things now, so."

"It's alright, man."

"Great." With a wide smile, Julian bid farewell to the group.

——————————————————————

Shattered!

In another part of the city, inside an office, the sound of something shattering against the ground reverberated.

"Midnight Orser! You damn fucking pigs!" A man growled in rage.

"Calm down, my friend," A voice came from another side, "Now is not the time to get angry."

"You are right," The first voice took a deep breath to calm down, "It looks like we will have to make some changes to the plan."

"I agree. These damn pigs have been sniffing around too much recently. Besides, the Church of the Golden Dawn has started to move too.

"Gods, everything is getting worse every time for these meddling organizations! They even send me this weird magic box with moving pictures in it, look!"

Raising an object that appeared to be a phone, all of the dark silhouettes around him gathered to look at the footage that someone had somehow given it to them.

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Video: When MTF win in SCP: SL

Link: https://youtu.be/n5zi6ga7ZXc?si=RuxbB7orXbb65AKZ

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"Damn, they are giving us the L." One of the dark silhouettes commented, "Anyways, about the sacrifices? It will be hard to get the slaves again."

A soft chuckle resounded in the room, "Don't worry, there are other ways to get sacrifices." he said with a sinister grin on his face.

"Then what is it, Demonlord Pablo?"

Demon Lord Pablo, or Mini Ladd himself chuckled with an evil grin as he whirled around on his seat and stared at everyone else present with his sharp crimson eyes.

"What are your thoughts on having a vampire army on your side?"

"...What?"