Cipher Code {complete}

Chapter Sixty Six: Alpha Zero.

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Bright blue lights lit up the skies of Auro as Corey ran towards the beast, towards the scattered limbs and broken monsters, his eyes whizzing about frantically as he enlarged and zoomed every image in front of him hoping to find Dawn.

Suddenly an idea struck him as his fingers twitched unconsciously, sending a massive bolt of electricity into the ground below him. Auro shuddered and hiccupped, the city's core rocking as though hit by an earthquake.

A grimace crawled up the minister's lips. He could barely control himself now when the power was still building up, could he really hold it steady at maximum level?

"Kathryn."

"Yes minister." The A.I replied sluggishly. As the chip designed to handle the massive load of Operation Cipher, she was the best qualified.

"Playback the scene from when the gate fell." As he said this, he stopped running and held his hands above each other, willing his powers to build between his fingertips.

"Yes minister."

Immediately, Corey's vision was filled with the massive beast. He saw it resting on the gate, waving it's arms wildly and roaring in annoyance. "Enlarge."

Corey narrowed his eyes at the beast's hand, watching for what he was trying to hit. The figure was too fast, never staying in one place for too long so all the minister caught were glimpses of white against the beast's flesh colored skin.

His eyes widened as he watched the arm of the beast finally hit the person. "Pause."

Corey let out a strangled breath as Dawn stared back at him, her crystal blue eyes wide with panic. He couldn't understand, he didn't need to understand. To anyone else she might have been an anonymous hero, but he was sure, beneath all that pale skin and white hair, that the person he was looking at was Dawn.

For a moment he just stared at her, taking in the bruises on her skin and the desperation in her eyes. Rage sparked up within him and he growled, pointing his fingers at the unmoving beast in front of him.

Blue snakes of lightning had built up into a ball between his outstretched hands. Before he would have been satisfied but now he wanted more. He wanted to obliterated that monster off the face of the earth. He wanted no piece of the creature to remain. He wanted it to vanish like a forgotten dream.

"Resume." Corey forced more power in his trembling hands. The beast was sitting silently where the gate had been, it's head still facing the direction of the battlefield. It had not turned to look at him once.

The video resumed and Corey watched Dawn get smacked into the ground. He saw her bones break, he heard it. He saw her relieved smile as she reached to the blue pendant on her chest.

"Enlarge." He watched her lips move and looked on as the gate crumbled.

He saw her eyes close and imagined the darkness she felt at that moment.

"Playback complete." Kathryn said.

Corey looked back at the spot where Dawn had fell to. She wasn't there. His hope fell.

As though she sensed it, Kathryn spoke up again. "I sensed another life force at that spot. A man with red hair fought alongside Miss Draekon," then as though to comfort him, she added, "she was not alone."

Corey let out a breath and looked at his hands, and, as usual, saw them from all directions. Slowly, he condensed the power, willing it to shrink to the size of a thumbnail.

With a burst of emotions seizing his heart, he flicked it towards the head of the beast.

Another man had been there for Dawn when she needed it the most, while he was busy fretting over North and picking fights with Gideon.

"Target acquired." Kathryn piped up and his wrist started to grow hot.

Corey watched his lightning sink into the skull of the beast. The creature didn't react, it was almost as if the attack was nothing but a tickle.

It turned it's head, finally, to Corey, seemingly wanting to stand and attack him. But it wouldn't get the chance to.

It doesn't matter. Corey turned on his heel and paid no heed to the creature. It doesn't matter if my powers don't affect it. Today I'm ending it all.

Corey raised his hand in the air as a two metre wide, bolt of blue shot down from the crackling skies and struck the creature head on. Another followed immediately after, the process repeating as a volley of multi-ranged attacks fell on the beast.

The sky was lit with color as several weponized satellites attacked the creature relentlessly on Corey's command.

The minister didn't look back when he heard the last scream of the beast as it collapsed to the ground, he only sent a snake of lightning towards it to finish up the job.

His degenerative powers coiled around the husk of the creature, calling to the dormant lightning in it's skull. Soon afterwards, the beast that once towards over the gate of Auro was reduced to nothing but a cup of ash.

"Dawn would have wanted to keep it for experimentation." Corey stared up into the sky, appreciating the multiple dots of blue that specked it. They were the several arms of Operation Cipher, uncountable numbers of cloaked satellites that provided North with maximum security.

But that wasn't all.

"Kathryn, it's time to end this." Corey closed his eyes and gave himself over to the power. He would end this war and wake up from this nightmare.

"Enabling Alpha Zero." Kathryn's voice droned in the background, lost somewhere in the midst of his thoughts.

Nothing can stand in my way now. Slowly, Corey opened his eyes, and he could see everything. He was not standing in Auro anymore but in every town, city and district that at least had one teleportation pod.

He was surrounded by golden eyes.

Corey watched the beasts that had ruined everything he had worked for, everything he had ever loved. The fog did nothing to hamper his vision. He saw every one of them.

Lightning spiraled down his arms and into every golden eyed beast in North. And at that moment all the teleportation pods in the nation lit up and linked together, forming a massive grid that if viewed from outer space would resemble a myriad intertwining C's.

The grids rose into walls, electric barriers that sealed off all areas in the nation. Many beast charged into them in a bid to escape but only managed to lose their lives as they were instantly vaporized by the high pressured beams that made up the pulsing, blue walls.

"Targets acquired."

Blue marred the skin of all the mutated animals in Corey's vision and his eyes rapidly searched the nation for more. He skimmed through Nicia, Harman, Sentu, Cusnai, Mastyn and Listl—the first towns to be attacked—pinpointing the feral animals that had demolished the once prosperous towns.

He strained himself to make sure that he missed no beast. He would do this for Dawn. After he destroyed them all he would seal the north for good. There would be no more violence, Operation Cipher would act as a shield for the rest of the people, the survivors.

With the last bit of time he had to stay in Alpha Zero, he gave his last command, "leave no trace behind."

As Corey lost consciousness he could only think about how he couldn't feel the rain anymore and if it was possible for ashes to burn to nothingness.

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