The device shattered like a small star.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then the hydro plant began to die.
The black veins recoiled from the walls as if burned, the turbines screamed in reverse, and the creature in front of Leon staggered—no longer guided, no longer certain of its purpose.
The caretaker stared at the broken remains in his hand."You have no idea what you've done."
Leon kept his weapon on him. "I ended your religion."
Ada was already moving, downloading the last files from the terminal."Core is destabilizing. We have minutes—maybe less."
The creature roared, confused and furious, and the soldiers around the platform lost their discipline. Without the signal, they were just men again—afraid.
Gunfire resumed.
Leon grabbed Ada's arm. "We need a way out."
She hesitated for the first time since Lawrence Falls began."There is an extraction route. My extraction route."
He understood immediately.
"Your employers."
Ada didn't deny it.
"They'll take the data. They'll take you if they realize what you are."
Leon looked at the shaking veins crawling toward him one last time, then at her.
"Then we don't let them."
Something changed in her eyes—something older than missions and lies.
"You'd burn every bridge, wouldn't you?"
"For the right person," he answered.
The creature charged.
Leon and Ada moved as one, years of unspoken trust guiding them through collapsing metal and rising water. She planted explosives along the generators while he held the line, fighting both monsters and the part of himself that still whispered promises.
The final charge was set.
Ada held the detonator.
"If I do this," she said quietly, "there's no going back for either of us."
Leon smiled, tired but real."I'm counting on it."
She pressed the button.
And Lawrence Falls began to fall for good.