Chapter 0042: The Price of Victory
The flames still burned. The sky was thick with smoke. Claire's body ached, but she refused to collapse. Damian was dead. The war was over.
Or so she thought.
Until she heard the voice.
Low. Raspy. Laughing.
Her blood ran cold.
Alexander stiffened beside her, his grip tightening on his knife. They both turned, eyes locking onto the impossible.
From the wreckage, a figure crawled.
Damian.
His face was bloodied. His body broken. But he was still alive.
And worst of all—he was smiling.
"You really think this was about winning?" Damian coughed, spitting blood onto the concrete. "You think you've stopped me?"
Claire took a step forward, her heart hammering. "You're done, Damian. It's over."
Damian chuckled. A sick, twisted sound.
And then—he lifted his hand.
In it—a detonator.
Claire's stomach dropped. No.
Damian grinned through the blood. "Did you really think I wouldn't have a failsafe?"
Click.
The entire ground shook.
Buildings collapsed in the distance.Explosions rippled through the city.
But it wasn't just any explosion.
It was targeted.Strategic.
Alexander's breath hitched. "The foundation…"
Claire's pulse pounded.
Damian had rigged the entire city's underground supports.
One final trap.
The city wasn't burning anymore.
It was sinking.
Race Against the End
The city rumbled beneath Claire's feet, the streets cracking apart as the ground gave way beneath them.
Damian coughed out a laugh, his bloodied face twisted in triumph. "You played well, Claire. But you were never prepared for this."
Claire's fists clenched. "You're wrong."
She moved before he could react.
One shot.
Straight through his hand.
The detonator flew from his grip, spinning through the air.
Alexander lunged, catching it. His fingers trembled over the switch. "It's already triggered. We need to find the override—now!"
The city was falling apart.
Buildings tilted dangerously, crashing into each other like dominos. The streets caved in, revealing a vast underground network of explosives wired to destroy everything.
They had minutes. Maybe less.
Claire grabbed Damian by the collar, dragging him close. "Where's the override?"
He only grinned. "Go ahead. Kill me. You'll never find it in time."
Her finger tightened on the trigger. She could end him—right now.
But that wouldn't stop the destruction.
Think, Claire. Think.
Suddenly—a memory.
Back in the tower. Damian's office. The encrypted panel. The one he never let anyone near.
She turned to Alexander. "The control room—inside the Tower! That's where he'd keep it!"
Alexander's eyes flickered to the skyline—to the Tower barely standing. "That place is coming down any second!"
"Then we better move fast."
She turned to leave—but Damian grabbed her wrist.
"You'll never make it," he hissed. "I made sure of that."
Claire wrenched free, eyes burning. "Then watch me."
And she ran—toward the falling city.
The Final Gamble
Claire sprinted through the collapsing streets, dodging falling debris as the city crumbled around her. The air was thick with smoke and the acrid scent of burning metal. The Tower loomed ahead—barely holding together, shaking with every explosion.
"CLAIRE!" Alexander shouted behind her, but she didn't stop.
There was no time.
Every step sent shocks of pain through her battered body, but she forced herself forward. This was it. The final gamble.
Inside, the Tower was a nightmare. Flames roared up the shattered stairwell. A deafening groan filled the air as the structure tilted, the foundation crumbling beneath it.
She knew where to go. Damian's office.
But when she reached the corridor—she froze.
Samantha stood there. Gun raised.
"Going somewhere?" Samantha's voice was cold, her expression unreadable.
Claire's chest heaved. "Not now, Sam. Move."
"You don't get it, do you?" Samantha took a step closer, her finger tightening on the trigger. "You were never supposed to make it this far."
The Truth Unleashed
Claire's pulse thundered in her ears. Samantha's gun was steady, her expression unreadable. The flames danced in her eyes, a mirror of the chaos erupting around them.
"You were never supposed to make it this far," Samantha repeated, her voice laced with something Claire couldn't quite place—regret? Resentment? Pain?
Claire clenched her fists. "Then pull the trigger."
Samantha didn't.
Instead, she lowered the gun.
"You don't understand, Claire. I was never working against you."
Claire's breath caught. What?
Samantha took a step closer. "Everything I did… was to get you here. To this moment."
The building shuddered violently, a section of the ceiling collapsing just behind them. Time was running out.
"Damian knew you'd come. He planned for it." Samantha's voice was tight, rushed. "He's not trying to destroy the city, Claire. He's trying to destroy YOU."
The Final Betrayal
Claire's world spun as Samantha's words sank in. Destroy me?
"You're lying," Claire hissed. She had to be.
Samantha's smirk was razor-sharp. "Am I?"
Then—BOOM.
The entire floor lurched beneath them, sending dust and debris crashing down. Claire staggered as alarms blared, warning of imminent destruction.
But it was Samantha's next words that shattered her completely.
"Damian was never the real threat."
Claire's blood ran cold.
The doors behind them slid open—revealing HIM.
A shadow stepped forward, slow, controlled, deadly.
Alexander.
Alive. Smiling.
And holding the detonator.
The Ultimate Betrayal
Claire couldn't breathe.
Alexander. Alive. Holding the detonator. Smiling like he'd already won.
"Surprised?" His voice was smooth, cruel.
Samantha laughed. "You never saw it coming, did you?"
Claire's heart pounded. "This... this was all you?"
Alexander tilted his head. "Of course not."
Then—he threw the detonator.
BOOM.
The ground shook violently as a new explosion ripped through the city. Claire barely had time to react before the floor beneath her cracked.
She grabbed onto the ledge, dangling over the abyss.
Alexander loomed above her.
"You always thought you were the hero," he said, voice like steel. "But heroes don't win."
Claire's grip slipped.
Samantha turned away, stepping into the shadows. "It's over, Claire."
Claire's eyes burned. Was this it? Was this how it ended?
Or...
Was there one last way out?
Claire's Last Gambit
Claire let go.
Not because she had no choice.
But because she had one final move.
Alexander's smirk faltered as Claire plummeted—but she wasn't falling to her death.
She twisted midair, grabbing onto the steel beam beneath. In one swift motion, she flipped herself up—landing on her feet.
Alexander's eyes widened. "Impossible."
Claire smiled. "You should know by now, Alex—" She ripped a hidden blade from her sleeve. "I never lose."
Samantha moved fast. Too fast.
A gun fired. Claire dodged, spinning low, sweeping Samantha's legs out from under her.
Samantha hit the ground hard. Her gun skidded away.
"You really thought you could betray me and walk away?" Claire hissed.
Samantha grinned, even as blood trickled from her lips. "Betray you? Claire… I was never on your side."
Alexander lunged.
Claire ducked. She drove her blade up—catching him across the ribs.
He staggered back, eyes wild.
"You think this is over?" he growled.
Claire wiped the blood off her knife. "I know it is."
The building shook violently.Time was running out.
Claire grabbed Samantha's collar. "Where's the real detonator?"
Samantha chuckled. "You're standing on it."
Claire's stomach dropped.
BOOM.
The Point of No Return
The floor cracked beneath her feet.
Flames burst from the walls. Smoke choked the air. The entire tower was seconds from collapsing.
But Claire wasn't running.
She wasn't scared.
She was ready.
Alexander staggered back, gripping his wound. His breath came in ragged gasps.
"You… you think this is victory?" he rasped.
Claire cocked her head. "No, Alex." She raised her blade. "This is justice."
Before he could move, she lunged.
Samantha laughed— a cruel, twisted sound. "You don't get it, do you?"
Claire tightened her grip. "Oh, I get it."
She ripped the earpiece from Samantha's ear—jamming it into her own.
A distorted voice crackled through.
Damian.
"Did you really think I wouldn't have a failsafe?"
The entire city rumbled.
Outside, missiles launched.
Inside, the final countdown began.
10…9…8…
Claire's pulse slammed against her ribs.She had SECONDS.
She grabbed the detonator—AND PRESSED THE LAST BUTTON.
Everything went still.
Then—
BOOM.
Claire's Last Gamble
The explosion ripped through the city.
Buildings crumbled. Smoke blotted out the sky. The world was seconds from oblivion.
But Claire wasn't dead.
Not yet.
The floor beneath her vanished. She plummeted into the abyss— the flames chasing her down.
At the last second, she twisted, reaching for a steel beam—GRABBING IT.
Her arms screamed in pain, her body dangling over pure destruction.
Samantha's voice echoed above.
"You're too late, Claire."
Claire gritted her teeth. "No."
With one final burst of strength, she swung upward—SLAMMING INTO SAMANTHA.
The two crashed to the ground.
Samantha struggled beneath Claire's grip.
But Claire wasn't here to talk.
She pressed the final override code into Samantha's device.
The countdown froze.
Then—
Damian's voice cut through the static.
"You think you've won?"
A second detonation sequence activated.
THE TRUE FINAL COUNTDOWN BEGINS.
60 SECONDS TO GLOBAL OBLITERATION.
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(To be Continue...)