@@ -106,7 +106,6 @@ def flush_errors(new_messages: List[str], serious: bool) -> None:
     if MEM_PROFILE:
         from mypy.memprofile import print_memory_profile
         print_memory_profile()
-    del res  # Now it's safe to delete
 
     code = 0
     if messages:
@@ -129,6 +128,9 @@ def flush_errors(new_messages: List[str], serious: bool) -> None:
     elif code:
         sys.exit(code)
 
+    # HACK: keep res alive so that mypyc won't free it before the hard_exit
+    list([res])
+
 
 # Make the help output a little less jarring.
 class AugmentedHelpFormatter(argparse.RawDescriptionHelpFormatter):