交换:年轻夫妇

"Cocytus." Lindy whispered while gazing passionately into Leon's eyes.

A massive white orb shot into the sky, capturing the attention of everyone present. When Caitlyn saw it, she immediately felt its danger and flew to Leon.

He caught her with open arms and then looked up into the sky as an icy blue barrier wrapped around the group.

All the flying beasts, creatures, reptiles, giants, and every other predatory being in the area shook with fear as an overbearing aura chilled the atmosphere.

It sent shivers crawling down the spines of the haremites on sight.

The orb was only in the sky for a few seconds, but it moved in slow motion for everyone present.

When it reached 150 feet in the sky, it exploded outward, sending a massive shockwave ring through the atmosphere.

The air itself froze upon contact, leaving a surreal warping appearance as it passed five miles into the distance, blanketing the sky with an icy, circular ceiling.

Everything near it froze instantly, still suspended, locked in time.

Blink.

The white ceiling crashed down uniformly on the earth.

However, there were no waves.

No crashes from liquid splashing on rocks.

No drizzling as droplets bounced off objects and fell back to the earth.

Everything the water touched froze upon impact, and the water itself instantly stuck to what it touched and stopped.

The world itself stopped moving, falling quiet and still.

Everything happened in an instant.

Yet every watcher's mind fell silent, experiencing a brief moment of peace—if only for a single solitary moment—before reality hit them like gravity, sending them spiraling back to their normal thoughts and life.

Boom, boom, Crash, BOOM! Crash, crash, boom! SNAP! Boom, boom, boom, crash!

Flying monsters, now frozen and briefly suspended in the air, rained down from the sky, crashing into frozen wreckage while shattering into pieces.

Every time one made contact, it sent clouds of ice particles in the air, and millions of sparkingly prisms fell from the sky.

It was a beautiful, brutal display, and it captivated everyone present.

Only after gazing upon five miles of ice did the haremites, candidates, and survivors understand how close to death they were.

If they weren't in the Sanctuary or outside it for only a second longer, they would have died instantly, lost in the frozen wasteland before them.

Cocytus. Lamentation.

The river of lamenting souls; the frozen lake in the ninth circle of hell.

It trapped Lucifer himself, born from his icy tears, punishing those who committed the sin of betrayal upon their loved ones, cities, and allies.

The punishment for which Lucifer himself, the apotheosis of the act, suffered for eternity.

No power could capture the Platonic form of a legendary concept quite as poetically and destructively as Charon did.

One only needed to see the frozen wonderland at a glance to understand the consequences of its presence and the wrath of the person who exacted judgment with it.

Leon released a breath, and hot steam rose into the air.

So too did Caitlyn, then Tricksie, and finally Lindy, who was lost in a maze of disbelief far greater than anyone else.

She approached the ice, unbelieving unless she touched it herself.

Yet whenever she moved, the ice thawed around her body, showcasing the power of the beautiful barrier surrounding the group.

Everyone walked in unison, weaving through the tundra with blank expressions as if in a trance.

Beasts, lizards, creatures, giants, canines, and cats lined the area.

Moments before, they were living, fighting, and clawing at candidates and survivors stuck in the wreckage.

Now they were statues, temporarily immortalized by the strange and breath-taking elegance that only gods can offer.

The group silently explored the area, melting a trail through it.

Once they reached a clearing created by the lamia, who fought, bloodied, and bruised to uncover the group, they saw the barrier.

Beyond it stood the frozen faces of almost a thousand people.

Everyone in the Lemmox Sanctuary came to watch the battle. Some watched for entertainment, others in hopes Leon would die.

Regardless of their reason, they were present and bore witness to the legendary might of Charon, the boatman, who carried souls into the underworld on the River Styx.

Lindy continued walking forward until the group reached ten feet from the barrier, and the two sides stared at each other blankly.

Leon smiled as a thousand eyes fell upon Lindy and felt pride in his heart.

It was a strange emotion. To feel a desire for someone he cared for to succeed.

So he panned the area to see all of their faces before addressing them.

"This is where you cheer!" Leon yelled, shattering the silence.

The world froze again for a moment before a single person yelled, and the entire area burst into roaring cheers.

Thunderous applause rocked the airwaves, shattering the frozen atmosphere and ushering in an age of excitement and celebration.

It was over. Finally over.

A surreal feeling washed over everyone, knowing that the godly battle had somehow reached its conclusion.

The group stepped through the blue barrier. In a mind-bending display, Lindy's crystal blue barrier was replaced by the Sanctuary's simultanously, as if walking through a scanner.

As the four moved forward, a sea of people parted for them, opening up a pathway into the city.

The clapping was thunderous, and the cheers were booming.

Even those that hated Leon to their core somehow got wrapped up in an endless sea of energy waving through the crowd, connected with a surreal link of synesthesia.

Leon nodded to the wounded yet grinning members of his future elites.

Cynthia the elf with her cold amethyst eyes.

Kazz, the tigress mercenary with black hair, riddled with wounds with a grinning face.

Mirth, the canine soldier who showed surreal power as a werewolf.

Manka, the horrifying-looking snake woman, doubtlessly attractive some, who showcased a brutal desire to [crush shit].

Kern, the Viking-looking warrior who single-handedly laid waste to the surviving men on both sides of the chasm and picked off countless survivors without blinking an eye.

Fritz, the gorgeous 2-foot tall fairy, who glided through the battlefield, healing candidates and retrieval team members while ducking countless enemies with grace.

Filo, Pan, Feris, Like, and Toga, the dragon squad, who Leon felt would look adorable in maid outfits.

Shawn, the stunning black woman with cornrows, who took control of the candidates and survivors while protecting others with earth magic.

Tanya, the blue humanoid integral in using wind magic to prevent many from dying from the landslides.

Quinn, the redhead that led the operation to organize candidates.

Kira, the kleptomaniac who saved countless people by stealing Cynthia's spatial magic like a spoiled child.

And Foxy, who he never saw, who he'd find a rationale for making a leader, just because he loved her fox ears.

Leon nodded at each one of them, showcasing his gratitude for what they had done.

He had his eyes on others as well, but those warriors earned his respect during the battle and their place in the elites.

While not everyone would join, or so he thought, he would offer all of them his power in time as leaders of his new civilization.

The countless candidates and survivors those individuals saved burst into delirious cheers during every sign of recognition.

Then Leon turned to Tricksie, who he was determined to make part of his intimate harem.

She flashed him a smile, and he nodded in response.

Countless people went wild when he smiled at her. The bunny woman was terrifying, but she was also the group's mascot, the cute symbol of destruction paving the way through monsters and ruthless men.

Finally, he turned to Caitlyn and Lindy, to whom he opened his arms. The two rushed to his body, clinging on both sides.

The endearing show of affection caused the powder keg of excitement to detonate, waving through the Lemmox City streets and into the god-filled skies.

—

[A/N: Rewards chapter when I wake up! I hope you liked the Paradise Road mini-arc. Hopefully, you can see the importance, as countless integral members have been introduced, each with real character development. After this arc, a new world of possibilities opens as the characters take on key positions to establish Harem City. Thanks for reading!]