Harem Legion: Queens of the Apocalypse-Chapter 42 Priceless Beyond Imagination

Life Crystals.

Cliff, commander of the Emberleaf Legion, once put out a public bounty - if someone could bring him a single Life Crystal or defect to his side with one, the reward was clear: thirty young, beautiful slave girls, thirty Metal Crystals, thirty Fire Crystals, plus a luxury caravan, 4,000 pounds of rice, two water wagons filled with clean water, and 100 automatic rifles with 10,000 rounds packed in twenty wooden crates.

Expensive? Maybe to most. But for Cliff, that was cheap. After all, a Life Crystal meant another chance at life - his second life, to be exact.

Once a man has tasted power, he fears death even more. The best-known example? King Gilgamesh.

Magnus remembered a tale - during the rebellion three months prior, it was said that Cliff once had a Life Crystal. Someone killed him, but one of his loyalists used that Life Crystal to bring him back from the dead. Cliff reclaimed control, and after that, he changed his name to "Emberleaf."

If that story was true...

Then when Emberleaf Legion first took over Dunwich Hollow, those six Crystals should’ve been Cliff’s. Now Magnus had one. If another rebellion brewed - would Cliff still have a Crystal to save himself?

Everything was connected.

If Cliff died, the Seventh Vanguard wouldn’t become the Emberleaf Legion, and chaos might erupt worldwide.

But that was all for later. For now, only Magnus knew just how valuable this Crystal really was. And he had to keep it secret - so secret that not even Sarah could know unless it became absolutely necessary.

He wrapped up the six Life Crystals and kept digging. Quiet. Focused. Another two hours passed...

What was odd - this meteor! The yield was insane. In just three hours, 66 Crystals had come out, way beyond what any meteor of this size had ever produced.

Then - crack! 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

A sharp snap broke the silence. Magnus’s heart leapt. Cold sweat prickled down his back.

He dropped his pick, crouched down, and started uncovering the source of the sound with both hands.

There it was - cool to the touch, like ice. About the size of a football.

That feeling - he knew it!

Last night, when he touched his chest, he felt something just like it. A cold sensation, like smooth glass pressing against his skin. This was it.

This... this thing had been with him since last night.

Shock. Doubt. Fear. Disbelief. A mess of emotions tore through him.

What scared him most wasn’t what this thing was - it was what it might mean. What if the girls started firing on him again? What if he was thrown back into Emily’s infirmary? Or worse - what if this thing unleashed God-knew-what?

The Crystal in his hands was pitch black. Ice cold. A perfect sphere.

Magnus cradled it in both hands, carefully stepped out of the meteor hollow.

He looked up - alert. The girls had stopped working. They were all watching him.

"You... what the hell do you think you’re doing?" he barked, voice sharp.

Emily blinked, confused. "Us? What do you mean? Magnus, are you okay? Are you hungry or something?"

She and the others stared at him strangely. Magnus looked at his hands - he was holding the Crystal up, palms open, like he was asking for something.

But none of them saw what he held.

The black Crystal was invisible to all but him."You guys... you really don’t have anything to ask?"

Magnus looked down at the black crystal in his hand, then glanced around at the women surrounding him. His heart skipped - he almost dropped it right there.

What shocked him wasn’t the crystal itself, but the fact that none of them were looking at it.

Not one glance.

Instead, they were all staring at his face.

What did that mean? They’d just seen him pull out this massive crystal, bigger than anything they’d ever seen, and yet they acted like it wasn’t there at all. Their eyes stayed locked on him - only him.

Could it be... they really couldn’t see it?

Or worse - had his face changed so much that they didn’t recognize him?

Either way, it rattled him. His fear surged, his voice cracked into a shout: "What the hell’s going on? What’re you all looking at?"

"Magnus, hey, what’s with you?" Charlotte stepped in, cautious, like approaching a cornered beast. "You’re scaring us..."

"Don’t come near me! Stay right there!" Magnus barked, backing away.

"Magnus..." Emily started, trying to ease in.

But he cut her off, sharp. "Emily, tell me - what are you all staring at? Seriously, what do you see?"

To the others, he looked like he was on the edge - eyes wide, breathing heavy, voice cracking. A glance passed between the girls before Emily answered carefully. "We just saw you walk out from the meteorite... and you were holding this pose - "

She mimicked him, both hands raised, as if holding something invisible. "Are you... asking for help with something?"

"I..." Magnus choked on words.

Looking again at their faces - confused, focused entirely on him - it hit him like a cold slap. They really couldn’t see the crystal.

"I’m fine," he forced out.

Sweat soaked his forehead. He kept it together by will alone. Slowly, he stepped back, putting a few meters between himself and the meteorite.

Whatever had been calling to him from it had gone silent.

Trying to act normal, he said, "I’m just tired. Emily, you and the others keep working on that meteorite. I’m going back to rest."

"I’ll come with you," Emily said, concern etched in her frown.

"No need. Stay here. I’ll be fine on my own." He didn’t wait for a reply and made for the sleeper car, walking fast.

What was wrong with him?

The girls stood frozen, watching his retreating back, thoughts racing.

On the way back, Magnus found two more squads. Same result. None of them gave any sign they saw the black crystal he held clear as day.

By the time he reached the sleeper car, it was certain: the thing he had... only he could see it.

It made no sense. Violated everything he understood.

Inside the car: empty. Finally alone, he let out a slow, steadying breath and collapsed onto his bed. He stared at the black crystal in his hands.

It wasn’t like the others.

Normal crystals were egg-sized. All of them had spiderweb fractures - Earth Crystals, Fire Crystals, Life Crystals - it didn’t matter. Each had a tell: cracks and color layered in streaks.

But this?

This one was different. Not a single crack. Its smooth, glossy surface looked flawless. Bigger than a soccer ball. Like a chunk of pure black glass.

What now?

Should he use it?