Why do people consider the episode ended on a cliffhanger if there's no true suspense? Does anyone actually think the MC has even a tiny chance to die? It's actually likely he'll soon end up even stronger than before after this.
I think it's a missed opportunity to have a girl injured instead. We know at least one VN that killed a LI, so in the back of our minds we would have felt there is a possibility it could happen again, however small. Now that's something that would have shaken and gripped me!
Cliffhangers aren't about suspense in the form of "will the hero get out of this jam?" They're about how. Very few creators would ever kill the main character.
Also no no no no no on hurting the girls to teach the MC a lesson. This is a lazy, overused trope. If a character is hurt or dies this should serve the story, not as motivation for the MC to be better. There's no good story reason for any of them to be hurt, because they're not reckless like Orion. Even if he were careless enough to put them in danger, they're not careless enough to let him.
And it would have no more suspense because we know that Caribdis isn't going to kill any of the girls.
