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Within a mere half-day of the latest Sword Art Online chapter hitting the shelves, the conversation had shifted. The initial shock of Heathcliff being unmasked as the ultimate boss, Akihiko Kayaba, was quickly overtaken by a scary question.
Was Asuna actually going to die?
This put Haruto in a bit of an awkward position.
Asuna was indeed scheduled to meet her end.
In the very next chapter, she would use that once-in-a-lifetime flash that every iconic character seems to possess, throwing herself into the path of a lethal blade to save Kirito. Haruto spent some time scrolling through the fan forums.
It was safe to say that Asuna's influence had reached a terrifying magnitude. Millions of fans flooded the Kiyozawa Library comment section, declaring that if Asuna was killed, they would not only drop the series but boycott the magazine entirely.
Haruto's creator account was effectively under siege. The Initial D fans, who had spent the last few days relentlessly trashing him for Takumi's heartbreak, had suddenly gone quiet.
They had switched to spectator mode, watching with fascination.
The fans were basically drawing a line in the sand. They had taken the chapter title and the recent plot twists as an omen, and they were letting Haruto know their limits.
Initial D had been a warning; Shiori Takahashi had a specialized talent for making his audience suffer through his heroines, and the fans were not about to let him do it again without a fight.
The following day, the rankings for Kiyozawa magazine were finalized. Sword Art Online remained the undisputed king, sitting at the number one spot with 3,421,578 votes. However, Reina's Absolute Realm had also made a significant leap, climbing to the fourth position. This was a milestone for her; she had officially overtaken You and I!, one of the magazine's long-standing Three Pillars.
Under normal circumstances, a newcomer like Reina toppling a series with ten million copies in circulation would be the biggest headline in the industry. But because Haruto's two masterpieces were currently sucking all the oxygen out of the room, her massive achievement was relegated to a secondary story.
Haruto, having steered both Initial D and Sword Art Online into their most critical narrative junctures simultaneously, found his interest in the online drama fading after a couple of days. He was focused on the work.
The ones who were truly losing sleep were the executives at Kiyozawa and Prime Manga.
Their flagship titles were both entering high-risk territory, and no one knew how the public would react once the chapters actually landed. Initial D was featuring a protagonist's defeat. Sword Art Online was ending the Death Game arc entirely. Even though the novel was not over, would readers feel cheated by a sudden shift to a new world? Aincrad was designed with one hundred floors; if Haruto wanted to, he could have milked the last twenty-five floors for another two years of easy sales. Why take the risk of ending it now?
The editorial departments at both companies had practically begged Haruto to take a gentler approach. They wanted him to slow down and prioritize stability over shock value.
But Haruto would not budge. Without a long-term contract to bind him, the publishers were forced to be passive passengers on his narrative roller coaster.
In a desperate bid for damage control, the publishers decided on a unified strategy: they would get Haruto in front of the cameras. Before the next issue of the magazines could drop, they scheduled him for several talk shows and variety segments, hoping his physical presence and charm would soothe the restless fanbase.
As the first half of May drifted by, the latest chapter of Initial D was serialized. This chapter contained one of the most iconic and painful moments in the entire series.
The legendary Ghost of Akina tasting defeat for the first time.
Blinded by the rage of seeing Natsuki with the man in the Mercedes, Takumi had raced to Mt. Akagi to challenge Kyoichi Sudo.
He was desperate for an outlet for his fury. But Kyoichi was a pro who knew every inch of the Akagi pass. Takumi was on unfamiliar ground, driven by unstable emotions.
He pushed the car too hard, ignored the limits of his machine, and focused solely on overtaking his rival. Then, at the absolute climax of the race, the AE86's engine gave out. The heart of the car literally exploded. As the referee blew the whistle and declared Kyoichi Sudo the winner, the chapter ended. The Initial D fanbase went into a state of mourning. In the previous chapter, Takumi lost his love.
In this chapter, he lost his title as the invincible racer, and his beloved car was a smoking wreck.
The plot was merciless.
"I cannot take this anymore. This is pure torture! His girl betrays him, he loses the race, and his car is dead? Takumi is having the worst day in his life."
"I am done. If I were him, I would just quit life at this point."
"It hurts. It hurts so much!"
"I've read a lot of manga, but I've never seen a character lose everything this quickly. I am actually feeling numb for him."
"Does Haruto have a soul? Why has he made the last two weeks so unbearable? It is not that the writing is bad, it is actually brilliant, but it is so incredibly depressing."
"Maybe this is what real growth looks like. There are enough fairy tales in the ACG world where the hero always wins. Takahashi-sensei is showing us the jagged edges of reality. I actually respect the guts it took to write this."
"I do not want respect! I want Takumi to be happy! I have enough reality in my daily life; I do not need it in my manga!"
"The 86 is dead. My faith is shattered."
"What is the point of this? Why would he do this to us?"
"He told us from the beginning, didn't he? 'A racer does not need a woman.' Being a lonely driver is the rule of the mountain pass..."
The cries of despair from the manga fans were a grim warning to the Sword Art Online community. Haruto had proven that he was not just willing to hurt the heroine; he was perfectly fine with breaking the protagonist too.
The Sword Art Online fans were now in a state of high alert, their hearts heavy with prayer. They pleaded with the universe.
Please, Takahashi-sensei, do not let the next chapter of Sword Art Online be another massacre.
