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Over the course of the next two weeks, the subsequent chapters of the Sword Art Online were released.
Just as Haruto and the editorial team at Kiyozawa Library had anticipated, the content of these chapters sent the massive fanbase into a state of uproar. The premise that Asuna had simply failed to wake up from the virtual world was something that fans had tentatively accepted as a medical complication arising from two years of physical dormancy. However, as the plot unfolded in the latest updates, the rage of the fans was ignited by the specific narrative choices.
The source of this fury was once again Sugou Nobuyuki. It was revealed that he had leveraged the technology of his department at Rect Progress to illicitly intercept the consciousness of three hundred players during the SAO logout process.
His goal was to reroute them into the new virtual reality game, ALO, for the purpose of unethical human experimentation. Asuna was among those unfortunate victims. Sugou had quickly ascended to the position of the most loathsome antagonist.
In a move to force Asuna to submit to his will, he kept her consciousness imprisoned in a cage atop the World Tree.
While he had not yet resorted to physical violation, the story made it hauntingly clear that he possessed the power to do so. With the experimental technology at his disposal, he could theoretically rewrite her memories or implant a mental seal to force her to love him. Despite this absolute advantage, Sugou's arrogance drove him to believe that he could conquer her spirit naturally. He spent his time playing out a twisted fantasy of courtship in a birdcage while Asuna's physical body lay defenseless in a hospital bed.
On the other side of the screen, Kirito had already dived into the world of ALO to investigate the rumors of a girl matching Asuna's description held captive in the sky. The tension was unbearable for the readers. When the latest chapter hit the stands, Haruto's creator account was immediately swarmed by a mob of angry fans.
The loyalty of his followers was proving to be a double-edged sword as they fluctuated between calling him a master and labeling him a criminal.
"Takahashi, you had better watch your back!"
"How could any human being conceive of a plot this agonizing? My blood pressure is literally off the charts right now!"
"So we are supposed to be relieved that Asuna is safe only because Sugou is a narcissist who wants to 'earn' her love? That is not comforting in the slightest!"
"It is only a digital avatar and not her physical body, so everyone needs to stay calm,"
"Stay calm? If someone used a machine to invade your partner's dreams and held her prisoner there, would you be telling people to stay calm? This is a violation of the soul!"
"Wait, who said Asuna is your wife? Stand up so I can challenge you to a duel right now!"
"Asuna is my wife, and I will defend that title to the death!"
"Both of you are delusional because she is clearly mine!"
"Hey, stop this pointless bickering and look at the bigger picture! This series is inches away from becoming a total disaster of a story! If Sugou touches so much as a single hair on her head, I estimate that at least a hundred thousand people will drop this book instantly. If he tries anything further, millions will quit. Even if Haruto only cares about the money, he cannot possibly be stupid enough to commit career suicide like this!"
"Do not be so certain of that. Look at what he did in Initial D. The heroine in that story was spending her nights in a Mercedes with another man while the protagonist was working his heart out at a gas station. Haruto does not care about your feelings or your sense of justice."
"Please stop saying things like that because you are actually starting to scare me."
"I am terrified that Takahashi-sensei is becoming addicted to this brand of gritty realism. If I were a villain like Sugou, I would not be playing games with a birdcage. I would be far more direct."
"That is because you are a creep, whereas we are true believers in the purity of romance!"
While the fans argued, a new scandal began to emerge on the internet. Several talented artists had begun to produce unauthorized adult manga depicting Asuna's imprisonment with Sugou. However, these works were barely live for a few hours before Kiyozawa Library and Haru-Yuki Animation launched a legal strike, resulting in the immediate suspension of the artists' accounts.
"What is this 'Cage Honeymoon' everyone is talking about?"
"It is exactly what it sounds like. Some people are using the SAO popularity to make a quick buck by drawing lewd scenarios involving Sugou and Asuna in that cage,"
"Why would anyone draw something so revolting? Do these people have no soul? How can they look at a goddess like Asuna and think of something so disgusting?"
"Of course it is not legal, which is why the accounts are being nuked. They are producing borderline illegal content and trying to hide the full versions behind paid servers."
"Does anyone have the link to those servers? I need to see exactly what kind of trash we are dealing with so I can properly avoid it."
"May the gods bless whoever shares the source for my research purposes."
"I also need the resource for documentation!"
"If you have the files and do not share them, I hope your next bowl of instant ramen is missing the flavor packet!"
"You people are total hypocrites! You were acting like the 'Pure Romance' police five seconds ago, and now you are begging for garbage? You should be ashamed of yourselves!"
"You do not deserve to be an Asuna fan! Turn in your membership card and get out of here!"
Haru-Yuki Animation and Kiyozawa Library were indeed operating at a frantic pace during these weeks. The staff at the publishing house were particularly impressed by Haruto's foresight. He had predicted that certain readers would attempt to capitalize on the ALO arc by creating adult derivatives, and he had proactively allocated a massive fund to crush these attempts before they could gain traction.
If he had not acted with such decisiveness, a negative label would have undoubtedly taken root, permanently damaging Asuna's image as a pure and beloved heroine. By making examples of the first few artists and using paid search rankings to spread the news of the crackdown, the publishers managed to effectively sanitize the market.
Haruto understood his own creations and the industry landscape with a level of clarity that bordered on the supernatural. This keen intuition for the market was perhaps the primary reason why his works maintained such an iron grip on the readers.
Even as the doujinshi incident was contained, the possibility of a bad ending continued to haunt the fans. Sugou's absolute power in the ALO world was a constant source of anxiety. In response, Kiyozawa Library arranged for Haruto to appear on several talk shows to reassure the public.
While he dropped numerous hints that the story remained a Pure Romance at its heart, the scars from the Initial D plot were still fresh. The fans remained in a state of high alert.
Despite the controversy, the popularity of the series showed no signs of waning. The sixth volume of the Sword Art Online tankobon was released and shattered all expectations by selling 6.5 million copies in its first week alone.
This performance broke a six-year record for opening-week sales in the light novel industry.
By the end of the first half of the year, the total sales for the first four volumes of SAO had reached a staggering 82 million copies. His earnings from this alone reached billions.
His other work, Initial D, was equally lucrative.
When these figures were added with the revenue from the global Blu-ray sales and overseas licensing of Madoka Magica, Haruto had become a mega billionaire.
The speed of his ascent was unprecedented. His success served as a testament to the scale of the ACG market, where the right combination of talent and timing could lead to a legendary rise.
By the end of June, as Haruto retreated into his studies for final exams, articles began to surface detailing his astronomical earnings.
Unlike many other wealthy figures who were met with public resentment, the fans and the general public viewed Haruto's wealth with a sense of respect. They recognized that he had built his empire on a foundation of pure genius. The image of a sophomore student earning billions of yen through his own hands became a sensation.
However, Haruto himself was too exhausted to celebrate. He walked out of his final exam feeling physically and mentally drained.
"This is honestly more taxing than writing two series simultaneously," he muttered to himself as he left the campus.
It was the final day of his sophomore year.
The thought left him with a sense of melancholy. While other students were enjoying a vibrant college experience, his life was a whirlwind of storyboards, manuscripts, animation meetings, and constant travel for promotions.
He looked at the headlines on his phone describing his rise, and a wry smile crossed his face. He certainly did not feel as elegant or effortless as the journalists portrayed him to be.
June faded away, and July arrived.
Sword Art Online and Initial D had been running for nearly a year, and their fanbases had settled into a steady routine of anticipation. Haruto could afford to take a step back from them temporarily, but only because he was shifting his focus to his most ambitious project yet. Starting July 1st, he went all out to promote Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.
This season was set to be a bloodbath. The animation industry had 116 new titles scheduled to premiere simultaneously.
The volume of content was staggering, and the quality was expected to be high across the board. Furthermore, Haruto's old friends, the Big Three studios of Hikaru, Ryuyo, and Aozora Animation, all had flagship productions hitting the airwaves.
Hikaru Animation had invested billions into adapting Red Dragon, the very manga that was currently battling Initial D for the number two spot in weekly sales.
Not to be outdone, Ryuyo Animation had finally closed a massive deal with Hoshizora Publishing. They had secured the rights to The Otherworld Reformer, the highest-selling light novel in the industry, and were pouring over 5 billion yen into the first twelve episodes. The production value promised to rival theatrical films.
Meanwhile, Aozora Animation was banking on an original high-speed cycling drama titled Terminal Descent.
In the manga world, Initial D was sitting at 21 million copies per volume (3rd place), just behind Red Dragon at 21.1 million (2nd place), while Twin Rings led with 22.5 million.
In the novel world, SAO held 20.5 million copies per volume (3rd place), and The Otherworld Reformer at 23 million (1st place).
Haruto's works were the aggressive new money of the industry, breathing down the necks of established titans. While they currently sat in third place, their growth rate and cultural impact were far higher than their rivals. They only lacked the years of accumulated sales data that their competitors enjoyed.
Now, these rivals were set to clash again in the animation medium.
From the first day of July, the air was thick with the scent of gunpowder. Haruto was the primary target. If he lost in the animation arena to the very works he was trying to dethrone, it would be a significant blow to his momentum.
The fanbases for Red Dragon and The Otherworld Reformer had formed a temporary hater's alliance against Edgerunners. They did not necessarily care who won the season, as long as Haruto was humiliated. They were terrified that if he triumphed here, the Initial D and SAO fans would become even more insufferable.
They launched a preemptive strike on social media, flooding forums with negative speculation about Edgerunners in an attempt to sink its reputation before the first episode even aired.