Terms like "The Death of Biakuya," "Holy Light," and "Harribel" dominated the trending lists without the slightest surprise after that week's two-episode update. What no one expected, however, was that the discussion surrounding Harribel's body would end up overshadowing even the emotional shock of Biakuya's death.
Alex could only admit that he had seriously underestimated the mobilizing power of that very specific kind of audience.
After all, "Holy Light" was a rather amusing phenomenon within animated works. But nobody imagined that the first time a large portion of viewers would truly encounter it would be inside such an intense, blood-pumping action series. Many fans who managed to access foreign versions or download uncensored files began sending screenshots of Harribel's second release to friends, private groups, and closed communities, because posting that kind of thing publicly was practically begging to have it taken down within minutes.
The men who had watched the final episode the night before through a screen covered in sacred beams of light nearly collapsed when they saw the uncensored images.
Now it made sense.
It was not that the production team wanted to ruin the experience. It was simply that, if those scenes had aired without any visual barrier, the regulators probably would have pretended to be blind for only a few seconds before making the entire platform disappear. Still, understanding was one thing; accepting it was another. The fans protested fiercely, declaring that until Harribel left the story, they would only watch the cloud-stored versions.
Thanks to the impact of episode 31 of Thousand-Year Final War, Megan exploded across social media again. The very next day, invitations from variety shows began pouring in from every direction, accompanied by appearance fees so absurd that even she, a star accustomed to Hollywood numbers, was startled.
She could not help but ask whether people in that market were really that rich.
Alex merely found it funny. To him, that was inexperience. She still did not know that variety shows were one of the easiest places in the entertainment industry to make quick money. It was almost like certain sections of video platforms in his previous life: all someone had to do was stand in front of a camera, smile foolishly, take part in some ridiculous challenge, and money and traffic would arrive together with shameful ease.
Creating real content with care and seriousness required far more effort than appearing in food challenges or trying not to laugh at terrible jokes.
As for the invitations, Megan was obviously tempted. After all, Alex was far too famous as a tyrannical director, the kind who squeezed his actors down to the last drop. It was not enough for him to turn established stars into obedient students on set; he also possessed the special talent of reducing salaries to the very edge of acceptability.
In Hollywood, in fact, a rather cruel rumor had already begun circulating: if someone worked under Alex, receiving one-third of their usual fee should already be considered lucky.
Alex considered that slander.
After all, with preparations for the second half of Death Note already underway, he had managed to reduce some salaries to one-fifth.
Taylor, cast to play Misa Amane, nearly exploded when she saw the contract.
It had to be a joke.
And yet, after gritting her teeth, she signed it.
The same went for Megan and Bell. After two seasons of Soul Reaper and the filming of Death Note, Alex had already squeezed the two of them so hard that they had almost no room left to negotiate. Now that both projects had become massive hits, it was only natural that they would try to recover, from other pockets, the money Alex had taken from them.
Bell, at that moment, was making his own round of appearances in the Korean market. Their enthusiasm for American stars was truly impressive, and the appearance fees were generous enough to inspire envy. Alex even thought that if that audience did not insist so much on making strange jokes about his origins, he might also go there to collect a share of that easy money.
Megan, meanwhile, wanted to take advantage of the wave in the local market, but claimed that she did not know the country, the culture, or the invisible rules of that kind of program very well. So she asked Alex if he could accompany her.
When he heard that, Alex hesitated.
He did not like appearing on variety shows or consuming his own public image. Besides, preparations for the second half of Death Note were practically complete, and he needed to stay close to the crew to adjust the final details. Megan sensed the hesitation in his voice and, without directly pressuring him, sent a few photos.
Alex opened the message.
And fell silent.
That woman really had the nerve to send him that?
Was she not afraid that he would save the images and use them to tease her in the future? Some of the photos were so daring that, if they ever leaked, they would create a storm greater than many famous Hollywood scandals.
Among them, there was one in particular.
Full of righteousness.
Yes, exactly the sort of image any ill-intentioned reader staring at the screen could imagine, a perfect recreation of a classic scene of moral downfall from adult stories, yet wrapped in such shameless irony that even Alex was stunned for several seconds.
He had always liked adding certain fantasy elements when he was with his companions. Sometimes he asked Emily or other actresses to wear outfits inspired by Orihime or Yoruichi. Other times, he made Nadia call him overly sweet nicknames just to laugh at her embarrassment. But one thing was playing with aesthetics, mood, and performance; another was suggesting a full recreation of absurd scenes from adult works.
Whenever Alex tried to push the joke too far, the women's answer was almost unanimous: absolutely not.
Many of them knew his nature and were willing to turn a blind eye to half of his nonsense, as long as it remained within an acceptable limit. But whenever he hinted at anything more outrageous, he received looks cold enough to freeze an entire room.
Megan was one of the few who accepted his games with a little more boldness. Even so, until then, the most Alex had ever done was play with symbolic marks, counting the times and asking her not to erase them too soon.
This time, however, her initiative truly surprised him.
Alex was beginning to understand certain men from history.
Some women simply knew exactly what struck the male imagination.
So, without saying anything, he saved the photos. Then he raised his voice and called Nadia, who was preparing tea for him in the next room.
"Nadia, tell the crew filming will be delayed by two days."
The next day, Alex appeared at Kyoto International Airport wearing sunglasses and a mask, discreet enough not to attract attention, yet still impossible to mistake for an ordinary person. Ten minutes later, Megan emerged from the arrival corridor with a lazy smile, dragging her suitcase as though she were entering a scene.
"Alex," she said, stepping closer and deliberately lowering her voice, "I didn't erase what you wrote."
The trip that was supposed to last two days began to stretch.
On the second day, she remarked, half laughing and half suspicious, that the hotel windows allowed them to see the entire city from inside, but did not let anyone outside see in.
On the third, when she heard Alex suggest going for a walk, Megan realized far too late that "walk" could mean many things when he was the one responsible for the itinerary. She cursed him under her breath, her face flushed, swearing that this was psychological abuse disguised as a romantic outing.
On the fourth day, when she saw the accessories he had prepared, she asked why she needed to be tied up like that and immediately regretted asking.
On the fifth, when Alex made an even more provocative suggestion involving a phone call to someone from her past, Megan almost refused on the spot. Almost. In the end, between shame, irritation, and that strange willingness to keep entering the game, she gave in.
By the sixth day, her glamorous confidence as an international star had completely collapsed. Whimpering into the pillow, she declared that this country was far too dangerous, that Alex was far too dangerous, and that she wanted to return to the United States immediately.
On the seventh day, Megan finally managed to leave.
When she boarded the plane, her entire body still seemed to carry the exhaustion of a private war. As she settled into her seat, she remembered the photos Alex had taken when the two of them had gotten too carried away, and for the first time, she began to wonder seriously whether she would still be able to get married in the future.
Not that she truly feared a leak.
With Alex's current position, even if he did not respect her privacy, he would never be stupid enough to destroy his own career over a petty impulse. The example of certain famous scandals remained far too alive in public memory for any intelligent person to repeat that mistake.
What worried her was something else.
After seven days in that man's hands, something in her standard of comparison had changed in a dangerous way. It was like those dark stories where the heroine, after being dragged into an experience far too intense, begins to look back at the past with growing dissatisfaction. What once seemed acceptable suddenly became small, pale, almost ridiculous.
And then, even knowing she should run away, she found herself thinking about the moment she would return.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Additionally, more chapters exclusive content are available on Patreon: https://patreon.com/ImmortalEmperor?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
- CHRONICLES OF THE ICE SOVEREIGN
-PLAYING ANIME LEGENDS
-THE OTHER WORLD'S ANIMATOR
Join now and help shape the future of the story while enjoying special rewards!