Seeing the chapter end on such a cliffhanger, Hiroki felt as if he were going to lose his mind.
But in reality, it wasn't a "bad" cliffhanger. There were no cheap tricks, no artificial suspense. The story had reached a natural narrative beat and paused. It wasn't the work of a "cliffhanger dog."
Still...
"AAARRGH! Why can't 'Edgerunners' update faster?!"
Hiroki groaned, slumping over his desk. "I know it's weekly, but it feels like an eternity between chapters!"
"Why can't we just have two chapters a week? Or just release the whole volume at once?!"
He knew he was being irrational. It was just an expression of how deeply the story had hooked him.
The secret to Edgerunners' appeal lay in its relentless pacing. There was no "filler." No wasted panels.
Even during the brief moments of peace when David first joined Maine's crew, the sudden, violent death of Pilar had shattered the calm. Most manga would have spent weeks on "slice-of-life" missions; Edgerunners just threw a cyberpsychotic at them and kept moving.
Even the transition chapters showing David's growth after Maine's death were packed with kinetic action and major world-building revelations.
The fans were addicted to the high-energy, high-stakes rhythm of the story.
Hiroki took a deep breath, trying to process the information from Chapter 28.
A lot had happened. David had accepted a new mission from Arasaka; Lucy's mysterious past had finally been revealed; and most distressingly, David was showing the same symptoms that had killed Maine.
And then there was the data Lucy had seen in Tanaka's head.
It was clear that it involved David, and it was clear that it was something Arasaka shouldn't know. Lucy had destroyed the record and had been secretly hunting down anyone who tried to recover it.
The plot was tightening like a noose.
"I wish all manga had this kind of momentum," Hiroki muttered. "Instead of those series that drag out a single fight for three months."
"But... is David really going to end up like Maine?"
He looked at the panel of David's trembling hand again. The fear was real.
And he wasn't alone. Online, the fans were erupting with concern and disbelief.
{Fan_A: Wait, hold on. David has a high tolerance for the Sandevistan, right? How could he be succumbing to cyberpsychosis already?}
{Fan_B: Aoyama, you madman! This is the protagonist! You can't kill the protagonist!}
{Fan_C: There's no way David becomes a cyber-zombie. The author is just trolling us.}
{Fan_D: I don't know... maybe the stress of being the leader is the trigger? Remember what 'Old Thief Aoyama' said: cyberpsychosis isn't just about the hardware; it's about the mental load.}
{Fan_E: He's literally carrying Maine's ghost on his back. He refuse to let go of that old, outdated cannon because it's a memento. That's a recipe for disaster.}
{Fan_F: Let me adapt a quote: 'If I don't chrome up, I can't protect you. If I do chrome up, I'll become a psycho and I can't love you.'}
{Fan_G: PAIN. PURE PAIN.}
{Fan_H: Is the protagonist really going to die? I've been reading manga for twenty years and I've never seen a main character get 'axed' by their own author like this.}
{Fan_I: This is Aoyama we're talking about. The guy isn't normal. I wouldn't be surprised if the series ends with everyone dead.}
{Fan_J: Easy there, Satan. Cyberpsychosis doesn't mean death for sure.}
{Fan_K: Are you kidding? In 'Edgerunners,' cyberpsychosis IS a death sentence. That's the rule!}
{Fan_L: Aoyama is definitely insane. I bet David and Lucy both die, the whole crew gets wiped out, and the city just keeps on glowing. Haha, hahahaha!}
{Fan_M: Someone call Trauma Team for this guy. We've got another 'Aoyama-infected' patient here.}
In this world's industry, even the "dark" stories usually kept the protagonist alive until the very end. The idea that an author would target their own lead for a tragic end was almost taboo.
The fans had grown fond of David and Lucy. They were well-written, relatable, and their relationship felt genuine.
Seeing David follow the same ruinous path as Maine was heartbreaking.
"Damn you, Aoyama!" became the unofficial slogan of the week.
But while the internet was in an uproar, the "blame" hadn't reached a fever pitch yet. No one had actually died.
The complaints were mostly limited to social media rants on Skyline.
Except for one fan who didn't need the internet to reach Aoyama.
---
"I don't have a choice, Akane," Aoyama said with a sigh.
He was currently looking at a very upset Akane in his studio.
"What do you mean, you 'don't have a choice'?" Akane asked, her brow furrowed. "Is David really going to become a cyberpsychotic? He... he's the main character! Main characters have plot armor!"
"I really don't have a choice," Aoyama repeated, leaning back from his Fire Punch sketches.
He was a "Script-Stealer." He couldn't change the ending of a masterpiece. To give David and Lucy a "Happily Ever After" in Night City would be to betray the very essence of the story.
In a world as bleak and rotten as the Cyberpunk future, there were no happy endings. Not unless an alien god descended from the heavens and deleted Arasaka and Militech from existence.
But a deus ex machina like that would be even worse. It would be an insult to the readers.
"Sigh..."
Akane seemed to realize she was being unreasonable. She took a breath and slumped into a chair. "I just... I really wanted them to be happy. But wait!"
She suddenly remembered something. "Didn't you tell me once... that Lucy wouldn't die?"
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]