"Damn that Porter!!!"
"Argh, give me back my Illya!!"
"I knew that guy was up to no good!"
As Ren was busy plotting the revival of soccer in his country, the internet was in an uproar. A horde of furious readers had swarmed the Porter's online account, hurling complaints and scathing remarks.
The reason?
"He actually killed Illya!"
"Not just that—she died by having her heart ripped out!"
"And to think that Illya's life during the Fifth Holy Grail War was this miserable!"
Indeed, most of the backlash centered around Illya's tragic story, which the Porter had recently revealed.
While Ren's earlier adaptation of the Fate/Stay Night Heaven's Feel (HF) route gave Illya a heartbreaking but noble sacrifice scene, it was still condensed into a movie. Certain details had to be left out for runtime.
But today, readers had discovered just how truly tragic Illya's life had been during the Fifth Holy Grail War.
Illya's Suffering
Two months before the Holy Grail War officially began, the Einzbern family forced Illya to summon Hercules, the Berserker.
Although Illya's unique potential made this summoning possible, the act of sustaining Hercules with her magical energy alone was akin to draining the life from her body.
Even the slightest movements from Berserker caused Illya to scream in agony.
Despite her suffering, the Einzbern family showed no mercy. Instead of giving her rest, they subjected her to relentless, cruel trials.
She was abandoned in the Winter Forest to fend off wild, starving beasts.She was offered to cursed undead corpses possessed by evil spirits.She was thrown into the family's failed experiments' dumping grounds.
Each time, Illya fought desperately, her cries of pain echoing through the night as she eliminated her enemies.
She wanted to survive.
She wanted to prove her worth and vent her rage at the parents who had "abandoned" her. So, she forced herself to appear strong, pretending she didn't need support or companionship.
Readers React
When readers saw Illya enduring this torment, many felt a wave of sympathy and heartbreak.
Previously, they had thought her despair stemmed solely from losing her parents and realizing her father had chosen another family over her.
But now, they realized her suffering was far worse than they'd imagined.
The sight of Illya, tears streaming down her face as she leaned on Berserker for support, stirred outrage among fans. Many metaphorically reached for their pitchforks and directed their fury at the Porter.
Just as readers thought Illya's story couldn't get any more tragic, Ren introduced an even crueler twist in HF: Illya's death.
This time, her demise was caused by none other than Gilgamesh, the "helpful bystander."
Illya's Final Moments
Although Berserker fought valiantly to protect Illya, the odds were stacked against him. Gilgamesh's Enkidu, Chains of Heaven perfectly countered Berserker, whose true identity was Heracles and thus bore divine blood.
Even after breaking free from the control of the Command Spells, Heracles fought to his very last breath before succumbing to defeat.
And as the vanquished, Illya faced a horrific fate. Gilgamesh casually ripped out her heart with his bare hands.
"This isn't Attack on Titan! Why does Illya have to lose her heart like that?!"
The backlash was swift and fierce.
Reader Fury
"Damn it, Porter! Just when I thought you'd turned over a new leaf, you go and kill off Illya again! Are you kidding me?!"
"She's so adorable, and you still went through with it?"
"You heartless bastard, Porter! If you weren't sparing her in the Fate route, I'd be sending you razor blades right now!"
"I'm already furious about UBW!"
The fanbase was incensed.
Thankfully, at least in the Fate route, Illya's ending was less severe.
In that story, Berserker was defeated by Shirou and Saber using a double Noble Phantasm strike. Illya, unwilling to return to the Einzbern family, found temporary refuge in the Emiya household.
Hidden Pain
Unknown to the readers, Ren's assistants were snickering at their relative "relief."
If fans thought the current storylines were bad, they'd go ballistic once they saw the Fate route's final ending.
After all, in that conclusion, Ren had also drawn Illya's death in vivid, heartbreaking detail.
Even some of the assistants had been upset when they first saw it.
Fan Li Jiale was one such assistant.
Despite being a grown man in his thirties, Jiale couldn't help but think of his own young daughter when reading Illya's tragic end. Both shared the same sweet demeanor and innocence.
The sight of Illya, her tiny heart torn out, filled Jiale with rage. If it weren't for a later Fate series where Illya survived, he might have seriously considered sending Ren a package filled with razor blades.
A Shift in Focus
"Whatever, let's look at another series to heal my heart," Jiale muttered.
He decided to turn to Akame ga Kill! to distract himself from his emotional turmoil.
While that series had already seen the death of Sheele, the recent chapters had been quite thrilling.
From assassinating mad scientists to forming an alliance with the revolutionary religious group Anning Path, the story had been intense and satisfying.
Jiale assumed the rest of the series would maintain this exciting pace.
A Shocking Turn
Flipping to Chapter 16, Jiale was met with Akame's confrontation with her sister, Kurome.
Kurome used her Imperial Arm, Yatsufusa, to summon eight corpses and launched an attack on the Night Raid members. Meanwhile, Mine attempted a sneak attack on Kurome but failed.
Leone had her arms severed in battle, while Akame and Tatsumi struggled against the summoned corpses and Bols.
Elsewhere, Susanoo absorbed Najenda's life force to activate his hidden Berserk Mode, annihilating a massive Danger Beast corpse.
Although the battle was challenging, the Night Raid team gradually turned the tide. Leone and Akame managed to destroy Bols' Imperial Arm.
Bols' Explosive Counterattack
"Wait, what?!" Jiale exclaimed.
He watched in disbelief as Bols' Imperial Arm began to self-destruct.
"No way… This explosion isn't going to kill off another character, right?"
Both Akame and Leone were at the center of the blast. Jiale clenched his teeth, fearing the worst.
But as the next page revealed, both survived by using a fallen soldier's shield to block the explosion.
"Phew!" Jiale sighed in relief.
Although Bols and Kurome managed to escape during the chaos, at least no more characters had died this time.