In the kingdom of Vanderdash, there is no more feared warriors than that of the Scarlet Guard. Protectors of the royal family, skilled assassins trained since childhood, They follow the crown, they enforce the crown. To many, the group cloaked in red is a greater symbol of the royal family's power than the kings crown itself. Citizens respect and fear the scarlet guard, the power they hold. But within the guard there is only one who installed that very same feeling into the rest. Head of the prince's royal guard, ruthless and cunning, rarely seen by the citizens themselves. They call her Red. An expert in poisons and deception, the small girl has brought armies to their knees without once lifting a blade. A vermillion haired monster hidden behind the face of a doll. ~~ I smiled up at the men, "Would you like a cookie?" They peered into the basket I held out, spotting the heart shaped treats. "They're cinnamon with apple Jam. I do promise they are to die for." The taller mans eyes narrowed, "did you give the poor fool dead on the road a cookie?" My lips parted, "a dead man? Oh my..do you think it is safe?" "..depends on who you are miss, why did you say you were in the woods again?" I smiled gently, "I didn't." He rose a brow. "I'm delivering these," I shook the basket a bit, "to my dearest grandmama." He hesitated for only a slight second, "oh. well. be careful then. These woods can be dangerous." I nodded once still holding out the basket, "so would you?" "Would we what?" I giggle a bit, "like a cookie silly." "Ah.." he scratched the back of his head, "sorry, I'm not too fond of apples." Damn it. I sighed softly, "strawberry next time then." "Right..." As I turned to go I looked up at the two tall men, "you be careful now too gentleman. There are wolves in these woods." They nodded rigidly as I spun and began to skip off, giggling to myself. He asked the wrong question. I didn't give the dead fool a cookie. I gave him two.

After being kidnapped and thrown into a VRMMORPG, 17-year-old Suzuki Mato must find the line between his real and in-game personalities before it kills him. ***** Following the death of his popular online persona, seventeen-year-old Suzuki Mato decides it's time to retire from professional VR gaming. However, his plans are abruptly cut short when he's kidnapped from his high school and forced to be a guinea pig for Genaco Gaming, the world's largest esports and entertainment company. Armed with nothing but his wit and a new online persona, he's thrown headfirst into the virtual reality of "Live No Evil," a VRMMORPG littered with overpowered bosses, secretive NPCs, and backstabbing gods. His mission? Find a way to conquer this new world and get back at the company that took over his life, all while avoiding 'Parallel' -- a condition that would make it impossible to separate his real and virtual personalities. Because in a world obsessed with VR gaming, Parallel means death, and Suzuki just doesn't have time for that... [Parallel Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 out now, Vol. 3 coming soon] Content/Trigger Warning: some transphobic language