Monster Parade

After Heart Online arbitrarily turned into a death game, players were stuck into their avatars and unable to log out. Shadow, one of the game's recorded top players, took it upon himself to liberate everyone from this hellish nightmare. But unable to defeat the last boss, he sacrificed himself in order to win at the last second. He was supposed to die, but in the moment he opened his eyes–––

Disclaimer: I don't own the art used as the cover. All rights are reserved by the original artist.

Additional Note: This story was published in RoyalRoad one or two years ago, maybe even three, but was subsequently deleted with how embarrassing in its state was. It also originally featured a male protagonist, but ultimately I decided for a gender bender to mix things up a bit.