Sword Art Online: The Final Stretch

Prologue: The Duel

Hey, just so you know, I'm actually OMG, the writer of ERROR: SYSTEM REBOOT, I just changed my username to DivineDualWielder. I just thought I'd get that out there so people know that OMG is now DDW.

"Screw it," I whispered tonelessly.

Continuing, I said, "Fine, let's settle this here."

"Kirito-kun!"

"Sorry, I can't run away from this," I said softly to my beloved.

"You're going to live, right?" Asuna asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm going to win. Win and put an end to this world," I reassured her.

"All right. I believe in you, Kirito-kun."

I laid her hand on her stomach and got up, drawing my swords and walking towards the demon who created this world.

"Kirito! DON'T!" Agil…

"KIRITO!" Klein…

"Agil."

Said man gasped, desperately trying to figure out what I was going to say.

"Thank you for all your support to the swordsman class players. I know you spent almost everything you had on helping the players in the middle floors."

Another gasp came from the dark skinned giant.

"Klein."

He looked at me with wide eyes.

"I'm… I'm truly sorry for leaving you that day."

"DAMN IT, Kirito! Don't you dare apologize! Don't you dare apologize right now! I won't forgive you… I won't forgive you until you treat me to a meal in the real world!" Klein rambled desperately.

"You got it. in the real world."

I looked at my beloved Asuna, smiling softly, before turning around to face Kayaba Akihiko.

"I'm sorry, but I have one request," I told the demon standing before me.

"What is it?"

"I don't intend to lose, but should I die… I want you to ensure that Asuna can't commit suicide, if just for a while."

"Oh? Very well."

"Kirito-kun, you can't!" Asuna shouted frantically. "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"

Heathcliff, no, Kayaba Akihiko opened up his menu, deactivating his immortal status and lowering his HP to the same level as mine.

"KIRITO-KUN!"

I zoned out, focusing all of my attention on the demon in front of me.

This is no duel. This is a death match. That's right. I'm going to… KILL THIS MAN!

I charged.

"RAAA!"

Clash!

"RUEEH!" Clash! "RUUREAAGH!"

He swung his sword right at my head, and I dodged, though his strike cut a single piece of hair.

Charge, diagonal down, down, block-

Blocked.

He's the one who designed the [[Dual Wield]] skill. He knows all the system pre-generated combos! I have to avoid using sword skills and use my own skill to beat him! Faster… I NEED TO BE FASTER!

My swords started to glow faintly, responding to my need and startling me.

Diagonal up, diagonal down, diagonal down, left, slash, slash slash slashslashslashslashslash-

Dust swirled all around us, making it harder for both of us to see the other. Still, I kept on striking. As soon as I left a tiny opening, he took it, swinging his sword and scratching my cheek. Rage flaring, I started to activate [[The Eclipse]], my strongest skill. Just before the combo would've taken over my body, I stopped myself, creating another opening.

Heathcliff took it, slashing and narrowly missing the chance to cut my head off.

That was close.

"RUEEAAAGH!"

Diagonal spin, uppercut, down, spin, flip slash-

All blocked in a shower of sparks.

I jumped back.

Heathcliff took the offensive, charging at me.

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

"Not bad. However, you're still no match for the almighty [[Holy Sword]]!"

"We'll see about that, Kayaba!" I spat out, my hatred seething stronger than his immense power.

And the power from that hatred was adding to my own.

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

Left, right, spin, uppercut, flip spin-

FASTER! I CAN STILL INCREASE!

I started to move even faster, slashing at blinding speeds.

Left, right, cleave, double up-

He could barely keep up.

I have to break through!

Left, spin, double diagonal down-

I knocked his shield aside with two sideways strikes, spinning around and knocking his sword out of his hand with two more.

When he tried to bring his shield back in front of him, I stopped it with Elucidator, and struck with Dark Repulser, hitting… nothing.

Kayaba Akihiko had completely disappeared.

"BASTARD! GET BACK HERE!"

Then, I noticed something… strange.

On the ground where he stood, patches of binary code were showing through the ground.

I took deep breaths, forcing myself to calm down.

That's it. I need to calm down for now. Focus on getting to the next town, on the next floor.

"Kirito-kun…"

"I'm sorry everyone… I wasn't able to defeat him," I said crestfallenly.

"What are you talking about?! You lived! That's good enough, Kirito. We'll beat him next time for sure," Klein said with a smile.

Everyone got up slowly, free from the paralysis that had plagued the room.

"Klein…" I whispered.

"Well, why don't we go activate the portal in the next floor to get your mind off of all this?" Klein suggested.

"Right," I replied.

It's better than doing nothing.

"What about us?" someone from the [[Knights of Blood]] asked crestfallenly. "What about the [[Knights of Blood]]? What'll we do now that we have no leader?"

"You do have a leader. She's right over there," I said, pointing to Asuna.

"She was the second in command, right? Well, now she's first. You guys have to go home and regroup, so me and Klein's guild will go open the portal by ourselves. Any objections?" I continued, forcing a smile.

"Kirito-kun, what are you say—"

Cheers erupted throughout the room, effectively separating me from the one I loved for a time. It hurt, but I had to face the facts.

I need this, and so does everyone in the KoB. I just need some time. Some time to do nothing but what I know best. I'm going to fight. I'm going to win. I won't let anything get in my way.

A/N:

Well, how was that for a prologue? This is really just a teaser, so if you like what you see, then leave a review or send a PM telling me to continue. If I get at least three reviews or PMs telling me to do so, I'll continue with this story. (I'll still work on the others, but I have ZERO inspiration for those stories right now. That's why I put myself on hiatus.)

And yes, I know it's really short, but I couldn't think on how to continue the prologue without dipping into the next possible chapter. (Yeah, my inspiration is still being a little bit of an $$. Sorry about that.)

If you want me to continue, then I promise the chapters will be longer and have more description!

Well then, it's time for my parting phrase… Or, it would be, but I think I'm gonna drop that. It's pretty unnecessary. From now on, I'm just gonna say:

See ya!