Hey guys, sorry this one took so long but school has taken up a lot of my time. Anyway, here's the fight you've all been waiting for. Shido Vs Kirito, with Asuna's life on the line. Enjoy.

Kirito peeked out from the boulder he was hiding behind and surveyed the entrance to Erebos Labyrinth. The giant stone gate leading into the cavern within was carved with skulls and battle scenes. There didn't seem to be anyone around and no ambush spots were available on this open plain. He stepped out and proceeded into the labyrinth.

The inside of the labyrinth was dark and each passageway was very wide. The walls were lined with dim torches. Kirito kept glancing down at the map Argo had given him to make sure he didn't miss a turn. "If I get lost in here, I'm probably not making it back out again." He thought to himself as a proceeded down a torch lined passageway. Unbeknownst to him, there were three Laughing Coffin assassins hiding in the rock outcroppings above him. They had been tracking his movement ever since he entered the labyrinth. When Kirito stopped at a crossroads the assassins prepared to make their move. They positioned themselves on a ledge over Kirito's position and drew their daggers. Their leader gave a "3…2…1…" Before the assassins dropped down on Kirito's position. In a sudden flash of steel, the assassins' blades were met by Kirito's impossibly fast Elucidator and before they knew it, he had disarmed them and held them by his sword point. Their leader looked up. Kirito's face was stone cold and his eyes were hollow behind them. "You knew…" The leader groaned.

"Obviously," Kirito replied. Then the three assassins feel a sudden shock through their bodies and suddenly, they couldn't move at all.

"What the…." The leader said before his muscles stiffened up completely. Kirito sheathed Elucidator.

"I coated my blade with a potent paralysis poison. It can last up to two hours if no antidote is taken. My business is not with any of you; your lives don't interest me." Kirito turned around proceeded down the forward path.

The rest of his trek was relatively undisturbed which surprised Kirito a bit. "Is it a trap?" He thought to he gripped Elucidator uneasily. Kirito soon at a massive set of doors which the map told him was the entrance to the Laughing Coffin hideout. He tried to pull the doors and found that they didn't budge. "Figures." He thought to himself. Normally any other person would have tried to pick the lock on the door, but Kirito wasn't in the mood for patience. Instead, he drew Elucidator, took a step back and used a Linear Strike to stab the blade straight through the keyhole, destroying the locking mechanism. With a crunch of breaking metal, he pulled his sword out and pushed the door open. The first thing he noticed was a hulking man sitting on a throne in the far end of the hall, his hands on the butt of his axe which he had pointed at the ground. The second thing Kirito noticed was a hanging from the ceiling above the throne. "Asuna!" Kirito cried. Her arms were chained together and dangling from another chain attached to the ceiling. She was wearing nothing but her underwear and her once lustrous hair hung limp and lifeless. She was unconscious. The man on the throne gave a deep laugh.

"So you've noticed my favorite decoration." He said. "This is what I love about breaking people, once you break their spirit, there is nothing left."

"GIVE HER BACK." Kirito roared, gripping Elucidator. Shido got up and pulled back his hood. He hefted up his giant axe and rested it over his shoulder. "Then take her from me." He gave a slight smirk and that set Kirito off. He immediately rushed forward ready to stab Shido in the stomach. Right before he was about to make contact, Shido's axe swung out and the handle slammed Kirito in the side and knocked him over to the wall. Disoriented Kirito shook the confusion from his head. "How can he move that fast?" Kirito thought as Shido approached him.

"Surprised little swordsman?" he taunted as he moved closer, "Don't be." He pointed to the gauntlets on his arm. "These special enchanted gauntlets give me +8 attack speed, meaning I can even keep up with the likes of the legendary Black Swordsman." He raised his axe to deliver a killing blow before Kirito dashed out and rolled to the side, just as the axe came down with a resonating boom. "Excellent, excellent." Shido said pulling his axe out from the rubble, "A quick fight like that would have been boring, but this, this is interesting." Him and Kirito charged towards each other and their weapons collided with a great thud. Kirito pushed against Shido's massive axe. The two traded blows repeatedly. Even though Shido was the larger man, Kirito's stats helped him hold his ground against the unrelenting force. But he didn't notice that Shido had swung his leg back to deliver a kick to Kirito's shin. The strike stunned Kirito a bit, but before he could react, Shido had broken Kirito's parry and knocked him into the air. "Gaghhhhh!" Kirito cried as he fell. Elucidator flew out of his hands and he watched his health bar drop down to almost 5%. Kirito laid on the ground, his entire body aching. Shido grinned as he approached the downed swordsman. "And this is what they proclaim as the best player in the game?" He cackled, "Not even a challenge." Kirito groaned.

"That…was a cheap shot." He spat, struggling to lift himself up.

"Ha!" Shido laughed, "Your body is broken, and you can barely stand. Come, beg me for mercy and I shall end your life quickly." He raised his axe up readying for the killing blow. Kirito felt himself collapse and fade into darkness.

"What do I do? I can't beat this guy like this." Kirito thought, "That's it I'm done, I can't fight anymore. I'm sorry, Asuna." Then Kirito heard a voice cry out in his head. "Do it for me Kirito-kun!" Kirito's eyes blinked open. "Asuna!" Kirito spurred back to life and dove for Elucidator, just as Shido's massive axe came down. Shido was temporarily stunned by Kirito's sudden spur of speed, but before he could pull his axe out of the ground. Kirito flew in with a kick aimed straight at his face, the force of the attack didn't immediately kill Shido, but the force of it knocked him back straight into his throne. Shido was on the ground, with Kirito standing over him, sword raised to impale his throat.

"Looks like you still have some fight in you," Shido smirked, "Finally this is getting interesting!" He knocked Kirito off, and lunged for his axe, yanking it out of the ground. Kirito got up, and the two warriors faced each other. Both knew that this next attack would decide who lives and who dies. Kirito and Shido's weapons glowed and they charged at each other. There was a great crash as the two enchanted weapons clashed. They pushed against each other, neither side willing to give up. Just then, Kirito noticed Shido's left side was unguarded. "I guess I have to use it." He broke the parry with Shido, knocking him down, and leapt back a few feet, before opening up his menu. Frantically, he scrolled through his abilities list before pressing the one he needed. "Got it!" Shido was preparing to rush Kirito again, but when he looked up, he froze. Kirito charged towards Shido, and in his hands was not one, but TWO swords. He was wielding a blue green sword that glowed with blue energy, while elucidator hummed with red. "Dual Raze!" Kirito yelled as he charged.

"What the-"was all Shido managed to get out before Kirito brought his swords down in an X slash across Shido's chest. This time, the attack was enough to blow Shido back into the wall and knock him out, his remaining HP bar at a measly 5 hp. Kirito walked over to Shido, and glowered at his unconscious form. He took his axe, and put it into his inventory. Then he used the crystal the KOB knight gave him. Shido disappeared in a flash of light. "See you in jail." Kirito asked as he turned his attention to Asuna, who was still unconscious and chained to the ceiling. Kirito pulled a few throwing darts, and threw them at the chain links. Asuna fell and Kirito rushed to grab her before she hit the ground. He unlocked the rest of her cuffs with a lock pick and began carrying her home. On the way out of the dungeon, Kirito roused Asuna back. Her eyes fluttered open a bit before looking at who was carrying her.

"Ki…rito." She whispered weakly. Kirito looked down,

"It's ok now Asuna, I've got you." He said with a smile. Asuna smiled back, and tears began forming at the corners of her eyes.

"I'm glad…" She said before dozing off again.

Alright guys, that was the end of this story. Well not quite, an epilogue will be coming up soon so be on the lookout for then. Till next time, have a nice day.