Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-209.112.218.20-20150405021257/@comment-24.115.76.188-20150705170200

Yeah I agree with that. Kayaba instituted the whole thing to keep Asuna alive even if she tried killing herself before the fight began. It was one of the terms along with that he had to fight fairly (which he didn't). That probably kept her in limbo long enough that even though she died in SAO she was fine in the real world. Also, Kayaba kind of half let Kirito win. Though there would have been no way to block a blow while his sword was in Kirito, and his shield was in his left hand, he foolishly kept his sword in Kirito's body and didn't remove it for a finishing blow, almost like he didn't want to believe that Kirito had lost the fight, and when Kirito gained the strength to take the final stab at him with Asuna's Rapier, he smiles, and I think he realized that he had accomplished what he had wanted, and that the two of them did indeed clear the game because of just how far they went together.