The Sword of the Spirit

Walking through the desert, no supplies, was a little risky, but luckily on the way to Jerusalem there were wild animals they could defeat to gain experience points and Yui was able to point them in the direction of coins that had been buried in the sand, a rock that could be split and give them water, along with a handful of something called manna that not only took care of their avatar's need for food, and also made their curse (magic) status bar sparkle. Asuna tested out what the manna's effect was by keeping a constant cursed blue flame in the hand that wasn't holding Kirito's hand.

When they arrived in Jerusalem the little family was amazed to see that this city was mostly bustling and full of angel players and NPCs. Kirito walked up to an angel play to ask where they might find the cave where they could find the Sword of the Spirit and was immediately given a shocked, possibly offended, look from the angel player before they flew off without answering.

"Kirito, I don't think the angel players will answer your questions… They're probably too scared to…" Asuna watched as the angel players avoided eye contact with them and darted away. "Let's just ask the NPCs… " She suggests as she pushes further into the city to find a seller's tent.

NPC after NPC was unable to help. When asked they simply smile and shrug their shoulders as if they don't even fully understand what they are being asked. Kirito was starting to get irritated and Yui had decided to shrink and take a nap in one of his jacket pockets until they needed her while Asuna kept trying with the NPCs. She was in the middle of asking about the cave when a white feather feather fell to her shoulder and she gasped. When she looked up to see where it came from she found a sky full of angels flying. She scanned, most of them are in groups of two or more and their flight patterns are still within the city limits, all but one singular angel that seems to be leaving the city wearing a white Lace romper with a high neck and a golden belt where her sward is attached. Her silver hair is pulled back from her mature and beautiful determined face in a a tight bun and a braided headed band.

Asuna grabs the feather and puts in into her inventory before squeezing Kirito's hand before careful readying her wings and looking back at him with a little smile. She doesn't need to say anything for him to also get his wings ready and follow the singular angel.

They struggle to keep up with her and soon loose track and just as Kirito starts griping about it Asuna looks down to see more feathers on the ground, and they form a trail. "Come one grumpy. Let's see where those feather's lead."

After a few minutes of following Yui stirs inside of Kirito's pocket and pops her upper body from the pocket and put her arms over the hem and rests, the fabric crinkly a little under her tiny frame. "Mommy, Daddy! There's a cave not too far ahead!" She yawns after announcing and then smiles with some determination.

When they get to the cave, it is not a cave, and they look at Yui with some confusion after looking at the stables next to a rundown inn on the edge of the city. The angel they had been trying to follow was sitting on top of the last stall facing away from them. Despite the sun being in front of her they could see the slight smile on her profile before she turned away and leaned her head back, letting her long white wings covered in sparkles spread out while she waited for them to enter.

"Okay, let's go get this sword." Kirito smiles with a fist pulling into his chest and big smile before walking towards the stall.

He stopped before entering, and when Asuna got to his side she also stopped. Inside the stable was a feeding troff full of hay and blankets, and on the blankets rests a sword, a very simple sword.

When he picks up the sword, a ringing in his ears increases to a deafening volume. When the ringing stops a projected script appears above the sword. "Congratulations Kirito! You have acquired The Sword of the Spirit! His Kingdom Come!" They both shiver at the reference to some of Micheal's parting words after the 666 execution video.

When they exit the stable the Angel is still there, now she is standing and looking down. When Asuna and Kirito go to bow and thank her she speaks urgently. "Don't thank me. Unless you are trying to kill me." They stop and straighten back in time to see her float down from where she was standing before.

"I thought angels weren't allowed to help demons?" Asuna asks with a tilted head.

"They aren't. I didn't help you. All I did was fly to a location you happened to be looking for." Her golden eyes are completely serious and an eyebrow is raised. Kirito and Asuna nod their heads. Knowing that they understand the delicate situation she is in the angels shoulders seemed to lower a little as she sighed and smiled. "My name is Esther." They shake hands, which Asuna and Kirito are starting to get used to since coming to America. She continues with a friendliness that only masks a bit of the pain in her eyes. "I'm guessing that you two are part of the task force in New York. The way you to bowed… you're not American are you?"

They both shake your head. Kirito scratches the back of his head as he speaks. "You guessed right… Im Kirito and this is Asuna. We are from Japan."

Esther's eyes go wide for a moment as she quietly gasps. "I'm sorry they pulled you into this mess… after everything the two of you have been through… I'd think you wouldn't touch this mess with a ten foot pole."

"You know who we are?" Asuna asks as her arms cross over her chest.

Esther's cheeks and ears go a little red as she puffs her cheeks and pushes some air out slowly. "Kirito and Asuna from Japan, part of the task force put together in an effort to end this game before it kills every player that chose to be demons." She smiles big.

Asuna glares. "You know more than that about us…"

Esther sighs and looks up at the cloudless desert sky. "Yeah. I know about the SAO incident…" Her eyes darken as she continues and looks back down to them. "Someone read the book that was published to me."

Kirito was not looking adorably confused with his head tilted like a puppy and eyebrow pulled together. "I didn't think it was translated to English yet." His voice is equally adorably confused sounding.

"It hasn't been." Esther begins to fly up into the sky and the couple follows her, too many questions running through their minds about this strange angel player and why she was willing to risk her life to help them.

"So whoever read it to you could read Japanese?" Asuna asks carefully and Esther silently nods.

Esther turned back toward Jerusalem. "Last I heard your task force already had The Sword of the Spirit… I though all you guys had left was The Sandals of Peace, Shield of Faith, and Helmet of Salvation…"

Kirito smiled tensely and shifted his eyes in no particular direction, only glancing for a moment at his fiancé who was snickering beside him. "Yeah… you heard right… I just—"

"Needed a sword?" Esther laughs. "Makes sense. The black swordsman, duel blade wielder. You probably felt empty without your chosen weapon…"

He smiles and looks at Asuna and shakes his head happily. "She gets it."

"Well, I should probably get away from the two of you before the game notices how long we've been talking. Good luck…" With that she flies away, but unlike her pace before, that was still hard to keep up, her departure was fast enough to create a sonic boom.