She's read the Beta guide more times than she can count. Asuna has her pride, but even she's not above free (not to mention useful) information about the lower floors, so she knows the general attack patterns for the boss. The minions aren't necessarily hard, and she's racking up EXP relatively fast, but there's a nagging worry in the back of her mind- something about the way Diabel's commanding. Kazuto and Asuna are supposed to be protecting him, but he keeps darting out to kill monsters, putting himself, the commander, at risk.
When the Kobold Lord changes weapons, Diabel charges forwards, and she realizes. "He's trying to get the last attack bonus," she hisses, and Kazuto's eyes go wide.
"Diabel, wait, that's not a-" He starts, but then Diabel's on the ground, Kazuto rushing to his side. Asuna takes a step back, readjusting her footing and her strategy. Kazuto comes back to her side, face grim, and begins speaking. "We use the same attack strategy that we did with the minions," he says, and for once, Asuna doesn't complain about him giving her orders.
"Got it," she says, readying her sword.
She hates to admit it, but she and Kazuto make a good team; they're both fast, one-handed sword users, and they're both doing a fair amount of damage.
Kazuto gets knocked back, and yells "switch!" one last time, so Asuna darts in, dropping to her knees and sliding underneath a sword strike from Illfang, before darting up and hitting it as many times as she can.
The beast dies, and she drops to the ground, standing and sheathing her sword. The congratulatory music plays, and a small screen pops up- the bonus item for the last hit, a long coat called the 'Coat of Midnight'.
When Kazuto gets into an argument with the same jerk who tried to call out Beta Testers, she stands quietly, not getting involved, until-
"She's probably a Beta Cheater just like you!" the man cries, and that's when she decides- she doesn't need this bullshit, and if making herself a target takes the heat away from the Beta testers, that's what she's going to do.
So she laughs. Cold and loud, she lets her laughter echo through the chamber as she takes three quick steps forwards, grabbing her accuser by the front of his coat.
"Me, a Beater?" she sneers, making sure to get in his face. "You've got to be kidding me," she continues, dropping him, "those losers are hardly on the same level as someone like me, so I wouldn't compare us again."
She turns and stalks towards the doors, ignoring the yells and jeers of the people behind her. She slips on the Coat of Midnight, and turns to look over her shoulder, summoning up the best glare she can manage. "Compared to those idiots, you could call me a god…" she pauses, flipping her hair for dramatic effect. "Or, no, maybe a demon is more accurate," she says, and boy is she glad her dad had her take acting classes in school.
"A demon, that's right!" someone says, and she's about to leave when she feels a hand around her wrist.
"What do you want," she hisses, and Kazuto looks up at her with wide black eyes.
"If you ever need a party to join, come find me," he says quietly, before reaching up and tapping a few buttons in his interface. His name fades from her screen, the party dissolved.
"Take care of yourself," she says begrudgingly, before leaving the room.
Two weeks later, she hears whispers of a 'Black Demon Queen' and a 'Midnight Demoness' scattered through the town she's in, and she snickers to herself.
"Something funny, Ki?" Liz asks, and Asuna shakes her head, pulling the coat closer around her. The blacksmith sighs, tossing her newly-dyed pink curls and leaning down to inspect an item. "It's so ridiculous, all these stupid anime titles they're giving people," she says, and Asuna hums in agreement. "Guild names are just as bad, too, like that stupid K.o.B one that's just started- where do they get off, calling themselves the 'Knights of the Blood Oath'," Lisbeth mocks, and Asuna snorts, elbowing her.
"Careful, the Blood Oath Knights might come after you if you keep talking like that," she says, leaning to fiddle with a few pieces of cookware, looking up at the stall's owner. "How much for this set?" she asks, whistling at the answer.
"What's got you so interested in cooking?" Liz asks, and Asuna just hums again, not answering. "Did you eat something really good while you were away on that boss mission?" she asks, and Asuna nods.
"Something like that," she says, looking back up at the NPC stall owner. "I'll take these, then," she says, nodding once she sees it in her inventory. "I mean, if we have to live here, we might as well be able to eat good food, right?"
"I suppose," Liz muses, tapping her heels on the cobblestone. "You want to head back to my place and try out your new stuff then?" She asks, and Asuna shoves the other girl, smiling.
"You just want free food, you glutton," she replies, and Lisbeth just laughs at her, taking a few steps forwards without her. The blacksmith giggles and turns back to face her companion, still giggling. "I suppose I can do you the honor of cooking for you, but my skill isn't very high yet, so you've been warned," Asuna says, and Lisbeth just laughs, bright and clear.
Maybe it's the aftermath of the victory, or her new reputation, or just having a real friend, but Asuna is happy with how things are going for her. She likes being Kizuna, the Demon Queen, much better than she liked being Asuna Yuuki, perfect porcelain daughter, and she feels free, even though she's trapped in the game.
So she pushes the thoughts of her father out of her head and follows after Lisbeth, a smile wide on her face and her Coat of Midnight swishing around her ankles.