Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Virtual On Chapter2 (section)

===Part 14===

Cypher was a special Virtuaroid with the ability to transform.

It fought in both a humanoid form and a fighter jet form.

When the Cypher had charged in using its fighter jet form during the earlier battle, Kamijou’s Temjin had used a close-range to strike back and that had slammed it against a nearby column.

The fierce attack had prevented the Cypher from fully returning to its humanoid form, so it had collapsed to the concrete floor in a crushed “in between” form.

It had been neither man nor bird.

And that partially transformed state had exposed a portion of the inner structure that was normally hidden below the armor.

A giant disc had jutted out at a warped angle. It was the V-Disc which should have been neatly contained in the unit’s back. It had stopped rotating and fully cooled.

And…

The blood-soaked upper body of a girl ''was sticking out of it.

“What…is this…?” muttered Kamijou in a daze.

He could tell his hands were trembling unnaturally as he held the portable device.

“Analyzing footage: 94.9% probability that it is a human.”

“I know that! But what is that disc!? And I don’t mean the official explanation. Why is there a human in a program-controlled NPC Cypher!?”

The V-Converter was worn like a boxy backpack. The V-Disc was contained inside. And a human body had emerged like it was a fairy spring or a strange magic trick.

What this was and how it worked were both unknown.

But the sight forced him to conclude that there had been someone inside that unit.

He also had to ask the more fundamental question of whether people could even “ride” the Virtuaroids. Was he really inside Temjin, or was he monitoring it remotely from elsewhere? He could not even answer that, but now a girl had appeared from within an unmanned NPC Cypher used for practice.

And she was bleeding a concerning amount.

No, had Kamijou done that to her?

(Wait a second. That girl…)

Something caught his attention.

And then he remembered that site known as The Phoenix.

(Is that the girl from the video who disappeared as a penalty!?)

“Oh, right! Lilina, how much time left in the match!?”

“20 seconds. Although the accumulated damage might cause it to fall apart and be destroyed before that happens. If so, the match will end regardless of the countdown. And in this irregular situation, I’m not sure if the next set will even happen.”

“Dammit!!”

He held down the turbo and dashed forward. He charged toward where the Cypher lay collapsed on the ground. Meanwhile, the recorded footage showed the Cypher gradually transforming into its humanoid form. The V-Disk was being stored back inside as if to trap the living human within.

“What are you trying to do?”

“Pull her out of there!!”

As soon as he shouted that, he heard a light beep.

That signaled the end of the match.

Kamijou Touma watched as the scene around him changed. An out-of-place fanfare played from the thin sub-monitor. The walls that surrounded the field were removed and Temjin’s movement was locked. 

Kamijou gasped at the sudden stop and he could only watch as it happened.

“Wait…”

The NPC Cypher vanished into thin air as if to say it was no longer needed.

The girl’s upper body sank back down into the stopped V-Converter.

What would happen if the Virtuaroid disappeared here? What would happen if he could not pull that girl out of there? Would other players ignorantly do the same thing Kamijou had? Would she be summoned, destroyed, sent back into the ether, and resurrected once more?

In fact, had she already repeated that process countless times?

She had been made into a zombie as she played the contradictory role of a human NPC.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaait!!!!!!”

There was no sound.

The NPC Cypher simply vanished as if to say this was only a mechanical process.

He had been so close. And yet she forever vanished from his grasp.

Next, the NPC Fei-Yen did the same.

Was there someone inside that one as well? Someone who, until recently, had attended school like normal, played Virtual-On like normal, and yet had that all thoroughly taken from them?

Why had such an odd atmosphere surrounded Misaka Mikoto?

Was this why?

Then a simple string of letters expanded across his monitor: YOU WIN.