Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-3250527-20140627033401/@comment-3014077-20170113222409

Given that any attempt to remove the NerveGear would result in death, I would say that it could kill very rapidly, say a few tenths of a second. With that in mind, I would say that the kill command was under the systems control.

Now to speculate a bit. Asuna's death looked different than the other player deaths shown in the game. Other players exploded into green fragments. Asuna exploded into what looked like flower petals or feathers. Pink, if I recall correctly. That could have been an indication that no kill order was sent.