"I'll finish this cleaning even if it kills me!"
Hearing the normally aloof Yukino Yukinoshita roar these words in a frenzied tone,
Luo Shu turned and walked towards the door, waving casually:
"I'll leave the cleaning to you~"
With that, he exited the office and entered the corridor.
Outside, he immediately spotted Takina Inoue and Chisato Nishikigi leaning against the window.
"No way..."
Chisato peered over Luo Shu's shoulder at the frantically working Yukino inside the room, feeling her scalp tingle:
"That's the method Big Sister mentioned for quickly mastering Dying Will Flames?"
Though they'd only met a few times, Chisato could somewhat gauge Yukino's personality.
Seeing this composed woman working like a madwoman naturally shocked her.
"Don't tell me we'll have to awaken our Dying Will Flames this way, too?"
As she spoke, Chisato subtly shifted her footing, but before she could move far, Takina grabbed her hand.
"Escaping at the critical moment is prohibited."
Takina said calmly while gripping Chisato's right arm.
"But, Takina..."
Chisato pointed at the howling, cleaning-obsessed Yukino inside, her expression deeply unsettled:
"If I end up like that, I'd rather jump from here and die on the spot."
"This is the third floor. With the Adjuster Drug in our systems, we can't die from that height."
Takina explained matter-of-factly before turning to Luo Shu:
"Since you're unwilling, Chisato, I'll be the second test subject."
The first subject, naturally, had been Yukino Yukinoshita.
Two days prior, after Kirika Tachibana learned about the convenient Dying Will Flames from Verde, she'd petitioned Lacus that same afternoon for its widespread adoption.
Thus, Tokyo's two branches—the operational Café LycoReco and Luo Shu's Hidden Management Department—became key testing grounds.
Seeing Takina's determination, Chisato hastily waved her hands:
"Wait, Takina! However you look at it, we should be cautious about awakening unstable abilities."
"Look—does Yukino's condition seem normal to you?"
Chisato gestured at the dust-storming Yukino, her discomfort evident:
"Right, Luo Shu? As the practitioner, you must see the problem too?"
Yet Luo Shu's response defied her expectations:
"No, that's the intended state."
He calmly observed the workaholic Yukino before stating plainly:
"In fact, this outcome aligns perfectly with Verde's and my projections."
"Those without sufficient resolve or lacking the spiritual energy to awaken will be forcibly stimulated when hit by a Dying Will Bullet, just like this."
Although Yukino Yukinoshita had just claimed to have resolve, Luo Shu's test immediately exposed the truth.
The girl's inner resolve wasn't as strong as her words suggested, hence her current state.
"When forcibly stimulated, the manifested phenomenon appears like this - frantically completing the obsession I pre-programmed, lasting approximately five minutes. Once the time elapses, the person becomes exhausted and stops naturally."
Hearing Luo Shu's explanation, Takina Inoue suddenly understood:
"So even with insufficient resolve, if one has enough spiritual energy and is paired with a ring, they can activate Dying Will Flames?"
"Exactly."
Luo Shu nodded, then raised the gun in his hand again:
"With your bodies having been injected with the Adjuster Drug, activating your Dying Will Flames is as simple as me shooting you with a Dying Will Bullet."
Seeing this, Chisato Nishikigi hastily waved her arms, stepping between the two:
"Wait! No matter how you look at it, shooting someone directly in the forehead is a bit too..."
"Relax, a Dying Will Bullet is different from a regular bullet."
Observing Chisato, who had spread her arms like a mother hen protecting her chicks, Luo Shu calmly removed the magazine from his pistol and showed it to them.
At that moment, both Chisato and Takina Inoue saw the empty magazine in Luo Shu's hand.
"No bullets?"
Takina was startled, then glanced in surprise at Yukino Yukinoshita in the room:
"But didn't you just shoot Yukino?"
"Because the power of Mist Flames is construction—it's an illusion."
Luo Shu slid the magazine back into the pistol, and a fleeting indigo flame flickered across the gun's surface.
He racked the slide again, and this time, there was a distinct sound of a bullet being chambered:
"I used Mist Flames to construct a false bullet made purely of Dying Will Flames and infused it with resolve."
"Objects created by Mist Flames generally have low hardness, and I deliberately reduced it further. The result was a bullet that hit the forehead without leaving even a scratch."
"But during that impact, my Dying Will Flames directly transmitted resolve into your brain, forcibly clashing with your own consciousness."
"And the outcome of that..."
Takina murmured, "Is us activating our own Dying Will Flames?"
"So, this is the awakening method you and Dr. Verde researched—the 'controllable ability' the Chief mentioned?"
Takina was well aware of the state of the supernatural world.
Apart from sorcerers born from bloodline inheritances, nearly all sorcerers today emerged through the power of Abyss Artefacts.
Abilities like Dying Will Flames, which could be widely disseminated and learned, had yet to appear in the world.
Or perhaps such abilities already existed but hadn't been brought to light.
Thus, for now, Dying Will Flames might be the only ability that could be easily mastered by others.
Even if this "easy mastery" relied on the SDS's Adjuster Drug and the proliferation of rings, this kind of widespread application—distinct from Abyss Artefacts—was an invaluable treasure for the SDS.
Otherwise, Kirika Tachibana wouldn't have immediately requested Lacus to promote it upon learning of Dying Will Flames, nor would she have enlisted Luo Shu and Verde, the two insiders, to develop a method for widespread use.
Hearing Takina's words, Luo Shu nodded in agreement:
"Based on current circumstances, Dying Will Flames are indeed the most cost-effective and universally applicable ability."
"While their upper limit might not match some powerful Abyss Artefact-derived abilities, they're a solid choice for beginners."
During his two days of research with Verde on dissemination methods, Luo Shu had already consulted the Mysticism Encyclopaedia derived from the Authority of Knowledge.
He knew full well that without a world-foundational treasure like the Tri-ni-sette, the upper limit of Dying Will Flames, paired with rings, could only rival a Hero Rank Class.
And even that required following the perfect growth path outlined by the Authority of Knowledge to achieve such heights.
For an ordinary Dying Will Flames wielder, even reaching the pinnacle through personal training might not surpass Luo Shu's current self as an Elite Rank Calamity Bringer.
This alone reveals the low ceiling of Dying Will Flames.
But a power shouldn't be judged solely by its upper limit—its universality matters too.
As an innate ability inherent to the human body, Dying Will Flames is something everyone possesses naturally, requiring only sufficient resolve or physical and mental strength to awaken.
With the SDS's Adjuster Drug and Verde's mass-produced rings, the awakening rate can reach 100% with the right methods.
Such success makes it viable for widespread adoption, elevating SDS's combat strength by several tiers overnight.
This was precisely why Lacus approved Kirika Tachibana's proposal at a glance and entrusted Luo Shu to develop a method for awakening Dying Will Flames.
The cost? A single date.
Though Lacus claimed she just wanted to go shopping in Tokyo, Luo Shu interpreted it as a reward for successful research.
Whether Lacus actually thought so didn't matter—Luo Shu decided it did.
"So, shall we give it a shot?" Luo Shu raised his gun.
Takina Inoue took a deep breath, then declared solemnly:
"Please... infuse your power into my body."
"Isn't that phrasing a bit weird?" Chisato Nishikigi blinked.
But the next moment—
Bang!
The gun fired.