Ever since Tianqi Sanluo obtained the ability to manifest silently, everything had changed.
Originally, under AST's guidance, cities all around the world had been expanding their underground shelters and increasing vigilance to prevent further casualties from Genie (Shura) and her devastating spacequakes.
For AST, every time a spacequake alert sounded, the members would instinctively prepare themselves to die in the line of duty.
With the current level of global technology, it was impossible to determine which Spirit a coming spacequake represented.
AST couldn't afford to gamble — if it turned out to be Genie (Shura), then everyone involved would be doomed.
However…
"What's going on?!"
A sudden, massive fire broke out in a Japanese city, accompanied by readings of powerful spiritual energy. The AST members were caught completely off guard.
"Captain! The spirit wave analysis is complete! It's… Genie (Shura)!"
"What?! Genie (Shura)?!"
The AST captain was completely shaken. No one had imagined that Genie (Shura) — whose mere arrival would normally cause a spacequake that destroyed entire cities — could appear silently in the middle of an urban center and start wreaking havoc.
"Captain! What should we do?!"
AST had never encountered a case of silent manifestation before, so they were utterly at a loss in the face of Genie (Shura)'s sudden assault.
Worse still, she had appeared right in the center of the city, where the population density was the highest — making any effective countermeasures impossible.
Besides, they weren't even close to being her match.
"Captain!"
A panicked operator monitoring the city's condition called out urgently.
"Forget it! Pass the order — alert the surrounding cities, and all units move out immediately! Eliminate Genie (Shura) at once!"
The captain gritted her teeth and gave what was essentially a suicidal command.
"Yes, ma'am!"
Though they trembled with fear, they knew there was no other choice.
At that same moment, in the heart of the city, Tianqi Sanluo was laughing madly as she swung her Burning Immortal Flame.
The flames devoured everything around her as countless people fled in panic.
A few AST members who were on patrol tried desperately to guide civilians toward underground shelters — but to Tianqi Sanluo, such shelters might as well have been made of paper.
Still, she wasn't in any hurry to chase them down. Her time in this world was limited; wasting it on weaklings was pointless.
Skyscrapers crumbled before the Spirit's terrifying power. People scattered everywhere in hopeless terror.
No wall, no matter how solid, could withstand even a single strike from the angelic weapon in Tianqi Sanluo's hands.
Her rampage had already pushed the city to the brink of ruin.
But it didn't end there.
Tianqi Sanluo continued moving outward from the city center, unstoppable — no steel or concrete could slow her advance.
BOOM!
With a deafening crash, she smashed her right fist into a car by the roadside. The explosion hurled the wreckage dozens of meters away, but Tianqi Sanluo herself remained completely unscathed.
"Ahahahahaha!!!"
Tianqi Sanluo threw back her head and laughed wildly. She could finally unleash her full strength without restraint!
Before, she had only faced a few hundred AST soldiers at a time, or destroyed ruins where no one remained alive.
But today — today she could slaughter freely in the heart of a densely populated city!
Looking at the crowded skyline of buildings before her, a bloodthirsty gleam flashed across her face.
Swish—!
Her feet slammed into the ground, cracking the earth beneath her. Rocks flew, dust rose, and Tianqi Sanluo shot forward like a black blur!
Bang! Bang!
Buildings shattered in her wake; debris tumbled everywhere.
She swept through the city like a war god descended to earth, leaving only destruction behind her.
Just as she was about to destroy another house, a casual glance caught something familiar —
the figures of AST soldiers.
"AST… so you did come."
Seeing the armored girls flying toward her, Tianqi Sanluo's smile twisted even more grotesquely.
"Genie (Shura)! Die!"
The AST members shouted, charging at her with desperate determination, ready to sacrifice their lives.
Tianqi Sanluo, however, merely stood still, waiting for them to approach.
To be honest, fighting AST no longer even stirred her interest.
These girls always charged in headlong with suicidal courage, no tactics whatsoever, and their power was pitifully weak.
Bullying the weak could be satisfying, but being surrounded by weaklings begging to be crushed over and over again eventually became dull.
Scanning her surroundings, Tianqi Sanluo realized that she had already torn apart most of the city.
Judging by the time, her Lost phenomenon would soon occur.
"Hmph. I'll play with you a little."
She floated upward, holding Burning Immortal Flame before her, gazing lazily at the AST squad a few hundred meters away.
"All units! Charge!"
The AST captain swallowed hard and gave the order for a full assault.
This was exactly what bored Tianqi Sanluo the most — a one-sided massacre. There was no novelty in their tactics at all.
Even now, she had lost the will to "play" with them.
Although she had said she'd entertain them, her actions betrayed no such intent — she simply swung Burning Immortal Flame, pouring immense spiritual power into it and engulfing all of them in her flames, annihilating the entire squad instantly.
Such enemies were so weak that even victory felt meaningless.
After wiping out every AST member in the city, Tianqi Sanluo felt her strength fading — Lost was coming again.
"Tch. Guess I'll have fun next time."
---
This sudden attack by Tianqi Sanluo shocked the entire world.
While Genie (Shura)'s spacequakes had always been terrifying, at least they could be anticipated through early-warning systems.
But now, for the first time, Genie (Shura) had appeared silently in the middle of a city — and unleashed a massacre, completely annihilating an AST unit.
Previously, when Spirits appeared, their presence was immediately detected due to the accompanying spacequake, leading AST to engage them.
Even in cases of silent manifestation, the Spirits involved were typically docile or out of touch with human society, and were either discovered quickly or vanished quietly after Lost.
Thus, AST had never developed any real concept of silent manifestation.
But that no longer mattered. What truly terrified humanity was this: a Spirit capable of infiltrating cities without a sound — especially Genie (Shura), the most violent of them all.
How could such a thing be prevented or dealt with?
Unfortunately, while the world's experts were still brainstorming countermeasures, the second silent manifestation of Genie (Shura) occurred.
This time, Tianqi Sanluo's rampage lasted even longer. More buildings were destroyed, more lives were lost.
Unlike spacequakes, which were catastrophic but impersonal, this was direct, visible slaughter — and the psychological impact was immense.
Nearly all survivors suffered severe PTSD; at the mere sight of flames, their bodies would tremble uncontrollably.
Fear spread. Despair deepened.
Humanity as a whole fell into the shadow of Genie (Shura)'s sudden attacks.
Even with stricter security and inspection measures implemented to prevent Spirits from entering cities, it changed nothing.
Without sufficient military power, what could anyone do if a Spirit suddenly turned hostile?
Could they reason with a mad Spirit like Genie (Shura)?
By the time Tianqi Sanluo carried out her third silent manifestation massacre, chaos had erupted worldwide.
In Japan, many magicians even gathered outside AST headquarters, demanding that the organization stop attacking Spirits — especially Genie (Shura).
According to these protestors, if AST hadn't provoked the Spirits, such disasters would never have happened.
AST's response was brutally simple — they cleared the mobs by force.
After all, following such logic would mean dismantling their defenses and surrendering to the enemy in the midst of war.
Once the mobs were dealt with, and as Genie (Shura)'s presence vanished for a time, the chaos gradually subsided.
However, the lesson AST learned from this ordeal was a bitter one.
If they couldn't find a way to stop Genie (Shura) soon, her next appearance would plunge the world into even greater turmoil —
perhaps one beyond recovery.
Finally, at the suggestion of the ever-sinister DEM Company executive, Westcott, AST officially gave Genie (Shura) a title —
just as they had once named Nightmare.
She was henceforth known as:
"The Most Brutal Spirit."