*Ning*

Yanyu, Guang, Xing, and I had been warped to a densely forested areas with a lot of rocks dotting the forest floor. A flock of toucans flew past us and perched themselves on a large broad-leaf tree. Using their rainbow-beaks, they yanked the pink, banana-like fruit growing on the tree. With their heads reclined back, they swallowed.

"So pretty," Yanyu said.

I nodded. "Yeah... An would love to see this."

"They're just birds. Nothing too out of the ordinary," Xing said, shrugging.

"But there aren't birds this colorful back home," Yanyu said, staring at their red, green, yellow, and blue beaks.

"Well, they look hideous if you ask me," he said, sighing.

"You got bad taste to begin with," I said, rolling my eyes.

He held his head back just like the toucans and laughed. "You're saying I got bad taste? Yours is a hundred times worse!"

"Guys, don't start a fight," Yanyu said, staring at the map in her hands.

Xing looked over her shoulder. "What's the point of the map if it doesn't hint to the locations of the mirror pieces?"

"There's a secret to it," I said, snickering.

"Really?" Guang asked, staring at it intently. "What is it?"

I took a hold of the map and walked over to a spot where the sunlight was more intense. My lips curled upward as soon as I saw spots appear on it.

"Seems I was right."

"About what? What did you discover?" Xing said.

"There's spots on this map," I said, lowering it. "They're only visible with a certain amount of light passing through the sheet."

"So it's like a code," Guang said, grinning. "This will be fun."

"Let's start the search then," Xing said. "What's the nearest point?"

I glanced around the place. "First I need to assess where exactly we are."

"May I see it?" Yanyu asked.

"Sure," I said, handing it over.

Birds took to the air as she ran up a tree and leapt between its branches until she could see over the canopy.

"What do you see?" I shouted.

"I see what seems to be ruins," she yelled. "Mt. Rios is toward our south too, so we must be in the ruin area."

"Look what the cat dragged in," a voice called out.

The hairs on my back stood up. My body moved on its own as vines came at me from behind.

"Impressive," Aida said, grinning.

I summoned my wand and transformed it into its railgun form.

"What do you want?" Guang snapped.

"I came here to eliminate the competition," she said as the branches of the trees around us began to move.

"Yanyu! Jump!" I yelled. "Yanyu!"

"Your colleague is stuck in knots," she said, grinning. "It's a good thing I faced off against her, else I would've underestimated that barrier of hers."

Xing clicked his tongue and charged at her.

She jumped back, dodging his blade.

"Move!" I yelled as my gun charged energy. "I'm going to blast her to bits!"

"Blast me? An barely managed to throw me out of the battlefield and it cost him dearly. Are you willing to pay the same price?"

A beam of blue light fired off of my gun even as Xing stood in the way. He ducked, allowing a surprised Aida to get hit directly by it.

Aida grimaced as blood trickled down her chest. "Y-you're crazy."

"Me?" I screamed. "You're the one who nearly killed Sarah and An, now I'm the crazy one?" I raised my gun. "Stop playing the victim card, you faker!"

The wounds on Aida's chest closed rapidly.

"You got me!" she said, grinning like a mad woman. Roots rose from the ground and climbed up my legs until they covered me completely.

"Ning!" Guang yelled as she sliced the roots under her own feet.

Xing jumped into the air and formed a sphere of darkness. "Be gone!" he yelled, sending it toward Aida.

Aida slapped the ball of darkness away, causing it to hit the tree Yanyu was stuck in. The tree collapsed, causing branches and chunks of wood to fly out in various directions.

"No!" I yelled as I tried to get the vines off. They were slowly draining my energy.

I couldn't lose like this... I needed to avenge An.

My weapon slipped from my tangled up hands. A beam of light shot out, heading straight for Aida who continued to deflect Xing's attacks.

Xing gasped and jumped out of the way once more.

Aida followed suit, but the last dark sphere Xing sent out struck him right arm. The wood mage stumbled back. Blood splatted out of her mouth as Xing hit her in the gut with his elbow.

"Go, Xing!" I yelled as I tore the vines off of me. Their grip on me had weakened as soon as he had flung her back.

Guang ran over to the dazed Aida and slashed her face. The cruel girl let out a scream as she hit the ground.

My teammate grinned and swung her sword down but a branch sent her flying toward the canopy.

A barrier formed over Guang.

"Yanyu!" I yelled. Standing on top of one of the trees was the masked woman.

"Let's finish her off!" she yelled, throwing her axe down at Aida.

Aida moved aside, narrowly avoiding the golden axe.

I picked up my gun and charged up energy.

The H.E.H. girl gritted her teeth. The entire forest shook violently, sending debris falling down from the canopy. If there were any birds still lingering around, they were surely fleeing now.

Yanyu formed barriers around Xing and me.

"What is she up to?" Guang asked, looking as the barrier she was in remained afloat.

"She's trying to take control of the surrounding forest," Yanyu responded as she raised us into the air.

Aida chuckled as she pushed herself up. The scar across her face closed. "You had hope, didn't you?" she asked, laughing. "Well, now it will all be washed away! You fools can't hope to defeat me! I am Aida, daughter of one of H.E.H's four generals and future queen of the soon to be born 4th Xelerian Empire!"

"She's gone off the deep end," Guang said, wrinkling his nose.

"She already was," I said.

The trees were pulled out of their foundations and twisted together with Aida at the center.

Yanyu pulled us out as branches and trucks weaved together around us.

"Get us out!" Guang yelled as a branch the barrier she was in. The branch though snapped as it deflected the force of the attack.

"We should be safe as long as we avoid her roots," I said.

Suddenly, roots of the dislodged trees wrapped around my sphere.

"Ning!" Yanyu yelled. She focused her energy on my barrier, strengthening it even as the roots sapped away its prana.

"I hate to admit it, but this crazy girl is strong."

"Yeah. Wood mages tend to be," I said, thinking back to Mayu, Adela, and even Ciji. They also tended to have a psychotic side to them too... But Aida remained leagues ahead of them in that area.

Aida spread out her arms and raised her head toward the sky. "This is my strongest spell, one I've long been meaning to test out. You should be honored to be its first test subjects."

"We aren't your lab rats!" I yelled. "Do you have no humanity?"

"This world has long been one ruled by the strong. Might makes right. There is no changing that fact. Isn't that also the philosophy of your people?"

Xing gasped.

"I hit the nail on its head, didn't I? You are not different. But you lack real power. Now, allow me to show you what that looks like!" she said as the vines of the trees attached themselves to her.

I gulped. Mayu was way better than this crazy witch.

"These games were supposed to be our moment, and while we might not get the majority of medals, we will make our mark!" she yelled as the trees twisted into a sphere around her. "Our moment is now! The Higher Evolutionary Hierarchy will show the world that we're the strongest, smartest, and most perfect people that have ever existed!"

Yanyu yanked me out of the roots and pulled us all out of the forest. Our jaws dropped as the full scope of Aida's 'strongest spell' came into view. The giant was a titan, towering several feet into the air.

"Die!" Aida yelled, sending millions of roots at us.

Yanyu covered us all in light, taking us out of there.

We appeared on the northern flank of Mt. Rios and gasped at the giant gap in the forest. Worst of all, Aida was still gathering more trees.

"What do we do?" Guang asked.

"I'll go stop her. You two go find the other pieces of the mirror. We need to end this event as soon as possible or else it'll be a blood bath," Yanyu said, watching as the colossus continued to grow rapidly.

"At this rate she'll destroy the entire forest and take us down with her," I said.

"How does she even have the prana to use that?" Guang asked.

"Good question," Yanyu said, furrowing her brow. "It has to be what she absorbed plus her own prana. My guess is she has a grade S Magicum Organum."

"S-rank?" I asked, gasping. That would explain her fortitude. A normal person her age would've fainted trying to maintain a spell that huge."

"Guys, look out!" Guang yelled.

Yanyu moved us back into the air. We watched as vine struck the mountain's surface. Plumes of dust covered the air.

I gasped as large quantities of energy were being moved out of Mt. Rios. The forest around the mountain began to wither away.

"She isn't absorbing anymore trees, but their life energy," I said, gasping in horror.

"You three head to the core," Xing said as he clapped his hands together. His massive snake familiar appeared, coiling around his barrier. "The two of us will distract her."

"I'll aid you!" Guang said.

"Fine. Ning, begin charging that gun of yours."

I nodded.

"Yanyu, you protect her. You're the keys to defeating that mad woman," he said.

"Got it," we girls said in unison.

Yanyu moved Guang over to Xing and fused their barriers.

"Good luck," the masked woman said as she fused her barrier with the one covering me.

Xing grinned. "Let's go!" His serpent coiled its tail around the barrier surrounding them and made its way over to the tree titan.

Masses of branches slid across the ground and grabbed a hold of the serpent. The beast opened its mouth and clamped down on the branches, tearing them apart. It continued to do so as it pulled out of Aida's grasp.

"It's like the world serpent," Yanyu whispered. She shook her head. "Ning, hope you're ready."

Air rushed to my lungs. "I'm as prepared as I'll ever be."

"Good to hear that," she said, taking a deep breath of her own. A pillar of light rained down on us, warping us away from the mountain.

My heart felt as if it wanted to jump out of my chest as we appeared over the titan.

Branches twisted upward, forming a horn on the humanoid titan.

Yanyu maneuvered us out of the way, but vines lurched out and grabbed a hold of us.

The masked woman threw her axe at them in a way that it spun around as if it were a boomerang. The vines snapped one after the other, freeing us.

"She's rather slow... then again, she did say this was an experimental run. Hopefully it'll collapse like Lei's Maximum Ventus Draco did during his match with Gat."

"Right, but let's not count on that to save us," Yanyu said, sending her axe crashing down on the colossus' head, forming a path for us.

I gulped as the branches and trunks began to regenerate, closing the outer edge of the hole. The chance of coming out of this unharmed were low, but I couldn't cower. An sacrificed too much, if need be, I would follow in his footsteps.

**Solar Note: Hope you enjoyed the second chapter of today's update :). 119 is nearly done, though I am unsure whether to publish it tomorrow (July 8th) or not. Might do another double update for July 11th (which happens to be the birthday of Nyima)**