[center][h2]Elise Kim[/h2][h3]Saitama Prefecture[/h3][/center]
With Norika's focus placed solely upon the centipede-like Warped, Elise began to swerve about, shifting her position in the air to drag the attention of the lesser monsters on the ground towards her. Anything that looked like it was about to attack or was aiming at Norika would be at the top of her priority list, and with each shot fired the Frame Pilot removed another enemy from the fray. Any time that the barrage seemed to stall for a moment, though, the young woman would take the chance to fire upon the massive Warped that her partner was engaging. She expected to land no major hits, of course, but even chipping away at or pulling the enemy's attention for just a moment could provide an opening to abuse...

[@JDubs]
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The raging winds within the avian Warped's beak grew to a fever pitch, howling and screaming as the monster's maw opened wider and wider still. Despite its target—the young woman now cloaked in flames—putting up a defensive barrier, however, it showed no signs of stopping. Nor did it have any reason to, as whatever it was charging up was let loose.

A massive beam, half-comprised of bladelike gales slicing and whirling through the air. The first thing that it met was a stray piece of debris, which soon became no more than bits of metal and concrete ground up and dragged along as incidental shrapnel alongside the already-threatening attack. Though the initial beam hit had been fired straight towards Pyralis, a timely punch from Hoshiko had forced the Warped (and its supernatural assault) upwards. Diverted as it was now, the Warped (who seemed only slightly worse for the wear) stopped firing the beam and flew in a U-shape, turning in the air as it rose into the sky.

The respite afforded the pair was short-lived, though, as it soon began to turn back towards the duo. Flapping its wings to remain suspended where it was, the Warped opened its mouth and began to charge once more before firing another beam—this time, sweeping across the ground in an attempt to catch both of the Frame Pilots in its wake.

[@VitaVitaAR][@Izurich]
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The komainu seemed to have expected little resistance from Louisa as it clashed with her head-on, and taken aback as it was when the comparatively smaller opponent did not only manage to resist its charge, but launch a counterattack on top of that.

And though that moment of pause was enough for Xuan-Yu to land a decisive initial blow upon the Warped, the followup would not be so simple. The komainu howled in pain as the weapon met its mark, and almost as if by instinct the beast shifted its body enough to force the blade that had pierced its flesh to barely avoid cleaving through its bones. Injured though it was now, the beast withdrew from its attack upon Louisa before letting out a roar.

With that roar came a surge of heat, and it seemed almost as if the monster's mane, jaws, and forelimbs were alight with fire. Glowing white-hot as it was, the monster stood out against the bloodied and broken bodies of the fallen beneath it.

Uneven as its gait was now with one leg partially crippled, though, the Warped seemed to have changed its target from the Chi-Mechframe at the vanguard towards the one that had been brazen enough to attack it while unaware. A bite, a slash, a slam—the enraged beast seemed to be turning the very earth around it into charcoal as it lashed out furiously at its new target.

[@Laduguer][@ERode]