[center][h2]Elise Kim[/h2][h3]Saitama Prefecture[/h3][/center]
With her shot finding its mark upon the insectoid Warped, Elise let out a sigh of relief and let her shoulders relax ever so slightly. The most pressing problem in their path had been dealt with—as had most the others', given the current visuals on her HUD—which meant that they could return to their job of sweeping the area clear of enemies.

"I suppose we clean up after whatever Hoshiko leaves behind," Elise responded, switching back to her live ammunition before promptly raising her weapon back up to her shoulder. "Mission's not over until we get the all clear, so let's hurry up and kill the rest of these things so we can head back and wash off."

[@JDubs][hr]
As the komainu rushed headlong towards the one target it could still see, its gait began to visibly falter. The poison Xuan-Yu had left to fester in its body was leaving its mark, now more than ever, and the heat washing off of the Warped was no longer strong enough to blacken the ground beneath. The single-minded determination it held seemed to matter less and less as it approached Louisa, and when it finally had reached her, the beast was all but spent.

One last attempt at a swing was all it could muster before the creature collapsed in front of the Frame Pilot, unable to bear the weight of it's own body any longer. Though not yet deceased, the Warped no longer had the strength to fight any longer.

A swift stab would be enough to put it out of it's misery.

[@Laduguer][hr][hr]

With the death of the larger Warped in the region and the continued support of the Frame Pilots with them, the Japanese offensive to retake western Saitama continued with little further issue. It seemed that the monsters were left with little else after the four that had attempted to stymie the effort were slain, what with the remaining enemies only barely able to offer any further resistance beyond pure numbers being thrown at the infantry on the ground.

Luckily, cleaning even those up would be child's play to the group compared to what they had just slaughtered.

As night began to fall and a defensive perimeter began to be established, though, a helicopter would descend from above to pick up the Frame Pilots and return them to [i]The Horizon[/i]. With the operation in northern Saitama seeing similar success and Japanese Frame Pilots arriving onto the scene for their intended night operations and defense, their job was done for the moment. The necessity of their presence to continue pushing west remained to be seen, of course, but given the information being relayed to them, retaking the forests and mountains was of far less importance than the formal residential areas next to Tokyo.

In other words, the mission was likely all but complete, which would leave the Frame Pilots free to wind down in the skies above. As to what they would do after night fell remained to be seen, but success would likely see spirits high—not just among them, but the staff as well.

[@VitaVitaAR][@Izurich][@Medili][@ERode][@Laduguer][@Mole][@JDubs]