Gael, Wielder of the Wind Blade, had arrived, creating a powerful gust of wind around the area. "Damn it, brother!! I am quite the busy individual, you know. What is it that you're in need of??"

Illume, Wielder of the Lightning Blade, replied. "Oh calm down Gael. I simply need you to examine the authenticity of the contract these three have presented to us. They claim to have been sent here to assist us, with some sort of ominous threat that will apparently arrive soon."

"Really? You called me to simply check that? Who cares whether or not it is real. We have no need for the assistance of whoever these pipsqueaks are. We engage in wars nearly every single day, what's another threat going to do? We'll be just fine, Illume."

"Gael, c'mon, knock that off. There is no reason for us not to accept the extra assistance to further assure our victory."

"There certainly is plenty reason! If we somehow are tricked by these outsiders, it could very well lead to our doom. Yes, if the contract is real, then they likely are not lying about wanting to assist us. However, if we do not need to, there's no reason to bring forth even a slight risk of being torn apart from within."

"Gael..."

"Need I really remind you, brother, of the strength the wielders of the storm blades possess? If you've truly forgotten, then here is your refresher..." Gael's grip tightened on his wind blade's hilt as he drew it, summoning a ferocious tornado that swirled around him, rapidly growing and eventually towering over the kingdom.

Esca channeled a vast amount of mist into their vessel simply to prevent the ship from being swept away.

"Okay brother, yes we get it!!" Illume yelled. "This display was completely unnecessary! Despite our power and the risk involved, I still believe we should-.."

The tornado and gusts abruptly dissipated, replaced by a chilling silence. Rain dribbled from Gael's mouth as he dropped his Wind Blade. Without warning, slashes of air cleaved through him from behind, splitting his form to pieces. Gael's fragmented body crumpled to the ground, lifeless. He was dead.

The entire Surge race reacted with complete shock. They all went on the defensive, staring toward the source of the attack.

An intricately dressed samurai strode forward, his blade enveloped in a whirlwind of wind. Despite the exposed areas on his stomach and chest, he wore tightly bound clothing that protected his shoulders and neck. Clad in gloves and hakama-style leggings, he sported a kasa hat that seemed to transcend the physical realm, moving with an otherworldly grace. "Killed by your own element. Well that's a little embarrassing, wouldn't you say?" he remarked, his gaze sweeping over the gathered Surge with a hint of mockery.

"What the fuck..?? He killed Gael..! Has a Storm Blade Wielder ever died in our lifetime??" questioned one of the Surge, disbelief and concern evident in their voice.

Another chimed in, their voice tinged with astonishment. "No, not even once. Holy shit.. looks like that contract was for real..!"

Having traversed a considerable distance from their ship, past numerous Surge beings, Verlena came to a halt. With determination etched on her features, she stamped her foot into the cloudy surface and drew her blade. "That is correct, it was for real. So Teres, Esca, and I will do exactly as we said. Lay waste to the threat that stands before your breathtaking kingdom." she declared, pointing her fragile blade towards the samurai. "You. While I do not know why it is you've decided to begin searching for magnificent locations to demolish, there are no justifiable reasons for it that I could begin to imagine. Therefore, we will end your spree before it is able to truly even begin..."

"Those are certainly some assertive claims, let's see if they actually hold any weight." remarked the samurai as he blasted towards Verlena, his blade wreathed in a crimson blaze of flame.

From behind Verlena, Teres jumped over her, pulling a large bell from his jacket, ringing it in preparation for a powerful blow. Landing in front of her, Teres threw forward a side kick. However, the samurai slid under Teres's attack, clashing blades with Verlena.

The power behind Teres's missed kick intensely shook the entire area. He quickly glanced back, watching as the samurai's blade shattered into glass upon connecting with Verlena's Fragile Blade. The samurai was caught off guard by this, and Teres took advantage, ringing another bell, and then slamming his fist against the samurai's cheek. This sent the samurai flying, and then tumbling across the area's cloudy surface, eventually coming to a halt.

Pushing himself up with a hand against his knee, the samurai softly touched his cheek, massaging it as he spoke. "That's very interesting. So you have the fragile blade, then? If you acquired that thing, then you and your companions aren't a normal bunch. No... not at all." he mused, clenching his fists and assuming a combative stance. "Well then, if that's the case, I suppose I'll spend a little more time here than I planned." As he spoke, his body began to undergo a transformation, shifting into various materials. His arms solidified into sleek crystal, while his legs turned to ice. "It's nice to meet you both. I'm Noru, the Elemental Samurai. Some like to call me the Dishonorable Samurai instead, since I don't give a shit about their moral code. But I don't care which you use. I'm only revealing it to you so that our battle can feel a little more special."

"I think it'd make things even more special if ya let us know what you're doin' here. You agree?" Teres asked.

"Sorry... but I have limits to the information I reveal." Noru replied, beginning to swiftly skate across the clouds using his icy feet. He moved with such speed that it was difficult for Verlena and Teres to keep track of him.

As Teres rang another bell, he swiftly countered Noru's sudden fist swing with a powerful uppercut. The impact generated shockwaves that rippled in all directions, yet Noru's crystallized arm remained unscathed, showing no visible damage.

While Noru was occupied with Teres, Verlena slashed her blade toward his body. Just before her weapon connected with him, Noru transformed his torso into a sludge like material, maneuvering it out of the way in order to avoid making contact with Verlena's dangerous weapon.

Noru slid backward, creating some distance between himself and his adversaries. Using his sludgelike torso as a conduit, he propelled his crystallized arms forward from a distance. The flexibility of the sludge material enabled his arms to reach great distances with remarkable speed and precision.

Verlena and Teres both moved to counter Noru's attack, but once more, he used his sludge to manipulate his limbs and evade their strikes, redirecting them to roughly connect with both of his opponents.

One of Noru's crystallized fists collided with Verlena's back, sending her slamming face-first into the seemingly soft cloudy surface, which proved to be far firmer than it appeared.

The other fist maneuvered around Teres, eventually connecting with his jaw, propelling him high into the air before he crashed forcefully into the ground below.

Noru wasted no time capitalizing on Verlena and Teres's vulnerable states, quickly launching another attack.

Recognizing that there was no time for them to regain their footing, Verlena shouted, "Teres, now! Toss your snacks!"

Not exactly being thrilled about it, Teres grasped a handful of the candy he had in his pocket, tossing it into the air. Verlena, still on the ground, hurled her blade at the candy, shattering it into countless glass fragments. The shards temporarily blinded Noru, disrupting his attack.

This gave Verlena and Teres just enough time to stand up. Teres pulled out a slightly smaller bell than he'd been using, ringing it and then stomping into the ground, flipping the cloudy surface beneath Verlena's blade upward, hurling it back into her hand.

Teres then brought out a bell that was larger than the one he'd used earlier. He punched the ground, bursting the cloudy surface apart, allowing Verlena to slice the broken pieces of the surface, creating many more glass shards to block Noru's view.

Blinded by the swirling glass shards, Noru struggled to discern Verlena and Teres's whereabouts. Suddenly, a mighty gust of wind whipped through the air, propelling the glass shards directly towards Noru. Dozens of them pierced deep into his body, inflicting significant damage.

Teres had used Bells of Might to direct the shards towards Noru, using the force from his powerful punch.

Verlena swiftly closed the distance to Noru, swinging her blade towards his neck in a decisive strike. Yet, before she could execute the fatal blow, an explosion of golden dust erupted, sending everyone flying backward. From beneath the clouds emerged a colossal pair of angelic wings, bearing a humanoid figure fashioned from vibrant flowers. Petals and golden dust cascaded in its wake as it hovered in the air.