Brilliance exuded from Avgi's afterglow as the Aquadragon swept its hind leg forward at him, trying desperately to catch him with any reaching maneuver it could make against the relative gnat.

"Yes, that must be Immemoria’s Hero! No other could surge that much without collapsing after the fact… And look!" The Magmaprincess stood in amazement as well.

Avgi leapt once more, not hindered whatsoever by being submerged in water. In his right hand, his blade wreathed itself in lightning as he swiveled in the air, extending the blade into a pulsing lash of lightning as it met the Aquadragon's sweeping leg, ripping off its scales as it passed by and leaving the vulnerable flesh underneath exposed to the unbearable heat of steam and shocks.

"Blassandra. Now is your chance to bring the Blazer Kingdom two victories on this day. Go now." The last to add to the discussion was the Volking, patting his daughter's molten shoulder with one craggy hand.

Before the Aquadragon could pull its leg back, Avgi landed down upon it, took his blade's handle in his teeth, and rapidly scaled the upwards-pointing scales like rock edges on the way up to the back of the beast.

"What? Oh!" The aptly-named Blassandra looked up at the Volking with slight reluctance at first, before relenting and standing tall. "Yes, Father!"

The sense of safety that the Blazer Kingdom felt, even as the war continued, was all but confirmed by the time Avgi's blade carved out several streaks of lightning burns along the Aquadragon's ripped-up back, and grabbed onto its largest horn with one hand as it attempted to swerve its head to shake him off. What the Aquadragon met was failure, as Avgi swung off of the horn, pulling the massive head back towards him as he careened back towards its head. Finally, he took his sword in both hands and plunged an electrified stab into its misty eye, cracking and shattering its crystalline composition.

From that eye, a glow even brighter than the explosion was localized to a geyser of light bursting from the socket, its entire body shivering, before finally going limp as it slowly fell to the ground. The lightning was directly sent throughout its watery skull, leaving the greatest threat to the Blazer Kingdom as little more than an oversized tower of meat, scales, and boiling water.

As the water from its previous breath finished sinking into the mud, Avgi sheathed his sword at his hip and jumped from the body. His electrified hair began to settle down into a natural golden blonde, leaving him as little more than an ordinary-seeming man, looking out to a sea of approaching fire-headed, flame-bodied peoples.

The royalty was at the forefront of the group, the Volking speaking up first, stating officially and gratefully; "We cannot thank you enough for this, Hero."

In response, the great Avgi shrugged. "Don't worry about it! Nothing else was going on around this time, so it's no skin off my back. More just scales off of its back." He pointed back with a thumb to the gigantic carcass, still excited about it, even after achieving victory. "Also, that Aquadragon's water breath was pressurized enough to shred you apart if it so much as got your foot or hand in the jet! Awesome creature, right?"

That sudden dump of terrifying information filled the Cinderqueen with enough post-battle dread to physically gulp down. "Y-… Yes? Still, your sacrifices merit reward! Avgi, you will be welcome into the Blazer Kingdom whenever you please, and we will treat you like our own. Like a prince!"

Avgi simply shrugged again with appreciation. "Ah, c'mon, I already said-"

He was interrupted by Blassandra, quickly blurting out; "You could also become a prince! For real! Avgi Dawn, my name is Blassandra Blazer… And I wish… To marry you!" She got onto one knee, her armor clanking loudly as she did. Appropriate dress aside, her face was held high yet, nervous but trying to look serious.

As Blassandra made her proposition, her parents glanced down at her intently, making it more difficult to stay focused.

It took him a moment to respond. When he did, he also sounded somewhat nervous, and a little oblivious. "... Oh! Seriously!?" Avgi swiveled around on one toe, facing away from the royalty with a goofy smile.

This is your chance, Dude. She looks super nice. She doesn't look scared of you. Hey, actually, look at her... As Avgi's gaze wandered back to the kneeling princess, he noticed only tension and nervous anticipation coming from her bowed head. As much as he wanted to believe it was only the fear of being rejected by a crush, the feeling that there was more to the story racked his brain too heavily to ignore.

Let's get to the bottom of this. He brought one hand down his face, and turned back, seeming composed. "I will… Accept this opportunity!"

Blassandra sighed out in relief, and at the same time, the rest of the royal family's pensiveness turned into satisfied smiles. 

Avgi brought a fist up to his chin, before continuing on. "One week should be long enough to set the ceremony. In the meantime… Blassandra, show me the wonders of your glorious kingdom!"

The three royals nodded, as Blassandra took Avgi's hand in her gauntlet, parting the army to let them through. When the duo strayed far enough from the king and queen, she leaned close and whispered; "You're really saving my skin, here…"

Avgi turned his head back, his confusion finally being brought out in his face. "Now that you mention it, what's up with that? You're royalty, and you had to kneel to me?"

Blassandra shook her head and looked forwards once more. "I'll explain later. Where do you want to go first?"

"Well, I am pretty hungry…"

"I know a great place, but I always disguise myself as a citizen when going there. Let's do that first…"

The great double-doored coal gates of the Blazer Kingdom stood wide open, welcoming a newfound couple inside.

Or so it thought.

Café Koalmin's floors were dark and smooth, yet still obviously stony, with minor dents and bumps strewn about its geode. From the ground, a small round red table held ashen grey stone plates with triangle-cut sandwiches and coffee in black mugs.

Said sandwiches were composed of a delicious coal rye bread that remained firm, yet also soft, when picked up and held. Dry dim yellow kindling leaves crisply stuck out from the edges of the bread. Also stacked with the leaves were savory wood slices with ten rings per paper-thin layer, barely peeking out. 

When Blassandra took a bite, her yellow-orange face briefly flashed slightly hotter, and as her black teeth chewed, her fiery hair seemed to turn a brighter scarlet.

Avgi sat across the table, taking the mug of coffee by grabbing its cup, rather than the handle. His hair was crimson, seeming to naturally float upwards, much like the rest of the peoples around him. His dark skin held a dim glow under it, and his normally-yellow eyes were a bright orange, irises warping from the heat. When he took a sip of the “coffee”, really a mix of grounds boiled in crude oil, his own features flashed brighter. 

The lights hanging from tempered steel chains above were not in lanterns, but were exposed balls of fire hung from the end of the chains, over the table. The fireballs brought the same ambience that the rest of the Blazer Kingdom seemed to hold in every corner; hot. Torch-lit. The sky itself was dark, illuminated by the sun only partially, through the thick haze of heat that turned its appearance red and sharp.

What Avgi was more focused on, however, was the sight of his royal bride. She had no crown, and no features to distinguish her from any other fiery man or woman in the café. In fact, she wore a ponytail with a hair tie of glowing steel, and a blank bright grey t-shirt that was quite large for her slightly above-average width, halfway draping over her knee-deep black cargo shorts. Despite seeming like ordinary clothes to a resident of a less extreme environment, they were woven with fibers that did not burn or frazzle, even when she took casual bites of fuel-sandwich and made her skin flare up.

“You know Blas-” Avgi’s cut of the silence was cut short by his date’s expression, eyes widening and lips warping, a moment from making a sound to remind him. “... Betsy, you honestly look nicer in those than in any old dress. It makes you look all cool and down-to-Immemoria.”

“It would not have been my first choice, Adam.” Blassandra glanced down at Avgi’s own disguise, a red jacket and black t-shirt, with ripped dark gold jeans. They also seemed ordinary on the surface, but upon closer inspection looked like stone and fibers combined. “I only put this boring outfit on because it allows me to shop and eat without being ogled every single second out here.”

“So this is what ya do on your offtime?” Avgi’s mug-holding hand dropped back to the plate, as his other elbow leaned on the table, and he leaned his chin on his palm.

“You could say that. Putting aside the relief from all the royal worries, seeing my people up close may give me a greater perspective on how best to keep them happy, once I am in power.” Unlike Avgi, Blassandra sat up properly and politely, almost in a tense manner. 

“Huh.”  Avgi leaned a little closer, visibly surprised. First, his eyes narrowed, then he straightened out, eyes going wide. “That’s really noble… Betsy. I just thought you’d figure that commoner food would be tastier than the usual princess diet, but you actually have “reasons” reasons.”

“Yeah, it’s always interesting to look at my parent’s kingdom up close. Also, “figure?” Could it be that you’re implying the meals prepared by veteran chefs - in Castle Blazer itself - are in any way subpar?“ She leaned forwards, yet her back remained straight, as her head tilted rather slightly at Avgi. The subtle, merciless glare in her eyes spoke volumes when paired with her slight grin.

Avgi just smirked right back, unfettered. “Well, you seemed to like that sandwich quite a lot. It’s made with the cheap stuff, and if I love anything, it’s the cheap stuff.”

“Aren’t you simple.”

“Never been a problem before, and I don’t think it’s one now, judging by that amused face.”

“And look at your own face, goof.” Avgi had coal crumbs on his crummy smirk.

What Avgi did with that realization was brush his lips off with his hand in one sweep, before pushing off the table to stand up. Blassandra did the same as he stepped around, hands attached to his hips and elbows fanned out, letting his widened figure corner her against the glass window of Café Koalmin. All that the princess in disguise could do was shrink back, looking up as their slight height difference turned seemingly dwarfing.

Avgi’s increasing sass loomed over her like a great storm. “Hey, don’t go saying my face is nothing less than perfection. If we’re gonna be husband and wife, you’ll be meeting this face every day.”

She decided not to rebel, content with where she was, smugly grinning back. “Maybe that’s… Alright.”

They both paused, gazing into each other’s eyes.

Avgi’s lips slowly drifted open. Blassandra's lips did the same.

The next sounds they uttered were from the heart.

“Eh.”

“Ehhh.”

The both of them furrowed their eyebrows, their guise of intimacy and passion falling apart. 

They weren’t feeling it.