Aira and Aeron entered the mansion and were immediately greeted by her brothers.
Both were young, looking to be in their late teens.
One looked wild, with long hair and a rugged style, wearing a karate-style robe. He had well-defined muscles.
The other was slim and lean-muscled, wearing a long coat and a hat.
Both had black hair with a hint of crimson.
"Sis, we are here to see your human husband!"
"Is that him?"
Both of them looked at Aeron, checking him out as they walked around the duo.
"Hey, stand in front and introduce yourselves," Aira said sternly.
The brothers grinned, stepped forward, and made polite bows.
"I am Bara Verian, the youngest," the muscled guy spoke first with a grin.
"I am Kirat Verian," the one with the hat followed with a smile. "Nice to meet you."
"I am Aeron Enfield," Aeron smiled. "Nice to meet you too."
"So, brother-in-law, are you strong? Good at martial arts or not?" Bara asked curiously. "We should spar."
Aeron smiled wryly.
Both of them were Tier-3, not far from the peak of Tier-3.
"Sister, you didn't just pick him to back our family off from arranging your marriage, right?" Kirat raised his eyebrows.
He looked at Aeron and said straightforwardly, "If that's the case, you should expose her. She's just delaying the inevitable."
"You rascal." Aira was speechless.
Aeron narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharpening as it bore into Kirat. "Is that how you treat your sister? Instead of supporting her, you want to ignore her wishes?"
Kirat suddenly felt as if he were standing in front of death itself. He began sweating bullets, frozen as instinctual fear screamed through his body and soul.
Even without facing his gaze directly, Bara felt trepidation.
"Aeron, it's fine," Aira said, glancing at him.
Aeron blinked as his aura converged, then smiled. "Brother and sister should support each other in all situations and difficulties. If she wishes for something, it's your job to help her fulfill it. Got it?"
Bara and Kirat nodded meekly while communicating telepathically using Prana.
[ Bara: What the hell was that dude? He must have killed thousands of people or more to have that murderous aura! ]
[ Kirat: He is strong… and experienced. What the hell? ]
"Alright, so why did you two come here a day early?" Aira asked curiously.
"Of course, we wanted to see the life partner you found," Kirat answered. "To see whether you'll be able to convince the family or not."
"But we're also here to give you a heads-up," Bara cleared his throat. "You know Dad and Mom have been making trips to find a groom for you. Fun fact, they found one. So they're not just coming here to check your husband, but to get a divorce and take you to the groom's family."
"Apparently, it's a Tier-B planet, and that family has a Tier-8 patriarch. They've already agreed to the marriage," Kirat added.
"What?" Aira frowned. "Bullshit."
However, Bara and Kirat only smiled wryly in response. They weren't joking.
"But can't you just say no?" Aeron asked. "It's not like they can force you."
"Sis, you didn't tell him about the family?" Bara's expression turned strange.
Aira sighed. "I was about to."
"Well, Grand Uncle is involved, so this matter is already big. I don't see a way out," Kirat shrugged.
Aeron blinked.
Then Aeron learned about the Verian family in detail.
The Verian family was founded by someone who was originally human over two hundred years ago, but who ventured outside and changed his race through inheritance to become a demon.
Currently, the Verian family's main house was on a Tier-C planet. Only Aira lived on Earth, staying in their old mansion.
The family head, her grandfather, was a peak Tier-6 being. Her parents were Tier-5 like Aira, but stronger, as they were at the peak and naturally possessed a greater arsenal of powers.
Aira's grand uncle was a Tier-7 being, and it was his influence that convinced the Dortiyan Family of a Tier-B planet to agree to this marriage.
"This is bad…" Aira sighed. "Very bad."
"Told you," Bara smiled ruefully. "Better to let go of this mister, lest he gets killed."
Aeron frowned. "I don't like this."
"Well, you can't do anything, so it doesn't matter," Kirat shrugged.
"This is unacceptable." Aeron clenched his fist as he looked at Aira. "It's your life. It's your decision."
Aira sighed. "I wish that were true. I had leeway before, but now… I don't know."
"Let's escape," Aeron said, his face serious.
"Hold on." Bara raised his hand, palm facing them. "You can't escape forever, not from a family headed by a Tier-8 powerhouse."
"There has to be a way." Aeron clenched his fists.
Aira blinked. 'He is acting quite well for a pretending husband.'
But she didn't know that he wasn't pretending.
Aeron wanted to be with her. She saved him from hell and gave him a new life.
She was beautiful, kind, and incredible in his eyes.
There might be countless women out there, but Aira was the one who found him. And even though it started as a pretense, he truly wanted to be with her.
"Well, there is a way to break this arranged marriage," Bara grinned.
"What?" Kirat raised his eyebrows. "If I can't think of it, you can't."
"Idiot." Bara snorted. "It's not complicated. You just need to kill the groom, and it's over."
"…" Aira.
"…" Kirat.
Aeron blinked. "If he is bad, then…"
"You can't!" Kirat rubbed his temples. "Planet Earth would be destroyed by that groom's father with his pinky finger."
"They don't need to know who killed him," Bara snickered.
"Stop talking about killing him." Aira rolled her eyes, though it was clear her thoughts were spiraling as she couldn't find any solution.
"I think the solution is simple," Aeron said, his eyes resolute and expression firm. "I just need to become strong and impressive enough to dwarf that Tier-B planet's family."
Bara whistled. "Now that's how a man fights for his love!"
Aeron looked at Aira. "Your parents will at least wait a bit, right? I'll become strong enough. I'll raise my power and prestige in the Geoxar Network, enough to dwarf whatever proposals your family brings."
Aira blinked. "If I become stubborn, it's not like they can force me. But we'll have to convince them to give us time."
"If they've already given their word to the Tier-B planet's family and then offend them by backing out, the family will be in trouble. At that point, I'd have no choice but to give in."
"So tomorrow is the day." Aeron nodded, his eyes blazing with determination. "Don't worry. I'll fight for you and win. That's my promise."
Aira smiled, feeling her heart flutter slightly, even though Aeron was supposed to be pretending.
"By the way, you seem quite strong. What's your lifeform rank?" Kirat asked curiously.
"Just entered Tier-4," Aeron smiled.
"Alright, enough chit-chat. Aeron and I are entering the Virtual Continent. You two can join us there."
Grabbing Aeron's hand, Aira stood up and vanished into a veil of shadow, reappearing in her bedroom.
"Let's enter." Aira took out her ID card and lay down on the bed. "Lie down and infuse a bit of Prana into the card. That will show an interface in your mind. There, select the Virtual Geoxar Continent tab and enter. You'll get multiple entry options since you can choose where to appear, but go to the search tab at the top right corner and type Tolier City. That's where I am."
"Alright." Aeron lay down beside her with some distance between them, as the bed was quite large.
Holding their ID cards, they closed their eyes, and soon their consciousness drifted into the vast Virtual Geoxar Continent.