Chapter 20: A Favour

"So Lala, what do your parents want to talk about with me?" Rito asked as the group of Lala, Yuka, Viktoria and himself walked towards the field where a Devilukean ship had apparently landed. "Normally, when your father wants to talk with me, it involves some sort of threat or destruction…" Rito said half-jokingly.

"Ehehe… I don't really know, but hopefully it'll be something good," she said with a bright smile as she put both her arms around Rito's left arm; Lala's cute as always… they came all the way here rather than talking through video or something like that, so it must be really important or serious, Rito thought as they finally reached outdoors to see the ship. Unlike the rest of the surroundings, such as the grassy field and blue sky, the Devilukean ship had a more complex, mechanical feel to it; it reminded Rito of military fighter jets rather than an alien ship and was similar to Yami's Lunatique. The ship had a predominant white colour but also had a black and red trims in parts such as the wings and around the doors/windows; there were also some weapons on the wings and at the front of the ship but Rito had no clue what they were (laser cannons, I don't know? That sounds sci-fi enough right?). Standing with a stern look on the front of the ship was none other than the short, imposing figure of Gid Lucione Deviluke,, who was talking to Zastin; next to him, was a female figure but her face was covered by a mask, although Rito could tell that this person had quite a nice figure. Guessing that's Lala's mum, Rito thought as he approached the Devilukeans, who noticed the group coming over.

"Ahh yes, well if it isn't Mr. fiancé," the King stated as he looked at the approaching boy.

"Yeah, we meet again you highness, although I prefer it if you called me by my proper name," Rito replied plainly as he regarded the small frame of the King.

"Hmpf, you really have gotten braver recently, I almost want to fight with you right now!" the King said as a grin appeared on his face.

"I guess I do have to pay you back for some of the goofy stuff you did when you came to our school…" Rito said as well, equally fired up as his golden eyes glinted.

"You know that's not what we came for, Gid…" an elegant voice to the side of Gid said; this was the person Rito suspected to be Lala's mother.

"Hello Yuuki Rito, I am Sephie Michaela Deviluke, Queen of Deviluke- a pleasure to finally meet you," the pink-haired woman declared to Rito.

"Oh- nice to meet you as well, your highness…" Rito replied politely; I really don't know what to call her- she is a queen after all, I can't be calling her familiarly, Rito thought quickly scratching his head.

"Alright, first off, lay off the wife," Gid stated defensively as everyone looked at him with raised eyebrows; okay, that was uncalled for.

"Okay, okay, I was joking… but the important thing is what is happening on Deviluke…" Gid said seriously as the tone turned more seriously.

"You all remember a while back when we were attacked by what your kind call 'demons'?" the king asked, reminiscing to the event as everyone nodded their head.

"Basically, a similar thing might happen again, but it might be much worse…"

"Why is that? Is the access point bigger?" Rito asked with curiosity.

"These demons can't obviously appear out of nowhere- they have to have come from somewhere, whether it be Earth, another planet or even another dimension. We can't be sure where they are all from," Rito said, comically putting on a pair of glasses and lab coat.

"As a portal would normally be their access point, then we better disrupt or even better destroy the portal," Rito concluded confidently.

"So, it's like cutting the connection," Zastin added, being present on the scene.

"Yeah exactly, if that's what you needed me for then let's do this," Rito stated rubbing his knuckles.

"Are you sure? You don't know what's in the place- we evacuated the whole of the capital and quarantined the general area, so we have no clue what's in there" Queen Sephie pointed out with concern.

"That's at least good that the area is empty for now, it reduces the risk- and I'll be fine, all that training all these years will pay of you see" Rito stated while contracting his arms in a bodybuilder style pose.

"If that's the case, then we'll ask for your assistance in this matter,"Gid said as he stroked his chin.

"Alright… man, it really is like a ghost town here," Rito commented as he looked at the landscape before him. The Devilukean metropolis was filled with lights and many tall buildings, but was completely empty- the glowing lights were a complete contrast to the silence in the city. It was slightly different from his last visit.

"Okay, fireball, get going, we'll be up in the air if you need any assistance so give us a call," Gid's voice could be heard through his earphones as he noticed the Devilukean ship glide off to higher altitudes. Fireball? Seriously?! I like my hair thanks, Rito thought shaking his head as he headed in the direction of the palace; the charged feeling in the air seemed to be resonating from that direction. Although the girls present had been against it, Rito decided to traverse to the mysterious portal on his own because his own abilities 'were pretty awesome so he wanted to do this solo'. However, his real reason was that he didn't want his loved ones to be harmed, but he wasn't going to say that in front of Gid out of all people.

"Rito, please be careful!" he could hear the voice of Lala and Yuka; all the girls who had been with him in his conversation with Lala's parents had decided to come along as well.

"Yeah, don't go off dying yet, not until I'm done with you," Viktoria said in a weird tsundere way- he could hear a whole conversation going on through his earphones.

"Ooooh, I like the way this girl talks… wanna have some fun?" he could hear Gid say quite suggestively to Viktoria as Lala's nervous laughter could be heard in the background.

"Gid… what do you think you're doing?" even though Rito wasn't there, he could feel a dark presence emanating from the voice; no wonder that pervert king only act pervy when he isn't with his wife, Rito thought shaking his head.

In a conversation with his head, he hadn't realised that he had already reached the Devilukean palace. It was as grand as the last time he saw it, but also felt more charged than last time as he entered through the wide doorway. The portal was right here. Swirling like a whirlpool, it reminded Rito of the typical spiral shape or galaxies, although this portal shone in a sinister red colour and had electricity discharging off it occasionally.

"Alright, I'm entering the portal…" he said as he stepped in; I really need to stop going into weird portals, he thought with closed eyes as he remembered the last time.

Hi everyone, another chapter! As always, I am really thankful to all the support and it feels pretty awesome to be writing stuff that people enjoy- thanks again. The next chapter will probably be the last or penultimate for this series, but that'll have to wait a while as I'm going on holiday so the next chapter wont be until about 3 wks- again thanks for reading and hope you enjoy it! Until next time!