Chapter Eighteen: Have Fun Storming the Castle

Rather than harassing the castellan into warping just three of them towards the castle, where it would surely object, the trio returned to the school grounds. Sure enough, there was no sense of panic or even anyone talking about the giant robot that had streaked through the sky earlier in the afternoon. Classes were about to end.

The abbreviated sentai squad took their bikes and rode to the mountains. A narrow road wound its way up to the strange new castle, where a modest ticket booth awaited. The fortress had indeed integrated itself seamlessly into the diminished Tenshigurobu as a tourist trap!

The castle itself was relatively modest, nowhere comparable to the massive structures further south, like Himeji castle. Ren wondered what the castle looked like in ‘reality’, without this locally appropriate camouflage.

It appeared to be closing time. Ren, Haruto, and Yuto let themselves in anyway. They’d rather not have to sneak around civilians. Sure enough, as soon as the trio walked past the castle’s main door into the interior, the walls warped in an instant. Gone was the Warring States-period façade, replaced with the cold stone of a medieval European-style castle.

“A dungeon crawl,” Yuto said with no small degree of trepidation.

“We should transform,” Haruto said.

Ren nodded, then activated his henshin pendant.

The healing pod helped repair his kermes-red uniform as well. It appeared as seamless as it had the first time he transformed.

They’d expected a full army of minions, maybe gargoyle sentries. But nothing ever came out to stop them. The layout was nothing like the castle that ordinary civilians would no doubt be walking through on a guided tour. There were no windows to view the outside world, whatever that would look like in this shadow-fortress.

All hallways appeared to be leading upwards, along a spiraling pathway. The false castle outside was a typical Japanese four-cornered tower, but this interdimensional interior was clearly round.

A side door remained open underneath a tell-tale archway. A cool breeze gave it away; this was a balcony looking out over the landscape.

“We must be near the top,” Yuto said.

Ren held a hand out, urging quiet. He peeked over through the open doorway. This scouting mission complete, he looked back at his squadmates. Rather than speak, he gave an elaborate series of hand signals.

Someone’s in there. Alone. Just a single lady. He hoped this information got through to Yuto and Haruko. They both nodded, which was a good sign. He signed ‘get her on three!’ then lined up at the doorway.

One.

Ren prepped his bat.

Two

Yuto and Haruto summoned forth their spear, shield, and twin swords.

Three.

With a silent inhale, Ren ran into the balcony. He held his bat high, ready to strike.

A figure with exaggerated, flowing white hair sat on a lounge chair, facing outward into a black void. The landscape beyond was barren, with no signs of even the ocean that would have existed through the corresponding view on Earth.

“You’ve come. This is most unexpected to us,” said the figure on the lounge chair.

The squad stopped in their tracks. They’d been as quiet as possible.

There were no attendants for this regal figure. She sat there alone.

“It is rare for someone to cut in line and invade my fortress,” said the figure. “We usually keep this up for months, even a year. Sending a gradual assortment of creatures in increasing order of strength. It’s how the formula is supposed to work.”

“Leave our universe alone!” Ren said.

The regal princess turned to face the group.

“No can do. There’s no helping it, see. For as long as we exist, any universe or worldline we lay our gaze upon shall return to the lifeless wasteland you see outside. It is inevitable. Your worldline was hardly the first.”

Rather than weighing the implications of all this, Ren took a swing with the baseball bat. Maybe they could take this presumed-Kagehime prisoner and hold her for ransom. The Umbral princess held her hand up and daintily stopped the bat effortlessly.

The Kagehime’s thin lips smiled wider than an ordinary human’s.

“Ah, not one for talk?” The Kagehime brought two fingers down on the bat near its midsection and, with seemingly no effort, she bent Ren’s weapon ninety degrees. The bat was reduced to a crude boomerang wholly unsuited for aerodynamics.

“It is for good reason that sentai squads don’t immediately try to storm my castle…” the Kagehime said.

Ren recoiled, dropping his stultified bat.

“… for you see, we have the power to banish unwanted guests from our domain with but a thought. Begone.”

The Kagehime blinked, and the trio was suddenly warping through time and space.

+++

“Ho-hum.” The Kagehime sighed, returning to her pensive repose on her favorite chair.

“My ladiness.” A spectral form of Balthazar apparated upon the balcony, already bowing. “This is inexcusable. We shall redouble our efforts to plug all holes that could be used to infiltrate…”

“Worry not,” said the Kagehime. “We were very much amused.”

“You’re not angry, my Kagehimeship?” Balthazar asked.

“Not so much. But…” the Kagehime spared her retainer the faintest glance, before holding her hand out and summoning the Kermes Ranger’s broken bat into her hands with umbral magic. “… should you wish to grant us a form of succor, mayhaps go down to that world and rest not until its leylines have been reduced to beautiful desolation.”

“As you wish, my Kagehime!” Balthazar blinked away to parts unknown.