Made in Abyss Chapter 015

Synopsis
At Hablog's house, he discusses Ozen with Shiggy and Nat. Nat asks what artifacts Ozen has, but Habolg says for security reasons, that information isn't made public until a White Whistle's whistle is returned to Orth. Inwardly, Habolg is worried how Riko's meeting with Ozen will go.

Ozen tells Reg that locals believe in The Abyss instead of God, because the bottom is unknown and they fear it. Therefore, if one could reach the bottom and return home easily, that faith and the value of artifacts would be swept away, as easily as Reg is when she pushes him. Ozen adds that treasures of “The Abyss” aren't listed, not because they're not found, but because they cannot exist, and decides to destroy Reg before he can regain his memories. Reg is amazed by Ozen's strength, but refuses to back down and ties her up with his extending arms. Ozen easily breaks free and grabs Reg's leg, slamming him into the ground repeatedly. Riko tries to stop her, but Ozen flicks her with a finger and sends Riko flying into the wall. Reg instantly jumps up to check on Riko, finding her unconscious and bleeding. Reg decides he cannot hold back against Ozen, and prepares to fire his Incinerator, though in a smaller beam so he does not destroy the Seeker Camp. Ozen grabs his Reg's arm while the beam is charging and points it at Riko. Reg knocks his arm aside just before it fires, piercing through the ceiling. Reg slams Ozen into a wall, tearing her cloak in the process. This reveals that much of her body is covered in Thousand-Men Pins, which greatly increase her strength and vitality. Ozen puts on her armor to continue the battle.

Riko wakes up to find Reg hanging limp in Ozen's grasp. Ozen tells Riko that they never should have left Orth, and that Riko will eventually stop moving, just as anything else revived by the Curse-Warding Box does. Riko says that she didn't come to the Abyss to have a long life, and Reg being with her is the most important thing. Riko begs Reg not to lose, but Ozen stomps him into the ground and says they are unfit.

Character Appearances

 * Bondrewd (silhouette)
 * Hablog
 * Laffi
 * Lyza (silhouette)
 * Marulk
 * Nat
 * Ozen
 * Reg
 * Riko
 * Shiggy
 * Srajo (silhouette)

Referbacks

 * The White Whistles of Bondrewd, Wakuna, and Srajo are first shown in Chapter 005, but this chapter is the first time that Bondrewd and Srajo are shown wearing their whistles.
 * Hablog's refusal to name Ozen's artifact is another example of why most of Orth would logically conclude that Lyza is dead. White Whistles must be able to defeat major threats, so publicly revealing their artifacts would make them vulnerable. Their respective whistles can only be used by them, and are vital to activate certain artifacts, as Ozen showed in Chapter 014. So a whistle returning to Orth without its owner, as Lyza's did in Chapter 004, could only be viewed as the owner reaching a point where their whistle was no longer usable: death.

Continuity:

 * Reg fights Ozen, but is overwhelmed by her strength.

Bestiary Indexing

 * Corpse-Weeper (Afterword)