Made in Abyss Chapter 019

Poison and the Curse  is the nineteenth chapter of the Made in Abyss manga series.

Synopsis
After traveling into the 4th layer of the Abyss, The Goblet of Giants, the last chapter ended on Reg and Riko encountering an Orb Piercer. Riko warns Reg not to fight back against the Orb Piercer, as they can pierce through even steel. The Orb Piercer fires needles at the two, and Reg grabs Riko, and successfully evades unscathed. Then, the Orb Piercer extends its spikes and rushes at them. Reg and Riko themselves weren't hurt, but the Orb Piercer was able to tear the backpack, and their equipment goes flying out. Reg realizes that the Orb Piercer can predict its prey's movements.

The Blaze Reap lands right next to the Orb Piercer's foot, and it kicks it away. Reg recalls Ozen saying that the creatures on the 4th layer are much more cunning, and stronger. As the Orb Piercer approaches the two, Riko hands Reg the Scaled Umbrella and tells him Orb Piercers should be afraid of objects or creatures larger than it. The Orb Piercer charges at them, and Reg attempts to block it with the Scaled Umbrella, however, the Orb Piercer is able to break through it, and the spikes nearly hit Reg.

When Reg looks for the Blaze Reap, behind him, Riko's hand was hit by Orb Piercer's poisonous spike and Reg panicks. Riko calls Reg for help, and Reg hurries to constrict the poison while the Orb Piercer waits for them to move. The Blaze Reap is submerged and he can't use the incinerator, otherwise he will black out for 2 hours. Escape is the only option for Reg, but they can't run as Orb Piercer predicts their movements. He thinks of ascending the 4th layer, however Riko would suffer the ascension strains.

Riko tells him to ascend regardless, because she doesn't have much time to live left once the poison spreads to far. Reg grants her request and ascends to the 4th layer, with 800-meter altitude. After the ascension, Riko begins to hallucinate, as well as bleeding out of every orifice due to the curse. Riko begins to think that The Abyss' curse may not only be harming her, but helping her by expelling the poison. Reg attempts to wipe the blood from her eyes, but no matter how many times he wipes it, blood keeps gushing out. He tries to take Riko's glove off to check the wound, but she screams in pain due to her hand being swollen. Riko tells Reg that he will have to cut her hand off, or she will die.

Tears fill in Reg's eyes. Reg goes with the plan to cut Riko's hand off. Riko tells him that he will have to break the bone of her arm, or else cutting her hand off with a knife would be troublesome, as mentioned by a Black Whistle Delver to Riko. Reg gets a stone and puts it under Riko's arm to help breaking the bone. He puts a stick of wood in her mouth to suppress the pain. He tightly ties a rope near her hand to prevent the poison from flowing over her body. Reg goes with a signal to break Riko's arm. By pushing through against the stone he breaks her arm, which causes Riko to scream out in pain.

Reg regrets having to do it, but Riko reminds him that it is necessary to continue their journey to The Abyss's bottom. Reg's hands are trembling while trying to cut Riko's arms off, but he tries to stay focused. Then, small insects begin to swarm around Reg, and he tries to swat them away in a sort of sad-angry manner. Riko stops breathing in a midst of this. Reg sobs trying to revive Riko from dying and an unfamiliar voice comes from nearby. "You're noisy" and also tells him that Riko's heart is still beating, though it may stop any moment. Reg asks who the person is that directed their voice at him. The person almost reveals their real name, but stops themself and just says "I'm just a fluffy stuffed doll. One that's here to comfort you guys."

Character Appearances

 * Nanachi
 * Reg
 * Riko

Bestiary Indexing

 * Neritantan (Afterword)
 * Orb Piercer