There are those who absolutely refused to stop pushing forward.
On occasion, they become one with their personal convictions, transforming into karma itself.
These beings, who while human, have also transcended humanity,
and continue to watch over everything with the gaze of inhuman eyes.
Our purpose in life lies in the depths
Despite our fears, our eyes shine brighter than fire
We need to reach deep below
The end of the uncharted labyrinth
In the gaping hole of the abyss
To follow the trail that leads towards the truth
If I'm to find all the answers
I can sacrifice everything
All I need to do is follow your voice
While it still echoes on and on
The compass needle never moves
It points right into the darkness
From which there's no escape
Be it a curse or not
The beating of our hearts is real
And the longing will never cease
The Unmovable Sovereign
The very best of the cave raiders: The White Whistles.
Armed with Relics of the netherworld they've personally excavated,
they are each known by titles that uniquely personify them.
Even among them, one stands unrivaled in terms of physical strength:
The Unmovable Sovereign, Ozen the Immovable.
So then, are the stories about how she pulled up a gondola with 30 people inside,
or how she supported a boulder that was 10 meters across, all really true?
Those are rumors, purely rumors.
However, one thing is certain: Such rumors have been whispered about her for a full 50 years.
"50 years"?!
So that means...
50 years ago she was already a White Whistle?!
She truly is the Unmovable Sovereign. What an amazing person.
However...
Hey, Habo, just what Relic is it that Ozen's armed with?
I can't tell you that.
Don't give me that face.
White Whistles are the trump cards of this here city of the pit.
Until their whistles return home, that information won't be made public.
Dang.
Ozen...
I don't think there's any way she'd tell them about the Vessel...
But I'm still nervous.
Perhaps I should've gone with them despite their objections after all.
I'm counting on you, Reg.
If it comes down to it, you're the only one who can protect her.
What's this cube here?
This pattern is incredibly complex...
Seems to be at least a grade-2 Relic.
But, in the guide to recorded Relics...
Right, it's not listed.
It's something that Lyza personally bought before it could be auctioned off.
I'm the one who carried it here, though.
Could this be... The Curse-Repelling Vessel?
You're half right.
The "Curse-Repelling Vessel."
From the depths up toward the surface...
When living creatures that couldn't make that trip were placed inside it and carried up,
they weren't affected by the strain of ascending and didn't die, which is why it got the name it did.
But, that's not actually right.
In fact, whatever's placed inside still gets affected by the Curse and dies.
However, it starts moving around.
It was thanks to you that I came to understand that.
Huh?
You were stillborn, you know.
When Lyza delivered you, you were already dead.
Basically,
you were a real annoyance, so I shoved you inside this thing, but you somehow started to move.
Yesterday, I got nostalgic, and I tried putting some of the meat I cook dinner with in there...
The thing got loose and ran around.
After a while, it stopped moving.
But actually, one half of it continued to move, you see.
Hey...
I wonder how long you'll last...
Besides that, both you – after you started to move back then – and the meat I put in there yesterday...
Attempted to head for the center of the Abyss for some reason.
Hey, why's that?
You of all people might have an idea...
Aren't you essentially the same as that meat?
Master... Stop this.
Why...?
The things you're saying...
It's about time you get the picture.
I despise you.
What is it, you Aubade child?
Your story is quite interesting...
But don't hurt Riko any more than you already have.
Any way you look at it, you're really immature, Ozen!
I used to hear that a lot.
Hey, boy, do you have a conception of God?
What are you saying all of a sudden?!
The people around here, you see, don't really believe in God.
Instead, do you know what it is they believe in?
The answer is this place – the Abyss itself.
Precisely because the bottom of the netherworld is unknown, and because it is feared,
it has the power to become their God.
If it was easy to head down and return back home,
the value of Relics and faith in the Abyss would quite possibly be shaken to the core.
The reason Aubades aren't listed in the guide...
Isn't because they haven't been discovered.
It's because they simply must not exist, you see.
What's with this strength of hers?
My arm was creaking!
Hey, did I hear that you lost your memory?
Well, I'm truly glad.
I need to dispose of you before you remember anything.
I-I'll go check on the telescope...
Marulk!
Stay right there.
Y-You can't be serious!
As if I'd let things end in a place like this!
I'll make you let us go even if I have to use brute force!
I'll let you go...
After you've ceased moving, that is!
This isn't stopping her at all!
What the heck is she?!
This doesn't break or get any thinner.
I wonder if a bunch of strands are all packed into the same area...
Well, whatever.
Have it back.
Oh? You're lighter than I thought.
So your sturdiness is your big appeal, right?
Let's test it out.
Oops. I busted the floor.
O-O-Ouch...
You've really... done it now...
You're a lot tougher than the floor, huh?
I wonder how much more you can take...
Stop!
Reg... Reg will break!
You're in the way.
Riko! Riko!
There's so much blood...
Sorry, Marulk...
This isn't an opponent I can hold back on.
If I don't get serious, I'm done for!
What is it you're going to show me?
If I just let it rip like last time, the whole Seeker Camp could burn down...
Calm down...
Refine it... Thinner... Sharper...!
So, I see that you breathe and blink even though you're just a mechanical doll.
That means you, too, will be probably be hunted by beasts.
Hey, what happens when this thing hits something?
Let's test it out.
Oh my, incredible, isn't it?
It blasts straight through.
I've never seen a weapon like this before.
Irredeemable!
You're irredeemable, Ozen!
What's with your arm...?
Is something embedded inside it?
This here?
They're called Thousand-Men Wedges.
I inserted them at 120 points or so all around my body...
They're the secret to my vigor.
For as much as you criticize me, you're quite superhuman yourself, Ozen!
I fuss over lots of things.
I'm old, after all.
R-Reg!
You're so noisy.
If you think he's so precious, you should've kept him locked away.
For some reason he went limp all of a sudden, but that's alright, isn't it?
Sooner or later, you'll revert back to being a piece of meat, anyway.
I... Didn't descend into the Abyss because I hope to live a long life.
Even just a little longer is okay!
But, together with Reg...
If it's not with Reg... I can't bear it!
Please, Reg! Don't lose to her!
Riko...
That won't do.
Both of you are unfit for it.
Look, it fit right in there.
He woke up!
He's awake.
R-Riko...
Reg! Reg!
Sorry, Reg!
Y-You moved!
Don't leave me like that!
Did I just collapse and leave Riko all alone here...?!
Reg!
Riko is...!
Riko is in your hands now!
Damn it...
Ah, that one's crying too now!
Ozen has made yet another one cry.
Poor things...
Wh-Who the heck...
A-Are you guys?!
You mean us?
We're Subterranean Bandits, Ozen's cave raider squad.
They're a bunch of good-for-nothings with nowhere to call home on the surface.
They were told to stay out of it, but Marulk called them here, you see.
U-Um...
I...
Along with a brat who can't do anything but cry and make a fuss,
we've got a mechanical doll who fires his weapon without even thinking and then faints...
While those two didn't even make a single correct decision,
you acted in the most appropriate manner to save your friends.
That's my apprentice for you.
As punishment for disobeying my orders, I'll string you up naked later, though.
Ozen told us to stay hidden while the two kiddies are here.
But the ground shook countless times.
And this kid also started sobbing and came rushing over to us.
I-Is that right...?
Marulk... I'm sorry.
I know you said you wanted to test Lyza's child, but you really overdid it.
Wh-What do you mean by that?!
Just what it sounds like.
Are you saying that was all... J-Just some act?!
I'm being serious.
If I don't go all out, I won't get the point across, will I?
I hate deceiving children, you know.
Th-Then...
That part about disposing of the Aubade was...?
I never had any intention of doing that, of course.
It's just that you're too sturdy.
No matter how many times I hit you, you weren't breaking, so I got more and more into it.
The primeval creatures that inhabit the deeper parts of the Abyss are far more cunning and tough than I am.
You won't be able to protect that girl.
Marulk, please tend to the boy.
If he's able to fill his belly with human food, then human medicine should probably work, too.
If it doesn't work, just feed him a lot.
O-Okay!
Today's lesson is over.
I have some tidying up to do, you see.
Hey, you're already here now, so come on and lend me a hand.
Alrighty.
If you continue pushing on at your current skill level, you'll just end up as poor meals or little seedbeds.
Other than that, you'll just be a stain on the ground or some wall.
That said, there's no guarantee you won't end up like that as I'm trying to beat you into shape...
Oh, that's right. There is one thing I was deceiving you about.
That grave I spoke of...
No one was buried there.
It's true.
Did you really think I wouldn't dig it up and see for myself?
Lyza is waiting for you.
You at least need to give it a shot.
Riko?
Ozen... Ozen!
Ozen.
What's up with your hair?
Oh, you again...
I've already kicked you twice but you still haven't learned your lesson.
What an unusual one you are...
So, what's up with it, anyway?
It's to cover up my scars, you see.
As your mind comes under attack in the depths of the Abyss,
gradually the effects show up physically, too.
They don't manifest immediately like the sixth layer's Curse does,
but if you tread the boundaries of sanity as well as life and death each time you descend,
the skin on your head is bound to get all twisted.
I'm just good at arranging my hair to fool everyone, you see.
How cool!
If you don't watch what you say, I'll kick you again.
No, really. That's cool!
Those scars are proof of your fortitude in continuing to challenge the netherworld,
even as it tried to break your mind.
Ozen the Immovable. A genuine White Whistle.
Hey, will you be my mentor?
Ozen. Look, Ozen.
I'm already a Black Whistle.
Before long, I'll catch up with you!
You've got some nerve to say that considering you cried when I hit you last night.
Very well, then. If that's the case, let's just hurry up and go.
Starting tomorrow, the strain of the fourth layer will make you shed tears of blood.
Now that's something to look forward to.
I wouldn't have it any other way!
Ozen, your personality is irredeemable, but you're still the best mentor ever!
How are you feeling?
I'm alright now.
The next large group of cave raiders arrives in three weeks.
I'll only be able to try beating you into shape until then, whether or not it proves successful.
Where are we headed?
Somewhere even further than the Seeker Camp.
It's the outer edge of the Abyss, so to speak.
Out there, there's no worry of running into other cave raiders or having anyone come to your rescue.
It's ideal for training, you see.
Training...
Your first assignment is what I call "survival training."
Most of the creatures are quite docile here,
perhaps because the force field's light doesn't make it here.
Even so, the creatures here can see in the dark, so keep your guard up.
Spend ten days here with the equipment you've got. Show me you're able to survive.
Be sure not to go beyond that Pillar Tree.
I'll consider that as trying to escape.
Well then, I'm heading back now.
Huh?!
Do your best to protect this girl so that she doesn't return to being a corpse.
In addition, you can't use that thing for these ten days.
My Incinerator?
Go ahead and use it if you want to get Riko killed.
What do you mean?
Once you fire it, no matter how you push yourself, you always faint after around ten minutes.
Then it's a full two hours until you wake up.
During that time, even if I punched you, slapped you against the floor,
or dunked you in water, you still didn't get up.
Just try leaving a helpless child on her own in the second layer for two hours.
I wonder just how she'll be torn to shreds and eaten...
Still, when you really do have to use it,
go all out to make sure whatever it is doesn't come after you again in the future.
No matter your opponent or whatever lies in the vicinity,
when the time comes, don't hesitate or show any mercy.
Otherwise, your adventure will be over in the blink of an eye.
We take the waves of light flowing through the skies
And weave them into bridges connecting our paths
Whether it's slippery slopes or precarious precipices
Our pasts and futures will show us the way
I take your left hand into my right hand
When we're together, we can go anywhere
I'll always be by your side
In the past, present, and future
You're the light who guides my heart
We awaken from dreams brimming with color
Wondering where we'll go tomorrow
As long as we're together
We'll illuminate the world
And shed light upon the flowers at the depths of abyss
Next Episode
Survival Training