Hard to believe we’re already halfway through Retsijitsu no Ougenkyou.  That cuts especially deep knowing that it’s going to be a very long time before we see more Made in Abyss anime, never mind another TV season – at the rate Tsukushi-sensei releases new chapters, five years might not be unrealistic.  It’s no coincidence that mangaka who deliver otherworldly density of content both in terms of writing and art – Tsukushi, Togashi, Inoue, Mori – generate new material very slowly.  No one else could do what they do, so it’s no surprise that it takes as much time as it does.

So far, this season still has a bit of unformed quality to it.  All the wonder and world-building has been present but the story still feels like it’s in the preliminary stages.  Riko (for me anyway) is the least compelling of the three major cast members, so two episodes focused largely on her are going to have a bit less traction than usual in some sense.  Nanachi has largely taken herself out of the rotation (she came to for a few seconds of interaction in the into this week, but that’s it) and Reg’s thread has been secondary to what’s happening in  the village.  At least he got a hell of an entrance out of it, though I wouldn’t have minded if it had come a bit sooner.

As you’d expect, “The Luring” proved to be a pretty grisly undertaking.  Unable to leave Iruburu the villagers periodically lure beasts in to hunt for food (I assume it’s that rather than just boredom), and this one is a particular menace.  The casualty rate is strikingly high, and when the beast heads off towards the village Riko races off to protect Prushka.  She, as it turns out, has been transformed by the village jeweler (TMI as to that process) into an “instrument” – in this case, a whistle.  It’s clear Prushka is fine with this (and will become more clear before long), and the stonecutter gives her back to Riko as the instrument refuses to accept anything else.

As the jellyfish-like beast continues to terrorize the village consuming all it touches, Juroimoh emerges, and Majikaja informs Riko (and us) that it’s one of the three sages.  It stands its ground and reveals a sacred sword with which it does battle, but the sword has little effect on the beast that I can see.  Eventually Juriomoh stops moving, though I don’t know if that means it’s dead (and if it does, what that would mean for the village).  Riko is not one to flee and save herself, despite Moogie (Saitou Kimiko) – the restaurant lady – urging her to.  Rather, she comes up with a plan to fight the beast (Moogie is surprised she’s capable of it) and enlists Majikaja to help.

As best I can tell, Riko trades her hair for a Majikaja power-up, and lures the beast away from the village, where eventually she has the villagers strong with fire attack and bind it.  But it’s not dead, despite Riko declaring victory a little too soon, and Maa (in saving Riko) is among the victims when it springs back to life.  At this point Prushka appears in Riko’s mind and urges her to use her, which she does – and in the process we take another baby step in the journey to understanding just what Reg may be.  As a relic he’s subject to the commands of the tool that Prushka has become, and he takes out the beast once and for all (Maa appears only to have been wounded once again).

It’s only now that Wazukyan shows up, and seems totally unfazed by the carnage the “festival” has wreaked all around him.  With calm being restored everyone starts wondering where the hell Vueko came from – and this seems to be something of a point of no return for her.  When Wazukyan suggests that some part of Faputa – the embodiment of value – would be all that could buy Nanachi and Mitty II back from Belaf, Reg volunteers to go meet with her again.  And Vueko prepares to tell the story from which, she tells Riko, there will be no turning back.

I don’t think “Irumyuui” is a name we’ve heard before – apart from its striking similarity to “Iruburu” – but it’s who Vueko internally recalls as she begins her tale.  Perhaps Irumyuui is connected to Faputa in some way, or is Faputa herself.  Vueko also refers to Reg as “a true resident of the golden city” – and notes that Wazukyan looked frightened (he has a good poker face) when he saw Reg.  Whoever and whatever Irumyuui is, it seems obvious that it’s crucial to everything that’s happened in Iruburu  (Vukeo’s words about time being out of synch imply it could have happened a very long time ago), and what’s about to happen now.