Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 7 - Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Libra’s Invitation

I GLARED AT LIBRA. After what he’d just said, I couldn’t keep silent.

“Not while I still draw breath,” I snapped. “I’ll never let you.”

Libra remained unruffled. It was a detached coolness, like he existed on a higher plane of being—as if he looked down not just on me, but on all the people in Hausen.

“Now now, no need to upset yourself so. Although I seem to have drawn the ire of your friends too.” Libra sighed. “Somehow I always end up being the bad guy…”

“What did you expect? You just threatened to destroy Hausen.”

“Consider my perspective, and consider it carefully: If you could stop a crisis that threatened to engulf the entire world, would you not sacrifice Hausen to do so? In the grand scheme of things, that’s not too high a price.”

“Libra, you—”

“Indeed, haven’t I afforded you time to handle matters? Have you still not found Myne?”

Libra was provoking me with his gaze, but the first to respond to him was Snow. Roxy panicked and tried to restrain her, but Snow would not be stopped. I tried to grab hold of her myself, but she evaded me and leapt at Libra.

“I hate you!” she shouted.

Snow didn’t hold back in the slightest. She poured the entirety of her stats into a single attack. Despite that, Libra stopped her with ease. Even though he’d faced her attack directly, there wasn’t a single sound of impact, nor the slightest shock wave from their clash.

“Seems like you’ve acquired some unnecessary emotions,” said Libra. “Such a pity. However…”

Libra gripped Snow’s head like a vise as the girl went wild trying to break free. I placed my hand on the hilt of my sword, but Libra spoke before I could unsheathe it. 

“I don’t intend to cause the girl any harm,” he said. The hand that held Snow began to glow with a brilliant light. “I’m just returning a few of her lost memories, that’s all. She’ll be more useful that way.”

Libra grinned and tossed the now silent Snow to me as if she were a lifeless rag doll.

“Snow?!”

I caught her in my arms and checked to see if she was all right. All I knew was that she still drew breath and had lost consciousness.

“You see? No injuries. We have a long, shared history, Snow and I. I know to treat her with proper courtesy.” Libra’s countenance remained calm and ostensibly amicable. 

Roxy stepped between us. “You said you returned her memories. What did you mean by that?”

“Well, if it isn’t the esteemed Roxy Hart herself.” Libra shook his head. “Such a dangerous place isn’t becoming for one of your station.”

His words were glib, even sweet, but Roxy ignored them. “I know I’m not strong enough. But answer my question: What memories did you give Snow?”

“That’s so very like you. Very well, I will answer your question. We’ve long had a soft spot for holy knights…”

Libra said the last part almost as if he were talking to himself. It was as though he hadn’t intended to say anything to the rest of us, but he was, for some reason, willing to entertain Roxy’s request.

“And if I don’t tell you, you’ll probably just be stuck here forever anyway,” said Libra, once again flashing his crooked grin. “I gave Snow some of my own memories. Memories from long before Hausen was even built.”

“From before… You mean…?”

“You’re a shrewd one, aren’t you? I’m grateful; it will make things quick. Yes, they’re memories from the epoch when Galia had dominion over this world.” Libra placed a finger on his forehead, then slowly pointed it toward Snow.

“Libra…”

He had just done something incredibly dangerous. I tried to grab him, but he nimbly evaded my grasp.

“Oh, what’s wrong, Fate?” he said with a smirk. “What’s gotten you so frightened?”

“You…!”

I glanced at Snow before returning my furious gaze to Libra.

“Ah, now I understand,” said Libra. “If Snow remembers who she was before she lost her memories, she may well become your foe. Though she’s in the Domain of E, her form is young and relatively harmless. But if she were to turn against you…who knows what might happen? Is that why your heart trembles with fear?”

I bit back my words. 

Libra gave me a satisfied look. “I see. I’m right, aren’t I?”

Roxy couldn’t stand to just watch any longer. She took my hand. “He’s wrong! Even if she has lost her memories, this girl here is the real Snow. Our Snowy. Please believe in her.”

“Roxy, I’m sorry.”

Some part of me couldn’t forget my battle with Snow when she was still the Zodiac Scorpion. That part imagined that same monster tearing apart the city of Hausen, and it scared me, deep in my subconscious. 

Libra read the uncertainty in my face. “Ultimately, the one who decides what happens is Snow. Do not forget that. The longer you live, the more the chains of your actions bind you. There are certain parts of the past from which nobody can escape.” 

Libra, like Snow, was one of the holy beastfolk. And given what he’d just told us, both of them had been alive since the era when Galia flourished. I couldn’t be absolutely certain, but Myne had also likely lived through that era, so it was worth finding out what she knew. In any case, if Libra’s words were to be believed, he had either planted forgotten memories inside of Snow or he had made them resurface. The unknown variable, then, was how those memories would affect Snow’s perception of us, and what her next action would be.

Libra watched the sleeping Snow for a time, then turned his back and began to walk away. “One more thing: It’s your turn next. Failure will not be tolerated.”

“Libra…”

“Until then.”

Libra nonchalantly waved goodbye, then disappeared into the crowd of people. Only then did I feel free of the strange weight that had burdened me since he arrived. 

It seemed Roxy felt the same thing. “Fay, did you notice the townspeople were…different when Libra was here?”

I hadn’t realized it at the time, but she was right. Even though we were near the main street, people went about their business. The situation with Libra was beyond volatile, yet the crowd around us had been completely oblivious. Libra had gripped Snow by the head, his hand glowing with light as he returned her memories, but no one nearby had responded in any way. 

“Was that one of Libra’s skills?”

“I don’t know, Fay. The only way to know for sure is with your Identify skill…”

“Someone like him would stop it in its tracks.”

It was a technique Aaron had taught me. Whenever someone used the Identify skill, their eyes moved in a particular way. If you released a burst of magical energy simultaneously with that movement, it would temporarily blind the skill user. If you happened to be in the Domain of E, the excessive magical energy would be enough to cauterize their vision permanently. 

“Well, the Identify skill gives you easy access to so much information,” I said. “I guess it’s like the saying: If it sounds too good to be true…”

“…It probably is,” finished Roxy. “And in this case, there’s a simple counter to it. It feels like Libra’s true power is unfathomable. First there was the way he stole the life out of the monster in the oasis, and now this.”

I was just as troubled as she was. Libra was always so calm and self-possessed that I could only wonder what would happen if he lost his temper. It was a terrifying unknown. He made us feel that his power was overwhelmingly greater than our own. It was like an aura that surrounded him.

We stood staring at the crowd into which Libra had vanished. As we did, Snow began to awaken. She had received the memories Libra had given her. I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. Even though I wanted to trust her, I couldn’t help but be on guard—because at that moment, Snow was bursting with all the magical energy that came with being in the Domain of E.