Chương 976: Last night of rest
"I still can't believe you figured that out," Sirlo gasped as they walked back to the camp.
"Honestly? Me neither. But I felt it was a good idea when it crossed my mind," Hera smiled.
"It really was. I just hope Al won't feel bad about this."
"Why would he?"
"You have to admit, this is a bit manipulative."
Hera frowned. "How so?"
"Are you serious? Look at the question. You're basically asking him to do your job for you and doing it in a way that makes him come close to breaking the rules. Not to mention the blatant emotional manipulation," Sirlo explained.
Hera stopped walking and snapped her fingers. A soundproof bubble appeared around them just as Daskka turned into her mist form, covering the Empress's mouth. Sirlo noticed the change and also stopped walking.
"That is 100% on him. And I'm not saying I don't care. The guides are beings that have existed for as long as the MAZE has been around. Which, according to everything we know, is basically forever. I really doubt any person would be able to manipulate them like that. Especially after all the bullshit we've already put them through. Al was in full control of our conversation. If I asked something he didn't want to answer, that's exactly what he would do. Not answer. The only thing I did differently was treat him like a person, not a tool."
Sirlo frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
Hera let out a small huff of air through her nose as Daskka was a bit too close. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but everyone who asks questions from the guides is only thinking about how to get the best answer, right?"
"That seems rather obvious. Yes, this is what everyone tries to do."
"And that's what doesn't make sense. I'm going to risk one thing here. Can you talk to the guides in a different setting? In your private room, for instance?"
Sirlo nodded. "I had a feeling you could do that, too."
"And how do they interact with you when you're there?"
"Like friends. We talk, have fun, play around. Things like that."
"Exactly. You treat them like people. Because that's what they are. People. But then, when it's time to actually ask the questions, you don't consider their feelings. Do you know if they like what's happening in the MAZE? I do."
Sirlo frowned. "I tend to avoid talking about big things with them. They can't tell us much about the inner workings of the MAZE. And the one time I pressed, they told me they would have to stop talking to me."
"I mean, yeah. In that case, you were asking them about their jobs. That's something they can't talk about. It's like knowing someone who works on television and asking them how the ending of a show would go. But that only means you can't talk about some specific things with them. That doesn't mean you can't ask them if they like the show or if they're curious about a character or another."
"What if they knew that character was going to die? They wouldn't tell me," Sirlo protested.
"Yeah, and that's up to them, not you. Unlike regular people, they won't be able to say anything the system wouldn't allow. In other words, if you try to make them break their NDA, they're just going to stop talking to you. It's as simple as that."
Sirlo paused to think for a moment. "And if there's something horrible happening on set, they might be able to answer the questions we have about that."
Hera nodded. "Especially if they're in a setting where they have to answer questions. I don't think I'd be able to get that answer if I was just talking in my private room."
"That makes a lot of sense. I don't know why I never thought about it that way."
"Probably because you were always worried about not overstepping. I get that. I used to do the same thing. I only stopped when they started bending the rules a little bit to help me with one thing or another."
Sirlo turned to face Hera. "Do they help you often?"
"Not really. There were a couple of situations where I really needed their help. And it was something important to them, too. Can't say more about that, sorry."
"Don't be. You've given me a lot to think about, and I appreciate the advice." Sirlo smiled before they started walking again.
Just a few moments later, the pair arrived at the camp. Hera had made a point of calling her entire Court out. During the operation, her blades would be out, and so would the titled blades in their weapon forms. It would be better if the other members of the teams were more comfortable with the group. If not, one of them might get spooked by the floating weapons, which could cause problems.
There were a couple of people who were surprised by the sudden appearance of floating weapons. Most of them just ignored it, and the few who actually went to talk to Hera listened to her explanation and left satisfied with the answer.
Soon, the Empress found her team. All of them were resting inside their tent, the same one they were using before this operation. Flint greeted her, but Roan was the one who had something to say.
"Quick question. Did you ever melt someone's face off?"
Hera chuckled and triggered a soundproof barrier around them, just in case a certain harpy was listening. "Never. Unless you count spraying someone with fire as melting their face. But in that case, I was actually fighting for my life and not just doing it for the kicks."
"Yeah, I figured. Just wanted to make sure."
"Why did you tell him that, then? Vyra was freaking out," Vash asked.
"Because there are some rumors about me going on that I really don't like. It's one thing to talk about my abilities, my legacy, or just who I am. Another is to keep making innuendos about my sex life."
"He was talking about your sex life? I hope it's not because of me," Neria gasped.
"Don't worry. I think people just like being weird. Especially when it comes to sex. Apparently, some are calling me 'Scaled Dominatrix,' and I really didn't like it. Even if it was true, who the hell do they think they are to be talking about me like that?" Hera frowned.
"People will always be weird about sex. I'm not saying it's right, but that's what happens. And it sucks," Skyler sighed.
"Yeah," Hera sighed.
"Still, melting people's faces off? That feels excessive. Are you doing okay?" Neria asked.
"I don't think anyone is doing okay lately. But I'm fine. I'm just angry," Hera said as she walked over to their kitchen, where there were a few drinks waiting for them. One of the other teams had brought a small stone that could turn any drink fizzy. Adding that to the juice people had gathered, they now had sodas as refreshments.
"Angry about anything specific? Vyra mentioned you were very specific about the melting-people's-face-off thing," Neria pressed.
"The humans. What they're doing. What they did with the soldiers of strength. All that kind of shit. It's hitting me now how close we are to the source of all that bullshit. I keep thinking about everything they put me through. How they killed Silah. How I became an Ophidianite because of them. And all the pain and suffering they're causing."
"Silah, she was your ex, right?" the Triton asked.
"Yeah. We had broken up for a few months already. It's kind of weird. The reason she said she didn't want to stay together was the difference in our lifespan. She was a dwarf, so with me being a human back then, it meant she would only spend a third of her life with me. Maybe even less. Now I have the same lifespan as her. Around 300 years or so. Or at least that's what we think. It's not something we can be sure until I reach that age," Hera let out a long sigh.
"But in reality, that was just her excuse. We both knew that. We were too different. She came from a society that didn't know about the MAZE as a whole, and I wanted to explore, to travel, to see everything. It would never work. Once I got stuck in the MAZE because of an assortment of random bullshit, she decided to travel a bit more. Got into an exchange program so she could learn how other civilizations forged things. That's when the Guild captured her," the Empress finished the story.
Neria nodded. "And she was one of the first victims of those experiments. You even went all the way to where she was located to try to save her, but you didn't get there in time."
"More or less. She died in my arms. I was able to take her out of that place, but I couldn't save her life. She was the only one who died on that operation. At least on our side. Then, we had to risk going through a few doorways, and I got stuck in a room for a few months. To make matters worse, I had to stay inside a dungeon the entire time while trying to process her death. It took me a while, but I was able to handle that. The problem is, now I'm getting angry again. So, yeah, I've thought about melting people's faces off during this operation. I'm not going to do it. This is just like thinking about smashing your boss's car with a baseball bat or pushing someone really annoying off the train."
"So we don't run the risk of you going full supervillain mode on this?" Neria asked.
"No. I don't want to be like them. Even if there's someone who would deserve to be tortured, I'd just kill them. It's less effort," Hera shrugged.
"I honestly didn't expect you to be so resolute about this."
"What? Just because I said I didn't want to fight in the actual battles doesn't mean I'm not willing to kill? I don't like this, I really don't. I don't think killing is a good thing, but I'm not a hypocrite. I'm not going to say that we should save all lives, even if some of them are doing horrible things to other people," Hera took a sip of an orange soda that tasted like mango and lime before continuing.
"But the Guild crossed a line. And once you cross this line, you kind of lose the right to kindness and mercy. If someone tries to give up or surrender themselves, I'm not going to kill them. I'm going to toss them in one of the cells or trap them somehow. But if they try to escape or something, then I'll just get rid of them. I get that this is a war, and that's what we have to do. But at the same time, I'm only doing this now. Once this is over, I have no intention of killing people again."
Neria nodded. "Yeah. I get that feeling. I never expected to kill anyone. Not intentionally, at least. But I was supposed to be better equipped to deal with this kind of thing. Healers have to learn how to deal with death. It's basically the same thing with doctors. We need to understand that there are times when nothing we do can save our patient. And that's just life," she glanced outside.
"That feels like a very different thing from what we're doing. What healers and doctors do is learn how to not blame yourself when something goes wrong. We are actively looking for people to kill. Like, sure, it's not the main point of what we're doing, but it's closer than what you're talking about," Hera frowned.
"I agree with you on that point. A lot of people keep telling me that I should be used to killing and being near death. Honestly, I just can't get used to it. No matter how awful the people we are fighting are, a part of me still wants to save them. Maybe not save, but just… not kill," Neria sighed.
"Don't think about that. Think about all the people you're saving by stopping the people you are killing. I know it's a cop-out, but it's the best we've got," Hera patted the Triton's shoulder. "Once all this is over, we can go look for a good psychiatrist. But for now, let's not focus on that. We need to be on our A-game for when this all starts."
Neria nodded, and so did the rest of the team, who were listening to the conversation. They knew they had to do their best to rest now because tomorrow would be a very long day.
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