After that initial interaction and a slight freakout on the part of the human team because of Mack, things cooled down. They accepted the healing without any complaints, and Hera walked over to talk with the people responsible for the supplies. Everything seemed to be ok, and nothing was damaged in the process. The Empress also asked Daskka to go inside every nook and cranny in the cart to see if there wasn't anyone hiding in there. Luring monsters to attack a shipment and use the mayhem as a distraction to hide among the cargo was textbook infiltration. Everyone had seen a movie, a book, or a game where either the main characters or the villains would do something like that.

Thankfully, nothing was there. Moving back to the rest of the team, Flint, Roan, Vash, and Skyler had arrived. They were now sitting on the ground drinking some water since they ran all the way here for nothing.

"Couldn't you have sent Nimbus to pick us up?" Roan, who was lying on the ground sprawled out like a starfish, asked.

"Sorry, I didn't think about it," Hera admitted. She was worried about helping these people, and since there was no danger, she figured out the rest of the team would arrive without a problem.

"Don't be. You don't want to ride Nimbus when he is like this. Trust me," Neria replied. She was now back at Jessica, healing her and trying to make sure she wouldn't end up with a scar.

Flint was resting, but he was already talking with the two beastmen and the dwarven woman who was responsible for the supplies. They were talking about what they could do with the cart and the things to make their journey easier.

Hera decided to rest a bit as well while everyone gathered themselves. According to Katarina, they were heading to the same destination. Since there were some medical supplies in the cart that required temperature control, the Harmony Guardians quickly agreed to go along with them. Strength in number and all that. Her court gathered around her, each looking in a different direction to keep a lookout. There were a lot of monster bodies around them, and it wasn't like they could stop butchering them all. So, aside from claws and fangs, everything else would be left behind. Doing that would surely attract more monsters, but they couldn't just rush out before double-checking everything.

"Nimbus, how long are you going to be in that form? Don't get me wrong. I like it, but Vulcan's skill doesn't have a timer."

"Honestly… I'm not sure. I can feel the power slowly getting away from me, but I should still be able to continue on this 'form' for a few hours," the Sentinel said, staring at his hand, opening and closing it slowly.

"One hour and 15 minutes. Or around 75 minutes. To be precise," Vulcan added.

"You can say how long this will last?" Hera turned to Forge.

"I can. Also, I can say that when using this on the titled blades, specifically, the cooldown is different. Not of the skill itself, but Nimbus won't be able to awaken for one week."

"It's a bit of a shame, but eventually, we should be able to always have at least one titled blade with the awakening available," Hera smiled.

"Actually, no. We only have 5. Viper and Crimson should still count as a single one. And Vulcan can't awaken himself," Daskka added.

"Really?" Hera turned to Forge.

"Yeah. To use that skill, I need to hit the target with the flat part of the hammer. I can't hit myself like that," Vulcan shrugged.

"Sorry to hear it. I think you would have an amazing awakened form," Hera smiled, but Forge didn't seem to care.

"I'm fine as I am, thank you very much. I don't need or want to be changing more than I already do."

"Excuse me," a voice came from behind the group, "Sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to say one thing," Harold was looking a lot better. His clothes were still in tatters, but the wounds were no longer bleeding.

"That's ok. What do you want to say?" Hera turned around, together with the rest of her court. She was in the center of the group, which made her visage even more impactful.

Harold took a step back, feeling some pressure from the court after he was somewhat hostile in their initial interaction. Still, he pushed through his feelings, "I just wanted to say. Thank you. For saving us."

Hera smiled at him, her chestnut eyes shining under the sunlight, "Don't mention it. Saving someone is always something I will try to do. Life is too precious to be wasted just because it might be inconvenient for me," she was painfully aware of her hypocrisy. Saying how life was something important while she killed people just a few days ago. Despite that, her words were still her truth. Life deserves to be lived. There were just people whose actions made them less deserving than others.

The man nodded and turned around. A few minutes later, they all gathered their things and left the area. They wouldn't keep moving for long, but they all wanted to get away from the pile of bodies that was surrounding the caravan. Hera and her court pushed those corpses aside and cleared a path for the carts to move along. Nimbus continued to be the one carrying the Harmony Guardians, but he struggled a bit to find the correct pacing while in his awakened form. The other cart was being pulled by spectral horses, also created by an item. But unlike the Sentinel, those beings had no sentience. They were regular constructs, not the ones that Hera could make.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Roan and Flint were on the cart with the supplies. The team decided to split to make sure both areas were covered. Hera's court also split between both vehicles to make sure they would be safe. On the cart being pulled by Nimbus were Katarina, Mack, and Javier, plus Hera and the rest of her team.

Mack was able to talk again, and he was getting scolded by Neria on the corner. Javier was sleeping. The effect that turned him delirious also caused him to get very tired, which left the Empress and Vash to keep Katarina company.

"Can I… can I ask one thing?" Katarina turned to Hera with a sheepish expression.

"Sure, like I said before. I just might not answer," the Ophidianite replied.

"Your name… Do you know about the other Hera? The one that the guild called a terrorist?"

Hera pretended to think for a moment. Luckily, the human was staring at her. If she had turned to Vash, she would've seen his expression. The harpy had an awful poker face for some things. Quickly asking Viper for help, the dagger moved closer to Vash, returned to his mortal form, and gestured for him to stare into the distance before going back to be a dagger.

"Oh yeah. There was this one dude who thought I was her. Just because of my name. I forgot to look into her. She was like a human who betrayed you, right?" Hera replied, hoping that Vash wouldn't start laughing out of the blue.

"No!" Katarina jumped up and almost fell from the cart. Hera grabbed her arm and pulled the girl back down, "Thanks… I mean, no. That Hera never betrayed us. She found out that the guild had a nonhuman prison and that they were just sending people there, and they weren't even criminals, just people the guild managed to sneak out. Honestly, I don't imagine the guild was going to do anything good with those people. Maybe use them as a bargaining chip, if not something worse. Anyway, Hera found that out and rescued those people. But then the guild labeled her as a terrorist just to push their agenda. That was just bullshit."

"I see," it was the first time that Hera heard what the people of the Alliance were telling others about her. She knew that the whole lab thing was still a secret. Not just because the Alliance didn't want to cause mass panic but also because they didn't have any proper evidence. Sure, the existence of the lab could be proven, but its connection with the guild was the issue, "Why did you ask about her?"

"Oh… I just… I know it's stupid, but that Hera kind of made our organization. She is the one responsible for us being here. I just thought that maybe you knew her and could tell me something about her."

"Sorry. I never saw that Hera face to face," the Empress enjoyed making those comments. They were not lies. After all, how would someone meet themselves face to face? " But what do you mean by that? And what organization are you a part of?"

"Right, we didn't introduce ourselves. You saw our name right? 'Beyond the Scale - Willful Blades.' Willful Blades is the name of our group, specifically. Beyond the Scale is the organization we are a part of. It's kind of like the Crimson Coalition or the New Dawn Scouts. But we are just starting. Our leader and the person who made this organization is from the same city, Hera, that Hera, not you, is. Well… was. They met a few years ago, and Hera autographed a pamphlet. What she wrote there is what became our motto."

Hera did her best to keep a blank face, but she did remember the interaction. It was on the day she came back from Boothudurn when she went to visit her dad. One of the last days, she saw Stella, her mother. There was this girl who shouldn't be more than 14 years old at the time. But it hadn't been four years since that interaction for the girl, whose name she didn't remember, to get her first level. It was 2, maybe three years at most. Still, if she was to bring that up, she couldn't just mention that. Instead, the Empress went on a different route.

"I see. That must have been a stroke of luck. From what I understand that Hera wasn't that old. If she could inspire your leader, she must have said something wise. After all, the older you get, the more set in your ways you become."

"Oh, no. Our leader is even younger than me. She is 18, even if her face says she's younger. People say I still look like a teenager despite being 20, but she gets it even worse. People don't believe when she says she's 18, just because of her face and size," Katarina explained.

"The fact she's flat as a board doesn't help," Mack added but instantly got a slap on the back of his head that made even Hera flinch.

"Bitch! You don't talk about anyone like that. I taught you better than that," Neria yelled.

"I was just helping your Hera understand!"

"She understood just fine!" Neria turned to Hera for confirmation, getting a nod in response, "You didn't have to say anything. And why are you listening to other people? I'm telling you to stop eating everything you find in the MAZE. You never know what might be inside. Maybe it's a bug or a parasite, fuck, even a monster can be inside a fruit…" Neria continued berating the male triton like only someone who helped raise you as a kid could.

Seeing that reaction, Hera turned to Katarina again, "Well. Ok, so your leader is pretty young. She must be very charismatic then."

"She is, and an idealist. Always thinking the world is a bright and shiny place. But there is something about that. Something that makes us want to follow her. It helps that she is the kind of person with a pure heart who is eager to help and thinks everything is incredible. From what she tells us, she was never good at sports, being outdoors, or anything like that. Even if she enjoyed it all very much, when she turned 18, she didn't have a single stat above 10. And no skills, either. But she aced every test during training and was even able to almost beat that kobold simulation. Only the big boss was left when they defeated her. When she got to the role test, she became a controller, went inside the MAZE, and never looked back. She's already level 17, and doing that in just a few months without anyone actively helping is a lot. Our organization was created a bit before the war started. Which was a bit of a problem at first, but when we talked about joining the Alliance, things became easier. Even if there are just three groups right now, we are still growing in numbers."

"And what's the motto?"

"Your stats do not define you. Your actions do."

Hera remembered writing that. She never expected that just that random phrase would be guiding people like that, "It's a good motto," she was a bit embarrassed about saying this, but it felt like the right thing to say.

"Would you be interested in joining?" Katarina smiled.

"Thank you for the invitation, but I don't think I can. Not right now. There is too much going on, and my people need me," hearing Hera's reply, Katarina lost her smile, clearly disappointed about it, "But if you ever need help. I would be willing to lend a hand. If I can, of course. I don't know if you have any, but you can consider me an ally."

That made Katarina perk up again, "Of course! Can I get your number?"

"Sure," the Empress shared her contact info as they continued traveling. This small detour didn't mess up with their schedule, and soon, they would be in the city where they would talk with the Alliance intelligence agency and figure out what Vulcan could do to help save more people from the labs.