`A few moments later, both sides met face-to-face in the middle of a trashed forest.
"Well, looks like I wasn't wrong."
The Heroic Spirit stepping up to Ritsuka wore a sleek, high-collared black military dress uniform, topped with a feathered soft cap. Her long purple hair was tied into a loose side ponytail, and a monocle gleamed over her left eye.
She tipped her hat in greeting, the golden snake-shaped ring on her right index finger catching the light. "First time meeting you, Master of Chaldea. I'm an Archer-class Heroic Spirit, true name Hernán Cortés. Pleasure's mine."
As Mash's research had dug up, this plague-spreading captain was none other than the conqueror of the Aztec Empire. After Cortés introduced herself, Mash's hologram popped up beside Ritsuka to fill in the blanks. "According to records, this captain landed in Mexico with a crew of just six hundred and quickly took control of several coastal Indian tribes.
"With their help, Cortés even pressured the Aztec ruler Montezuma into offering hospitality and peace talks. But…"
Cortés let out a sigh, cutting Mash off with a wry smile. "Let's not air my dirty laundry in front of company, yeah?"
"Oh, s-sorry!" Mash squeaked, clapping a hand over her mouth in that adorable way of hers.
Still, the quick rundown was enough to pique Ritsuka's interest. If they weren't in a rush to get back to Ratvench, she'd have grilled Cortés for more details right then and there.
Funnily enough, nobody batted an eye at the fact that this infamous conqueror was a woman. Guess they were all used to this kind of thing by now.
"No time for chit-chat," Ritsuka said, getting straight to the point. "Miss Hernán, you can control plagues, right?"
Cortés frowned slightly, choosing her words carefully. "It's one of my Noble Phantasm's abilities. Why?"
"There's a town not far from here about to get hit hard by a plague. If you're able, could you use your Noble Phantasm to keep it under control?"
Cortés froze at the request. After a brief pause, she gave a heavy nod. "I can do that."
"Then let's move. Mephistopheles, you lead the way. Doc Jeanne—"
Ritsuka turned to the living saint at her side. "We've come this far; it'd be a waste to just head back. Can you scout out that cave over there? Don't go too deep—just a quick look."
"Understood."
Jeanne gripped her sword and vanished toward the cave in a few blinks. Meanwhile, Ritsuka and Cortés followed Mephistopheles back toward town.
With that, Ritsuka finally had a second to breathe—and maybe sneak in some gossip.
"Miss Conqueror, that cool to call you?"
Cortés shook her head. "Just Hernán's fine. 'Conqueror'... doesn't exactly roll off the tongue in a flattering way."
Huh, that's a new one. Ritsuka had never met someone who thought their legendary feats were something to downplay.
"Alright, Miss Hernán it is."
Ritsuka rolled with it. Up ahead, Mephistopheles spun around, hands behind his head, walking backward with a smug grin. "Oh? Don't tell me you're not proud of those days dripping in gold and glory?"
That grin of his was begging to be punched.
"I like gold as much as the next person," Hernán shot back, "but it's worth jack compared to friendship and ideals."
Mephistopheles' smirk widened, practically dripping with mockery. "Friendship and ideals, huh? Wonder if the natives who died from your smallpox outbreaks felt the same way."
In that moment, Hernán's face was a masterclass in getting wrecked. Her lips tightened, emerald eyes dropping, brows trembling. She didn't say a word.
After a long pause, she let out a heavy sigh. "I'd love to say it was a necessary evil, that I did it to avenge Montezuma. But… you're not wrong."
A bitter, self-deprecating laugh escaped her. "I never even got close enough to Montezuma to call her a friend. What right do I have to talk about avenging her?
"But one thing's true: the smallpox wasn't my doing—it came from the Aztec gods. The ones they worshipped brought the plague… through my hands."
"Quetzalcoatl?" Ritsuka's mind flashed to a certain deity she'd met in ancient Babylon. Her eyes darted to the golden ring on Hernán's finger, shaped like a feathered serpent.
"You noticed, huh?"
Hernán didn't bother hiding it. She raised her hand, showing off the ring. "Got this when I was young, back when I first heard tales of the golden land, 'El Dorado.' As you can see, it's tied to the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl. This ring's my Noble Phantasm—my whole life in a nutshell."
So, the reason Hernán sailed to the Americas, won over the locals, and got Montezuma to treat her with respect… it all came down to this ring?
Ritsuka's gaze shifted from the ring to Hernán's eyes. "Its power—it's just controlling plagues?"
"Not quite," Hernán said. "It can also manipulate weather on a small scale, like the sea breeze I called up earlier."
Quetzalcoatl, one of the Aztecs' big-shot gods, wore a lot of hats in their myths: god of kindness, morning star, sun, rain, harvest, life, and death. The ring on Hernán's finger tapped into powers tied to those domains.
Legend has it this "kind" god wasn't a fan of human sacrifices. That's why the Aztecs thought Hernán, who showed up preaching against it, was dishing out divine punishment when the plagues hit.
If her plague-spreading power came from this ring—from Quetzalcoatl's life-and-death domain—then it stood to reason she could also suppress plagues and heal people, right? Talk about a lifesaver.
"Alright, the plague in town's on you then."
"Since I said I'd help, I'll give it everything I've got."
"But…" Ritsuka paused, a thought hitting her. "You left your ship back at the coast. That's fine? Isn't it part of your Noble Phantasm too?"
"Sort of," Hernán said with a small smile. "But it's not like I had a choice. It got summoned with me to this Singularity, but once I hit the shore, it's not sailing anywhere."
Mash's voice chimed in right on cue. "According to legend, after Cortés landed in Mexico, she ordered her crew to sink their ships to make sure nobody got cold feet and bailed."
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