"Voracious Eaters" is a code word.
A plausible term used to explain what they are to outsiders.
What they really refer to...
...are "Awakened Beings."
Miria!
Th-The intel was wrong...
I'd heard it was a relatively normal Voracious Eater, but...
They expect the four of us to take on something on this order?!
What?
Y-You've got to be kidding me.
A male Awakened Being?!
You're here, Galatea.
What do you intend to make me do now, Ermita?
That mountain.
Knowing you, I'm sure you can sense the Yoma aura.
Ah, ikutsu-mono yoru o koete
Koutta yume to kieyuku namida
Warm me, warm me, wrap me
Hito o aisenai kono mi ga nikui
Doko made aruitemo owari ga mienai
Kako no kioku o michizure ni
Kono mi wa nani-iro ni somari-yuki no darou
Kotae o sagashiteru
How... could there be such a thing as a male Awakened Being?
Here it comes!
Dodge it!
Deneve!
Sure tastes bad.
Why you!
Above! Helen!
He's fast! Get away!
Helen!
Number 47!
Clare!
Damn! That idiot!
She's got no ability, but she just had to butt in!
You've got too many arms and their getting on my nerves!
I'll give you a little trim!
Damn!
Deneve!
I'll pay you back two times over for what you did to me!
The ability to regenerate!
Unbelievable!
To regenerate this much in such a short time period...
Helen's ability to extend her arms is no easy feat, either.
Considering how she's outfitted,
it looks like she can extend both her legs somewhat, too.
Both should be techniques that test the limits of our ability
to unleash our Yoma powers,
but they use these techniques in battle like it comes naturally to them.
So you're alive.
If you value your life, stay out of this.
There's no room for you in this fight now!
Damn. We'll just have to take his head.
We can chop off all the arms we want and it won't matter.
Well? Can you tell?
One powerful Yoma aura. Two normal Yoma auras.
One small Yoma aura.
And one enormous Yoma aura that surpasses them all.
That's the Awakened Being.
The Awakened Being?
A male Awakened Being.
A male...
What the hell's the deal with this male Awakened Being?!
Aren't Awakened Beings
the monstrosities that we female fighters sometimes end up becoming?
Damn.
Initially, they created not only female fighters, but male ones, too.
Male ones?!
Initially, there were male fighters being created, too.
But the male fighters were a failure.
No, it would be wrong to call them failures.
The male fighters were a success.
There was no problem with their ability to fight.
But every last male fighter reached their limit in a short period of time.
There's an element to Awakening that's akin to sexual pleasure.
Just by unleashing their Yoma powers,
the men became unable to suppress the urge to Awaken.
Damn!
Thus, we stopped creating male fighters.
And so, the men who had Awakened
were left to run rampant as Voracious Eaters.
Precisely.
That's the reason
behind the existence of us female fighters known as Claymores
and of the male Awakened Beings.
There's one big part of your story that you got wrong.
Wrong?
Yes.
You should know what that is.
Being the clever one that you are.
The reason why you were sent after me.
Could it be that this lineup is...
What could it be that has you so unsettled?
Bastard!
What is it?
One of the auras was disturbed.
Uneasiness and surprise...
If I get a little closer,
I should be able to read the situation clearly.
Any closer and they'll notice us.
You're about the only one who can read Yoma aura at such a distance.
That's why I sent for you.
What a strange thing you're having me do.
Now, then...
I guess this is as good a time as any...
I'll give you a taste...
...of what true despair feels like.
All of you, get out of his way!
Why you!
Bastard!
Like so...
What do you think?
Helen...
Deneve...
Clare...
It's too bad.
I'm sure you were an excellent fighter.
Perceptive and clever...
After all, a fighter needs more than strength.
You have to also be decently clever in order to survive.
But being too clever...
...can be detrimental to longevity, too.
Bastard, just who are you?!
Exactly what you said I was.
The monstrosity that a former male fighter ended up becoming.
Nothing more and nothing less.
In order to survive, I dispose of the fighters who are sent to kill me.
That's all there is to it.
I get it now.
Pardon me.
Your meal.
Please enjoy.
Um, what about your companion?
Oh, she went up the mountain on a job.
What?!
Up the mountain?
Come to think of it,
a while back, several other Claymores headed for that mountain...
I believe none of them ever returned...
--What? --Oh, no!
It's nothing. Please make yourself at home.
Oh...
Clare...
So she's already started regenerating her abdominal region.
But the wound itself is large.
I'd say her chances of survival are 50/50.
This is no time to be worrying about your comrades, now is it?
I'd think worrying about your own life...
...would be far more practical!
She's...
This is the end!
An afterimage?!
The wound on her back is deep.
Her chances of survival are also 50/50.
At any rate, she's definitely not in any shape to fight.
I see.
It's only for a split second,
but you can give yourself a tremendous boost in speed.
If it's just in that moment,
I bet you're the fastest among all the fighters.
I guess you're not ranked in the single digits for nothing.
What the eye sees is like an apparition.
As I recall, they call you...
...Phantom Miria, don't they?
But that technique...
Will it work against an Awakened Being?
Give it a try.
Charging in, prepared to die in honor, eh?!
You bitch!
She's amazing.
Damn it all.
If she's capable of something like that, do it to start with.
She probably wanted to use it to deliver the finishing blow.
She would've wanted to save it until then.
Huh?
The instantaneous burst of Yoma aura is nothing short of incredible.
The technique's bound to take a great toll, both mentally and physically.
Miria probably restricts how many times she does it herself.
Ten times... no, at most I'd say twenty times...
But right now, she's already done it over thirty times.
It's got to be a real strain on her.
What the hell would you know?!
I'm not gonna listen to the lowest ranking member expounding away!
Gotcha.
Miria!
I'm impressed at how long that body of yours lasted.
But in the end, it was just a stopgap measure.
All I had to do was wait for you to reach your limit.
Now, how should I torture you to death?
Damn it!
It's no use...
I can't...
I can't make my body work for me...
It's over...
This is his...
His so-called "true despair"...
Despair?
After we've only suffered this much?
I've faced a far greater opponent and know what true despair is.
What... about your injuries?
H-Hold on a minute!
How can you get on your feet with those injuries?!
I was wondering what the commotion was.
So it's the puny one with the weakest Yoma aura.
H-Huh?
I-I-I can't hit her?!
What the hell?! What's going on here?!
Could it be... that she's...
Be calm.
Suppress my own Yoma aura to the utmost limit.
Sense all other Yoma aura out there.
Perceive every last shred of it, both the amount and flow.
I should be able to perceive everything through the flow of aura.
Based the amount and flow of aura,
predict the trajectory of every attack...
And that is exactly how...
She's dodging them?!
In the instant that he launches his attack,
she's already evaded him?
That's it!
The incongruity of what I saw then...
She was fighting, looking only at the Yoma aura flowing within me!
Even in that friendly match, with both of us suppressing our auras,
she was trying to perceive the flow of aura within me!
Hit! Hit!
Which means...
The stronger the Yoma aura and power of her opponent,
and the more he fights openly with that power, the easier to read.
Especially against an Awakened Being,
who fights with his Yoma power fully unleashed,
she's truly the ideal fighter!
Could it be that she's...
...devoted herself to honing this ability, just to fight Awakened Beings?!
What is it?
The situation has changed.
Is that so?
What is the deal with you?!
I can't even begin to tell if you're strong or weak or what.
She moves as needed based on the Yoma aura she perceives,
but when she goes on the offensive that ability is diminished.
She's got to switch between the two modes instantaneously,
or be able to read aura even when her own Yoma power is unleashed.
Otherwise, it's a useless skill!
Miria!
The point is, you've still got a lot of training to do.
I know that. It's obvious.
H-Hold on a minute.
I wouldn't mind telling you what you want to know.
Be careful. It's below.
I know. I'm still ranked in the single digits.
Wha...
There are a lot of questions I'd like to ask you,
but I doubt you'd tell us the truth anyway.
Here we go.
Don't be late.
Same to you.
Damn it! I won't be done in by the likes of these guys!
Not by the likes of you!
Kokoro... mada anata no kioku no naka de
Karada... sagashiteru tarinai watashi o
Kyou mo dokoka de dareka ga nagasu namida
Tsumetaku warau sadame o ikite-yuku koto
Nakusenai mono nigiri-shime-nagara
Watashi wa ima mo koko ni iru no
Karenai hana wa utsukushikute
Yuruginai omoi o mune ni saki-tsuzuketa
Chigireta kumo no danzai no sora
Tomaranai kanashimi o dakishimeteta
The end of a battle. The beginning of a battle.
The oath the fighters swear...
Next time, "Those Who Rend Asunder III"