Teresa (Claymore)

Teresa is a character from the Claymore anime and manga.

Teresa is the 182nd Claymore of the 77th generation in the Organization, formerly ranked as No.1. She is among the eight No.1 warriors capable of surpassing the original Abyssal Ones, considered even to be the strongest ever created. She is also regarded as the most powerful character in the series for her unparalleled combat ability, Yoki perception, and Yoki reserve; even against an awakened Rosemary or a near-awakened Priscilla, a mere ten-percent energy release was enough to overpower them.

She was nicknamed "Teresa of the Faint Smile" (Bishō no Teresa, lit. "Smiling Teresa") for the faint smiles that graced her face as she effortlessly slaughtered her enemies.

Appearance
Teresa had long, wavy, pale blonde hair parted down the middle, which she wore loose. She had silver eyes like all other Claymores, and wore the standard uniform. Teresa was also considered to be beautiful; several of the bandits who attacked her and Clare in the forest commented lewdly that she was very attractive.

Teresa's awakened form is unusual compared to other awakened forms, as it is nearly identical to her human form. She sports two pairs of wings—a pair of larger ones arising from her upper back, and a pair of smaller ones at her lower back right above her buttocks. The wings are reminiscent of the traditional depiction of the twin goddesses Clare and Teresa. The other change is that the medial aspects of her thighs and legs have exposed muscles, the surrounding skin forming a scalloped edge. Galatea describes Teresa's awakened form, as seen under her "sight," as the very form of the twin goddesses.

Personality
As a trainee, Teresa always attempted to escape. She was known as a "problem child."

Before Teresa met Clare, she was a merciless, solitary killer who would accept any assignment without complaint. She seemed to enjoy intimidating the townsfolk and made it sound as if the Organization was responsible for sending Yoma to the towns that failed to pay the required fees. On top of which, she seemed to be out of touch with her humanity, noting how she had no interest in fancy rooms or food, and how Clare, a human, needed to eat two or three times a day and sleep every night (in comparison to warriors could go weeks without either). However, despite her initial violent nature, she does possess a kind and caring side. When Teresa met Clare, she obstinately tried to prevent the little girl from following her around and even physically hit and kicked her away. When Clare did not give up following her, however, she opened up her heart, and her formerly cold personality changed as she became very attached to the young girl. They grew a bond like a motherly, daughter bond and lived together from then onward until Teresa's death by Priscilla. On a side note, when Teresa slew Rosemary, an event prior to meeting Clare, Teresa told Rosemary that she very much preferred killing Awakened Beings as opposed to other Claymore's, suggesting that she did hold some regard for her comrades. As it's later revealed Rosemary and Teresa were instrumental in bringing down the near Awakened-Hysteria, she could have been referring to that incident.

In Irene's opinion, being with Clare had softened Teresa's toughness as a warrior and eventually led to her death when she chose to spare the lives of her executioners. However, Irene theorized that Teresa had found true happiness in her last days because of Clare and would not have changed her actions if she were to relive her life. This conclusion was indeed proven to be true as confessed by Teresa after her revival from within Clare. As such, she thanked God, if He ever existed, for having met Clare.

Acute Yoki Sensing
Teresa possesses extraordinarily acute Yoki-sensing abilities. She can detect the most minute changes in the Yoki flow of both Yoma and Claymores alike, accurately predicting their every move. This skill allows Teresa to judge the strength, speed and direction of an attack before her enemies can act. As a child, Teresa was also able to track down Rafaela, who had completely erased her aura after the incident with Luciela, in the woods. Irene concludes that Teresa's adeptness in this area was the main reason why she was the top warrior of her generation.

Teresa uses this skill in combination with her peerless strength to copy Cassandra's unique fighting style and movements, after only encountering the former No. 1 in battle once. During the final battle against Priscilla, Teresa further demonstrates use of virtually all the techniques Clare encountered throughout the series, including Miria's phantom-speed, Rafaela's combat style, Jean's Drill Sword, Ophelia's Rippling Sword, Helen's limb expansion in combination with Flora's Windcutter, and Irene's Quicksword.

Her sensory abilities are so advanced that she could predict exactly where to strike Priscilla, despite the latter being faster than Hysteria's awakened form, so fast that she was virtually invisible.

After Teresa's 'death', Clare inherited this gift by taking in her flesh.

Physical Prowess and Unrivaled Yoki Power
While hunting Teresa down for her betrayal of the organization, Irenetold Noel and Sophia that each member of their party outclassed Teresa in her respective specialty, believing that Teresa's only strengths were her Yoki perception and her smile. Her stats in Claymore Databook 1 reflect Irene's analysis. However, the unmatched power she demonstrates in combat against the Awakened Rosemary, and the slayers sent to kill her, reveals that Teresa was likely hiding her true abilities (or simply never bothered to use them). It is worth noting that Irene is struck with the realization that she had underestimated Teresa again, after she and the other executioners were easily defeated. For example, in her fight against Rosemary, Teresa ripped off Rosemary's Awakened arm, apparently in the midst of being pummeled. Although not exactly an ability, Teresa made somewhat regular uses of kicks in her fight with both Rosemary and her slayers.

After her revival from within Clare which she stated made her considerably stronger than her original self, Teresa demonstrated both the strength to immobilize two of an Awakened Cassandra's heads with her bare hands, and the speed to easily match the movements of Miria's Phantom Mirage (using only a ten-percent Yoki release). Augmenting these already superior physical qualities was her enormous Yoki. Unleashing a mere ten-percent was enough to frighten and dispatch an Awakened Rosemary, who was a former No. 1 and would theoretically be on par with an Abyssal One. It also enabled her to defeat a near-Awakened Priscilla, the legendarily powerful No.2 warrior of Teresa's generation who became the strongest character in the series subsequent to Teresa´s death.

Trivia

 * Teresa has a song on the Claymore Intimate Persona CD called "Tensei" meaning "Reincarnation".


 * Teresa's story in the anime is almost identical to the original one from the manga, except that she appears at the end of the anime saying goodbye to Clare after her final fight with Priscilla.


 * Yagi said in an interview that if he would have resurrected Teresa that would throw off the whole plot of the manga and story. (Although he may have said this at the time since he himself wasn't sure how to bring Teresa back to the story, as evidenced by the latest chapter, where Teresa reappears by switching places with Clare.)