The Silver Eyed Witch

From Mazel's village entrance came a woman dressed in a cloak with a hood pulled over her head. Dozens of eyes watched the woman march through the main road, the faint sound of metal plates clanking against one another would be the only indication of her identity. On her back rested the largest damn sword anyone has seen.

The woman pulled down her hood revealing blond hair nearly as pale as snow and deep silver eyes. Her hair was cut in a bob with messy and wild strands of hair going in all directions. Her bangs were parted to the right just above her eye. She had two long braids wrapped in red cloth, one on either side of her head which seem to reach her thighs. And these braids ended with tight black bows. The expression on her face is cold and unforgiving. The way she walked signified elegance with a pinch of authority in every stride.

The chief walked up to the woman, his frail frame trembled with fear mixed with anticipation of the claymore's next move. He nervously rubbed his hands together as he looked up to the woman.

"You... you are the claymore, am I right?" he asked.

"Claymore is a name you humans give us. But I am here to take care of your yoma problem, if that is what you are referring to," she spoke. Though her voice was light and gentle, one could practically feel her arrogance with the infliction of tone.

The chief made a small gesture towards the meeting house.

"We have the gold at-"

The woman held up her hand to silence the chief.

"When the job is done a man dressed in black will come to collect your debt. If I die and the yoma is still alive, no payment is necessary."

The chief rubbed the back of his head and nodded in acknowledgment. The claymore walked forwards towards the fountain which was stained red with blood. She cocked her head as her silver eyes examined the feel of yoki, or the yoma's energy. The woman kneeled before the fountain and placed two fingers on the stone structure. She dabbled her finger in the bloody water and licked the tip of her finger once.

If the villagers weren't terrified of the woman before, they are now. The villagers are justified in their resentment and fear of those they call 'claymores'. The warriors are an all female hybridization of human and yoma flesh creating beings of immense power. Used to combat against the yoma, claymores are widely dispersed throughout the continent. How can someone trust a creature who's flesh is partly that of a monster? Hence claymores are often ostracized in human populations. Their cold attitude and merciless manner of dispatching yoma drive fear into the hearts of many.

Claymores have a rule that generally keeps the peace between them and humans. Warriors, under any circumstances, are not allowed to kill a human being either directly or indirectly. Humans know this rule and despite the harmless nature of the claymores to human beings, they continue to avoid contact with the silver eyed slayers.

The woman turned to the chief with a dissatisfied look on her face.

"Where is the last victim?" she asked.

"Ah... Hassan. His entire family, save for his little girl, were... killed."

The chief motioned for the woman to follow him through the town. The villagers watched in silence as the two departed for the home.

The woman wasn't surprised that the villagers had not spoken a single word to her save for the chief. This is how the routine usually goes. Arrive in said village, speak to the authority, take care of the yoma, receive a new assignment, rinse and repeat. When she first started out she was confused and rather saddened that everyone she met had purposely avoided her. But now that she has been dispatching yoma for many years, she came to enjoy the solidarity between her and the world of the humans. However, there were times when she felt curious as to how it feels to be human. How it feels to belong to a wider community, to feel genuine human emotions and experience human problems. The more distance the warrior felt from her own humanity, the closer she comes to becoming a yoma herself.

Claymores are partly yoma, thus, they are able to utilize yoki in their attacks and defenses. But there is a cost to this wonderful curse. The more energy released the more the claymore comes closer to turning into a yoma herself. Warriors hang onto what's left of their humanity as it is the only separation between them and the yoma. Despite the things human beings have done to claymores, warriors would rather die as a human being than turn into a creature who feasts on the flesh of humans.

"Here it is..." spoke the chief. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and opened the door to the shattered home.

"Hassan was a good man... he loved his family dearly."

The warrior entered the home and began looking at the carnage. The bodies were left as they were. According to the chief this attack happened yesterday near midday. They left the bodies as they were believing it would help the claymore in identifying the yoma. But it wasn't necessary. The woman bent down and cocked her head at the scene. The father, mother, and son were sprawled out in one room with their entrails devoured. Expressions of extreme shock and confusion were frozen into their faces, a gruesome window into the past which revealed their last moments. It is often that yoma take the form of loved ones and hide amongst members of a family or even friends. It allows them to blend in seamlessly and avoid suspicion.

"Did Hassan have many friends?" asked the claymore.

"Uh... yes... yes he did. The entire village actually, I don't think there is a soul who didn't take kindly to Hassan."

The claymore raised a brow and bit her lip in frustration. The yoma did well to hide its yoki. Usually detecting the energy of yoma was a simple process as they barely knew anything about their own bodies. But this creature is a rather cunning one. The only source of its energy is at the scene of the individual crimes. It is a good thing the woman has a useful, yet strange, talent.

The chief watched as the woman took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and held it in for a few moments. He could have sworn the woman was moving her tongue around in her mouth.

"Is she tasting the air?" he thought.

The claymore exhaled and opened her eyes as she turned towards the chief.

"You mentioned that his daughter is alive, take me to her."

The warrior figured the girl could tell her something about the yoma that killed her family. Sometimes it is the children who have a better understanding of the situations around them than the adults.

The chief nodded and led the claymore through the now empty village. The villagers all went back to their businesses and homes not wanting to get involved with the claymore. And with them hided the yoma.

Samel sat in the meeting house with Alicia beside them. Sweat dripped down Samel's worried face as he anxiously waited for the chief and the claymore to take care of business. Earlier, his wife tried to calm him down but her words of reassurance annoyed him to no end. He was afraid. Save for Samel, not a soul had spoken to Alicia after her family was killed. The villagers all avoided her, they didn't even bother to look her way when she walked through town hand in hand with Samel's wife. Many believed it would have been better for the child to have died along with her family than to exist in this world with no one to care for her. Some of them, on the other hand, are heavily suspicious of yoma survivors, and children are no exception.

The door to the meeting house slowly opened with the chief, and right behind him stood the claymore. Her pale hair and silver eyes reflected the sunlight like a precious gemstone. The large sword on her back and the dark cloak she wore made her appear menacing in contrast to her condescending face.

"Thank you for your cooperation, now leave us," said the claymore.

The chief didn't need further explaining. He hurried outside the meeting house as fast as he could go not wanting to get caught up in whatever the claymore was planning.

The claymore walked up to the man and crossed her arms. There is definitely an air of yoma around both him and the little girl. The woman took a deep breath, held it in, and released shortly after.

"This smell... this taste..." she thought.

Immediately the claymore grabbed Samel by his collar and tossed him outside the meeting house sending him far into the street. The woman jumped backwards outside of the meeting house. Hearing Samel's screams, a large crowd gathered outside to see Samel crawling backwards from the claymore.

"Get back!" hollered the claymore. She grabbed the handle of her sword revealing the symbol etched in the forte of the blade. The symbol was that of a "Y" with a horizontal line going through the centre. Number twenty-seven in the organization is Lilith, better known within claymore ranks as "Wind Dancer Lilith."

Lilith grabbed her sword and twirled it in the air above her head. A feat nearly impossible to do considering the size and weight of a claymore sword, but the warriors of the organization are much more than what meets the eye.

Alicia wandered out of the meeting house wiping her tear filled eyes.

"What's happening?!" she cried. "I want to see my daddy!"

Lilith disappeared in an instant shock and awing the villagers. A second later she appeared before the little girl and swung her sword diagonally. The little girl jumped back, her limbs growing in size and muscle mass. Her once pale skin turned dark grey and her blue eyes turned into yellow orbs. Her mouth opened wide revealing a maw of jagged teeth and an elongated tongue. The yoma stood on all fours like a wild animal.

"Just a few more seconds," growled the yoma. "Just a few more."

The villagers were too shocked to comprehend what happened. Alicia, Hassan's adorable daughter, turned out to be the creature that had devoured many villagers including her own father. The yoma must have considerable power if it could withdraw her yoki. But doing so probably cast a great strain on its body. Perhaps using the form of a small child helped regulate its energy.

"Your yoki tastes like shit," mocked Lilith.

"Then eat shit and die!" roared the yoma.

In a split second the creature cut the distance between it and the claymore in half. The claymore vanished and appeared beside the yoma prepared to deliver a vertical strike on the yoma. But the creature reacted quickly, jumping out of the way. The sword impacted against the ground with enough force to send dust and dirt flying in all directions. The yoma pointed her claws at the claymore and rapidly extended her fingers. The claws shot through the air but were deflected by Lilith's sword.

The claymore disappeared once more and reappeared in front of the yoma. She grabbed the yoma by her head and slammed it into the ground with tremendous force. Lilith is known for many things in her generation of warriors. She had a fighting style most would call unfitting of a warrior. In combat, instead of solely relying on her sword, Lilith would utilize moves in conjunction with punches and kicks. The way her sword flows with her move set makes it appear as if she were dancing.

Lilith was about to plant the blade deep in the yoma's skull when the creature jumped backwards at amazing speeds. The claymore is fast but the yoma is faster. With a lighter build than Lilith's, the yoma had the advantage in speed versus Lilith who had the power. The creature, realizing this, made sure to keep a good distance between it and the claymore. The creature scrambled to the rooftops with Lilith following close behind.

"You'll never catch up to me!" boasted the beast.

The claymore began to get agitated. No matter how far she pushed the yoma was gaining more distance between it and her. But Lilith refused to release her yoki. It would allow her to gain a great deal of speed but at the cost of her humanity. With each release of yoki is another step taken in becoming a monster. And that is a reality Lilith intends on prolonging.

The yoma turned around and shot forwards more claws at Lilith who easily deflected them once again. Lilith spun around in the air with her arms and legs in conjunction with her sword. It looked like she was pirouetting in mid air. A powerful gust of air shot through the skies sending the yoma to the ground.

The claymore landed right beside the yoma with a devilish smile on her face. She raised her sword in the air to make a strike at the back of the creature's skull, but three claws pierced through her chest. The yoma raised the warrior in the air laughing.

"Gotcha!"

The yoma's claws dug into the earth below and emerged behind the claymore. The creature brought the warrior so close their faces were separated by mere inches of space.

"Enjoy your last moments-"

Lilith chuckled and plunged her blade deep into the yoma's chest. The beast roared and screamed as it dropped Lilith to the ground. The blade itself was stuck in the ground preventing the yoma from moving around. The claymore casually dusted herself off and grabbed the blade.

"Worthless," she mocked.

The claymore pulled the blade downwards bisecting the creature with relative ease. The blood fell from the sword leaving the weapon shining like it did before battle. Lilith placed the weapon on her back and calmly began to walk out of the village leaving the residents more shocked and confused than ever before. The chief and Samel walked up to the corpse of what was once Alicia. The twisted body split in two with such a horrid look on its face. The same expression found on Bickle when the chief found the corpse so many days ago. The same expression etched on Hassan's face.