Hysteria

"The wind feels good against my cheeks. It's been so long since I've had this sensation..." - Hysteria the Elegant

Hysteria was Claymore No. 1 of her generation and is considered to be one of the eight most powerful Claymores of all time. During her lifetime, she was known as "Hysteria the Elegant" (流麗のヒステリア, Ryūrei no Hisuteria, lit. "Flowing Hysteria").

She is one of the three Claymores revived by Dae and the Organization in order to stop the uprising of the current warriors.

Etymology
"Hysteria" is a transliteration of the Japanese "Hisuteria" (ヒステリア).

"Hysteria" is derived from the Latin word hystericus, meaning "of the womb," derived from the Greek word ὑστερικός, meaning "of the womb/suffering in the womb," derived from the word ὑστέρα, meaning "womb." The term was originally defined as a neurotic condition peculiar to women and thought to be caused by a dysfunction of the uterus. Presently, the term denotes behavior exhibiting excessive or uncontrollable emotion. As such, it is an incongruous name for a Claymore who has, thus far, shown a cool and composed demeanor.

Appearance
Hysteria has long, straight, pale blond hair pulled into a ponytail. She has four braids—two in front, forming her bangs, and two incorporated into the ponytail. She has silver eyes and wears the standard uniform.

Personality
Calm and composed on the exterior, Hysteria seems to hold herself in high esteem and has a certain degree of impatience, as shown when she grows irritated at Miria's hesitance to reveal her forgotten name and tells the younger warrior that she hates being ignored over all else. Her pride may also have been the reason why she never sent her black card to anyone, even when she was on the verge of awakening, and refused to die by the hands of the lower-ranked warriors sent to execute her, choosing to slaughter them instead.

Abilities and Powers
Hysteria is known for her Elegant Technique. It is considered to be the "most beautiful technique of all warriors".

According to Miria, Hysteria's ability is similar to her Phantom Mirage, that is, Hysteria also briefly and instantaneously increases her speed by releasing a large burst of yoki. Whereas Miria uses the technique as an evasive measure, Hysteria uses it offensively. Hysteria steps forward, slips past an opponent's side and then moves behind them. The proximity of the after-image is such that it appears as if Hysteria had slipped through her opponent's body. Miria concludes that even if their speed was the same, Hysteria is far superior in terms of precision.

Life as a Claymore
When Hysteria reached her limits, she did not send a black card to anyone. The Organization sent many warriors to purge her on Rockwell Hill, but she did not submit herself to the command and massacred the warriors that surrounded her. They narrowly managed to take her life in the end, but it was said that the corpses of warriors who fought her piled up in heaps on Rockwell Hill.

After Resurrection
Hysteria is among the three Claymores revived by Dae, the other two being Roxanne of Love and Hate and Cassandra the Dust Eater. Her aim is to stop the rampage of the current warriors against the Organization.

After injuring or possibly killing most of the warriors, she engages in combat with Miria. It is revealed during the fight that she has a patchy memory and can't remember her name, knowing only that she is supposed to kill all the other warriors and that she was slain at Rockwell Hill. Noting the look of recognition on Miria's face, she asks for her name, only to be ignored due to the younger warrior's mullings. Her patience growing thin, Hysteria attacks Miria once more and expresses surprise when the latter managed to survive her attack. Miria analyzes Hysteria's technique and notes its similarity to her Phantom Mirage. The younger warrior then releases her yoki, intent on sending Hysteria back to the grave.

Hysteria easily outmatches Miria in battle, but the younger warrior refuses to give up. Hysteria hints that despite releasing yoki, Miria will never be able to match her speed. As the fight continues, Hysteria manages to wound Miria with her Elegant Technique a few more times. However, just when Miria is about to reach her limits, she charged towards Hysteria one more time and succeeded in wounding her, though suffering injuries herself in the process. Hysteria looks at Miria in shock, realizing that her opponent had used a risky technique to determine the outcome of their fight.

After clashing several more times, suffering injuries as well as inflicting them upon Miria, Hysteria openly showed disgust at Miria's technique. The two continue fighting, pausing briefly upon noticing Cassandra's wounds and her awakening.

Miria leaves Hysteria, aiding the twin trainees escape from an awakened Cassandra. However, Hysteria chases after her, reitering how she disliked being ignored. Miria, unable to cope with both Cassandra and Hysteria attacking at the same time, loses an arm in the following exchange. She attempts to use her risky technique and is surprised when Hysteria manages to evade it. Hysteria cuts off Miria's sword arm with the next attack but expresses surprise in realizing that Miria had managed to impale her through the chest first with her sword. Hysteria pulls off the blade and approaches a defenseless Miria. She again expresses her disgust for Miria's "inelegant" technique, to which Miria replies that her obsession with elegance was her weakness. Angered, Hysteria goes in for the kill. Just as she was about to deliver the final blow, however, Miria impales her through the throat with another sword, holding the hilt with her mouth. Miria explains that she had planned to fall on that spot to hide the sword of another warrior. Hysteria collapses afterwards, presumably dead. However, moments later, it is revealed that she had not suffered a fatal blow, as she had begun awakening.