Miria

Miria was Claymore No. 6 of Clare's generation and currently the second protagonist of the series. Her ability to move at frightening speeds, leaving after-images of herself in order to evade attacks and confuse her opponents, earned her the title "Phantom Miria" (幻影のミリア, Gen'ei no Miria).

Etymology
"Miria" is a transliteration of the Japanese "Miria" (ミリア, pronounced the same in English).

"Miria" was possibly derived from "Miriam," a feminine proper name, biblical sister of Moses and Aaron (Ex. xv.20), from the Hebrew מרים, of unknown origin, said to literally mean "rebellion," suggestive of Miria's attitude towards the Organization.

Appearance
Miria has silver eyes and long, pale brown hair styled in a razor-shag cut. After the Northern Campaign, she sometimes ties it back in a ponytail. She sustains a cross-shaped cross on her face after the warriors of the Organization "cut" her. . This scar seems to have disappeared after she surpasses her limit while fighting Hysteria but it reappeared after her supress her yoki to normal, possible a draw mistake by Nohiro.


 * Height: 175 cm (approx. 5 ft 9 inches)

Personality
With her talents in planning strategies, tolerance for others and having respect, Miria was an outstanding leader. This was contrary to the Organization's aims, Miria takes personally the deaths of those under her command, as she cares for the lives of Claymores, knowing that they are victims of the Organization. She will go to great lengths in order to protect them, including disobeying the Organization's rules and orders.

Miria is a leader who doesn't take sides in arguments within her own unit. Despite Helen's constant complaints against Clare, Miria insists that "every team member is crucial" if the entire group is to succeed and survive. She is also yet to be seen making belittling or condescending remarks towards other Claymores, even those with very low ranks. In turn, most lower ranking Claymores regard Miria with the ultmost admiration and respect.

Adding to her strength as a leader is her intelligence. She is capable of both elaborate, careful planning (i.e. Northern Campaign) and improvised solutions on a whim (i.e. against Hysteria).

For a Claymore of extraordinary agility, Miria actually has a rather cautious demeanour. Instead of acting on a whim or making hasty conclusions, she often makes careful deductions or analysis before coming to a final decision. This is seen when she states to Clare and Helen that her views on the Organization are only theories until she can prove them to be true. Miria had shown strong dedication into investigating the Organization's secrets and revealing them to others. Information was collected during the seven-year timeskip. She revealed her secrets after the battle with Agatha in Rabona. She knows the information she gathered is reliable, and Miria is dead set as well with the other six of the Seven Ghosts on her goal to send the Organization to its demise.

Though her early life and family are not known, Miria's closest connection was with her best friend Hilda. After Miria unwittingly killed an awakened Hilda, she began to regard the Organization with dislike and suspicion.

Phantom Mirage
Miria's trademark technique, the Phantom Mirage, consists of split-second bursts of yoki that enhance her speed to the point where she leaves after-images of herself, creating a ghost-like illusion to confuse opponents. It can be used to quickly avoid or launch attacks. Due to the fact that it requires yoki, this technique is hindered by limited safe usage, and the exhausting mental and physical toll it takes on the user. During the seven-year timeskip, Miria develops a "New Mirage" that relies on base speed, not yoki release. Her New Mirage, though slower than the original, is capable of more subtle movements, and an unlimited number of uses.

In order to fight Hysteria's Elegance, which has superior precision to Miria's technique, Miria implements a new variant of the Phantom Mirage. Instead of bringing her yoki to her limits in a burst like the original Phantom, she completely surpasses her limits in a momentary awakening. This technique's strong points are raw speed and violence, but it lacks Hysteria's precision. As such, no measure can be taken to evade an incoming blow while using the technique. Like Elegance, Miria appears to pass through her target's body when she uses this variation of the Phantom Mirage.

Yoki Suppression
During the timeskip, Miria has learned to suppress her yoki aura, concealing her presence from the Organization.

Leadership
Miria is rated A+ by the Organization for leadership. According to the Claymore Databooks, Miria rates higher in leadership than any No. 1, evidenced by her effective leadership during the Northern Campaign and leading the current Claymores' rebellion against the Organization.

Organization Rating
From Claymore Databook 2.


 * Yoki: B+


 * Agility: A+


 * Muscular Strength: C


 * Spirit: B


 * Perception: C


 * Leadership: A+

Employment as a Claymore
Miria started out as Claymore No.17. It was then that she met Hilda, then Claymore No. 6, at an Awakened Being Hunting Party. The two promised to work together again. Hilda's encouragement led Miria to develop the Phantom Mirage.

During her second hunt, Ermita and Ophelia watched Miria in action, the former saying Miria's effectiveness in a team exceed that of No. 1. Miria was promoted No. 8 and earned the nickname "Phantom Miria." .

Ophelia
Miria joined a third Awakened Being hunt, but to her disappointment, Ophelia led it instead of Hilda. Ophelia told Miria she met a Claymore who gave her a black card to give to another Claymore, but she tore it up, much to Miria's surprise.

Just then, their target appeared—a large Awakened Being who appeared to be wrapped in bandages. Ophelia alone was strong enough to take down the target, but she allowed Miria to cut off its head. As the Awakened Being died, Miria recognized it as Hilda. She grieved, asking Hilda why she did not identify herself. After an insensitive comment by Ophelia, Miria began to awaken, but manages to force her way back, not wanting to give Ophelia the satisfaction.

Ophelia reported Miria's near-awakening to Rubel, but the latter did not inform the Organization. Instead, he decided to punish her, eventually sending Miria on the Paburo Hunting Party. In between these events, Miria got promoted to No. 6, the same rank as Hilda.

Toriro
Miria first appears leading Queenie and an unnamed Claymore to the village of Toriro. They were to join Clare and, as a team, search for a "Voracious Eater." However, Clare had already gone ahead and engaged the target despite the danger, but it turned out to be a group of normal yoma instead of a Voracious Eater. She chastises Clare for disobeying orders, saying her actions allowed one yoma to escape and could have potentially harmed an innocent.

This bad first impression stays with Miria even after she and Clare become friends. Seven years after the Northern Campaign, Miria still assigns others to "babysit" Clare.

Paburo Hunting Party
At an unnamed town, Miria once again crosses paths with Clare. The two are part of the Paburo Hunting Party with Miria as the leader. The is also where Clare meets Helen and Deneve. Miria is surprised at Clare's rank of No. 47. However, despite Helen's protests, Miria takes Clare with them. Later that night in the Paburo Mountains, Miria engages Clare in a sparring match to determine her power and trounces her, finding her weak but getting an odd feeling when facing her that she is much stronger (despite her performance.)

The next morning, a stranger meets the party, claiming to come from Lido. However, Miria senses something off and realizes that the man is their target, the Awakened Being. Miria senses how powerful he is and immediately suspects that the Organization intentionally gave them wrong information. The fight unfolds with Deneve, Helen and Clare going down easily, and despite Miria's Phantom Mirage technique, she is pushed to the edge of her stamina. Miria is then pinned down and tortured. Clare manages to recover and cuts off five of the Awakened Being's limbs. Miria, then, rises back to her feet and joins Clare in finishing off the creature.

Afterwards, the party compares notes. Miria hypothesizes that the Organization is trying to kill them off because they are half-awakened warriors who had caused trouble for the Organization in one way or another. Before separating, she advises everyone to conform and not raise suspicions while she herself gathers more evidence. She draws the symbols of the top five Claymores, warning everyone to stay away from them. The four then form a bond, taking a sword oath of honor.

The Northern Campaign
Miria appears next as the commander of the Northern Campaign, having the highest rank among those present. The Claymores meet in the northern town of Pieta, the first town leading into the territory.

She organizes the 24 Claymores present into small teams, similar to Awakened Being Hunting Parties. She mixes the stronger and weaker alike on each team, so that all will gain experience against Awakened Beings. The warriors included in Miria's team are: Queenie (No. 20), Tabitha (No. 31), and Yuma (No. 40).

Later, in a secret reunion, Miria meets up with the other three members of the Parubo Hunting Party, plus Jean. When Clare asks for their chances in succeeding in their mission, Miria says that "the chances of success are zero," primarily due to the fact that their mission also includes defeating Isley, the Abyssal One of the North.

First Battle
The task force defeats three Awakened Being scouts that appear without any casualties, though Yuma loses an arm. Afterwards, Undine tries underminding Miria's authority, feeling her team selection was reckless in placing weaker Claymores on equal footing with more experienced warriors rather than just putting them in support roles. Flora, however, backs Miria up, explaining that Miria's aim was for every single warrior to have actual combat experience against an Awakened Being.

In a flashback, it is revealed that the entire task force was summoned by Miria, who announced a plan for survival. Before the second battle, everyone was to take half a yoki suppressant pill. Should any Claymore lose consciousness, the enemy would think her dead, since her yoki aura would be suppressed. Miria apologized for this improvised plan, but everyone approved, especially Undine, who came out strongly in favor.

Second Battle
In the second battle, 27 Awakened Beings, led by Rigardo, invade Pieta. The teams hold their own against the Awakaned Beings, with three Awakened Beings falling versus five Claymores being killed—nothing short of miraculous given the power gap. Rigardo finds this unacceptable, and personally joins the fray. He morphs into his Awakened Form and proceeds to destroy Miria's strategy. He effortlessly decapitates the task force leadership, not bothering with the low-ranking Claymores, knowing the task force will collapse without the team captains.

He kills Veronica, Undine, and Flora and fatally wounds Jean, then wounds and prepars to kill Miria after a short confrontation. However, Clare goes berserk upon witnessing Jean's apparent death and her captain's grisly demise. Clare completely Awakens her legs and manages to sever Rigardo's right arm as he tries to kill Miria. Clare eventually kills Rigardo by completely Awakening all four limbs, and is ultimately reverted at the cost of Jean's life. By the time Miria recovered enough to regroup, it is too late, and the Battle of Pieta is lost. The Organization officially believed all are killed in action, and that Pieta is now a town with no traces of life.

Seven Year Time-Skip


Miria leads the survivors, dubbed the Seven Ghosts: herself, Cynthia, Deneve, Helen, Tabitha, Yuma and Clare. She has taught and trained them for seven years and has developed a "New Mirage" that can be used without releasing yoki. She is swayed to return south by Clare, who discovers signs of Raki's survival.

Audrey's Hunting Party
All seven survivors return south. While in the Toulouse area, they sense an Awakened Being Hunting Party, led by Audrey, being harvested by Riful. Miria, Deneve, Helen and Clare successfully both rescue the party and flee from Riful. Miria then questions Audrey some time later, discovering that neither Rafaela nor Galatea are still with the Organization. She also discovers that Alicia has finally been "completed."

Agatha
When they arrive in Rabona, they find Agatha threatening the city. Miria rescues Galatea and destroys one of Agatha's legs.

After Agatha's death, Miria advises Clarice and Miata to desert the Organization. Miria then openly states her intention to destroy the Organization, revealing the secret history behind yoma and Awakened Beings. Later, she makes arrangements with Father Vincent to keep Clarice, Miata and Galatea in Rabona. After a talk with the other six about clearing up any regrets, she arranges for Clare to search for Raki with Cynthia and Yuma. Helen and Deneve travel further south to visit Helen's home town in Mucha. Meanwhile, Miria chooses to remain in Rabona with Tabitha.

Dietrich's Visit
Miria later intercepts a shadowy figure who appears outside Rabona—Dietrich, who informs her of Isley's defeat at the hands of the Abyss Feeders and that Helen and Deneve are heading West to find Clare's group. Miria realizes that with Alicia, Beth and the Abyss Feeders heading West to attack Riful, she hads an opening destroy the Organization. However, she decides to go alone - this decision was probably made at the very beginning of her plans to detroy the Organization.

Without warning, Miria attacks Tabitha, immobilizing her, and ignores Galatea's warnings of death. Miria then dons her Claymore uniform and leaves for Staff. When Tabitha regains consciousness, Galatea explains Miria's reasons. Out of the seven, only Miria is willing to kill humans in her quest to topple the Organization.

Staff
Miria reachs the Organization and quickly dispatches the opposition. The majority of the Claymores, save for those stationed in the North, missing, or defected, gather to stop her, including the current No. 3, Audrey, and No. 5, Rachel. She appears unstoppable, until the Organization's men confront Miria with the new Soul Link twins, who can alternate between the Awakened and control state—an advancement over Alicia and Beth.

As Miria fights, she realized she can never kill a fellow warrior. Claymore No. 10, Raftela, is brought out to confuse Miria's mind, bringing out Miria's deepest desires, making her hallucinate one of the twins as Hilda. As Miria falls deeper into the illusion, the Claymores attack en masse.

The warriors hack at her until one of the Organization's men orders them to stop, assuming she is already dead. What the Organization's men do not realize is that Miria is only severely wounded and not deceased. The warriors do not inform the Organization of this, their minds uncertain because of Miria's unwillingness to kill.

Given a chance to recover, and with the aid of her fellow warriors impressed by her resolve, Miria, now sporting a cross-shaped scar across her face, returns to the Organization's headquarters and calls on the current generation of Claymores to revolt against the Organization. After rallying her fellow warriors, Miria leads them to an assault on the Organization's main compound itself.

Unfortunately, their progress is immediately barred by a group of Abyss Feeders that are sent to hold them back for as long as possible. Miria orders the weak warriors to stand back to protect themselves and let the stronger ones take up the fight. As the battle progresses, the Abyss Feeders begon targeting the lower-ranked warriors, but they are killed by one of the twin trainees just in time. Just as victory seems to have arrived, the rebellious Claymores are defeated by the three revived No. 1's.

Phantom Miria vs Hysteria the Elegant
Miria engages in a fight with Hysteria the Elegant, one of the strongest claymores in the history of the Organization. Hysteria was infamous for killing many fellow warriors on Rockwell Hill when they were sent there to purge her as she reached her limit.

In the midst of battle, Miria is wounded several times by Hysteria, the latter using a technique that makes her appear as if she were passing through Miria's body. Miria knows at once that this is the technique that had earned Hysteria her nickname—the technique dubbed as "the most beautful technique of all warriors." She deduces that Hysteria's Elegance is roughly similar to her own Phantom Mirage, except that Hysteria's precision is far superior. The difference in their abilities makes Miria envious. She apologizes, stating that she would have to put Hysteria back to her grave.

Miria has trouble against Hysteria, finding herself unable to gain any advantage while being wounded several times. Miria thinks back to the time that she half-awakened from Hilda's death, but was somehow able to revert back. She had conceptualized a technique that exceeded the Phantom Mirage by instantaneously releasing her yoki from an already released yoki state to a point far beyond the limit. This technique focused on raw speed and violence, but Miria was hesitant to try it because she feared losing her humanity. After years of training and now no longer afraid to cross her limits, Miria unleashes her new technique and is finally able to land a blow on Hysteria. The latter is shocked, and she asks Miria if she has gone mad. The half-awakened warrior responded, saying: "Shall we begin? Let's see which of us can last longer."

Hysteria and Miria continue to fight, taking blow after blow. Hysteria claims that the technique is "so disgusting that [she] might throw up." Miria isn't phased and counters gracefully, and then the two warriors begin to fight once more. However, when Cassandra awakens, they both pause to watch.

Miria is surprised and horrified by Cassandra's awakening, fearing the birth of a new abyssal one. When the abyssal one makes its attack on the petrified twins, she attacks it and orders them to take Audrey, Rachel, and Nina and run. However, Hysteria chooses then to resume her attack, angry at being ignored, and Miria's attention is divided. She tries to evade the abyssal one, but, in doing so, leaves herself open to Hysteria's speed and loses her left arm in the exchange.

Miria falls back to her new Phantom Mirage, but Hysteria can now barely evade the attack by recognizing the timing of its beginning. Miria sustains more wounds, lamenting that she couldn't win using a skill so inferior to the Elegance without "dirty tricks." Then, she uses the new Phantom Mirage one last time—a disguise for her true strike. Sacrificing her right arm, sword in hand, she spears Hysteria through the chest just before the former No. 1 makes her evasion. Miria purposely falls on the abandoned sword of another warrior, and, as Hysteria closes in, grabs the hilt in her teeth, twists and pushes her body around, and slams the sword through Hysteria's throat. Her final remark to Hysteria is, "To tell you the truth, even though you have died before, I didn't want to kill a fellow warrior."

Climbing to her feet, Miria makes her way over to her right arm and begins to reattach it. She later watches as Roxanne's body is thrown near her while Cassandra's upper human body reaches towards Roxanne. Miria is then shocked as she notices the other remaining No. 1's starting to awaken.

Miria wonders in shock on how Hysteria can be alive but then questions if the resurrected warriors were even alive to begin with and, in horror, watches them awaken. Having saved an unconsious warrior who was still alive, Miria tries to escape from Hysteria but Hysteria's speed outmatches hers. Hysteria, now awakened, asks Miria to pull the sword from her throat out so she can feast on one of the warriors she impaled. As a token of gratitude, she would allow Miria and the warrior she had been carrying leave.

In anger, Miria releases more yoki and tries to attack Hysteria but misses as Hyteria jumps into the air. Miria relases more yoki which starts to damage her armour as her muscels started to expand. Miria says to herself that she will save her comrades this time but is pulled back to the ground by Anastasia. She's told to calm down by Deneve who says that "We came all this way just to punch you. At least remain human until were all done punching you, Miria."

Six warriors engage Hysteria while Miria is aided by Cynthia and Yuma. At first, the fight seems to be in the claymores' favor, with Tabitha managing to sneak up on Hysteria to cut off her wings as the former No. 1 was unable to detect her. The tide turns abruptly, however, when Hysteria demonstrates how should could fight in the sky without wings.

After a series of attacks following a single jump, only Helen and Tabitha remain uninjured among the group of six and Hysteria manages to capture Anastasia. Miria considers awakening, noting that how things are going, they were just going to be obliterated. Deneve stops her, however, and convinces her that they were going to defeat Hysteria, a monster, while remaining human.

After Nike frees Anastasia from Hysteria's clutches, Miria reengages Hysteria, noting that she could fight the abyssal one evenly with coordination from everyone. This is merely a ploy, though, as Miria's true aim is to lure Hysteria into the battle between Roxanne and Cassandra.

With Helen dislodging Hysteria's blades, Miria manages to catch the abyssal one and land a blow, but is surprised to see only scraps of flesh. Hysteria had shed off some of her awakened body in order to be become lighter. She was also trying to grow new wings. Miria tries to intercept Hysteria before the latter can grow the wings but fails. Despite suffering injuries, Miria successfully lures Hysteria into Roxanne and Cassandra's battlefield, using the abyssal one's pride to her advantage. Apparently cornered, she exclaims to Hysteria that her friends are her wings and promptly zooms out of the battlefield using the last strand of Anastasia's hair, leaving Hysteria in the middle of the two battling abyssal ones.

Hysteria chases after Miria in vain, the younger warrior's speed proving to be greater than her own due to the yoki all the other claymores lent her through Anastasia's hair. In her pursuit, she gets struck by one of Roxanne's blades from behind and then suffers further injury from  Cassandra. She begs Miria to spare her as the latter approaches her broken form. Miria raises her sword, saying she should be brave and die a death worthy of a No. 1. Hysteria briefly recalls the events leading to her death, and as she recalls the memory of Teresa, Priscilla's yoki reacts and forms an apparition. Helen and Deneve come to Miria's aid at once and attack the apparition, causing it to be dispelled. Miria mentions that she just felt a shockwave. Miria and the rest of the warriors prepare to engage Cassandra. However, the abyssal one leaves Staff, apparently full from devouring Roxanne as hypothesized by Helen.

The End
Miria, Helen and Deneve venture into the Organization's headquarters. They find the place deserted and the three split up. Miria opens a secret passage and encounters two specimens. Rimuto, the only Organization member who did not flee upon the awakening of the three former No. 1 warriors, informs her that both were dragon's kin, the larger one being an "awakened" dragon's kin. He explains that both were around a hundred years old and kept alive as dead dragon's kin decayed very rapidly. He explains further that the Organization operated by taking bits of flesh from both specimens and merging them into a form that didn't decay easily. This mass was then implanted into humans' brains, parasitizing them and turning them into yoma. As such, yoma were essentially half-dragon's kin; claymores, a quarter. The resulting yoma craved for human flesh, allowing the Organization the cover to run its claymore program.

Miria counters that the cardinal rule of claymores in killing humans was a farce after all, since yoma were simply humans who were infected by the Organization. She cuts the life support system of the two specimens, leading them to decay rapidly. She, then, proceeds to behead Rimuto and later raises his head in front of all surviving warriors to signify the end of the Organization's reign over the island.

Hilda
Hilda was first seen with Miria on an Awakened Being hunt. The two became the best of friends shortly after. Hilda convinced Miria to hone her Phantom Mirage. Miria credits her promotion to a single digit to Hilda.

On her third Awakened Being hunt, Miria unwittingly killed an awakened Hilda. After Miria discovering Hilda's identity, Miria went berserk and almost awakened herself, resulting in her becoming the first half-awakened Claymore mentioned explicitly in the storyline.

Hilda's death affected Miria's views regarding the Organization. She made the Organization's demise her life's goal. From then on, she began covertly investigating the Organization and its hidden history.

Ophelia
Miria has held great hatred for Ophelia ever since she tore up Hilda's black card. She attributes that fact that she came back from the brink of awakening because she did not want to give Ophelia the satisfaction. However, she also feared Ophelia's power and bloodlust. In the anime, she gave Helen, Deneve and Clare special warning about her. In the manga, she stated that she had forgotten to do so.

Clare
After their first encounter, Miria said her impression of Clare's power was the reverse of her rank, i.e. she felt as if the strongest were standing before her. She had a sparring match to test Clare. Miria's attitude towards Clare can be seen as Miria's general approach to people. She neither ridicules or favors anyone for their rank, as her composition of teams in Pieta shows. She treats all of her allies with equally, including Clare. However, she does watch Clare closely, due to Clare's unpredictable behavior and orders the others to do the same.

After the timeskip, the Seven Ghosts, have all become strong enough to handle most single-digit Claymores. Miria felt comfortable going south with Clare. Despite being polar opposites in personality, methods and behavior, they are close friends.

Helen and Deneve
Miria chastised Helen for ridiculing Clare in the first Awakened Being hunt. She is more concern about Helen's behavior than Deneve's, who is less confrontational.

Cynthia, Tabitha and Yuma
Miria regards Cynthia, Tabitha and Yuma as comrades and respects them, regardless of ability. She mentors everyone during the timeskip as Hilda had done with her.

Behind the Scenes

 * Miria's song on Claymore Intimate Persona CD is "Gen'ei," meaning "Phantom."
 * In the anime, Miria joins Helen and Deneve in a frantic search for Clare. Galatea directs them to a nearby volcano where the Clare and Priscilla face off. Miria, along with Helen and Deneve, attempt to fight Priscilla. Although their efforts results in Miria severing one of Priscilla's wings, all three are eventually overwhelmed and almost killed.
 * Also in the anime, Miria had knowledge of both Teresa and Priscilla, having looked through their records and all available background information on Clare.