Dauf

Dauf is Claymore No. 3 of Isley's generation.

Etymology
"Dauf" is a transliteration of the Japanese "ダフ," or "Duff," pronounced "dufF."

"Duff" is Scottish-Gaelic for "dark," perhaps alluding to the inner psychological state of the character.

Appearance
Dauf in his human form appears as a large, muscular man with short blond hair and a beer belly stomach.

As a Claymore Warrior, Dauf looks more athletic and wears the standard male uniform.

Personality
Dauf seems to be misanthropic and disrespectful to others' lives, not objecting to helping his lover, Riful, torture Claymores into Awakening. He is also very protective of Riful, but is excessively dependent on her and is terrified of her leaving him. In battle, his lack of intelligence forces him to require assistance from Riful. Dauf isn't easy to get along with, as shown when as former male Claymore in his generation noted that Dauf was never on good terms with Isley or Rigardo and was killed after he made that comment.

Abilities
In Dauf's Awakened form, he is a large humanoid with great strength and tough armor. He can fire and generate large Yoki rods from his hands/fingers, arms, back and mouth as projectiles. Later he showcased that he could mold and manipulate the shape of them in order to form them into chains, spears and rods. These constructs are presumably created from his Flesh as an Awakened being.

In his Awakened Form, Dauf's hide possess incredibly tough armor like patches of skin that protects his body, with these patches having been shown to be durable enough to easily deflect normal attacks by the Claymore used by Warriors. However despite his armor, its been noted by Galatea that there are cracks in his armor and parts of his body that are not protected by his hard skin.

But for all his physical prowess, Dauf has limited intelligence. It is unknown if setting up his rods to confuse Claymore Yoki sensing (at "Witch's Maw") is his idea, or Riful's. He does try to Awaken over 30 Claymores, but only Riful is shown to "harvest" Claymores. In general, he appears poor at anticipating enemy action, and Riful complains his regeneration powers are slow, so he can be an Offensive-type Awakened Being.

Organization Rating
From Claymore Databook 2, as Awakened Being.
 * Yoki: SSS+


 * Agility: S


 * Strength: SSS+


 * Invulnerability: SSS


 * Intelligence: C

First Encounter with Clare
Dauf is first seen torturing Claymores, under Riful's supervision, to make them Awakened Beings. Jean's team is captured, but Raquel escapes. Raquel manages to reach Hanel, where she tells Clare what happened, before dying.

Meanwhile, Katea Awakens, but when Dauf tests Katea's power, he finds her too weak. Riful orders her destroyed.

Dauf senses Clare's arrival. Riful orders Dauf to kill the intruder. Upstairs, a fight begins between Dauf and Clare. Clare is captured. Galatea arrives and through her Yoki control, makes Dauf release Clare. She catches Clare and tries to leave, but Dauf caves-in the entrance. Galatea orders Clare to retrieve Jean, while she holds off Dauf.

The three Claymores eventually defeat him, Jean hitting Dauf with her "Drill Sword," which cuts a gaping hole in his chest. Riful rescues Dauf, but allows the Claymores to go free.

Isley
In the western region of Lautrec, Riful and Dauf meet twelve Awakened Beings of Isley's army, and they proceed kill all of them. The pair go to the southern region of Mucha, but they arrive too late to support Luciela. Isley has already defeated Luciela, who is later killed by Rafaela. Riful and Dauf confront Isley and Priscilla, but when Riful senses Priscilla's Yoki, she realizes that Isley tricked her. Despite Dauf's protests, Riful retreats; however, does manage to recover her ally's merged body.

New Project
Dauf helps Riful with her new project. Instead of Awakening Claymores, Riful is searching for one who can Awaken the merged Luciela-Rafaela being. She captures Renee, removing her legs and an arm to immobilize her, and when Renee is given permission to heal her legs in order to try and focus on manipulating the being's Yoki, Dauf threatens to kill her should she try to trick them and escape.

Outside Riful's Second Hideout, Dauf meets Clare again, together with Cynthia and Yuma. He catches Yuma by her leg, but Clare cuts it off, and the Claymores escape. While Cynthia heals Yuma, Clare follows Dauf back inside the castle, starting a new fight.

The fight upstairs distracts Riful, which allows Renee to take her Yoki-suppressant pill and escape. While Riful and Dauf are preoccupied, Clare reenters the castle and finds the merged Luciela-Rafaela. Clare enters the mind of the merged entity, and it Awakens.

The Destroyer
A few kilometers away, Riful and Dauf watch The Destroyer burst from the castle and rise sky-high. Dauf advises Riful not to fight the entity, but the pair are confronted by the Abyss Feeders, then Alicia and Beth. During the three-way battle, the Destroyer fires its Parasitic Rods, hitting all three parties.

In the confusion Riful retreats, dragging along Dauf, but the Abyss Feeders resume their attack on Riful. Meanwhile, Alicia and Beth are fighting Priscilla. After Priscilla kills both Alicia and Beth, she attacks Riful and Dauf. Riful is eaten and Dauf is gutted, but Dauf manages to survive and gives in to infection of Parasitic Rods, allowing him to regenerate at the cost of his consciousness.

Dauf pursues Priscilla as she pursues Deneve, Helen, and Clare. He catches up with Priscilla and begins to pummel her while clutching Riful's corpse, lost in rage but no longer aware even why he is angry. Priscilla destroys his right arm followed by his left, which both regenerate due to the Parasitic Rods. However, when Priscilla regains her memory halfway through the fight, she promptly and handily kills Dauf.

Riful
Consort of Riful of the West, Dauf appears infatuated with Riful. Riful does admit that she is not proud of Dauf to Galatea and Clare. Riful dominates Dauf. He appears afraid Riful will leave him. However, Riful says that Dauf is the only one who can "accept her without breaking."

However despite the dynamics of their relationship, its shown that Dauf and Riful do truly care for each other and have shown that they would die for each other in critical situations and showed active concern for each other's well being when they were injured fighting off the Abyss Feeder, Alicia, Beth and The Destroyer.



Isley and Rigardo
During the first generation of Claymores, Dauf, Rigardo and Isley competed with each other. While Rigardo remained by Isley's side, Dauf joined Riful.