Teresa

"This little girl, who's not even half my size... taught me that tears can flow even from these silver eyes." - Teresa of the Faint Smile

Teresa was the strongest Claymore of all time. She was famously known as Teresa of the Faint Smile (微笑のテレサ, Bishō no Teresa, literally Smiling Teresa) for effortlessly slaying enemies with a faint smile on her face. She was so powerful that she rarely, if ever, had to use even 10% of her Yōki in battle. Her rise to Claymore No. 1 lead to the demotion of the previous No. 1, Rosemary, who, angered by Teresa's promotion, challenges her to a duel as an Awakened Being. Not long into the fight, Teresa dispatches her easily by releasing only 10% of her yoki.

Appearance
Human: It is hinted that Teresa had long black hair and was proud of it. She was very dismayed when she became a Claymore and lost it.

Claymore: Teresa has long wavy pale blond hair parted down the middle which she wears loose. She has silver eyes like all of the Claymores and stands at 180cm (same height as Irene).

Early Life
Teresa's early life is left to be rather vague. She theorizes that the reason her parents named her Teresa was because it was the name of one of the twin goddesses of love. During her youth, she was said to have black hair that was believed to be her best feature. At some point in her life, she was sold to the Organization by the people she trusted (whether that is her family or the village she is from, it is never said).

During her training to becoming a claymore, she was referred to as a "problem child" by her handlers. In one of her escapades, she ran into Rafaela.

As a Claymore, Teresa was a cold-blooded killer who cared for no one, only helping villages because she was ordered to. She also took great pleasure in scaring the humans she met during her various missions. Teresa was very solitary and rarely had contact with any of the other Claymores in the organization (she was surprised when Rosemary sent her a Black Card). She kept various secrets from her handlers, and severely distrusted the Organization.

Time with Clare
While in a village with seven Yōma hiding, Teresa saved a young girl who had been kept as a prisoner and toy of a Yōma. The girl then follows her on her journeys. She is initially extremely irritated by this girl tagging along wherever she goes, but eventually grows fond of her. Teresa gives the girl the name Clare, after the twin goddesses, Teresa and Clare. Clare awakens Teresa's lost compassion, leading Teresa to say:

"This young girl, whose small body is only half the size of mine, taught me that tears can, too, flow from these silver eyes."

From this point onwards, Teresa openly shows her affection to Clare without holding back her emotions (i.e. buying her clothes and allowing her to sleep on her lap), but eventually, she leaves Clare in a village, believing that a normal life with humans would still be better for her. However, the village is soon raided by bandits and Teresa rushes back to save her. Seeing Clare's bloodied form, Teresa flies into a rage and kills the bandits, breaking the rule that a Claymore should never kill humans, no matter what the circumstances.

Battle with Priscilla
Because she killed humans, the Claymore organization marks her for death. It dispatches a team of five Claymores of unknown ranks to execute her. Teresa cuts them down but does not kill the Claymores, stating that Clare has become her reason to live.

Claymore numbers 2 through 5 (Priscilla, Irene, Noel, and Sophia) are then assembled to kill her. During the beginning of the battle, Teresa was secretly alarmed of Priscilla's power. However, Teresa defeats them all without even releasing her Yōma power. She intentionally spares the lives of Claymores No.3 to No.5, but considered killing Priscilla because she sensed that she would, in the future, come to surpass her. However, her relationship with Clare had mellowed her, and she ultimately decides to let Priscilla live. Teresa leaves the town with Clare, leaving her former comrades wounded. Even so, Priscilla pursues and attacks her in blind rage. In her anger, she releases her Yōma powers and nearly Awakens, but Teresa defeats her again while releasing only 10% of her power. It can be presumed that her Yōma powers exceeded Priscilla even though she was at over 70%. Priscilla then cries and begs Teresa to give her a merciful death before she fully Awakens, but as soon as Teresa drops her guard, Priscilla picks up a sword, attacks and decapitates her. Teresa's severed head is then taken by Clare who carries it until she finds a member of the Organization. She begs him to place Teresa's remains inside her own body, becoming a Claymore in order to exact revenge against Teresa's killer.

Personality
When she was a child, Teresa was always attempting to escape and was known as a problem child.

Before Teresa met Clare, she was a coldhearted, solitary Claymore who would accept any job given to her without complaint. When she met Clare, she became less secluded and adopted maternal instincts. In Irene's opinion, this is what led to her death.

Abilities
Unparalleled Strength: Teresa was strong enough to repel Priscilla's attacks with just enough Yōki for her eyes to change color (10% release). She also had no problem defeating the former No. 1, Rosemary, who had awakened, (who was probably near the power of an Abyssal One), with no problem at all using the same amount of youki. Teresa was able to easily twist off the awakened Rosemary's arm before she released her power. Throughout the series Teresa has been referred to as the most powerful No.1 in history.

Unparalleled Yoki-Sensing: According to Irene, Teresa's superiority lied in her unparalleled ability to sense Yoki. Using this sense, she was able to predict the moves of her opponent and successfully counter them.

Speed and Agility: As being the most powerful claymore, she is much faster and agile than those below her.

Clare
When Teresa first met Clare, she was irritated by her persistence in following her. Eventually, she began to get attached to her and they shared a mother-daughter relationship. According to Irene, it was this that led to her losing her cold-hearted nature and led to her death.

Irene
Though it is never explained, when Teresa met Irene at the start of the battle, she hinted at being friends with her beforehand.

Etymology
'Teresa' is Greek for 'harvester'. This is perhaps significant since she always performs her duties without fail and, due to her kind nature toward Clare, she may have been named after Mother Teresa. In the series, it is said that one of the twin goddess prominent in the world is named Teresa (the other being Clare).

Behind the Scenes

 * Teresa's voice actor is Romi Paku and her English voice actor is Christine Auten.
 * She has a song on the Claymore Intimate Persona CD called 'Tensei', meaning 'Reincarnation'.

Appearances

 * Claymore Manga Chapter 12
 * Claymore Manga Chapter 13
 * Claymore Manga Chapter 14
 * Claymore Manga Chapter 15
 * Claymore Manga Chapter 16
 * Claymore Manga Chapter 17
 * Claymore Manga Chapter 18
 * Claymore Manga Chapter 19
 * Claymore Manga Chapter 20
 * Claymore Manga Chapter 21
 * Claymore Manga Chapter 22
 * Claymore Manga Chapter 23
 * Claymore Manga Chapter 24
 * Claymore Manga Chapter 26 (as flashback)
 * Claymore Manga Extra Scene 1
 * Claymore Anime Episode 5
 * Claymore Anime Episode 6
 * Claymore Anime Episode 7
 * Claymore Anime Episode 8
 * Claymore Anime Episode 9 (as flashback)
 * Claymore Anime Episode 23 (as flashback)
 * Claymore Anime Episode 24 (as flashback)
 * Claymore Anime Episode 25 (as flashback)
 * Claymore Anime Episode 26 (as flashback)