Cassandra

Cassandra 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 "Cassandra the Dust Eater" (塵食いのカサンドラ, Chiri-gui no Kasandora).

She is one of the three Claymores revived by Dae and the Organization in order to stop the uprising of the current warriors. Though she had 126 different wounds over her body, she was considered to be one of the least wounded between the strongest warriors ever, at least in the context of the physical nature of the body.

Etymology
"Cassandra" is a transliteration of the Japanese "Kasandora" (カサンドラ).

"Cassandra" comes from the Greek Κασσάνδρα, daughter of Priam of Troy, seduced by Apollo who gave her the gift of prophecy, but when she betrayed him he amended it so that, though she spoke truth, none would believe her. The name is of uncertain origin, though the second element looks like a feminine form of the Greek word ἀνδρός meaning "of man, male human being." This is perhaps an allusion to her boyish appearance.

Claymore
As a Claymore, Cassandra had short, pale, layered hair. She had elf-like ears similar to Irene and Ophelia. She had silver eyes and wears the standard warrior uniform.

Awakened Being
Cassandra's Awakened Form consists of a large humanoid base, between the breasts of which Cassandra's upper body is attached. The base resembles Cassandra while utilizing the Dust Eater, i.e. feet rooted to the ground a leaning back. It has no arms nor head. Tentacles arise from the shoulders and groin. Where the head and neck are supposed to be located is a stump of flesh from which specialized tentacles arise. These tentacles are somewhat thicker and terminate with faces resembling Cassandra's. These specialized tentacles have been shown to be incredibly fast, managing to bite off Roxanne's left arm despite the said Claymore's remarkable speed.

Personality
Cassandra seems to be self-conscious, modest, even shy, and easily embarrassed, as seen when she blushed and averted her eyes when Roxanne complimented her. She was also stubborn in refusing to allow other warriors to accompany her when hunting for Awakened Beings because of her technique, which often frightened other warriors and made her look as if she was eating dirt/dust. This is evidenced when she recalls the fear in the eyes of her comrades upon witnessing her technique and when she vigorously wiped at her cheek after Roxanne jokingly told her that there was a speck of dirt soiling her face.

Cassandra also appears to have a strong sense of justice, as shown by her attempt to avenge her friend, who died at the hands of Roxanne.

Dust Eater
The Dust Eater requires anchoring both feet to the ground and then moving the user's head like a pendulum. Then, using centrifugal force, the body is swung very close to the ground, utilizing the awkward angle to take the target completely off guard. The user would immobilize the target by aiming for the legs first, and then the arms, sealing off all movements and making it easy for the user to finish off the enemy. This skill was considered unorthodox by the Organization, other warriors, and Cassandra herself.

While using the technique, Cassandra appears as if she were eating dust, leading Roxanne to give her the nickname "Cassandra the Dust Eater." Due to how it looks, and the fact that using the technique usually made her face dirty, Cassandra was/is hesitant to use the technique in front of other warriors. This is presumably why Cassandra never allowed anyone to accompany her during Awakened Being hunts.

Eventually, Dust Eater was seen by many of the other warriors of her generation and were struck with fear at its strangeness. The only exception to this was a Claymore No. 35, whom Cassandra saved from a failed Awakened Being hunt. That warrior was grateful for the assistance and did not fear the technique. After the No. 35 compared Cassandra's cleaning her face of dirt to a cat she had as a human, the two became good friends. Following her friend's death, Cassandra used the Dust Eater to cut her way towards Roxanne, who had orchestrated the tragedy.

Incredible Resilience
According to Dae, when Cassandra went past her limit, the warriors sent to execute her cut her to pieces out of enormous fear. She displayed incredible resilience as it still took several hours for her to die despite having 126 different wounds all over her body.

Initially, Cassandra doesn't appear to be as powerful as the other two resurrected warriors. However, after being wounded, she finally decides to use her secret technique that she disliked using in front of other warriors because of how it looked. Without the technique, her skills were only comparable to that of an average No. 5, according to Roxanne. She demonstrates the first part of the technique while evading Nina's Shadow Hunter, stopping short of the counterattack, only to demonstrate it fully moments later.

Life as a Claymore
Cassandra was Claymore No. 1 of her generation and was reputed to be far more powerful than the No. 2 at the time. As such, other warriors usually kept their distance from her. She always fought alone and the Awakened Beings she fought were always shredded to pieces, so nobody really knew her abilities.

Roxanne, a former low-ranking warrior who shot up the ranks by copying the skills of higher-ranked warriors, took interest in Cassandra and the two struck a friendship of sorts. While sparring, Roxanne noted that Cassandra's swordsmanship could not even match the sword technique she had copied from Elizabeth, a former No. 5, further fueling her curiosity as to what the higher-ranked warrior was hiding.

During one instance, Roxanne used her ability to completely erase her presence and secretly watched Cassandra battle an Awakened Being. After the battle, she teased Cassandra about having dirt in her face, having seen Cassandra's technique. It was then that she gave Cassandra the nickname "Dust Eater," a nickname that Cassandra "disliked up to the very end."

Some time later, Cassandra rescued a warrior ranked No. 35 from an Awakened Being with her Dust Eater. Grateful, the warrior would make friendly attempts at conversation whenever they saw each other. Cassandra became very confused about this, for the warrior gave no indication that she feared the Dust Eater at all. When Cassandra asked her about it, the warrior claimed that she had become attached to her because of her way of wiping off her face (it reminded the No. 35 of the cat she owned as a human). They both laughed about the comparison and became "true friends" afterwards.

One day, Cassandra discovered her friend heading out on an Awakened Being hunt with Roxanne as the team leader. She felt very uneasy about this, though she didn't know why, and prayed that her friend would return unharmed. Unfortunately, she later discovered that the warrior had become the Awakened Being's toy, tormented and then ripped to shreds until nothing but her head was left. However, none of the other warriors, including Roxanne, suffered a single injury during the incident and did not kill it. Cassandra eventually slew the Awakened Being herself, realizing during the fight that Roxanne had let it be in order to have it kill the younger warrior.

At the Organization headquarters, Cassandra used her Dust Eater to try and cut a path towards Roxanne, not bothering to evade any attacks and not caring that she was being cut by her comrades in turn. In time, she lost her right arm, left leg, and an eye, but made it to Roxanne with intent to kill. However, Roxanne stopped her using the Blade of Evil, slamming the hilt of her sword into Cassandra's head. This allowed the other warriors to cut Cassandra to pieces, eventually killing her. She was devastated that she never managed to incur damage on the "murderous" Roxanne.

After Resurrection
Cassandra is among the three No. 1 Claymores revived by Dae in the order of strength, the other two being Hysteria and Roxanne. Her aim was to stop the rampage of the current warriors rebelling against the Organization.

After injuring or possibly killing most of the warriors, she engages in combat with Audrey, Rachel, and Nina. She relies solely on her sword fighting initially, too embarrassed to use her secret technique. As such she is overwhelmed. However, after being wounded by Nina's Shadow Hunter, Cassandra decides to use her technique and cuts off the three single digits' legs.

Despite missing her lower limbs, Audrey tries to attack Cassandra, resulting in the loss of the former's right arm. Angered, Rachel launches herself at Cassandra, losing her remaining leg and both her arms in the process. Audrey's remaining arm is soon cut off, and the Nina's arms follow suit. Cassandra wipes her face to remove the blood and dirt and then prepares to finish off Audrey, only to miss and deliver a shallow strike, much to her confusion. Raftela, from a distance, is using her Sensory Control to make all of Cassandra's attacks miss.

Cassandra eventually stops attacking Audrey, for her memories began to return. She remembered in particular, being cut over and over again, commenting that her entire body is hurting. As this occurred, the various wounds across her body suddenly reopen, covering both her and Audrey in blood. She remembers her life as a warrior and her relationships with the nameless No. 35 and Roxanne. Due to her severe wounds and emotional devastation, she broke though her limit and awakened.

After awakening, Cassandra attacked Roxanne, easily defeating the Claymore and dismembering her. She noted how bad Roxanne tasted after devouring the latter's limbs. Later, Roxanne herself awakens due to the injuries she sustained from Cassandra.

Roxanne
Roxanne and Cassandra were warriors of the same era and naturally knew each other. Roxanne was the one who delivered the final blow to Cassandra. Roxanne befriended Cassandra and she was also the one who gave the latter the nickname "Dust Eater" after secretly watching her fight an Awakened Being. This friendship was severed when Cassandra discovered a true friend's murder at the hands of Roxanne.

Cassandra's Friend
Cassandra's Friend was Claymore No. 35, a warrior of the same era as Cassandra and the sole survivor of a failed Awakened Being hunt. Cassandra saved her, fighting with her "Dust Eater" technique which struck shock in herself and her friend as well. Cassandra eventually developed a close friendship with her, despite the difference between their ranks. The No. 35 died in another failed Awakened Being hunt led by Roxanne, who was No. 2 at the time. She became the Awakened Being's toy and had her limbs torn off. It is mentioned that the Awakened Being kept on playing with her even after her remains had been reduced to her head, though the other members of the hunt didn't even incur a single injury despite the incident. Cassandra later realized that her death had been planned in advance by Roxanne.