In this quiet northern town, where icy winds howled and snowflakes flew, a large group of female warriors appeared. They had golden hair, silver eyes, silver armor and battle skirts, and greatswords strapped to their backs. They were the terrifying "Silver-Eyed Slayers," "witchers," "silver-eyed witches"—or, as people most often called them, "Claymores." Their arrival sent the townsfolk, bundled in bulky fur clothing and wishing they could wrap themselves even tighter in it, into a panic.
After all, any normal adult on this continent knew that whenever those fearsome women—the "Claymores"—showed up, one or more Yoma were sure to be lurking nearby. It was an undeniable, universally acknowledged fact!
And now, a whole crowd of them had gathered in this town. At a rough glance, there were at least twenty or thirty Claymores in the square. How could such a frightening sight not fill the townspeople with shock, dread, terror, and fear?
Just think about it. How many Yoma—or what manner of terrifying monster—would it take to warrant the arrival and gathering of twenty or thirty Claymores?
So even though the Claymores standing motionless in the town square, braving the biting wind and snow, said nothing, the reason for their presence was obvious. Every resident could see what was going on. Before long, an ominous air and boundless fear began to spread through the townspeople's hearts.
This was the northernmost frontier: the town of Pieta, and also the destination of Clare's mission.
A closer look would have revealed Clare among the crowd of Claymores. Besides her little sidekick, Jane, ranked ninth, she was also accompanied by the two companions she'd met during a mission to hunt an Awakened Being: Deneve and Helen, the Claymores who had worked alongside her to investigate and bring down the Organization.
For now, though, they weren't