The seed Kid planted earlier had awakened the consciousness of Teresa that had always existed inside Clare. That allowed her to appear in the form of a substitute. Originally, everyone thought she'd act to save Clare, but back then, Teresa didn't make a move.
To her, a dead person had no reason to meddle in the affairs of the living. But now that Clare was in real danger, she had no choice but to act. Holding Clare's greatsword, Teresa once again stood before Priscilla.
Just one glance, and Priscilla's trauma came roaring back. She flinched backward in fear. "Teresa!"
Golden hair fluttered in the wind, golden eyes glowing like the sun. Arched brows, high nose, thin lips, and that ever-calm smile in the face of everything.
"Te. Re. Sa." The shadow that haunted Priscilla had returned.
"It's only been a few days, but you've gotten uglier," Teresa said with a smile, completely unfazed by Priscilla's overwhelming yoma aura and terrifying power. "It's about time we settled this." Her golden pupils gleamed as she raised the sword. "Turn to dust, Priscilla."
"Who's that?" One of the Claymores didn't recognize the senior warrior.
Luckily, NO.6 Miria had seen and heard enough in her time. She replied in a low voice, "She's the smiling Teresa, the former NO.1. She was called the strongest Claymore ever."
While the others were still learning her name, Priscilla was already crumbling under the pressure. Drool dripped from the corner of her mouth as she spoke blankly. "Daddy, you killed Daddy." But the truth was, she had killed her own father, who was possessed by a parasitic cell. Priscilla had rewritten her own memories.
The fight began.
Even though Priscilla seemed mentally unstable, her attacks were razor-sharp. From the very first move, the upper hand was hers.
"Everyone fall back!" This battle could destroy the Holy City entirely.
Priscilla held Teresa back with everything she had, prompting Teresa to remark, "Honestly, to be hated this much kind of feels like being loved."
Still smiling, Teresa dodged the Abyssal One's relentless barrage.
"Te! Re! Sa!" Priscilla roared, launching another full-force assault.
Kid, carrying both Raki and Clare, retreated quickly. "Clare, if you pass out now, your Teresa will disappear. So hang in there."
Clare nodded weakly. Kid carefully continued to treat her, doing his best to stop her from turning into a dragon.
"They're so fast, I can't see a thing!" Jean said in shock.
All the Claymores felt the same. But inside the storm of blows, Teresa saw clearly. "Right here!"
Teresa's yoma sense gave her the edge. No matter how fast Priscilla was, she couldn't match Teresa's response time. With one swing of her sword, Teresa sliced off both of Priscilla's legs.
"We won?!" The Claymores lit up. That monster of an Abyssal One had finally been wounded. Now Teresa could take off her head.
"…" But Isley, the Northern Abyss, wasn't convinced. He knew Priscilla's potential—bottomless. She hadn't lost yet.
Sure enough, the severed stumps of Priscilla's legs began to gush flesh. Moments later, her legs regenerated—stronger than before. And now, Priscilla was even faster.
"?" Teresa was surprised too. "Looks like every time you get hurt, you get stronger." A great talent… if only she weren't a monster now.
They continued.
If Priscilla's potential terrified Isley, Teresa's power made him feel completely outmatched. "Smiling Teresa, the strongest Claymore—she really can fight against an Abyssal One." Isley could feel the blood in his frozen veins stir again. His fighting spirit reignited. He was witnessing the strongest Abyss versus the strongest Claymore.
Slash! Teresa struck again, cutting off Priscilla's arm.
But just like her legs, the severed arm instantly regenerated into something even stronger.
"This just never ends." Priscilla's cheat-like recovery enraged the Claymores. How could an Abyssal One like this exist—getting stronger each time she's wounded?
"Teresa!" Clare shouted in concern. She had just gotten her back—she couldn't lose her again.
Kid stared at the battlefield. 'This substitute form kept Teresa's combat strength, but her full potential is gone. If she doesn't cheat too, it's going to be tough to win.'
Wounds, recovery, enhancement. Priscilla was only getting stronger. Then came her wide-range attack.
Tentacles as dense as a rainstorm swept across the entire Holy City. Boom boom boom boom~
Thankfully, everyone had already retreated and wasn't caught in the blast. But could Teresa dodge an attack this dense?
The dust of the ruins clouded the view. Everyone stared anxiously at the battlefield. Was Teresa still alive? Of course she was. Teresa still wore that same smile. A faint cut had opened on her forehead, with a trickle of blood running down—but in the middle of that dense attack, she had advanced instead of retreating.
And because of the nature of the substitute, any wound on Teresa would appear on Clare too. A cut also opened on Clare's forehead.
At that moment, cold sweat slid down Priscilla's face. Teresa was standing right in front of her. The greatsword was already flying in. Priscilla had no chance to dodge.
Slash slash! Two clean cuts. Priscilla's head split open like a watermelon.
But before anyone could celebrate, they saw Priscilla's hacked-open face twist and reconnect. Her head now looked like a deformed shoehorn, monstrous and grotesque.
She counterattacked. "Daddy!"
Teresa backed off. Priscilla's yoma aura surged again, and Teresa didn't dare take the hit head-on. Any wound on her would also harm Clare. Teresa didn't want Clare to get hurt.
"What the hell?!" Priscilla's yoma aura was still rising. This wasn't normal.
It looked like she was finally unleashing her full power. Kid's eyes widened. He had seen this before—just like when he rescued Ophelia and Luciela. The awakened body had turned into pure energy and was fully absorbed. And this time, the energy was excessive, causing five Priscilla clones to appear.
Each one looked exactly like her. In their hands appeared five massive swords.
"What is going on?" the Claymores asked.
Kid explained, "Priscilla's fully absorbed the power that surpasses even Abyssal Ones. She's now the perfect Abyss. In fact, those five clones are all perfect Abyssal Ones. If one was already a match for Teresa, with five… she's going to lose for sure."
"What do we do?" Clare grabbed Kid's cloak, struggling to stand. "Teresa—"
Then they saw Teresa slowly close her eyes. Surrounded by the five ultra-Abyssal Priscillas, she calmly shut her eyes.
"Priscilla, let's end all your hatred today," Teresa said softly.
With her eyes closed, she was still smiling. Her lips moved gently and released a single sharp word:
"The World!!"