"…They've left the area and are now making their way towards Danre(the town's name placeholder)."
A feminine voice uttered.
"Good…"
The person received a casual reply.
Approximately three kilometers from the location where Seth and others were, a trio stood beneath the shade of trees as they stared further than the eye could see, deep into the forest below.
It could be seen that the three individuals were a female accompanied by two male dressed in black.
The man to the woman's left, thought as he glanced at the woman sideways.
As impressive as always…
This person was Ermita, one of the organization's handlers. Wrapped from head to toe in black bandages, only his yellow eyes could be seen.
Number 3 in the Claymore ranking, Galatea—the God-eye…
A very tall woman, easily the tallest among the Claymores, wearing the standard uniform. Silver eyes, long straight blonde hair, and like the rest—strikingly beautiful.
But what really set her apart wasn't her appearance.
It was her perception.
Galatea possessed an absurd level of yoki sensing—far beyond what any normal Claymore could achieve.
She could read fluctuations in energy across massive distances, pinpoint locations, track movements… even able to distinguish individuals just by their yoki.
To her, it was like seeing.
Which is why she was called the Organization's "eye," tasked with detecting and tracking other claymores over large distances.
With a dignified and graceful demeanor, Galatea ignored her handler—who paid it no mind— and shifted her attention from Seth's group and turned to the other male to her right.
"Rubel, are you familiar with the man accompanying number 47?" She asked, suppressing the faint excitement in her voice.
She had been tasked with helping Rubel locate his asset, Clare.
Since this was part of her duties—and something she had done many times before—she had no difficulty quickly locating Clare. (In canon, Galatea could hardly sense Clare's
Along with her, she sensed the familiar signatures of the other girls she recognized, as well as a peculiar addition.
The male Claymore—or so she believed—was the same presence she had picked up on a few times before.(the emo slashes)
Even with her overwhelming sensory ability, she could barely perceive him, much less gain a reading of his emotional state.
And once she was able to pick up on it somewhat more clearly, she found that it was completely different than their own.
Unlike their own yoki, which in her eyes resembled that of a raging tide smashing against dams that were poorly built while his was akin to a tranquil ocean.
Something that, once she focused on it properly, made her pause without really meaning to.
For someone like Galatea, who avoided using yoki as much as possible because of how it altered her appearance into something she would describe as "going against her idea of beauty"—she found herself, for some reason, inexplicably drawn to it.
Even though she couldn't explain why, it felt as though she were being pulled in, her attention drawn without resistance.
The longer she focused on it, the more that calm, pleasant presence seemed to settle into her, slipping past her defenses and lingering at her core.
Galatea's expression shifted ever so slightly before she shook her head, clearing her thoughts.
If she were being honest, that single presence didn't clash with her idea of beauty—if anything, it fit it surprisingly well.
A little too well…
And if that wasn't enough, she sensed what happened the moment that presence made contact with her fellow colleagues.
By orders of her handler, she was tasked to commit their names and aura to memory.
Miria, Clare, Crystal and Queenie.
Galatea had sensed the changes in each of them.
The very nature of their yoki had been completely flipped—something that should have been unheard of.
Their auras had stabilized, and although not to the same degree as the man's, they were still in far better condition than her own.
All of this had happened after nothing more than meeting him and spending a short amount of time in his presence, which meant the cause was obvious.
It was him.
To Galatea, yoki was something meant to be mastered through sheer will, and she had spent years refining her control over it.
But even if she spent decades training, she knew she would never reach that kind of peace.
At best, she could only hope her dam manages to hold out for as long as possible because it will—like all the others, inevitably break.
And she will lose control of her sense of self, and the monster within her would be set free.
So at this moment, a subtle turbulence began stirring in her heart, though her pride wouldn't allow it to manifest outside.
The only thing in her mind now, was to meet this person.
So she turned to the one person who she thought might have some form of connection to him.
"Rubel… are you familiar with the man accompanying number 47?"
Her face was composed and dignified. Only a graceful smile on her dainty lips.
"Hm? Oh, could you be referring to Seth?"
Rubel, who was quietly waiting beside Galatea for her to finish, turned his head at her, not grasping the reason behind the sudden question.
"Seth…"
Hearing the name of her object of intrigue, Galatea repeated the word in her head, committing it to memory.
"…"
Her unconscious behavior drew gazes as both men watched her take a light breath.
"Yes, Seth… Are you familiar with him?"
"Where did this sudden interest come from? Don't tell me a man has caught your eye?"
Ermita's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
Galatea ignored her handler's remark, waiting for Rubel's answer.
Rubel paused for a moment, Then—
"From what I've gathered, there isn't anything particularly extraordinary about him other than him not harboring any malice towards silver-eyed witches. On the contrary, it seems he's taken a liking to my asset."
He explained casually, carefully selecting his words; adjusting the circular glasses making them reflect the sunlight to hide the going in his eyes.
"Nothing extraordinary, you say…" Ermita muttered under his breath as he sideeyed Rubel.
Who'd believe that line?
Both Galatea and Ermita refused to believe his words, but Rubel doubled down on his statement as he continued.
"Yes… I've taken the liberty of investigating his origins the same day we met. It's confirmed that he poses no threat to the Organization."
In truth, he had found nothing during his search.
Using his secret connections, from the moment he and Seth first made contact, he ran a background check on him.
But everything came up blank.
Whether it was his past or his connections, he found absolutely nothing.
It was almost as if the man hadn't existed before and had only appeared at that exact location.
The only thing keeping his mind at ease was the fact that there was no trace of any connection to the Organization.
That either meant the man was a significant threat—or complete fodder.(sound reason or nah?)
And he found himself leaning toward the latter, given that the Organization was the only entity known to create monsters.
Even so, he hadn't dismissed his suspicions. And now the fact that Galatea had singled him out from the rest suggested there was something about him worth her attention.
(There wasn't anything about whether her ability can sense humans or nah so I'm just going with she can by feeling their aura.)
Now, his suspicions were all but confirmed, and he was certain his fellow handler would report this matter to the head.
That meant he had little time.
Before the Organization could make a move, he would have to act first.
"Hmm…"
Galatea hummed softly.
Nothing special…
She scoffed inwardly.
If they had seen what she saw, those words wouldn't have even left their mouths.
From what they were saying, it was clear they had no real idea who this Seth person was, and that he most likely wasn't affiliated with the Organization at all.
That only made her more interested in meeting him.
"Well then… since we've already located the girl, we should leave. Come, Galatea."
Ermita turned and walked off.
Galatea followed as her handler led her through the forest, leaving Rubel watching their backs.
Countless thoughts ran through his mind, his eyes narrowing slightly as they glinted.
***
A few hours later, as the sun started dipping beyond the mountains.
Seth and crew had found a sweet spot to set up camp at the edge of the forest right outside Danre village.
As Raki sat quietly around the kindled fire as he watched the flames burn, lost in thought.
"…When attacking, it's important to defend simultaneously to not leave yourself open to the opponents counters."
Opposite to him, Seth and Clare stood next to each other swords in hands as Clare continued to give guidance to him.
It's been decided that anytime they are free, they'd use to help each other—with Clare mostly doing the helping as there isn't much else Seth could actually teach her.
Seth on the other hand, could use some training.
With his power constantly rising, if he continued without any control over it, he'd be at a disadvantage against someone of equal or higher strength.
"…Not like that. Like this—no. You're doing it wrong—that's worse than before."
Though, it was going terribly.
Seth shifted his footing again, trying to copy her stance, but it still looked off.
His movements were still too stiff.
Clare only stared at him for a second, then walked over and adjusted his arm.
"No… not like that. Your elbow is too high."
He lowered it.
"Now your wrist is wrong."
He adjusted that too.
"…Now your stance is off again."
Seth paused, glanced down at himself, then back at her.
"I feel like every time I fix one thing, three more things go wrong."
"That's because they are."
"Great."
Clare let out a quiet breath through her nose, stepping back and watching him try again.
She was getting a bit frustrated. This is what she had been experiencing over the last two days and nights of instructing him.
From their previous training sessions, she knew Seth's ability to retain information is astronomically high but whether he is capable of using that information wisely is questionable.
(Cant bother to write anymore)
With that said, they continued on for a few more hours until midnight when they were suddenly interrupted by old man Rubel's presence.
Chapter 30 end.
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Couldn't bother writing anymore so I'm just dropping this here.