Grimwood Huster

''Our other name is "Hound Unit" and as the name implies, we are "hounds." We find the prey, pursue them and then let our masters "hunt them."''

Captain Grimmwood Hastur ( グリムウッド＝ハスター大尉 Gurimuuddo Hasuta) was the leader of the Novus Orbis Librarium’s Ninth Squadron, known as the “Hound Unit”. They are deployed to weaken opponents so that following squads may kill them, and claim glory for doing so. He dislikes the Ikaruga Civil War and believed it was all a farce, and had connections to Kokonoe.

Appearance
Grimmwood was a large, muscular man with a tanned complexion, gray eyes, hair, and a large beard. He wore a large NOL coat over a short and simple yukata, and simple trousers. On his left shoulder was a large pauldron, and on his waist, an oversized belt. Grimmwood also wore white vambraces with black fur on one end.

Personality
A true leader to the troops under his command, Grimmwood had no true allegiance to the NOL, and saw the Ikaruga Civil War for what it really was, and not a war over territory. He cared greatly for Karengina, and saved her life twice from danger. He was not afraid to speak his mind, although this did cost him his life.

Biography
The earliest information known about Grimmwood is that he saved Karegina Palsett from a laboratory that forced people to awaken their own Drives, and she would later serve under him as part of his squadron in the NOL.

Spiral Shift
Towards the end of the Ikaruga Civil War, the Ninth Squadron was placed on the front lines. Here, they received a new member - Jin Kisaragi, and the squadron were immediately deployed as part of an emergency deployment. Their mission was to recover a Nox Nyctores that Sector Seven had stolen, but they had arrived at the laboratory two hours late, and were attacked by the corpses inside the facility. After disposing of the necromancer (revealed to be a doll under Relius Clover’s control) that was moving the corpses, the squadron left the facility.

Grimmwood would later tell Jin that Tenjo Amanohokosaka is the Imperator of the NOL, and that he had a plan to prematurely end the war by finding the object that he believes the war revolves around, and then destroy it (the object in question being Kushinada’s Lynchpin). Thanks to Karengina, the Ninth Squadron discovered the hidden entrance to Kushinada’s Lynchpin, and Grimmwood ordered that Karengina and Corporal Honoka stay behind. The unit discovered ancient writings, and Grimmwood believed the enemy they are searching for to be responsible for distributing weapons to the NOL, Sector Seven, and Ikaruga. After being urged to go deeper into the facility by Jin, the squadron were separated from the former.

Inside the area, the Ninth Squadron were ambushed by Meifang Lapislazuli and the Wings of Justice division of the NOL. Three of the squadron’s members were killed, and Grimmwood lost to Meifang’s overwhelming strength. She publicly denounced him as an ally to Kokonoe, and he, in turn, called her a monster. Outraged, Meifang effortlessly decapitated him.

Grimmwood’s death would deeply distress Karengina, and serve as a motivation for Jin to prematurely end the war.

Powers and Techniques
In combat, Grimmwood used a giant axe to fight his opponents, and he was versed in Ars Magus as a captain of a squad in the frontlines. He demonstrated good leadership and military capability, and was aware of both the strengths and weaknesses of those under his command. Despite all his strengths, he was still nowhere near a match for Meifang, who had left their encounter without even so much as a scratch.