Salem's hologram flickered as the Seer Grimm stopped, The Heavenly Wolf watched Salem carefully. Its eyes followed her hologram's movements. Then Salem spoke, her voice cold and stern.
"I want you to hunt down the other two, stop them at all costs. It is time to show your....friends, what you've become. What you truly were meant to be, now go! Find them and get your revenge." Salem spoke, her gaze then turning to The Hound. "As for you, I have another task in mind for you."
Lupus Caelestis, let out a huff as it obeyed Salem's commands. It prowled through the Grimm wasteland and through the gates, before it vanished. Salem's gaze watched as The Heavenly Wolf used one of its powers.
Meanwhile back with Tenka and Kurumi, Kurumi had stopped dead in her tracks, one hand tightening around the grip of her musket.
The storm over Arubi Island screamed like something alive, rain lashing sideways as if the sky itself wished to flay them. Thunder rolled low and heavy, but beneath it—beneath everything—came the sound that froze Kurumi's blood.
A howl.
Not the cry of any beast that belonged to this world.
Tenka halted beside her, Nahemah's blade humming faintly as if sensing the same truth. The bellowing roar of Lupus Caelestis echoed across the island, warping the air, bending the rain into spiraling arcs. A shiver ran down Kurumi's spine, ancient and instinctive.
Tenka had heard it too. "We may be too late… that sound, it could've—"
Kurumi cut her off, voice hollow, certain. "It is. We lost Mukuro."
For a moment, the storm seemed quieter.
Tenka said nothing. Her fingers clenched tightly, Nahemah lowering at her side. She didn't want to believe it. She couldn't. Mukuro—silent, distant Mukuro—had lived half her life behind locked emotions. To lose what little humanity she had left…
Tohka knew it too.
Tenka scoffed, casting Kurumi a sideways glance before looking away. "How much longer are you going to need me around?"
Kurumi didn't meet her gaze. Wind tore at her dress, strands of her black hair plastering against her pale face as another howl ripped through the heavens. "If you want to run away and swap back to Tohka, be my guest."
That was when the darkness moved.
Across the broken cliffs of Arubi Island, space itself folded inward. Stars bled into the air like open wounds, and from them stepped the thing that Mukuro had become.
Lupus Caelestis.
It stood over two meters tall on digitigrade limbs, midnight-blue fur rippling with constellations that pulsed like distant, dying suns. A skull-like wolf mask hid whatever face remained beneath, crimson eyes burning with a hatred that was no longer human. Its claws—crystalline obsidian laced with ice—scraped against stone, leaving frostbitten scars behind. Draped over its shoulders hung a tattered cosmic mantle, its edges dissolving into motes of stardust that vanished before touching the ground.
Mukuro was gone, and in her place was this....this Grimm. The Heavenly Wolf lifted its head and unleashed another Lunar Howl.
The sound shattered the air. Dust twisted violently, corrupting as black spines erupted from nothingness, ravenous Grimm constructs swarming outward like locusts. Tenka snarled, raising Nahemah just in time to cleave through the first wave.
Kurumi fired, shadows blooming where her bullets struck—but Lupus Caelestis didn't flinch.
Then it vanished from sight, Kurumi glanced around. Her eyes scanning the area, rain stung her eyes and her skin as the wind howled and blew harder and harder.
One moment it stood before them and then it reappeared behind Kurumi. Half-phased through shadow. Its jaws opened, starlight compressing into a blinding core.
Tenka moved without thinking. "Kurumi!"
A beam tore through the cliffside, vaporizing stone and sea alike. Tenka's counterstrike carved through empty air as the wolf warped again, already regenerating scorched fur as starlight poured into its wounds.
From her castle, Salem watched through many Seer Grimm eyes, her pale lips curled into a satisfied smile as Lupus Caelestis obeyed its new purpose. Mukuro's memories—her loneliness, her yearning—had been crushed and reshaped into hunger and obedience.
"Find them, find the resistance." Salem whispered through the void, her orders clear to what she had tasked The Hound to do.
~~~
In Tengu City, beneath the cracked foundations of Raizen High, alarms echoed through the underground shelter. Fluorescent lights flickered as Shido steadied himself, eyes wide.
"What was that?" Yoshino whispered, clutching her puppet. Yoshinon tried to joke, but its voice shook.
Kotori slammed her fist against a console. "That wasn't a Spirit quake."
Nia's pages fluttered wildly, Miku pressed her hands to her ears, and even Origami stiffened as a chill crawled down her spine. Mana tightened her grip on her weapon. Reine's returned moments later, but not with Marigold.
"I made sure Marigold was secured in the room, nothing can break in through the door of the room she's in." Reine spoke, but her gaze flickered towards the lights right as they went out.
From the corridor's end, something crawled into view—wrong, twisted, breathing too slow. The Hound had arrived, it could hear them, smell them. Its ears twitched, its nose twitched.
The shelter reeked of fear. But that's what The Hound had expected, to smell the fear that tore from Shido and the others.
Emergency lights bathed the underground corridors in a sickly red glow as the back up generator kicked in, shadows stretching and warping along the concrete walls as if they were alive. Shido stood at the center of it all, breath unsteady, heart hammering against his ribs. The sound of heavy, deliberate breathing echoed from the far end of the hall—too slow, too deep to be human.
The Hound had not rushed them. It stalked them.
Kotori raised her megaphone instinctively, then stopped. No orders came to her lips. This wasn't a battle to command—it was a nightmare unfolding step by step. Mana shifted into a defensive stance beside Origami, blades humming as they locked eyes on the approaching Grimm. The Hound soon stood up right on its hind legs, its shadow towering over the group. It stood at the height of 8 feet and 7 inches tall, which in retrospect was a towering 2.62 meters, compared to Shido and the others.
Reine felt scared, no. That was the spirit of origin inside her shaking from fear. Mio was shaking. Reine knew she'd give away her position as the phantom spirit. She couldn't just fuse with her past self, not when the other half of Mio was sealed inside Kurumi. It wasn't time...not yet.
"This thing…" Reine murmured, voice barely audible. "It's hunting with intent."
Yoshino whimpered as Yoshinon wrapped its stitched arms around her tighter than ever. "I don't like this…"
The Hound tilted its head, as if listening. It could smell the fear that lingered in the room, then it moved.
Concrete exploded as it lunged forward, claws ripping into the floor. Mana fired first, her shot tearing through the air and shattering against its mask. Origami followed with a barrage of light-based weaponry, forcing it back—but it did not retreat far. The Hound growled, low and distorted, then vanished into the shadows between the lights.
Shido's chest tightened. "It's… playing with us."
~~~
Kurumi staggered back as the air screamed around her. Lupus Caelestis stood atop a broken spire, cosmic mantle fluttering like torn wings, crimson eyes locked onto her with chilling clarity.
There was no recognition.
No hesitation.
Tenka wiped blood from her cheek, teeth bared in a feral grin that barely masked the anger boiling inside her. "Dammit, who would've thought a Spirit infused with a Grimm would be so powerful..."
"Mukuro is the strongest spirit out of the bunch...." Kurumi muttered.
Lupus Caelestis warped forward, claws colliding with Nahemah in a shower of frozen sparks. The impact sent shockwaves through the island, stone cracking beneath Tenka's feet. Kurumi fired relentlessly, shadows clawing at the Grimm-wolf's limbs—but each wound knit itself back together, starlight flooding into its form.
"Mukuro!" Kurumi shouted, voice tearing. "If there's anything left of you—!"
The wolf answered with a howl, its crimson red eyes glowing with malice and murder. Tenka was hit back with a powerful headbutt, blood trickled down Tenka's forehead as the blood dripped onto the ground.
Kurumi had no other choice, she was still weak. But she needed to push herself. "Come to me, Zafk-" She was then cut off as Lupus Caelestis howled once more, the corrupted sound wave tore through the air, birthing the Grimm spines from dust and debris. They swarmed like insects, shrieking as they descended. Kurumi didn't have time to react, or even summon her angel. A stray Grimm spine, struck her left shoulder as her arm went limp, dropping her flintlock pistol. Blood ran down her arm as she winched in pain.
Then Lupus Caelestis vanished once more, only this time, it appeared closer. Closing the gap between it and Kurumi. It's throat growled as its jaws unhinged. It was charging up another attack. Kurumi's eyes widened, but right before The Heavenly Wolf could fire the beam. Tenka rammed her shoulder into Lupus' side, right as the beam was fired. Cutting through the sky, Lupus stumbled, it snarled baring its fangs.
Then, something changed. For a fraction of a second—so brief Kurumi wondered if she imagined it—the stars within Lupus Caelestis' fur flickered. Its crimson eyes dimmed, just a shade, and a sound escaped its throat.
Not a howl. A scream, a pleading whisper. Mukuro Screamed from within, her pleading cries reached out to Kurumi, to Tenka. "H....Help.....me..."
Kurumi's breath hitched in her throat. "Mukuro...."
The hesitation vanished, Mukruo's voice was swallowed by the primal rage of the Grimm, Salem's will surged through the Grimm like a crushing tide. Lupus Caelestis roared, fury redoubling as it warped away, retreating into the storm rather than finishing them.
Kurumi collapsed to her knees onto the wet ground, she felt a mixture of emotions. "Mukuro, she's still....in there..."
Tenka scoffed, she glanced over to Mukuro's key blade, the key blade cracked more, a piece of it chipped off. "That's going to make this a whole lot more troublesome than we thought."
Then, Kurumi's stomach began to knot. Something began to stir within her. Covering her mouth, Kurumi vomited. She wipes her mouth as she glanced up at Tenka. "I think....I think those Grimm spines it fired off were laced with poison..."
Tenka's teeth clenched tighter. "Great! Fuckin great! What else can go wrong?"
All of Tenka's anger and negative energy were drawing Grimm towards them, Kurumi stood up slowly. Her legs shaking as she stumbled backwards. "Tenka....s-switch back to Tohka....you're drawing in Grimm...."
Tenka huffed as she closed her eyes as her appearance reverted back to Tohka. Tohka, opened her eyes as she gasped. She quickly caught Kurumi before she could fall. "The Hound wasn't with Mukuro....my gut is telling me so bad things...."
Kurumi chuckled weakly. ".....You noticed that as well....Mukuro might has just been a distraction...."
Tohka nodded lightly, she glanced around as both of them were surrounded by Grimm. "I have to fight, you're in no shape to fight alongside me. But.....I hope the others can at least fend off The Hound, until then..." Tohka stood up, gently resting Kurumi down. Her grip tightened on Sandalphon, she let out a battle cry and charged head on at the Grimm.
~~~
Back in the shelter, silence fell heavy. Too heavy. Shido felt it, seconds before it even happened. He threw his arm out as if giving an order. "It's in the ceiling!"
The Hound burst through from above, concrete raining down as it landed amidst them. Kaguya and Yuzuru reacted instantly, their synchronized strikes forcing it back as Miku unleashed a sonic wave that shattered the remaining lights.
Darkness swallowed everything. The only light that was shining through was the red blaring lights and the moon light that seeped through the sky from above.
Screams suddenly echoed through the shelter. Shido felt hands grab him, Kotori pulled him back as Origami fired blindly. The Hound moved like smoke, it was silent. It didn't make a sound, only to reappear inches away. It's claws slashing at Reine as she was thrown aside. Her right shoulder hit the wall with a sickening crack of her bone.
The Hound then lunged at Shido, its sharp claws inches away from his face, time seemed to slow down.
Suddenly Ice bloomed across the floor, freezing the Grimm's limbs mid-strike. Yoshino stood trembling, eyes squeezed shut, power surging uncontrollably. "Don't… touch him…"
The Hound tore free with a snarl, but the moment was enough. Mana drove her blade through its shoulder, pinning it briefly as Kotori screamed for retreat. "Run!"
They ran, down the hall. Natsumi making her way to the room Reine had left Marigold at, opening the door, Natsumi turned into her adult form and scooped up Marigold into her arms. Natusmi's breath was heavy as she pants, clinging onto Marigold tightly. "There's been a change of plans kiddo, we're being hunted."
Marigold's breath hitched in her throat at the sudden news, where would they go now? What was hunting them? How would Tohka and Kurumi find them if they change locations? All those thoughts ran through her mind, but that's when she saw it. The Hound was tailing them, it had broken free from Mana's blade. Marigold screamed, her scream alerting everyone.