The humanoid Jaguar was over 7 ft (2.13 m) tall, had a lean build, and its eyes held little to no intelligence.
Its forelegs donned four curved, dagger-like claws that gleamed against the various lights.
This was the only animal, other than the bat that had already exploded and Nyx, who had gone away, that still possessed Luke's Quirks.
So, as the mutated beast pounced on Conformity-controlled Nomu, Luke rushed toward the mini Zoo with an urgency.
"Oh, no, you don't…" the Nomu growled.
It could barely hold itself together, Luke could tell as he ran, ignoring Iwao and Kazuho. No matter how the Nomu had escaped, the restraints he had put on it had worked.
Muscles wriggled and flailed on Nomu's back, lashing out at the Jaguar as it dropped, growling over it.
With an agility that defied logic, the mutated beast squirmed between the whip-like muscles, cutting them into tiny chunks.
On the ground, Nomu growled.
It possessed two Quirks — Muscle Ropes and Sonic Shatter.
However, because of the Quirk-restraining drug, the extent to which it could use those Quirks had been reduced many times.
Seeing Luke blurring across the slimy ground, without even worrying about slipping, the Nomu let out a bloody breath, the red glow in its eyes intensifying.
"Traitor…" it growled, its neck twisting backward as the Jaguar came for its head. "You will atone for your Sin…"
Just as the Jaguar's massive arm traced a circular path to hack off the Nomu's arm, it opened its mouth and fired a sonic blast.
Booooooooooom!
Despite the lowered power, the sonic blast sent the Jaguar flying up, and it hit the cave's ceiling, an enormous boom echoing within the cave.
"Keep it occupied!" Luke screamed. "I will get help!"
Iwao didn't know who Dr. Blessed was talking to, but he nodded, nonetheless.
"Kazuho!" he waved at the one-eyed girl, wearing her Vigilante Costume. "Hide!!"
Then, without waiting anymore, and taking huge steps to counter the slippage, Knuckleduster charged toward the Nomu.
He would ask about the matter of the Traitor and other things later.
One thing was sure, meanwhile. Between Dr. Blessed and this raging abomination, he knew who was the greater evil.
Making fists, Knuckleduster stormed in and punched, taking advantage of the Nomu's twisted neck.
With a bang, the entire abomination skidded back a few steps, the limbs formed of muscle strands loosening, making it fall.
Crack!
Nomu's head jerked back at Knuckleduster as he felt the sting in his knuckles, despite them having a brass plate over them.
"I… remember you…" The Nomu said, letting out a bloody smile, dozens of muscle fibers propping its torso up like a spider. "Couldn't protect your wife. Couldn't protect your daughter. Couldn't protect yourself… Even your Quirk was meant for someone else… Oh, how fate plays with us, right?"
Anger, rage, humiliation, and shame bombarded Knuckleduster's heart, making him step back.
"Master!" Kazuho's scream struck him, then, jolting his senses.
"Keep my…" Knuckleduster charged, holding onto the anger within him. "… wife and daughter's names…"
The Nomu lashed out with the muscles that tore apart his skin, but Iwao's charge didn't stop.
"… out of your goddamn…" Taking the stance, putting his back into it, Knuckleduster punched. "… mouth!"
However, the punch didn't land.
Iwao's eyes widened as he saw Nomu's intestine wrapping itself around his wrist just before it could land on its guts.
"… Kekeke!" the Nomu laughed, its toothless mouth grinning ear to ear. "Got you…"
Roarrrrrrr!
Running on all four legs across the cave's vertical wall, the Jaguar came growling and pounced on the target.
Nomu lifted a stunned Knuckleduster and threw him like a ball at the mutated beast.
As the Jaguar and man went rolling down the cave, the Nomu rustled on its muscle spider-like legs and rushed to catch up with Luke.
It was so fast that in only a few moments, it almost caught up with Luke as the mini Zoo was at the far back of the cave.
Suddenly, as one of the Nomu's dangling muscles stretched to grab Luke, someone appeared between them.
Kazuho, with an eye patch on her left eye, stood between the abomination and Luke, shaking, carrying a long rod taken from the lab's debris.
"How dare you?!" the Nomu growled, opening its mouth wide. "Puppet!"
Luke saw his chance.
Once the sonic blast hit the girl, he would get enough time to run to the zoo, getting one more lifeform to assist him. He wanted to catch this Nomu alive.
Now that the Conformity had descended into the Nomu, once he caught it, he could get all the answers he had been looking for.
Yet, for some baffling reason, Luke found himself turning around.
He grabbed Kazuho's waist and jerked her forward, putting his back against the Nomu.
With a boom, the sonic blast hit him and sent them flying, both skidding on the rocky floor, gaining dozens of bruises.
Luke used Clown's agility and sense of balance to stand up as fast as he could.
But, as he saw the Nomu coming at him, he knew the Clown wouldn't be enough against it.
Switching to the Trickmaster Potion, Luke created fog and put up a black curtain in front of him.
"Trickeries won't save you…" Nomu growled.
Grrrrrrrrrrrr...
Nomu spun back fast to counter the mutated Jaguar's charge.
But, to abomination's surprise, there was no one there.
Suddenly, a massive fist replaced its vision, tearing the surrounding fog.
Simultaneously, a ray of blueness hit the muscle strands flailing wildly on its back. Then, the massive Jaguar lunged out of the fog, brandishing its claws.
The Nomu opened its mouth to fire another sonic blast, but Knuckleduster's punch landed on its chin, making it bite its bloody tongue.
ROARRRRRRRRR!!!
Roaring, the Jaguar plunged its dagger-like claws deep into the Nomu's neck and jerked away its arm, beheading the abomination.
As the Nomu's head went flying upward, its massive, mutated body slid down the cave's floor with a thud.
********************
AN: Original Image of the mutated Jaguar is available
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