Terror came to Saeko in many forms. The realisation that Nik had actually invented a 'fourth form' was absolutely mind-boggling. How could it not be? The breathing technique that is extremely hard to master can have its mew forms invented just like that?

But, unlike Nik's usual playful antics where he would give any sort of the swing of the sword a name in the form of the breathing technique, this time, the effects were convincing enough to be categorised as a— Form.

The fourth form.

But, her heart only shivered when she felt Nik ACTUALLY helping out the demon. Her wounds healed in a matter of moments, inducing a panicked reaction from Saeko's heart only to make her swing her sword at the demon's neck precisely when another blade stopped the attack precisely.

"She has not ingested any drop of human blood. Just like Tanjiro's sister."

Nik's voice broke Saeko out of her thoughts and she immediately looked up.

"Helping a demon during official duty is against the rules."

In response, Nik smiled softly.

"Then it is definitely better than it isn't our first time breaking the rules."

Saeko looked up at the flapping crows and grimaced.

"Master Lisa Lisa already knows..."

"I am hoping for it." Nik looked at the pinned demon and finally moved his foot from her waist while leaning downwards and helping her sit up. Seeing this, Saeko immediately panicked once again. Nik was way too close to the demon, it could easily lead to an unforeseen situation.

And as Saeko predicted, the moment Nik's face was extremely close to Yuriko's while helping her sit up, her lips parted. Saeko could easily observe movements from her jaws.

She was attacking but Saeko was too far in comparison to the distance between Nik and Yuriko. His head would be bitten off!

Flick.

A tongue, little and cute, stretched out before flicking against his cheeks. Saeko stood stunned, even Yuriko's expression froze for her tongue literally moved on its own. Not to mention, Nik, whose hand froze around her waist.

...

Nobody spoke until Nik finally helped Yuriko sit up while motioning Saeko to sit beside him while her dazed eyes still observed Yuriko's face, which, by the way, was equally dazed.

"Did she... just lick you?"

Saeko turned her head towards Nik, only to see him smiling brightly at her, confirming her fears.

This demon was dangerous in more than one way!!

"I apologise!"

Yuriko immediately snapped and bowed her head while Nik could only shrug. 

"Please explain the demon's powers—" Nik continued when suddenly, a burst of shrill laughter cut in, attracting the trio's attention.

Hiiiihiiiihiiii

"Found... you... the killer!"

The lady, as witnessed by the group, stood more than a metre away from the trio. There was no life-force signature, Nik confirmed it. But suddenly, all the slain demons twitched before quickly collecting into a lump of meat. All except Yuriko.

This strange scenario brought a great amount of astonishment to the numerically eyed, pale-skinned girl as her eyes soon locked with Saeko's with a burning hatred.

"You..."

Her words seemed to rumble as the clump of flesh rolled around her body with disgustingly squelching sound while dragging mud across its surface.

"Murdered..."

'Breath of War God—

First Form: Overdrive!'

Nik wasn't going to let the lady complete her monologue and prepared her attack. She was obviously different, and even Saeko spun into action.

'Breath of Steel—

Second Form: Pierce!'

Nik's Hamon energy manifested akin to an incarnation of Destruction while covering the entirety of his body while she shot towards the rapidly forming fleshy tendril.

Immediately, two large chunks of flesh tore apart from the clump while Yuriko shouted while retreating rapidly.

"Her flesh and blood detonates! Please retreat at once!!"

'Explosion?'

Nik immediately brandished his wave and a small twister of air immediately covered the ghastly lady, who seemed overly fixated on Saeko as the recently formed fleshy tendril did explode only to get battered against the twister.

'Would have lost an arm...'

Saeko grimaced and didn't take a moment longer to retreat towards Nik. Though she was faster and stronger, due to the sudden arrival, Saeko forgot that only Nik was supposed to handle the lower demon moon.

In this case, the third lower demon moon.

"Nik, she is all yours. Meanwhile, I'll try to understand that situation from the other one."

Nik observed the grotesque scene of the fleshy clumps forming into tendrils with a grimace and nodded.

"By the way, don't attack her. I need something from her..."

Instantly, Saeko sent an indignant glare.

"Don't you already have Shigure and Sis?"

"It's not that and get your head out of such thoughts during the fight." Nik hissed in frustration before slashing apart the incoming flesh and covering himself and Saeko in a twister.

"And, even if I did want some other things from her, there are many others already in the queue."

Nik smiled vaguely, once again awakening the myriad streams of frustration coursing through Saeko's body as she stomped softly before retreating towards Yuriko.

"Not getting away!"

The demon, on the other hand, seemed to have lost herself to insanity— something, Nik was gratified to see— as multiple tendrils shot towards Saeko's direction, Nik finally decided to show a bit of his hand while stomping his foot and raising a thick wall of earth barring the path of the flesh spikes. Meanwhile, a golden colour touched his otherwise steel-like blade as he moved towards the demon's location swiftly.

"My brother... I'll avenge him! Whenever I look at you! I'll avenge him!!"

'Brother? Siblings getting turned into demons?'

Nik questioned inwardly and dodged the remaining few tendrils only to find his blade passing through the girl's neck without any friction.

'Aw...—'

Multiple tendrils immediately slammed into his body, making his back strike against the very earthen wall he created while a trail of blood leaked through his lips in tandem to the painful sensation of his back smashing into a reinforced wall.

'— shit! There is no life-force signature because that phantom is the projection of her fleshy body.

But... this means, she has three demon arts?' 

Nik thought while swallowing a lump as encountering a demon with a single demon art was already astonishing and even till now, there has been not a single demon possessing such a talent, maybe, besides Muzan.

'Revival of the dead and conversion into the demon, exploding flesh and now... mental projection...

This could work.'

Nik licked his bloodied lips with a glint. If his heart did feel some sort of emotion while fighting a woman then it was no longer present for Nik's shallow heart felt incomparably disgusted by the clump of flesh that this demon was.

Once again entering the overdrive state, Nik released his Hamon infused Pheromones and instantly activated [Pheromone Illusion] while controlling all the three abilities that the skill provided.