Creeping Kiku is a Nushi Skill for Emma that ends a short combo with a large chrysanthemum burst, throwing nearby enemies far away from her. It works as a reliable crowd-control tool against small and medium foes, but it stops being useful the moment a large golem-class enemy is alert and standing its ground.
Quick answer: Unlock Creeping Kiku from the Erymathian Memories drop in Chapter 3, equip it as your Nushi Skill, then press R1 → R1 → Square on PlayStation to slash twice and bloom the chrysanthemum. It costs 1 Entanglement Gauge per use.
How to unlock Creeping Kiku
Creeping Kiku is tied to Erymanth and becomes available during the Great Wall Terraces stretch of the game. You earn it by defeating the Nue Malefact in Chapter 3.
The second Chapter 3 encounter with the Level 16 Nue Malefact drops Erymathian Memories. Absorbing that reward unlocks Nushi Skill: Creeping Kiku along with the Kiku: Bloom Strike Bloom Art and Blade Art: Kiku, giving Emma the full Kiku set to spec into on her Skill Tree.
How to trigger Creeping Kiku in combat
R1 → R1. These are the two hits the skill needs before it can bloom.Square to spend 1 Entanglement Gauge and bloom the chrysanthemum. A large purple crystal flower forms in front of Emma and drives foes back.You know it worked when the purple crystal chrysanthemum spawns and the enemies caught in it are pushed away. If nothing blooms, the most common reason is that the two slashes did not connect first, or you have no Entanglement Gauge left to spend.
Creeping Kiku stats and inputs
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Skill type | Nushi Skill: Creeping Kiku |
| Origin | Erymanth (Great Wall Terraces) |
| Input (PlayStation) | R1 → R1 → Square |
| Effect | Blooms a big chrysanthemum after 2 consecutive slashes; drives foes far back |
| Skill Power | 200 |
| Entanglement Gauge cost | 1 |
Where Creeping Kiku works best
The skill shines when you need to reset a crowd. Against groups of basic humanoid enemies, the bloom knocks several targets back at once, buying you space to reposition or heal. It keeps that same knockback across environments, so it stays effective whether you are fighting in open grassland or tighter arenas.
Two extra uses make it more than a panic button. You can aim it to set off explosive red jars from a safe distance, using the blast against enemies without walking into it yourself. You can also grapple straight toward the affected targets right after the bloom, closing the gap to continue pressure or line up your next combo.
- Push back and scatter small and medium enemies in a crowd.
- Detonate explosive red jars from range.
- Grapple toward hit targets immediately after the bloom.
Where Creeping Kiku falls short
Creeping Kiku does not stagger or push back large golem-class enemies while they are alert and actively fighting. Against a giant golem in the middle of combat, the bloom lands but the target simply shrugs it off, so you cannot rely on it to create breathing room the way you can against smaller foes.
The knockback only lands on a big target when that enemy is caught off-guard or already at low health. Outside of those windows, treat Creeping Kiku as a crowd-control option for the smaller and mid-sized threats around a boss rather than a tool against the boss itself.
