Strength 3

Ikki's eyes widened in shock at the sudden anomaly in his body that occurred as he and Ouma were about to cross swords. This was the precise moment that he had concentrated all his energies unto. The moment when he should have parried Ouma's attack, and then gotten within his guard. Yet at this decisive moment—it was as though the connection between his mind and body was suddenly severed. He was conscious. Yet his body would not move.

What… is happening!?

He had no time to be surprised, however. He was the only one who had stopped. Ouma's blade was upon him in a flash.

Shit!

He barely managed to get his guard up before it made contact with his neck.

But he had taken Ouma's earth-splitting physical strength head-on.

"Gaaaah!"

Ikki was blown dozens of meters of away as though hit by a heavy truck, smashing against a stone wall.

"Gah-hak!"

A gout of bloody mist came forth from his mouth—the impact had reached his internal organs, wounding them. The bones in his arms were broken up to the elbows from taking that slash squarely. But, at this moment, both those things were irrelevant to Ikki.