Dura 5/Skill 13 Volume 7

As Ikki shifted his guard up, she kneed his defenseless body. A kick from the world's strongest swordsman had impact that could pierce through the torso, and this one sank into Ikki's solar plexus, sending his body flying backwards. As if it had been blown away by a truck, Ikki's body slid outside the ring and crashed into the partition before the audience area. The barrier he struck was uprooted, and together they rolled up the path of stairs between the audience seats, eventually stopping at the top row.

The impact of what looked like a fatal traffic accident left the nearby audience staring blankly at the broken staircase and the carpet-like trail of blood, unable to even scream. The fallen Worst One facing the night sky was… lying immobile...

「Eigh—」

The referee's voice stumbled as Ikki, with a grunt like he was getting out of bed, leaped from the top of the audience seats, past the broken partition, back to the ring.

「W-What!? Contender Kurogane stands on the eighth count as if nothing had happened. He's back in the fight, and with such light movement, as if he wasn't injured despite such a brutal attack!? How can this be!?」

The announcer Iida spoke with confusion and disbelief. In contrast, the commentator Yaotome spoke with understanding.

「Actually, he's more or less undamaged.」

「E-Even though that crash dug a path in concrete!?」

Yaotome nodded.

「Yes, and that's why he's fine. A normal knight would've crashed with fatal damage, but Contender Ikki rolled in such a showy way on purpose, dispersing the energy that normally should've destroyed his body into the floor.」

All the deformation of the barrier and stairway should have affected Ikki's body, but Ikki skillfully shifted his weight to disperse kinetic energy and thus damage into his surroundings.
「Therefore the damage from the attack just now was lower than what it seemed.」

「Is that kind of thing even possible…!」

「In theory, it's closer to a judo breakfall than a sword technique, a basic physical skill that non-Blazers can also use. Of course, avoiding that much damage is exceptionally difficult. Only Contender Ikki, with his supreme excellence in physical ability and martial arts, can do it so effectively.」

And after escaping that damage, Ikki had used the count to gather his breath, recovering for an extra while longer.