Stopped heart Expo

As if this unthinkable possibility was nothing. Saikyou, sitting as commentator, applauded Ikki's reply.

「Ah! I see, so that's how it is! Haha, seriously!」

「S-Saikyou-sensei! What does he mean!?」

「Isn't it obvious? Kuro-bou's heart stopped, so he made it beat again. Then he counterattacked and turned the tables. Simple.」

「Wha…!? M-Made his… how can anyone do that!?」

「Ahaha. Well, it's not like I could do it. The heart's not something you move yourself. The heart beats by the action of its sinoatrial node, completely outside conscious control. But Kuro-bou can do this kind of thing, because he's been doing it all this time. The sword style of Twin-Wings Edelweiss moves all the body's muscles in unison, but if not enough blood is supplied to the muscles, those motions can't be used. And normal circulation doesn't do the job. No human body is suited to the swordmanship Twin-Wings uses. Then how can Kuro-bou use it? By forcibly raising metabolism and circulation. If he couldn't pump his blood manually, he could never have stolen and used that style. And since he can pump his own blood, it's not a problem if his heart's natural beating is knocked off-kilter. He can just regulate it himself.」

Saikyou's explanation was right on target. Ikki had indeed taken manual control of his heartbeat the moment it went wrong, and weathered the abnormality long enough for his heart to pick its rhythm back up naturally.

「Which means Ama-chan's wish for his opponent to die just now didn't do any real damage. Ama-chan thought he won and dropped his guard. Closing in on the Crownless Sword King, that was just too careless. And the result is a critical wound.」