Ikki Kurogane

"Here, with my greatest weakness, I'll defeat your greatest strength!"

- Ikki Kurogane's catchphrase

Ikki Kurogane is the primary male protagonist of Rakudai Kishi no Eiyuutan. Despite him hailing from a well-respected household that has produced superior Blazers for generations, he was labeled as a failure, even for an F-Rank and born with a useless power becoming known as the Worst One. After leaving home to pursue his dreams, entering Hagun Academy, but he was forced to repeat a year due to the previous staff and the intervention of the Kurogane Household.

After Kurono Shinguuji took the position as the Director and fired all the other staff involved in it, Ikki was promised that if he were to win the 62nd Seven Stars Sword Art Festival, then she would allow him to graduate. In the finals, Ikki became one of the three Desperados of Japan and became the current Seven Stars Sword King. He also participated in the tournament between Vermillion and Cradleland as a part of Team Vermillion.

Appearance
"There was beauty and kindness in your face, yet one could also clearly see strength within that straight-backed, clean-cut figure… and to add on to that, a robust musculature, honed and trained to unblemished perfection, it's just wonderful. You are, without a doubt, my ideal man."

- Sara Bloodlily's explanation of Ikki Ikki is a young man of average height with spiky black hair and gray eyes. He is described as having a lean but well-built toned physique and cute face, which makes him popular with both younger girls and even older ladies. Both his physical features and gentle looks are one of the reasons why Sara wanted him to be her nude model. Ikki also bears a strong resemblance to both his father and older brother.

There have been situations where Ikki has worn several clothes in the series based on the time or event, he is mostly seen dressed in the standard uniform for Hagun Academy.

After dying at the hands of Or-Gaule and being revived by Shizuku using Aoiro Sekai, Ikki returned to the appearance of a ten-year-old and as such has the physical features and abilities of a child.

Personality
Despite his harsh childhood, Ikki has shown to be a strong-willed and noble young man with a caring personality, which has been shown throughout the series as he when he helped others like his classmates improve on all of their abilities with their devices despite everyone prior treating him like a failure. This caused those who met him personally (even for a minute) to question the false rumors Mamoru Akaza spread about Ikki's, having found him to be very kind and polite. This holds true for those struggling to become better on their own, as he understands what a hard road it was. Though Nagi stated this is can also a bad thing since Ikki was too used to being hurt that he wouldn't be able to hear the screams of his own heart, a fact proven before his fight against Kirihara after he had a panic attack and during when Ikki couldn't see through the situation first.

Despite his calming nature, Ikki can lose his temper after witnessing Bishou forcing Stella to strip in front of them to rescue the hostages. He won't even hesitate to maim enemies as he cut off Bishou's arm using Raikou and he was close to wounding Kirihara, but his predicted measurement was off. If the situation called for it, Ikki wouldn't hesitate to kill his enemies as he was forced to kill Iris Ascarid, albeit he did feel bad since she was both a friend and comrade, while understanding that he didn't have a choice.

Ikki is shown to be quite calm in even the most arduous of the situation, as seen when he stayed calm the entire encounter with Kuraudo even brushing off the fact that he was hit with a bottle, trying to avoid the fight even after he was spat on. He can also be cold in battle and doesn't mind enjoying a heated battle with a strong opponent, which is shown several times in the Selection Matches and Seven Stars Sword Art Festival.

When it comes to dealing with women of his age and the whole academy in general Ikki is clumsy because Ikki has no prior experience with them outside of respect towards a superior or as a knight. This is shown when he confronts Stella on that subject. Due to his years of being discriminated against for being an F-Rank, Ikki is not entirely used to his sudden rise in popularity and often doesn't know how to best deal with his many female fans.

Despite situations implying otherwise, he is not very perverted. He usually tries his hardest to show restraint and respect to the woman who acts lecherously around him, such as Stella and Shizuku. He also chose not to have sex with Stella in the log cabin they were staying, even though she suggested it, knowing he needed her family's approval first.

Abilities
Desperado: During the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival Finals, Ikki achieved Brute Soul, becoming a desperado, a being who broke the chains of fate. As such, he can increase his magic from training, a feat no normal Blazer is capable of doing. Ikki also has an "attractive force", which enables him to force upon the fate that he desires; just releasing intimidation, he can cause death if they don't put their focus on him. In his fight with Iris, he influenced the causation of "killing" and could cut through her Orichalcos using Oikage.

Doubling Physical Power: Ikki's ability as a Blazer. He is able to double his physical abilities, but this has been considered useless as others can enhance their physical abilities 5 to 6 times using natural magic thus making it the worst among all Blazer abilities. Ikki was able to use his superhuman body control and willpower to ignore his survival instincts, which resulted in his Ittou Shura and later Ittou Rasetsu.

Immense Strength: Having undergone a rigorous training regimen to make up for his low magic, Ikki attained an exceptional physical condition that granted him an A in Physical Attributes. Most of the time, he applies this to his sword letting him counter most attacks from other stronger Blazers. Since Ikki is able to ignore his body's survival instincts, he can draw out incredible strength, defeating Sirius in arm wrestling with no effort, despite the former's arm being twice that of his.

Immense Speed: Due to constant training, Ikki has remarkable speed and reflexes to match, being able to react to, dodge and counter fast Noble Arts, Blazers, bullets, etc. After stealing Edelweiss' Swordsmanship, his speed and reflexes have been honed to where even the Star of Naniwa couldn't see him despite hearing Ikki move.

Immense Stamina: Ikki has incredible stamina and endurance above that of normal people such as Stella, being able to continue fighting despite his injuries. He could endure Yuuri's Violet Pain sharing her sickness with others, which downed both Selection Candidates and trained Guards without resistance. Ikki can handle his inquiries that lasted for hours through the course of weeks while being fed poisoned food bars without much water, but was still able to make it to his match against Touka and used Ittou Rasetsu.

Master Martial Artist: Ikki has become a master in various martial art styles to make up for his low magic power, his most preferred form being swordsmanship, which he learned through observing famous swordmasters, going against dojos, researching ancient sword styles from libraries and museums. He could defeat five Blazers who were armed with their Devices unarmed and holding back. Ikki is masterful in Ukemi, letting him receive powerful blows from his opponents, then disperse the force using his body unarmed.
 * Trackless Step: He can combine breath control and footwork, letting him slip into his opponent's unconsciousness, making his movements difficult to perceive until it's too late to avoid. Ikki can use this to weave through an entire crowd reading their blindspots undetected, impressing a  trained assassin. He can mix Trackless Step and normal footwork against the Necro Battalion messing up their aim, a feat that Nangou and Nene can perform.
 * Mutou Dori: Among the Yagyuu-ryuu techniques, where he uses his fingers and wrist to catch his opponent's weapon and snatch it from them.
 * Master Swordsmanship: Ikki is an incredible swordsmaster who skill were self-taught, but has allowed him to fight against Blazers who should outclass him under normal circumstances such as Stella. He has earned praise from the God of War and Twin Wings, surpassing even the Samurai Ryouma. Ikki cultivated his skills by learning Edelweiss' Swordsmanship, which he started adapting to match him, letting him fight and defeat the Fourth Ranked KOK Blazer, Iris Ascarid, earning the nickname Sword God.
 * Seven Secret Swords: Ikki's seven original sword techniques.
 * Ten'i Muhou: Ikki learned the ultimate move of the Ayatsuji Ittou-ryuu, in which the user counters the opponent's attack with minimal movements. Ikki used an imperfect version of this move on Kuraudo.
 * Tsunoou: A unison technique between him and Stella, where Ikki runs, then jumps onto Lævateinn; at the same time she swings, he propels forward using Saigeki, focusing their combined strength, yielding greater offensive power than normal. Despite being a perfect union attack, their names are different as Stella named it Harmonic Bullet.
 * Amatsu Raikou: This is an evolved version of the Amatsukaze which combines Raikou, where Ikki launches a continuous barrage of 108 slashes, after reaching the 90th to 108th slashes, it is delivered in one beat akin to lightning roaring in the skies that Iris couldn't counter.
 * Weapon Specialist: Because his martial arts training, Ikki has became skilled in wielding weapons such as kodachi, spears, bow n' arrows to where he could teach those skills to others.

Master Marksman: Ikki has incredible aim, firing off small items such as an erase, bouncing it all the ceiling and wedged it in-between Manabe's Gun Device's hammer and percussion cap to keep it from firing; kicking a lipstick tube knocking a knife from a man's hand; and kicked a small rock into Narukami's scabbard keeping Touka from performing her Raikiri.

High Intellect: Ikki is highly knowledgeable and able to pick up on a lot of details even in the midst of battle. He knows a lot about the inner workings and strong points of the human body, letting him improve Ayase's stance so she can use her feminine build to improve her Ayatsuji Ittou-ryuu. Ikki can also figure out most opponents' fighting styles, abilities, and strengths after fighting against them: figuring out Kuraudo's Marginal Counter, the Trackless Step, and even the rare causation manipulation of Amane. In battle, he tries to outsmart his opponents, which is highlighted as he was able to defeat Iris Ascarid, the 4th Ranked Blazer without being in danger.

Insight: As a result of being neglected over the years, Ikki has mastered the skills to see through his opponent's techniques by observation. He can read his opponent's next move, simply through their muscle movement. Ikki's insight has even allowed him to properly sense how dangerous someone really is on the first meeting, being able to tell that Amane Shinomiya was more dangerous than he appeared, something few others notice.


 * Perfect Vision: Ikki is able to completely see through his opponents through grasping their fighting styles using his incredible insight to grasp their personalities and tendencies. Using this, it is possible for him to figure out their thought process and predict their moves in advance. It's as though Ikki is able to see everything about the person in question.


 * Blade Steal: Derived from Perfect Vision, Ikki is able to use his great insight to analyze and steal his opponent's techniques, then he improves by using his swordsmanship. He is able to grasp most styles or techniques after a minute and seconds to surpass it, it isn't limited to swords styles, but it applies to others. Once he understands the style, he is shown to be able to grasp their deepest secrets, it is possible to even reproduce their advanced techniques as shown when he learned Ten'i Muhou through training with Ayase despite not seeing it before.

Body Supremacy: During his rigorous training, Ikki learned to control his body at will, letting him perform various such such as his sense, turning off his color acuity to augment his motion perception. This also became the basis for his Secret Swords, Ittou Shura, and Ittou Rasetsu. After stealing Edelweiss' Swordsmanship, his body control became sharper to where Ikki could manually make his heart beat. Upon warming up for the finals, his acuity has been strengthened to where he could see the hair strands on Stella's cheeks, feel and count the dust on his skin, understand all his muscle fibers, and feel his blood flow.

Magic Control: Edelweiss praised his precise magic control, which allows him to Ittou Shura, rivaling Shizuku in precision; prior, he has control over mana emission. His training on Edelberg has improved his magic control, letting him mana emission Edelweiss' Testament. He could improve Ittou Rasetsu, focusing its power at the most required parts and pouring the excess power, which would damage him into Intetsu, removing all of the backlash. He can make a thin blade on Intetsu, letting him cut through Soldiers' special fibers and EDY's armor.

Device
Intetsu: Ikki's Device takes form as a raven black katana that has a rectangular tsuba. It is called forth at times whenever using the command: Come Forth, Intetsu.
 * Ittou Shura: Ikki's initial Noble Art. Through amassing all of his bodies' vigor and stamina as well as ignoring his natural survival instincts, he can bring out his full power, then he further magnifies it using his Doubling Physical Powers thus granting him tremendous power for one minute. Having trained with Edelweiss to improve his magic control, he was able to improve his Ittou Shura, but hasn't yet shown to what degree.
 * Ittou Rasetsu: His second Noble Art and an improved version of Ittou Shura, where Ikki shuts down all his five senses and his bodily functions, mustering all his strength for one second instead of one minute boosting his power a hundred-fold, but this can be used for one swing. Ittou Rasetsu puts a heavier burden on him than Ittou Shura forcing him to remain in bed for a week after using it for the first time. Having improved his magic control, Ikki could concentrate the power granted to the parts needed, the excess power was focused on Intetsu removing the severe side effects.
 * Ikkaku: This is a Noble Art, which belonged to Ryouma Kurogane, which Shizuku and Ikki could use when merged together, where the latter freezes the target the moment the tip of the sword touches the target, then the piercing strike would break the frozen target.
 * Kachiwari: This is a Noble Art that has the same principle as "Ikkaku", but it instead freezes and slashes its target.

Trivia

 * His given name (一輝) means "One Gleam". A name that Ikki interprets as the true words his father wanted to say, However, limited you are, may you shine brighter than any other. Despite him knowing about his low magic power from birth.
 * Like the Kurogane Family, his surname means "Black Iron".
 * In the anime, it is called forth by Ikki by using the command phrase: Come to me, Intestsu after striking his left palm with his right fist and pulling out the sword as if it came out of his left hand.
 * Throughout the series, Ikki is most known for his lines, which beings with With my…weakness… I'll… based on the situation before facing a superior opponent. Humorlessly, Ikki was deeply embarrassed when Amane Shinomiya quoted him on this.
 * Ikki does not like sweet foods.
 * Ikki isn't that good with technology, and, as a result, he didn't realize how popular he became after his mock battle with Stella, which was shared all over the Internet.
 * Ikki is often referred to as "Senpai" by his classmates (especially the female ones) since if he wasn't forced to repeat a year, then he would have been a second-year.
 * Befitting his F-Rank, Ikki has shown to have terrible luck, as shown when he had to fight Shizuya Kirihara in the first round of the Selection Battle Arc; the World's Strongest Swordsman, Edelweiss during the attack of Akatsuki Academy; the previous Seven Stars Sword King, Yuudai Moroboshi; and against the former fourth rank, Iris Ascarid who was close to the Top in the World.
 * Kurono had hinted that through the harshest struggles, Ikki has achieved a kind of enlightenment, which has granted him true harmonization of mind, body, and weapon. As such, Ikki is able to cut down enemies faster than his thoughts to form and his body was able to react to his surroundings without conscious will. This lets Ikki fix himself after Nameless Glory had attempted to make him fail.
 * Ikki is the only F-Ranked Desperado in the series.
 * Ikki is the second Desperado to die then come back to life, the first one being Or-Gaule and the third being Tendou Harima.