I'm never going to understand this line of thinking. Nimaya stabs the other three, Askin beats him up, "Oh, Askin isn't the strongest"
Indeed, it is too bad that you will never be able to understand despite the detail I've explained it to people in this section.
You're just resorting to textbook cherry picking, really. Why you would use low-ball displays of the characters at their weakest instead of displays of the Schutzstaffel in their strongest forms (you know, the displays that actually matter) is beyond me. Especially when the high-end displays confirm Gerard, Lille, and arguably uryu are far superior to Askin.
Ah, but you'll never understand so don't mind me.
Because his power allowed him to survive an attack that would otherwise have killed him? He was lucky that aspect of his powers was spared because none of the elites had full powers at that point. If they did, Gerard would not have been defeated, and lille would not have been defeated. Pernida might have been but I doubt that too. Just look at how once they got their powers back, the destroyed the RG. Prior to them getting their full powers is not a good indication of their hax and thus their standing.
We're in agreement and let me state again why Askin performing better against Nimaiya than the other three Elites doesn't mean that he's stronger in base or in Vollstandig. Askin watched Nimaiya kill Gerard, Lille, and Pernida and determined the true nature of Sayabuse, something that Lille couldn't do because Lille did not observe Sayabuse as much as Askin did (or he just wasn't as perceptive). Understanding correlates with reacting, as shown in Byakuya vs. Zommari and as stated by Lille himself when he shot the Senjumaru clone. This also means that he was unable to keep track of Sayabuse's slashes until Pernida was killed; therefore, if Nimaiya had not targeted Askin last, Askin would have taken Lille, Gerard, and Pernida's positions.
Even though Askin could react to Sayabuse, he still could not dodged regardless. However, because he's an endurance monster unlike the other Sternritters, he was able to not get one-shotted. Nimaiya thought he was dead, and Askin caught him off guard with the Deathdealing as Nimaiya was setting his sights on Yhwach. After that point, Nimaiya's speed dropped and Askin no longer had to fear him. However, Tenjiro restored Nimaiya to full health and Nimaiya instantly speedblitzed Askin. This shows that Askin was not superior to the other Schutzstaffel at all and he just had the skillset to take down Nimaiya under the right circumstances.
And of course the other problem I have with is that askin is the third strongest character.