Yup, no doubt blue flames drain Marco, but he didn't lose only because he lost energy though. He's damaged which is why Queen assumed he's dead in the first place.
He's had bruises even before 1006 from his fight with King.
He did damage Marco in the panels I've shown. We see, Marco cleaning blood on his lips after dropping on the knees from King's bullets. We also saw how Marco couldn't reform his wing after losing it to King which implies his attacks are affecting regeneration.
We should if we saw Queen involved with Marco at least once beside the panels where Marco attacked Queen. We, in fact, see Marco fighting King without any trace of Queen around before chapter 1006 so there is little reason for us to give any credit to Queen.
I am not sure if I have the answer you're looking for, but as far as I am concerned, Zoro isn't going to block every single attack in the series without budging just because he stopped Hakai. Overpowering opponents and getting overpowered is rather normal in fights. What I do know is that he's at least better than his peers from the rooftop at blocking stuff, and overpowering Zoro would only mean King is just that strong.
Hakai isn't just your random attack from a top-tier though. It's literally the most powerful attack which took two Yonko to produce; it is definitely in top-3 even if you don't think it's the strongest attack. Among the commanders, Jozu and Marco are like top 1 and 2 in the defense department—their defensive abilities make them YC level in the first place.
Even Marco isn't stopping Hakai, he survives it via regeneration but he's getting swatted like a fly. Jozu's the only one among the commanders who can replicate Zoro's feat and that's because he excels at defense which is the result of the toughest defense in the world coupled with monstrous strength. It is in fact way harder to cut Jozu than it is to cut Kaido.
Therefore, it's not fair to normalize Hakai feat as "not something commanders can't do" when only one of them even comes close to replicating it. It's like saying commanders on average can dodge Snakeman because Katakuri did it.
Zoro isn't beyond YCs because he blocked Hakai breaking 30 bones in the process, defense isn't even Zoro's main forte. The areas where Zoro actually excels are endurance and AP. Basically, his defense is as good as commanders who dominate in defense, his endurance is above the commanders who excel in endurance, and his AP is way above all commanders. Therefore, he's comparable to or is above in 3 areas than YCs who excel in those areas which is the reason why he's beyond YCs.
I was talking in general, but Luffy's the only one I had in mind when I said "stronger than Marco." I don't see why Luffy wouldn't even attempt to do anything to stop Hakai if he's better at defense than Zoro. I agree if you're trying to say Luffy's more durable than Zoro, but that doesn't make him better at blocking.
"What I do know is that he's at least better than his peers from the rooftop at blocking stuff, and overpowering Zoro would only mean King is just that strong.''
if in a contest of brute strength king looks relative to zoro is not stronger as he does this chap and you think zoro was able to block hakai based off brute strength, then I think you do have the answer am looking for . someone with equal or more brute strength should be able to replicate the same feat. are there commanders that can yes
"Even Marco isn't stopping Hakai, he survives it via regeneration but he's getting swatted like a fly."
doubtful
marco doesnt seem to lack that much when it comes to physical strength either
"Basically, his defense is as good as commanders who dominate in defense, his endurance is above the commanders who excel in endurance, and his AP is way above all commanders. Therefore, he's comparable to or is above in 3 areas than YCs who excel in those areas which is the reason why he's beyond YCs."
not really the case is it
his endurance wouldnt be above or comparable to marco's
and his defense isnt as good as or comparable to jozu's who you highlighted was harder to cut than even kaido .
"It's like saying commanders on average can dodge Snakeman because Katakuri did it."
never said commanders on average
I said we have seen two commanders on separate occasions completely block a top tiers attack . knowing that, zoro managing to partially block one from two is not a feat thats otherworldly. its still in the realms of what a commander has displayed, granted 2 of the strongest ones. ap however is a different matter entirely.
this fight is truly a measure if he's above commanders as you claim
if he wins convincingly then he is
atm however a righthand seems to be the level of zoro .