Chapter 1239: Peak D-grade
Seeing his companion die in seconds did nothing to make the Black Heart Cultist back down, though his expression indicated his fighting spirit was fueled by more than bloodlust or survival. The pugilist seemed aware of Zac having a seal. Possibly even of his Flamebearer status by the almost deranged hunger in his eyes.
His desire was perhaps the most shocking part of the situation, even if it worked in Zac's favor. The spatial cage was gradually crumbling with its creator dead, and the worst thing that could happen was the cultist escaping to target the Yphelion or someone else.
This was the first time Zac had encountered a Peak Hegemon qualified to join the battle over Ultom and the Left Imperial Palace. The situation wasn't like with Tussar. Judging by his aura, the pugilist really was less than a hundred years old. Reaching that far in a century went beyond the natural order. Late D-grade should have been the limit, as evidenced by Kator and the other elites who'd popped up.
Peak D-grade was the final stage and the hardest to cross. It was completely different than simply reaching the limits of Late Hegemony. Peak D-grade meant perfecting your core and setting the stage to assault Monarchy. The demands were exacting and required more refinement and preparation than the other stages combined.
When you had heavy foundations like Zac and the other Eonic Seeds, not a single aspect could be lacking. Picking a shallow path to rush through the grades wouldn't work either. Hegemony was a watershed where each bottleneck would forever stop those with lacking qualifications. If anything, such a cultivator would take longer to reach Peak D-grade since they'd have to stop and rework their foundations every step of the way.
Peak D-grade within a century seemed like something only Heretical Factions willing to break the Law of Balance could accomplish. His enemy must have forcibly raised his grade through rituals similar to the one Boje was forced into. Of course, it must have been through a much superior method. The approaching pugilist showed no hint of the damaged foundations his Alchemist still suffered from.
The Black Heart cultist also had the strength to match. Coming out on the losing end during their initial exchange wasn't fake. The cultist's Daos wasn't superior to Zac's, nor was his attribute pool. However, the added benefits from a monstrous Heart Curse and a Peak D-grade Cosmic Core were enough to create a small disadvantage in a straightforward clash.
The Void would help tip the scales in his favor, though it had lost some of its use. His Void-related abilities were still best used to suddenly create an opening, like how he took out the Spatial Cultivator in one go. Now, the jig was up. The pugilist didn't need to understand what concepts the abilities were based on to be prepared for them.
Thankfully, the Black Heart Cultist's path was restrained by Zac's, further improving the odds of victory. The pugilist's nightmares couldn't display their full power, thanks to [Nine Reincarnations Manual] andthe training he'd undergone to survive the Atavism and the [Epiclesis Bell]. Meanwhile, the cultist's Dao of Death was more of a hindrance than a help when fighting a pureblooded Draugr, especially a descendant of Eoz who was almost immune to curses.