Final Regression of The Legendary Swordmaster Chapter 56

The Duke’s soul hovered in the air, pale and distorted, bound by invisible runes that rotated slowly around it. It struggled without sound, like something drowning in clear water. Edward had already stripped away most of its resistance during the extraction. What remained was raw soul power, vast and unstable.

Edward stood a short distance away, his expression calm. The battle was over, but the work was not. Killing the Duke had been simple compared to what came next. Turning a soul into a usable summon required the creation of a soul flag.

Unlike his elemental spirit summons, whose essence was safely stored within his sea of consciousness, the same could not be done with the Duke’s soul.

The first reason that’s the case was because of the soul power. The soul cultivation was at the Archmage level, compared to the High Mage level of Edward’s summons. Even refined, it carried a weight that his current cultivation could not safely contain. If he forced it into his sea of consciousness, the backlash alone would shatter his mental defense and leave him crippled.

There was another reason, one more fundamental. This soul was not created by him. It was not an extension of his power. It had once belonged to another living being, one who had cultivated his own path. Such a soul would never integrate willingly. Even if stripped of its memories and ego, its structure remained foreign.

And that was precisely why the creation of a soul flag was essential for storing and controlling soul summons.

In his countless lifetimes, Edward had learned many things. Sword arts, spell structures, laws, battlefield tactics. But one discipline had always stood apart from the rest. Artifact creation. While most mages specialized in one or two paths, Edward had mastered many. There was a saying he had learned long ago.

Being skilled in all professions is the way of kings.

Edward believed that.

A soul flag was not a simple artifact. It was not something forged on impulse or made with crude materials. It was a prison, a command structure, and a weapon all at once. A failed soul flag was worse than useless. It was dangerous.

He raised his hand, and the runes binding the Duke’s soul tightened slightly. The soul shrank, condensing into a more stable form. Edward nodded faintly. It would hold for now.

Valerius stood several steps away, watching everything in silence. He did not interfere. He did not speak. He barely even breathed. What Edward was doing went beyond normal magic. Even among high level mages, soul manipulation was a forbidden art. Watching it so closely made his skin crawl, yet he could not look away.

Recalling his many lives, Edward had created soul flags before, destroyed them before, and used them in wars that had erased entire regions from history. The church of light called it heresy. The White Tower called it the demonic path.

But Soul flags existed for one purpose. To trap souls and make use of them.

A captured soul could be refined and deployed at the wielder’s whim. Some used them for direct combat, unleashing waves of spiritual destruction. Others used them for more subtle purposes. The souls of blood relatives could be used as anchors, allowing the wielder to track down targets across vast distances. In some extreme cases, soul flags were used as execution tools. If a person was attacked using the soul of their parent, and their cultivation was below the Adept Stage, their soul would collapse instantly under the pressure. Death would be immediate.

Edward had seen entire bloodlines erased that way.

He did not dwell on it.

To create a soul flag, he needed materials capable of bearing both magical energy and souls. Ordinary cloth would disintegrate the moment a soul was forced into it. Even high grade enchanted fabric would tear after holding only a few hundred souls.

The cloth had to be special.

The runes mattered just as much. Restrictions had to be inscribed with absolute precision. These restrictions acted as both prison and engine. They confined the souls, stripped them of resistance, and converted their raw soul power into usable force. A single flawed rune could cause the entire flag to collapse.

Edward glanced again at the Duke’s soul. Every powerful soul flag needed a main soul. A general. Something strong enough to dominate the others and act as a core. The Duke would serve that role perfectly for now.

Edward stepped closer to the soul and reached out, branding it with his spiritual sense. The process was slow and deliberate. His will pressed down, imprinting itself layer by layer. The Duke’s soul trembled, then slowly stilled.

Once the branding was complete, Edward withdrew his hand and turned toward Valerius.

"Guard it."

Valerius stiffened. "Me?"

"Yes."

Edward’s gaze was sharp, measuring. "Do not let anyone touch it. Do not let anyone interfere with it. If someone tries to take it, destroy the soul rather than let it fall into another’s hands."

Valerius felt a chill run down his spine. Destroying an Archmage’s soul was no small act. Even refined, the backlash could kill him.

"I understand," Valerius said after a moment. "I will not fail."

Edward nodded once. That was enough.

He turned away and stepped forward. And with a single thought, space folded around him. The world twisted, and he vanished.

Valerius remained where he was, standing guard over the floating soul, feeling the weight of responsibility settle onto his shoulders.

Edward reappeared deep beneath the estate.

The air was damp and thick with the stench of blood and decay. The monster pit stretched out before him, a vast underground chamber carved long ago for breeding monsters. The corpses of goblins lay piled together, their bodies twisted and decaying.

Now in the monster pit, Edward recalled some important informations about soul flags. It was the kind of understanding earned through experience, failure, and walking paths others feared to tread.

To create or repair a soul flag, a mage needed specialized materials capable of holding both magical energy and souls. Ordinary fabric would tear apart the moment a soul was bound to it. The flag cloth had to be made from rare sources, such as the silk of powerful demonic monsters or fragments of celestial fabric, materials strong enough to endure thousands or even millions of trapped souls without degrading. Along with the cloth, runes were essential. These were complex formations carved or drawn onto the surface, each one responsible for maintaining balance, control, and stability within the flag.

The refinement process itself demanded a deep understanding of restrictions and soul manipulation. The first step was drawing the restrictions. Using carefully structured runes, the wielder inscribed layered formations onto the cloth. These restrictions acted as both the prison and the engine of the soul flag, keeping the souls contained while allowing their power to be channeled. Once the structure was complete, soul branding followed. Each captured soul had to be branded with the wielder’s spiritual sense, ensuring obedience and preventing rebellion. Without this step, even a weakened soul could resist or corrupt the artifact from within.

Every powerful soul flag also required a main soul. This was usually the soul of a powerful mage or a high-ranking beast, one capable of commanding lesser souls. The main soul acted as a general, organizing and directing the other souls trapped within the flag. Without such a central figure, the souls would remain disordered, reducing the flag’s effectiveness and making it unstable in prolonged use.

A soul flag was only as powerful as the souls it contained. Souls were collected from fallen enemies or slain beasts, then drawn into the flag through extraction techniques. Once inside, they were further purified, stripped of memories, identity, and ego, until nothing remained but raw spiritual force. As more souls were added, the soul flag would evolve. A flag containing ten thousand souls marked the first true threshold. Beyond that, a billion-soul flag became a weapon capable of devastating entire battlefields. During his peak, Edward wielded a ten billion soul flag.

First step, using a portion of the ancient demonic fragrance he extracted from the Marquis’ demonic spell, he can create a demonic monster corpse from any of the dead goblins. Which would allow him to obtain a suitable material for the cloth of the soul flag.