Final Regression of The Legendary Swordmaster Chapter 59

Acheron had already appeared behind Edward.

The movement was silent, instant, and deadly. One moment the space behind Edward was empty, and in the next, it was filled by a towering spectral knight. Acheron’s massive greatsword was already raised high above his head, blue shadows crackling violently along the blade. The indigo aura around his form surged outward in waves, distorting the air as the weapon prepared to fall. There was no hesitation in the strike. A clean execution, driven by overwhelming power.

Then Edward vanished.

The world twisted for a fraction of a second. Space folded inward, and Edward reappeared behind Acheron just as smoothly as he had left. His sword was already in motion, cutting forward with perfect timing.

Their blades met.

Clang!

The sound rang out like a bell struck by a god. A shockwave exploded outward from the point of contact, cracking the stone beneath them and sending loose debris flying in every direction. Blue and purple light collided, tearing through the air in violent spirals.

"As fast as I remembered," Edward thought calmly as he shifted his footing.

Acheron reacted instantly. The spectral knight twisted his body, bringing his greatsword around in a wide arc meant to cleave Edward in half. Edward stepped into the swing instead of away from it, his blade flashing upward at the exact angle needed to deflect the strike.

Clang!

Another impact followed immediately after.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Their swords collided again and again in rapid succession. Each strike carried terrifying force, enough to kill most cultivators instantly, yet neither combatant gave ground. Acheron pressed forward with relentless momentum, his massive frame moving with speed that defied its size. Edward answered every blow with precise counters, his movements efficient and sharp, wasting nothing.

To Valerius, watching from a distance, the fight was already beyond normal comprehension. His eyes strained to follow their motions. Even with his experience, he could only barely track the subtle shifts of posture, the changes in grip, the moments where one blade narrowly missed another. To everyone else still alive within the estate, the scene was something else entirely.

They did not see swords.

They saw light.

Two streaks of power, one indigo and one deep purple, collided again and again, flashing across the battlefield like living lightning. Space itself seemed to react to their movements, bending and snapping as if reality struggled to keep up. Each clash sent ripples through the air, causing what remains of windows to shatter and the ground to tremble.

Edward parried another heavy strike and slid back half a step, his boots scraping against the stone. His expression held a rare hint of excitement.

"We should take this to the next level," Edward said evenly.

Acheron halted mid-motion.

The spectral knight took a single step back and planted his greatsword into the ground. The blue aura around the blade flared violently, then settled. For a brief moment, everything grew unnaturally still.

Then Acheron roared.

It echoed like steel grinding against stone, layered with deep resonance that vibrated through bone and soul alike. His indigo aura exploded outward, forming a massive pillar of light that surged straight into the sky. The pressure intensified instantly, pressing down on the battlefield like an invisible mountain.

The power of an Archmage was fully unleashed.

Valerius felt his breath catch in his chest. Sweat broke out along his skin as the aura washed over him. This was far greater than the Duke’s aura.

That was the result of soul refinement.

Acheron’s strength, now refined by the restrictions of the soul flag, far exceeded what the Duke had once wielded in life. His soul had been stripped of fear, doubt, and hesitation, leaving behind only pure combat instinct and refined power. While he stood at the Early Archmage realm, his output had been sharpened and compressed to such an extent that it approached a half step toward the middle stage of the realm.

Yet his power was not without limits.

As a soul summon, Acheron no longer possessed the full breadth of abilities he had wielded in life. He could not manifest a domain. A domain was an extension of a mage’s will, a declaration of one’s existence imposed upon the world. As a refined soul summon bound by another’s authority, Acheron had no will of his own to impose. The mythical ranked domain spell that had once defined an Archmages dominance was inaccessible.

He also could not summon the Flame Phoenix. That spell had relied on deep mastery of elemental law, on personal comprehension refined through years of cultivation. During the soul refinement process, such mastery had been stripped away, leaving behind raw power without specialized insight.

However, there was a trade-off.

What Acheron lost in complexity, he gained in efficiency.

The refinement inscribed into the soul flag had massively boosted his magical output. His energy flow was smoother, faster, and far more stable than it had ever been in life. He could pour tremendous amounts of mana into simpler techniques without waste. His strikes carried overwhelming force, his movements were unnaturally precise, and his endurance far surpassed that of a living Archmage.

He was a weapon.

And he was perfect at being one.

Acheron lifted his greatsword once more, as the blue aura along the blade surged, coiling tightly around the weapon before sinking into it. The aura around his body condensed, growing darker and heavier, as if the light itself were being pulled inward.

Edward smiled faintly, and they moved at the same time.

SWISH!

The ground shattered beneath their feet as they launched forward. The distance between them vanished in an instant. Their blades collided again, sending another shockwave tearing through the battlefield.

Clang!

This time, the force was greater.

Stone exploded outward in a wide radius. Cracks spread across the earth like spiderwebs, and the remains of ruined buildings collapsed under the pressure. Acheron swung his greatsword in a brutal downward strike, blue shadows tearing through the air behind it. Edward met the blow head-on, his sword vibrating violently as he redirected the force and twisted aside.

Clang! Clang!

Their exchange intensified.

Acheron pressed the attack, each strike heavier than the last. His greatsword moved with frightening speed, leaving afterimages of blue light in its wake. Edward responded with perfect timing, stepping into danger instead of away from it, parrying and countering with surgical precision.

To Valerius, the fight now looked like two storms colliding.

Indigo and purple light flashed and tangled, tearing across the battlefield faster than sound. Only faint outlines of movement could be seen, brief moments where steel met steel before vanishing again. To the surviving knights and maids watching from afar, the world itself seemed to be breaking. The air screamed under the pressure, and the ground buckled with every exchange.

Edward felt a familiar thrill rise within him.

"Just as strong as I recalled," he said calmly as he deflected a heavy strike that would have crushed most opponents outright.

Acheron answered by twisting his blade and driving forward with explosive force. Edward slid backward, boots carving deep grooves into the stone as he absorbed the impact. His muscles tightened, mana surging through his body as he pushed back.

They exchanged dozens of blows in seconds.

Edward leapt upward, bringing his blade down in a sharp arc. Acheron raised his greatsword to block, sparks of blue and purple bursting outward as the weapons clashed. The impact sent both of them flying backward.

They landed several meters apart.

Dust and debris hung in the air between them, slowly settling as the pressure eased. The indigo aura around Acheron flickered, then stabilized. Edward stood calmly, his sword lowered slightly, his breathing steady.

For a moment, neither moved.

Then Edward took a single step back and lowered his blade fully.

"Well done," he said.

With that, the spectral knight straightened, then slowly lowered his greatsword. The blue aura around it faded, and the indigo aura receded back into his form. Without hesitation, Acheron dropped to one knee and bowed deeply, his head lowered in absolute submission.