Without wasting time, the shadowy figure made his zombies ignore Efreet and run toward Leon. No matter what happens, he couldn't let him finish that spell. Although combining darkness with any other element was supposed to be impossible given the properties of that kind of magic, Leon managed to do it. The theory behind it was relatively simple. Leon just had created a sphere of darkness that had the same gravitational power as a Black Hole. However, since it wasn't a spell per se, he could control to some extent what he could absorb, and right now, he wanted only to absorb other sources of dark magic.
The more the zombies approached, the bigger the dark-reddish sun became. However, as expected, with Leon's current skills, there was a limit of how much mana he could absorb, so several zombies managed to jump over that small sun. However, they were stopped by a massive wall of earth.
"Thanks, Gnome," Leon said. "But try to consume less mana next time."
"You got it!" Gnome said.
Although Leon could control what that dark sun could absorb, moving it was a bit too much. As expected, he wasn't supposed to learn or use something like that at that moment. However, only something that powerful would be able to kick the ass of the shadowy figure.
Suddenly, the shadowy figure's presence disappeared. Most likely, he was trying to fool Leon. Although it wasn't much, even his Dark Aura was being used as a fuel to increase the size of that dark sun. So, it was only obvious that he couldn't let his own mana be used against himself. It was clear that he was still around, but Leon couldn't pinpoint his location since he couldn't concentrate on anything else but the dark sun at that moment.
Eventually, all the zombies got killed by the dark sun, and the sphere was now as big as Leon. That being said, the cost to keep that active was stupidly high, and Leon didn't even receive a notification that he learned the spell. It needed to become bigger, but all the mana Leon could recover and drain was being used to keep the spell active, which would be difficult.
The shadowy figure was still hidden, waiting for the moment to strike Leon. However, he wouldn't approach unless the dark sun disappears, so he was waiting for Leon to get tired.
"In the end, I won't be able to do that without causing a lot of trouble to her…" Leon sighed.
Just using his own and the shadowy figure's mana wasn't enough, so Leon decided to change the target of his dark magic. He couldn't control that kind of effect if he chooses two targets, so Leon made his spell focus on draining all the mana from the surroundings. Shadow couldn't help him drain mana directly, but Leon still could do that by using Mana Magnetism, but he wasn't the only one.
Suddenly, and at the same time, his dark sun started to grow again. Leon felt a presence behind him. Although Leon couldn't make his sun move, he still could use spells like Transfer, and so he did it. Leon appeared on the other side of the dark sun, and he felt shivers when the sphere began to tremble, but fortunately, it soon became stable again. However, Leon's problems didn't end there… the shadowy figure wouldn't give up that easily.
Since playing that game of rat and cat was useless, the shadowy figure decided to attack the dark sun. That would be dangerous and could very well kill both of them, but he had a hidden card if something happens. So, he didn't hesitate to fire a Black Hole towards it.
As expected, this time, the dark sun didn't absorb the energy of the spell, and it started to tremble violently, but with the help of Efreet and Shadow, Leon managed to stabilize the sphere again. With that extra amount of mana granted by the shadowy figure, the dark sun finally became five times bigger than Leon.
Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Dark Sun.
Cost: 100000 mana per second
You obtained 01 status points.
Congratulations! The skill Dark Sun has leveled up.
You obtained 01 status points.
Congratulations! The skill Dark Sun has leveled up.
You obtained 01 status points.
Congratulations! The skill Dark Sun has leveled up.
You obtained 01 status points.
…
It was the craziest spell in Leon's arsenal, but due to its cost in mana. It wasn't that easy to use to use. However, once Leon obtained that notification, the strain in his mind and body decrease because the system recognized that spell belonged to him. It was like controlling an arm that was ten times longer and heavier, but now Leon could control the Dark Sun.
Leon smirked, but he had gone too far in absorbing the mana from that dimension. Several cracks started to appear in that place. That was the sign that Ilyana's mana was about to reach the bottom. The shadowy figure didn't lose that chance and used Teleport to move toward those cracks, and soon he disappeared.
"Shit…" Leon bit his lips.
Without much of choice, Leon dissipated that massive amount of energy, and the dimension returned to its normal state. Even that way, Ilyana could recover their energy. She was more terrifying than Leon thought. Soon, Leon appeared outside that dimension, only to find the shadowy figure turning around and facing outer space. Behind him, Leon saw a pale Ilyana.
"The nerve you have to use my mana without my permission," Ilyana glared at Leon.
"Sorry…" Leon said and then faced Darya's corpse lying on the ground.
Leon wouldn't stop until he kills that bastard, and he would chase him soon afterward, but first, he approached his friend and hugged her one last time. He failed yet again in protecting someone dear to him. However, Leon obtained and lost something thanks to it. He finally obtained the courage to do the necessary in order to obtain the power to crush his enemies, and he lost part of his morals… morals wouldn't help him protect anyone.