Because his enemy's subordinates were not creatures formed from dark energy, he had no qualms about sending his own subordinates charging into the Shadow Dimension.
Luke waved his hand, and a wave of dark energy wiped out the enemies who had entered his dimension.
That strike consumed over a thousand points of dark energy. Watching his energy steadily recover, Luke frowned. After wiping out the enemy vanguard, he stopped attacking and let the Shadow Ninjas fight.
The enemy spent some dark energy to more than double the spatial rift's size, but it was still only about ten meters wide. Only a dozen or so hostile creatures could charge through at once, yet with their endless reinforcements, the Shadow Ninjas were steadily pushed back.
Although his individual troops were stronger, the difference had not reached a qualitative level, and the enemy kept them under pressure.
Luke was also wary of the opposing Lord of the Dark Dimension and did not dare attack recklessly, lest his enemy take his head.
"Although creatures formed from dark energy have limitless potential, they slow your growth. Just like now-you have no way to fight back!" the fellow said with a laugh.
Luke watched a ninja come under attack from dozens of enemies at once, turning straight into shadow and disappearing. Frowning, he sent out twenty Blade Soldiers.
The Blade Soldiers appeared, their high agility making them look as though they were flying as they tore apart a mass of enemies in an instant.
Compared to the Shadow Ninjas, the Blade Soldiers' abilities were better suited to combat, especially this kind of slaughter.
Luke could not help feeling pleased as he watched the Blade Soldiers achieve impressive results in such a short time.
Checking his shadow energy, Luke spent 1,500 points of his maximum shadow energy to combine 150 Shadow Ninjas into Blade Soldiers.
He now had fifty Blade Soldiers, but there was no upgrade notification. Presumably, an upgrade was only possible when he had enough Shadow Ninjas.
Luke was a little disappointed, but soon recovered.
He now had 300 Ninja Soldiers and fifty Blade Soldiers. Although their numbers had fallen considerably, each group of six Ninja Soldiers joined one Blade Soldier to form a squad. They held the enemy back through sheer force and even showed signs of pushing them back.
The Shadow Squads steadily wore down the enemy, killing with even greater efficiency and continually eliminating the enemies on the Shadow Dimension's side.
Seeing things take a bad turn, the creature on the other side cloaked himself in dark energy and charged straight over.
A blast of dark energy flew toward Luke. He waved his hand, and a shield of dark energy blocked it.
He clapped his hands, and two dark tides surged toward the enemy from either side. Seeing the danger, the creature swiftly retreated and looked at Luke with a frown.
"You can actually control dark energy completely!"
Even he could only make limited use of dark energy. He could not wield it however he pleased.
Luke looked at him and tried using dark energy to speak.
"You can't?"
Seeing Luke act like this, the fellow thought Luke was mocking him, and anger flared in his heart.
"Hmph, so what if you can control dark energy? With that tiny amount of energy, what can you do?"
Luke watched his energy recover at 220 points per second. During their conversation, he had almost recovered all the thousand-plus energy he had spent on that last move. He could not help feeling puzzled.
What exactly was this guy talking about?
Luke suddenly had a theory: with the system's help, he could truly control dark energy, while his opponent had merely obtained ownership of a Dark Dimension and could use dark energy, but only through certain techniques and rules!
By comparison, it was like a mage needing to control mana and arrange it into runes to achieve his goal, while Luke could simply make the mana produce that effect directly.
So, was this my true power?
Luke looked at his hands as streams of dark energy gathered. Just as he imagined it, he fired a blast of dark energy at his enemy.
The unknown creature shouted, and dark energy surged out of his body, neutralizing the attack.
"I swear, I swear in the name of Andrews that I will unravel your secret."
Andrews roared, and the dark energy inside his body pulsed and spread out in response to his words. As streams of energy flowed together, they strengthened him. With a wave of his hand, the energy gathered into magic circles, turning into attacks of various forms that shot toward Luke.
Luke waved his hand. Space shifted, and he appeared on the other side of the Shadow Dimension, dodging the attack.
Watching the way his opponent resonated with the energy, he seemed to gain some understanding.
"Andrews? All right, then, in my..."
Streams of dark energy gathered before Luke, as though drawn to him.
Luke thought for a moment, then looked at Andrews.
"I am who I am. I am Luke. I am the Shadow Lord! In the name of Luke, I declare you my enemy!"
"Dark energy will no longer welcome you!"
When Luke affirmed his identity and established his designation on another dimensional level, the surrounding dark energy leaped with joy, as though it had found its master.
Meanwhile, Andrews discovered that he was actually having some trouble controlling his own dark energy.
Forcing the dark energy under control, Andrews roared.
"Who do you think you are, laying down a rule like that?"
Andrews's expression grew increasingly grave. In this space, he could do nothing to Luke. Instead, he had allowed Luke to grasp something that could actually affect him!
Could he really be the Dark Lord, the master of dark energy?
Impossible!
Andrews steeled himself. "Fine, you forced me into this!"
A scroll appeared in his hand, and he tore it apart.
"Then behold a god's forbidden spell!"
Streams of strange energy poured from the donation, turning into runes. Chains materialized, forcefully sealing off the space and trapping Luke within.
"The Shadow Lord? Go on, say it again!"
Luke watched the enormous chains form a cage, forcibly expelling the surrounding dark energy and enclosing him inside.
Luke's heart sank when he realized he could no longer contact the Shadow World, but he discovered that he still seemed able to use some dark energy.
Remembering something, Luke opened the system.
Sure enough, the system showed that his connection to the Dark Dimension had been sealed, and a continuous supply of energy was needed to remove the seal. His maximum energy had not changed, but the number before it kept increasing. That was his energy recovering.
So, it wasn't my Dark Dimension supplying me with energy, but me supplying the Dark Dimension? Was the Dark Dimension just a place where I stored dark energy?
He had previously thought the system acted on the Dark Dimension, strengthening him in turn. He had not expected it to act on him and nourish the Dark Dimension instead.
Having figured out which was primary and which was secondary, Luke nodded and looked at Andrews.
"What good does this do? So what if you've stopped me from using the dark energy in my dimension? Do you dare come over and kill me?"
Although he did not know whether his opponent was in the same situation, Luke still played dumb as he waited for his dark energy to recover.
"Hmph, idiot!" Andrews simply stopped using dark energy. Other energy gathered in his hand, gradually forming a spell.
He, Andrews, had not built his career on dark energy. Dark energy was merely a higher-grade power he had obtained later.
Although his dark energy would not obey him, Andrews paid it little mind. He planned to kill Luke first. Perhaps that would remove the rule, and he might even obtain Luke's secret.
As for fighting Luke at close quarters-hmph, he was no fool. His opponent had so many secrets that there was no telling what other tricks he had in reserve. Andrews could not rashly waver.
The spell in his hand was ready, and Andrews hurled the attack at Luke.
A little annoyed that his opponent had not taken the bait, Luke stopped holding back.
Streams of dark energy poured from his body, automatically blocking the attack. It consumed over a hundred points of energy, but Luke paid it no mind. He could recover that little energy in a second.
Supported by dark energy, Luke rose into the air, facing Andrews once again.
The magic around him mainly served to completely sever his connection to the Dark Dimension. Eliminating dark energy was merely a side effect, not an ongoing effect.
The dark energy inside his body kept spilling out. Although Luke was the Dark Lord, his body could not withstand too much dark energy, and he did not want to abandon his body and become darkness like Dormammu.
Luke's body could now withstand 800 points of energy. He had not had a chance to test it before, and had discovered this mechanic when his physical attributes were at four times their original level. Back then, he could only withstand 400 points of energy.
His body held 800 points of energy, while the energy around him kept increasing at a rate of 480 points per second.
"Come on, now it's fair again!" Luke said to Andrews.
Watching the energy constantly spilling out around his opponent's body, Andrews had a bad feeling.
He was only a lucky high-ranking mage who, with no path forward left to him, had discovered a Dark Dimension and become a Dark Lord by chance.
Now he could not use dark energy, and his magic could do nothing to his opponent. That monster could even recover energy himself at an incredibly fast rate. If the fight continued, Andrews was certain to lose!
Better to just flee. At worst, I'd give up the Dark Dimension!
He could also tell the powerful figures in his world about this. Perhaps he could gain something in exchange.
Andrews made his decision, and a magic circle appeared. Ignoring the subordinates being butchered by the Shadow Army, he turned into a streak of light and flew toward the spatial rift.
As long as he reached the Dark Dimension on the other side, he could use that dimension to return to his Material World.
Watching his opponent fly toward the spatial rift, Luke knew he wanted to flee and wanted to stop him. However, flying through the air consumed far more dark energy than moving while attached to other objects in the Material World.
Regardless of his current energy recovery rate, even if he used all the energy he had now, he could only dash in front of his opponent. Without any dark energy left, his opponent might then kill him with a casual attack.
Watching his opponent draw closer and closer to the spatial rift, Luke grew extremely anxious.
The sound of shattering glass suddenly rang out.
"Give me all your energy."
A yellow figure appeared beside Luke.
Before you continue