Khan's wings carried him skyward, closing the gap between him and Trisha with menacing speed. She swiftly drew both of her gleaming daggers, assuming a determined stance. Behind her, four sinister orbs of darkness coalesced.

Khan slashed but his attack was blocked by Trisha’s orbs of darkness. Trisha tried to counter with a swing of her blades but the Colonel not only blocked the attack but responded with a firm electrified back-hand strike to her face. 

Instantly Trisha was sent hurtling into the unforgiving earth below. With graceful precision, Khan landed gracefully across from her, his taunting words hanging in the charged air. 

“That better not be the best you can do.”

His cocky smile quickly faded, however, as he inexplicably coughed up inky black blood. Khan stared at his blood-stained hands, grappling with shock and bewilderment.

“This is impossible.” he muttered, him mind racing to comprehend when he was infected, no how he was infected. 

"I'm a tenth circle mage; this should be unthinkable. Only old age should erode my vitality."

Khan struggled to reconcile his predicament, even as he sensed a gradual ebbing of his mana levels.

Meanwhile, Trisha, having just recovered from her brutal fall, wiped a trickle of blood from her cheek with a weary hand.

"It seems patience is a virtue," she remarked, her breath ragged, 

"Your immense mana reserves must be keeping you alive."

A sly smirk crept onto Trisha's lips as she adjusted her dagger grip to a reverse hold, adopting a resolute fighting stance.

It had to be known that mages naturally had a protective layer of mana around them that protected them against most poisons, curses and sicknesses. For a tenth circle mage to be infected or cursed was almost unheard of unless it was by a curse or poison of equal standings. 

Khan’s rage began to swell, never in his lifetime did he think as a tenth circle mage he would encounter a tenth circle curse. These were considered some of the hardest to shake off and heal from, he knew that as time progressed his strength would only decline. 

Khan rushed at Trisha in a blaze of rage. He understood that he no longer had the luxury of playing around now. Things had gotten very serious, and over exerting himself would only mean less time later on to find a cure. 

Khan swung his sword at Trisha, but before it could connect, a succession of black orbs intercepted his attack. Though they failed to withstand the full force of his blow, they provided a crucial window for Trisha to defend herself with her daggers.

This pattern continued, Khan relentlessly assaulting Trisha, only for the black orbs to serve as a resilient barrier that chipped away at his offensive momentum. It was evident that the Blackdeath had no intention of overpowering him; her strategy was one of attrition.

Khan begrudgingly acknowledged the brilliance of her plan. While he undoubtedly possessed superior raw power, Trisha's ingenuity had turned the tide in her favor. Even if she had just had a breakthrough, she had not yet assimilated that power and it would normally take mages several months to settle within a new circle. 

The clash went on with Trisha on the defensive while Khan continued to grow weaker and weaker after each onslaught of attack. 

Meanwhile 

In the shadows beneath the rubble, four loyal pups had managed to unearth their owner and drag him away from the tumultuous battlefield. They tenderly licked his face until he regained consciousness.

Alric had injuries all over his body, it would seem being under a falling building was not good for his health. Yet, he sat up leaning against a tree at the opposite end of the darkness domain. 

Using his inhuman vision Alric focused on the fight that was taking place a fair distance away. 

The moment he focused Alric fell into a well of disbelief. Not only was Trisha holding her own against a tenth circle mage but based on the fluctuations in his mana she was actually gaining the upper hand. 

Alric found himself utterly flabbergasted by the situation, aghast at the improbability of it all. "This should be impossible for an eighth circle mage," he muttered, grappling with the unsettling disparity.

Alric’s chain of thoughts were completely broken when he looked closely at his sister. Just sensing what he was sensing threw him deeper into the well of inferiority. 

How long was he out for, a year? No a decade? A breakthrough to the ninth circle wasn’t so common as to happen on a whim. Alric held his head not understanding how the situation came to this. 

Alric's efforts to crawl closer to the fray proved futile, as the surging levels of magic proved overwhelming. Once again he was reduced to a useless spectator. 

Clenching his teeth in self-disgust, Alric leaned upon one of the Kluddes, unable to tear his gaze from the escalating battle.