Chapter 7

Bird of Embers (Part 2) is the seventh chapter of the The Journey of a Dark Elf with Fading Powers manga series, written & illustrated by Daisuke Itabashi. It is apart of Volume 2 and released on MJune 17, 2026.

Plot

The chapter begins with the mountain itself starting to collapse under the Bird of Embers' heat. Watching from above, Lilicena can only murmur for Lady Amira to please be safe down there as molten rocks rain across the wasteland. Amira weaves through the falling debris on foot, wincing that it was damn hot but thanking Lilicena, since her protective magic is sure doing the trick. She closes in on the enormous molten creature and addresses it directly. The Bird of Embers lives up to its name, because the heat hurts just to breathe. Still, she keeps walking straight at it, telling it that it's all right, there's nothing to be afraid of, and she's here to help. The bird panics and unleashes blasts of liquid fire at her. Amira pushes through the barrage, closes the distance, and pins it down with her bare hands, asking if it sees how pointless fighting is now. She tells it to just calm down and let her handle it. It's going to be all right. Trust her. Up close, she finally spots the cause. Something is stuck in the bird's body, no doubt about it, and that must be the problem. She grabs hold of the embedded shaft, apologizes that she doesn't have the time to be gentle, and warns that the pain might have it seeing stars. The onlookers watch the temperature spike as she works, Zorvan shouting that she's going to melt, Lilicena insisting she can do it. With a full throated scream, Amira rips the object free, then bellows at the bird to fly, now. The creature launches skyward in a colossal pillar of light and vanishes into the clouds. Amira huffs that it didn't even leave a word of thanks, then watches it go and makes a quiet request. If she ever sees it again, it had better show her just how vast its skies are. The culprit is revealed as a Cureless Silverpoint, an arrow whose point carries a magic engraving that inflicts an incurable wound. They were used widely during the last great war, and international treaties now prohibit their manufacture. Amira realizes the bird took a stray arrow over a century ago and has put up with it this whole time. She crushes the arrowhead to dust in her fist. Reunited in the air, Lilicena scolds Amira for scaring her half to death, and Amira teases that Lilicena's flame was the hottest of all. Tierlith calls it reckless to dive in knowing full well she'd be burned, though she has to admit elves are quite sturdy. Amira flexes and credits all that strength training she's done. Lilicena flatly says absolutely not. The mood sobers as they survey the damage. The bird leveled an entire mountain, and everything a mountain offers, the plants, the running water, all of it, is gone just like that. That's when Tierlith declares that what comes next is her real job, refusing to resign herself to the loss. She dons her gloves and summons her true implements, a pair of exquisite class staffs named Wishes in her left hand and Emotions in her right, both crafted by the dryad Genèvah. As she unleashes her magic over the dead land, Zorvan explains that the Chancellor specializes in healing sorcery and is quite talented at it, but more than that, she possesses a type of magic rare even among healers. She can apply it to the earth, the wind, and the water. Buds pop from scorched branches, sprouts rise from bare rock, and streams run clear again. Lilicena supplies the rest. Tierlith is what they call a World Healer, one whose miracles soothe and repair the land itself. That is the high grade mage Tierlith, Chancellor of the Kisaro Academy of Sorcery, also known as the Sorcerer of Blessings. Amira shivers with delight, gushing that she hasn't seen magic this amazing in hundreds of years, and for once she's actually glad she's lived this long. Tierlith opens up a little afterward. She was always terrible at offensive magic and got lectured about it constantly when she was young, but healing magic was her one joy in life, and despite it all she kept plumbing its depths, always believing it would be needed in a more peaceful, war free era. Amira tells her that mastering sorcery takes a long, long time, that focusing on one field for so long is amazing, and that seeing what she just did made one thing clear right away. Her magic is beautiful, Chancellor. Tierlith gets flustered, saying if Amira keeps praising her like that she won't have any idea how to react, but she supposes she'll take it as a kind compliment from a leader in her field. Zorvan starts clapping and proclaiming he has always firmly believed the Chancellor is the best there is, and gets told to be silent. The academy students who fought the wildfire arrive to greet the professor, and Lilicena notes they'll need to praise them as well, while Amira figures their next lunch is on her. The students report they found something the group might be interested in, and that it'd be quicker just to show them. The bird left one very nice parting gift. Its extreme heat warmed the ground water, creating an impromptu, limited time, all natural steam bath, and everyone piles in to soak. The chapter ends with Tierlith and Amira relaxing side by side in the steam.

Characters in Order of Appeareance

• Lilicena
• Amira
• Tierlith
• Zorvan
• Genèvah (mentioned)
• Kisaro Academy students