The Exalted Mage - Chapter 23: Exalted Form

Finn cursed under his breath as the arrow veered wide. He had waited until they were close—close enough to see all of them clearly. He focused in on one man's mask, and aimed for his head as steadily as he could manage. It still only grazed his arm.

The man’s furious shout rang out behind him.

Finn didn’t wait—he turned and bolted. His shoes pounded across roots and moss, lungs burning, heart thrumming like a drum.

I should have grabbed a crossbow! he thought, sprinting away.

Earlier, he had seen them: masked men slipping from the village, heading into the woods. He had followed them like he always did, shadowing their movements with the pride of Greystone’s “best spy.” This time, though, it wasn’t a game. He knew what day it was.

Before he went, he had stolen the bow and arrow from the barracks when the guards were too busy celebrating the viscount’s arrival. He could only find the one arrow. If he struck true—took out a cultist by himself—maybe people would call him a hero. Would finally recognize him as the greatest hero.

But he hadn’t. And now they knew he was here.

“I just need to make it back to Veronica!” he muttered through panting breath. “Warn her! She’ll know what to do!”

Luckily, it was just a few grownups and a scary-looking demon monster that seemed too bulky to run. Finn was confident in his escaping abilities.

The forest behind him pulsed with light. A roar like an erupting volcano shook the air. Finn flinched; he stumbled and fell, his palms getting scraped by the dirt. He tried to scramble back up, but when he looked over his shoulder—he froze.

The demon’s chest was burning. Through the few trees between them, Finn saw the light. It was hard to miss.

Fire pooled in its throat, molten cracks spilling through its armor-like skin. The blast was meant for him.

Finn’s breath hitched. He tried to get up, his mind kept screaming for him to run.

He’s really far away… there’s no way, right?! he thought. But if he’s going to attack me anyway, then that means…!

His limbs wouldn’t move. He was stuck in his thought. Would it, or would it not reach him?

His thoughts were cut apart as a figure appeared between him and the walking inferno called a demon.

At first, it was only a silhouette, blurred by flame and smoke. But he saw the hair, long and wild, gleaming faintly below the fading sunset.

She raised her hands. A shimmering wall of light and force billowed outward, spanning wide. Wide enough to cover her, but also—him.

The world became fire.

The blast consumed everything. Trees shriveled to cinders, dirt blasted upward, the canopy ripped away as if the sky itself had fallen. Finn hit the ground with his arms over his head, but the searing heat still licked around him.

It felt endless. A furnace swallowing the forest.

And then… silence.

Finn slowly cracked his eyes open.

The forest hadn’t vanished completely—just most of it. Directly ahead of him, the trees still stood, bark unscorched, grass still green. But to his left and right stretched a cone of annihilation.

The blast had carved a path of ruin that fanned outward like a giant’s claw. Entire trees were nothing but charred spires, bark blackened and crumbling. Branches collapsed into cinders with the faintest touch of wind. The ground was stripped bare, reduced to ash and glowing embers that still smoldered where roots had been.

Finn froze. He sat at the very tip of that cone. Had Veronica not stood where she had, had her barrier not bent the flames… he would have been nothing but ash among the trees.

Relief burst through him. He laughed once, breathless, almost giddy. “You… you blocked it,” he whispered. “You actually blocked it! I knew you were strong!”

Excitement surged in his chest. Veronica wasn’t just some traveling mage—she was powerful—powerful enough to stop a demon’s fire. He was sure that bugging her to become her apprentice wasn’t for nothing!

But then he looked again.

Closer.

Her silhouette wavered in the haze.

The barrier was gone now, leaving only her body outlined in the ruin. She still stood, but smoke trailed from her arms. Her shoulders hunched as if every breath weighed more than she could bear.

Finn’s smile faltered. The rush of excitement drained from his face, replaced with a sharp, piercing stab of realization.

She hadn’t emerged unscathed. She had held it all, taken everything head-on.

“...Veronica,” Finn whispered, voice cracking. Was she injured because of him? She got burned because he was being stupid?

He jumped up, the adrenaline making him stumble in the loose dirt. His limbs were shaking, but he tried ignored it. He had to reach Veronica. To say he was sorry, that this was his fault that she got hurt, that he never should have done something so reckless.

“Don’t come closer!”

The shout came sharp through the smoke, sharper than a steel blade. Finn froze mid-step.

Her chin was still dipped, face hidden. One of her sleeves was gone, burnt away at the shoulder. Blackened patches marked her skin where the flames had licked through.

Her chest heaved with each breath, but her stance was unshaken, her arms still raised as if daring the world to try again, as if she’d be ready to bring up another barrier at any time.

Finn’s throat tightened. “Veronica, I—I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“I don’t blame you.” Her voice was steady, if ragged. “You only wanted to help. Right?”

He swallowed hard, tears stinging at his eyes. He nodded, words caught in his throat.

“You remind me of someone,” she continued, softer now, though her gaze never left the demon ahead. “A boy who stayed back to protect his sister. He died for her. That kind of courage—don’t ever discount it.”

“But… but—”

“If you want to be the greatest hero of Greystone,” Veronica cut him off, her voice sharp again, “then save those who can save others. Go back. Warn the town. Tell the Baron and the Viscount that cultists are after Claire. Warn them that the town may also be under attack soon. Tell them what is happening here.”

Her tone left no room for argument.

Finn’s lips trembled, but he forced his mouth shut. His fists clenched at his sides. Then, with a stiff nod, he turned and bolted. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he vanished into the treeline. He threw the bow aside, letting it land into a pile of cinders.

One of the cultists snarled. “Oh no he doesn’t!” He lunged after Finn, intent on following him.

Veronica’s head twitched upward just enough to show one glowing eye through the curtain of her hair. Her arm rose. Light gathered in her palm. Brilliant—merciless.

The cultist never made it another step. His body detonated in a white-hot blast, erased from existence, as a brilliant beam tore through the air, leaving nothing but a missing corpse and half of a cloak with a pair of boots.

The remaining cultists staggered back, fear flashing through their masks. The demon, however, did not flinch. It leaned forward, its molten eyes narrowing. Its voice grated like stone dragged over gravel.

“You… who are you?”

Slowly, Veronica lifted her head. Her hair fell aside, revealing her face—smeared with ash, yet unbroken. Fury sharpened her features, but a faint curve of smugness tugged at her lips.

She was back in familiar territory.

Her eyes blazed, violet light burning from within.

She slowly wiped her arms off, the blackened ash covering her sliding off with ease. Sage’s barrier had done well to protect most of her skin.

“Me?” she said, voice calm, steady, almost demanding reverence. “I’m Veronica. Just a mage passing through.”

[Fatal injury rate has reached over 80%. I am now overriding all safety measures.]

[Mana Rings are now operating at maximum speed.]

[Mana Ring frequencies have been matched.]

[Mana Core capacity has been forcibly expanded.]

[Mana Cores have achieved perfect resonance.]

[You have entered your "Exalted Form.”]

[Please finish the battle within 20 minutes to avoid permanent adverse effects on your mana cores.]

Her Exalted Form.

The reason people once called her the Exalted Mage had nothing to do with being a tenth-tier mage. It was never about raw rank. It was a technique—one only possible for someone with two mana cores.

Years of study had gone into it. Painful years, and very careful ones. Most of them spent alongside Maeve, dissecting her condition piece by piece, searching for something—anything—that could be turned into an advantage.

Maeve had been the one to name it.

The name of the technique still embarrassed Veronica, regardless.

But she couldn’t deny the truth.

It was powerful.

And it was the only good thing that had ever come from Medusa’s curse.

20 minutes, huh? That’s much longer than I thought at just Tier-2.

Veronica exhaled, slow and steadily. She pinched and rubs her fingers together. Ash crumbled off in small flakes.

Her outfit was practically ruined, half of it now clinging loosely to her body. Her left shoulder was completely bare now, the left side of her dress burned away entirely, while most of the right, remained untouched. What fabric remained only served to frame the black strap and curve of her bra, which stood stark against her skin, blending in with the black soot that streaked across her skin. The flames had also carved out a strip into the dress along her side, exposing her midriff that was now also veiled in black ash.

She clicked her tongue. “Tch. I only bought this set a few days ago. And now look at it.” Her eyes flicked down to her body. “That’s the last time I buy expensive, unenchanted clothes.”

She pulled off what used to be the left sleeve of her dress, now only a rag. She slowly ran her hands across her skin, brushing away the soot in long streaks, wiping her shoulders, chest, and stomach as best she could.

Although she had been consumed in the fire, the moment her Exalted Form activated, the initial burst of mana she received, nearly all of it, was converted into excess mana, just to power a form-fitted barrier.

Thanks, Sage.

She wouldn't have died from the fire, but at least this way, she avoided much of the damage; her clothes had too. At least, enough to still be modest. The money she had spent on them however, had practically gone up in flames. She'd need to get a new set again.

One of the cultists found his voice, seeing the nonchalance of Veronica in front of them. “If you think sending that boy off changes anything…” He pointed a trembling hand at her. “You’re delusional. That one strike nearly killed you. You’re too weak to stop us, even if you took care of the assassins we sent. We know your capabilities.”

Veronica chuckled. It was soft at first, then low and dark as she tilted her head, still brushing soot off her collarbones and shoulders.

“You got two things wrong,” she said.

The cultist tensed. “Wrong?”

She raised a finger, as if lecturing a child. “First—you assume what you saw me do against those assassins was the the limit of my power.”

The cultist said nothing, but from his body’s movements, there was clear hesitation.

Her second finger lifted, calm and deliberate. “Second—you think I sent Finn away just to warn the town? That was part of it, sure. Maybe he’ll save some lives if they listen to him. But the real reason…” She paused, her lips curling. Then she flicked her hand upward in a clawing sweep, two white wings flashing ever so briefly.

The air howled.

A whirlwind erupted beneath the two cultists. They were yanked screaming into the air before slamming against the trunks behind them with a crunch that split bark and bone alike. Both crumpled, coughing blood, their masks cracked.

Veronica straightened, ripping one last strip of ruined cloth from her hip. Now, she looked like the war-born apocalyptic mage of the past—a hint of what she’d become again in the future.

Her violet gaze sharpened, fixed squarely on the last towering figure.

“The real reason,” she murmured, almost to herself, “was that I didn’t have to worry about hurting him. I can’t exactly go all out if I have to worry about a nosy kid hanging around.” Light gathered in her palm; spectral wings flared into being, sharp and white.

One wing… two wings… three wings. Her hair lifted, mana and power forming an aura around her body. Her clothes fluttered as the mana within her could no longer be contained.

[Base Form Status]

Current Tier: Tier-2 Mage
Mana: 0/560 MU
Mana Regeneration: 140 MU/hour
-

[Exalted Form Status]

Equivalent Tier: Tier-3 Mage
Mana: 0/560+560 MU
Mana Regeneration: 4.66 MU/second

Her mana cores strained, both her mana rings spinning at nearly ten times their original speed. Her mana room rumbled as the vibrational force rocked her body.

“The worst thing about a Path of Ruin mage… is having to hold back." She flexed her fingers. Her body was straining, but she could make it work. "The kingdom doesn’t like wanton destruction that ruins the environment. That rule really hindered me back then. But now? Honestly, if it’s to kill a demon…”

Her fingers curled, trembling to restrain the overflowing power.

“I’m sure they’ll understand.”