Truly Hollow

The hollow lay there, his body racking in pain from the Deacon's attack as he awaited his end. The Deacon was too strong of an opponent, there was nothing he could do against him. He once again accepted his defeat, taking it as consequences for his actions. 

His eyes closed, as he reflected on everything that happened so far. The seconds turned to minutes, and the minutes turned to hours. What could he have done differently? Running would have been no use, as they would hound him down eventually. 

He could feel the Deacon standing above him, and knew the final blow was coming soon. As I lay there, something nagged me in the back of my mind. A feeling that I've never felt before. One that I couldn't place. Was I really ok with dying here?

He couldn't lie about being ok with dying again. Deep down, he knew that he was having too much fun, he never wanted to live more than, and he wasn't even human. He couldn't deny that he was a monster, in fact, he loved it. He needed to survive. He needed to evolve.

Then, upon accepting what he was, he knew. He knew everything he could do instinctively. He knew that mana quelled his eternal hunger, and that by consuming souls, he could momentarily gain that person's most powerful spell for a day. Furthermore, he knew that he could absorb the mana in the air and use it to heal and strengthen himself. 

Once he absorbed enough mana, he knew that he would change, to what, he didn't know. He just knew it was possible with new strengths and possibilities. His eyes opened with renewed resolve. 

Noticing that the Deacon is distracted with Jacob who returned, he takes that time and begins searching within himself. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for, as he knew its calming effects, knew what it felt like. Once he remembered its feeling, he begins taking it in from the surroundings, absorbing it through the very planet itself. 

General POV:

The Deacon feels something is wrong and turns, remembering that this foe isn't one that he should be ignoring. He watches as the holes in the body of the demon begin to close. He could feel the mana from the demon, rolling off of it in waves. He raises his weapon and delivers the blow he should have moments before, aiming for the creature's mask.

The hollow, knew with every fiber of its being, that it could not afford to let its mask get hit. To Deacon's surprise, when his mace meets with the knife the demon wields, stops it in its tracks. The force of the mace should have broken the blade of the knife and crashed down on the demon's face. Looking, he notices that mana spreads to through the knife, reinforcing its durability. A technique common among human knights but never demons.

With a strength it definitely didn't exhibit before, throws the mace back towards him, pushing the Deacon back as he stands up. Jacob, even though he can't see the demon, notices the change as well. He could feel the threatening waves coming off of the demon and knew that he might have made a mistake in returning. 

"Jacob, I will deal with you later. Get out of here. NOW!" Deacon Briar growls at him. 

Jacob doesn't bother defying the Deacon, turning around to follow his orders. The demon notices Jacob trying to escape and lets out a chilling smile. It points out its knife as the mana flows from it, sending out chains of dark flames that surround the area, cutting off Jacob's retreat. 

The Deacon stares in horror as he recognizes this as a replica of Phoebe's Divine Imprisonment. Taking advantage of the Deacon's moment of hesitation, the hollow charges forward with a newfound speed. Deacon Briars eyebrows raise in surprise as he blinks, and the hollow is in front of him. 

He barely has enough time to raise the butt-end of his mace to block the hollow's downward slice, almost bringing the Deacon to his knees with the sheer force behind it. With the Deacon struggling to not bend to his attack, the hollow kicks out, hitting the Deacon in the stomach. The kick knocks the wind out of the Deacon and sends him flying back. 

With the Deacon on the ground, gasping for breath, the hollow slowly approaches, much like stalking a prey as he revels in the feeling of beating someone who, just moments before, was doing the same to him. Jacob sees the Deacon in trouble and knows that if he dies, there would be little to stop this demon until reinforcements showed up. 

Holding his cross, he begins to chant, closing his eyes as he focused his mana to perform his most powerful spell. The hollow hearing Jacob's chant remembers its wording. He found the ability to remember through the souls he'd eaten memories. Therefore, Phoebe provided all the spells the church used at her tier. Meaning, he knew that the spell Jacob was chanting couldn't be completed at any cost. 

Jacob desperately tried to rush the chanting, of the spell Divine Countenance, it would provide those in the faith increased stamina, health, and mana recovery for the next five minutes. It would also remove the need to chant any holy spells. It would bring Deacon Briar back into the fight, and he could join alongside him. But the chant for the spell took an ungodly amount of mana and chanting to cast, and when it wears off, all return to the state they were prior to casting it and lowers their recovery for a full day. 

As Jacob reaches the middle point in his chant, he feels a sudden chill in front of him, all his instincts telling him to run. Opening his eyes, he sees nothing before him but a knife. A sudden sharp pain in his chest made him look down, to see the knife sticking out of him, blood oozing down. Panicking, he goes to let out a scream, but instead coughs out blood, as a line forms across his neck, causing him to choke on his blood. It doesn't take long for the light to fade from his eyes as the Deacon cries out in angst.