"Get up!" Shouted the old king.

Y/n is on his knees, panting for his life, covered in bruises, and several of his bones are broken. He's bleeding from the eyes, ears, and mouth. Minos never let up for a second, not a minute, nor for the hours they spent here.

Beelzebub was forced to watch as Y/n was repeatedly beaten down time and time again. It was like a repeated stabbing pain in her heart that pierced holes in her very being, again and again and again.

It was evident right from the very start that Minos was so much better than Y/n, right down to the way Minos fought. Even though the old king never fought in his life, he still had more hand to hand experience and raw power than Y/n, who had only used his power to launch mid - to long-range attacks.

But that didn't mean Y/n couldn't try. He launched a blue orb at Minos as a distraction and went around Minos. Using his one good arm, he charged up a one more punch. But he was swiftly blocked and parried by the more experienced Prime soul. Who roughly grabbed Y/n's arm and broke it, snapping it the other way.

Y/n fell to the ground, back right where he started again. On his knees and arms broken. It was like an endless cycle for him. Launch attack, get countered, limb broken, on the ground. The frustration of it all boiled in his heart. He'd never faced such raw power before, even when hanging around Beelzebub for most of his time in hell, Minos is a completely different league. It was just more feul to the fire. A fire that burning brighter and stronger than it ever has before.

"S-shut up." Y/n muttered under his blood covered breath.

Minos took one step forward. Although he had no face, you could still sense the slight annoyance he felt. "What was that?"

The sounds of bones breaking and being forced back into place filled the flesh covered room.

Crack

"I said."

Crick

"Shut."

Snap

"The fuck."

A golden glow radiated off of Y/n's beaten and bruised body.

"Up!"

With speed that warped the space around him, Y/n blitzed his way around Minos. He kicked his back and sent him flying into the wall. Minos quickly pulled himself out, just in time to block a punch, aiming straight for his head. But unlike all the other ones, Minos could feel the killing intent behind the blow.

'Was he holding back this entire time?' Thoughts like this plagued Minos' mind, but the ex-judge never got a chance to dwell on it as Y/n constantly blitzed around to Minos' blind spots. Each hit that came into contact with Minos' body sent intense vibrations throughout his whole body, slowly but surely throwing him off.

'No, he was genuinely struggling. He couldn't use this much power before. His subconscious never allowed it.' This realization came quickly, but it was pushed out of his mind as Y/n kept hitting him.

A kick to his left arm.

A punch to his right.

A sweeping kick to his legs.

Y/n kicked Minos to the roof and dragged him back down to the ground, creating a large crater on the floor. It was at this moment that Minos saw it.

Y/n was a pacifist at heart.

Thorns, covering Y/n's arms. From his elbows to his wrists. They seemed to cut into his body, letting blood flow down onto his hands, staining them red. This told Minos everything he needed to know. That Y/n's very soul was punishing him for letting go like this. But it wasn't something Y/n wanted, but something he needed. His eyes showed only pure rage at Minos, as he unleashed blow after blow at speeds incalculable.

"Finally, you're letting it out. That power you've kept hidden inside you all this time. Now, it's time to harness it."

Minos blasted Y/n away, unleashing his true power.

"BUT YOU'RE STILL WEAK"

The power radiating off the two was now equal, and the real fight can now begin.

Minos charged Y/n, throwing a feint with the left and slamming Y/n with a right hook. But Y/n wasn't fooled. He blocked Minos' attack and countered with a kick to the stomach, which connected. But Minos grabbed Y/n's leg and spun him around. Throwing Y/n back to the wall behind Minos. Nearly without a sound, Y/n removed himself from the wall and moved so fast it seemed like he warped behind Minos Prime. Y/n plunged his hand into Minos Prime's back, following with a swift rip as Y/n took his hand out, sending Minos Prime to the floor.

Pinos swiftly got off the ground and dashed to the celing. Spinning as he fell, he brought his leg to Y/n's shoulder in a devastating guillotine kick. It connects with a deafening

SMASH

Y/n fell once again, but this time, he got right back up and grabbed Minos by the neck. The grip on his neck was like a vice as Y/n dug his fingers into Minos' arm and ripped it off. Minos screamed in pain. But these screams went on deaf ears as Y/n slammed Minos into the ground over and over again.

Y/n was fully submerged in his own rage as he dragged Minos' body through the ground. He ruthlessly beat the old king's body without another thought until he felt a pair of hands wrap around his waist.

"Y/n, you've done enough. Let him go, please. "

Her voice rang through his ears like church bells, snapping him to his senses.

'What am I doing?' Y/n asked himself.

'My body hurts, and my arms are stinging.'

'Are these thorns? and is this.....'

'Is this Minos?'

'My head feels fuzzy. My bones feel like they're about to shatter'

Y/n, let's go of Minos and fell to the ground. His wounds overtake him, and he passes out.

Y/n wakes up, bandages covering his legs and torso. The thorns still covered his forearms, a memento of his rage.

"Well, now, you seem to be doing better. How are you, Y/n?"

Y/n looked up and saw the soul of Minos staring down at him, this time with a concerned aura to him.

"I'm uhh, I'm alright for now.... Minos, what happened?"

The old king sighed, knowing that this question would be the first thing he'd ask.

"You let go. Completely. You spared no regard when attacking, and you pulled no punches. What was witnessed then was your true potential, your full power. But it was raw and unharnessed. Which is why we must leave here."

"Leave? Wait- what happened to your arm!?"

"You ripped it off. It hurt a lot."

"O-oh... I'm sorry."

Minos merely waved him off. "It's alright, I don't blame you. I wanted to see where your true power came from, and I paid the price for it."

Y/n was still conflicted about it, but pushed it to the side for now. Opting to look at the thorns on his forearms.

"Would you mind explaining these?" He said, gesturing to his bloodied forearms. The smell of blood is still fresh on his wrists.

"My only assumption is that it's your pacifist nature punishing you for letting go like that. It signifies your rage and how it can also hurt you."

Y/n was standing up now, stretching as he spoke. "So, where are we heading now? You mentioned we needed to leave, so where are you planning on taking us?"

Minos turned to face Y/n, "Do you remember what I said to you before we fought? Do you remember what I called you?"

Y/n thought about it, then remembered. "That's right, you called me 'Son of the Scorching Sands'. But what does that mean?"

"It means your lineage goes further into hell. Y/n, you are the descendant of King Sisyphus."

Y/n became wide-eyed, "Wait... wait, wait, wait, I'm royalty? How the hell is that even possible?"

"It just is, but now we need to seek out the other Prime soul in hell. Sisyphus Prime"

"Alright, with this raw power, I'm sure he'll have something to help me harness it!"

Minos smiled, (I think), and patted Y/n's shoulder. "That's the spirit! With an attitude like that, you'll be just fine"

Y/n smiled as he thought about the possibility to get stronger. He needs to be stronger, so he can protect.....

'Holy shit Beelzebub's still here'

Y/n turned to Beelzebub, who stood there waiting for Y/n to finish.

".....are you done?" She asked, tentatively.

"Yeah, I'm done" Y/n responded.

Beelzebub wrapped her arms around Y/n, pulling him into a hug.

"You scared me, you know."

Y/n returns the gesture, hugging Beel back just as tight.

"I know, and I'm sorry."

They both stayed like that for a while, just rocking back and forth like they have so many times before.

Then, Y/n remembers something. From all his time reading in the abyss.

"Beelzebub, you have the ability to spread disease, and to an extention, death right?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure why you're bringing this up"

"But you also have the ability to reverse it, but you can't revive someone merely because you lack the raw power to do so"

"Also correct, but again, why is this necessary at the moment?"

"Beelzebub, I have a dead snake that I've been thinking about this entire time. You have the ability, I can give you the raw power."

Beelzebub finally understood why Y/n was bringing this up now.

"That's- that's true, with your raw power and my skill we could potentially bring him back to life. But we need apart of his physical body to channel it through, and unless you have part Luther's corpse on you somewhere I don't think this could be possible-"

Y/n dug into his hand, and ripped out the rotting head of his best cobra companion.

"This would work, right?"

Minos and Beel just watched in a mixture of disgust and surprise.

Minos was surprised and disgusted at the sight. While Beel was only disgusted.

"That's gross, but yes, it'll work. Now, just place your hands over mine. It's important to keep Luther's head in the center to it's easier to channel into."

"Alright, thank you, Beelzebub."

"Of course, darling"

Y/n and Beel channeled their energy, solely focusing on Luther.

A bright light emanated from their hands, and once it dissipated...

Hiss

They opened their palms to find a cobra, curled up in their hands.

Y/n broke down crying, clutching Luther to his chest as tears fell down his face. Beel kneeled down to meet Y/n and pulled him into a hug.

All three of them stayed like that for a few minutes, before separating as Beel wiped Y/n's tears.

"Luther.... you're back."

Luther let out a reassuring hiss, to make sure his best friend knew he was alright.

"I know, I know. I always knew you would be okay. But to have you in my hands again, I never truly thought it possible"

Minos walked up to the trio, bandages on his arm stump.

"I hate to interrupt, but the journey ahead of us is long. We should get going, quickly"

Y/n stood back up, placing Luther on his shoulders.

"Right, let's go."

Y/n, Beel, and Luther, lead by Minos. Walk to the hellevator going down to their next destination.

LAYER 4. GREED