If there's anything one can get bored of, death is usually not one of them. However, this is exactly what happened to Brain Unglaus after getting his body ripped apart by the Vermin God for the twentieth time that day.
"Again…" Brain whispered, lying on the snowy landscape of the sixth floor. The vermin god towering over him, with one of his hands held towards him. "That was… two and a half minutes?"
"You. Have. Improved." Cocytus lifted him up effortlessly. "Now. Meditation,"
Yes, meditation, not rest or even sleep. Just meditation.
"Alright, master," Brain sat down and lay his training sword on to his lap. He was about to take a deep breath and close his eyes when he saw a certain little girl walking towards them with a grin on her face.
"Yo! Brain! Cocytus!"
"Lily," Brain turned to Cocytus who simply nodded. He sighed a little and walked up towards the little girl. "How are you? How long has it been?"
"Since I met you? Just a few hours,"
"Right," Brain looked back at Cocytus who shook his head. "Does time move slower here?"
Lily tilted her head to which Brain just sighed a little. "Anyway, what brings you here Lily? Just visiting little old me?"
The girl giggled a little. "No you silly, I just got an order from Lord Ainz," the girl then turned towards Cocytus. "Cocytus, is it okay if I fight Brain for a bit?"
Cocytus slowly nodded and Brain felt like the vermin god is more nervous of this match than he is. Despite he's the one fighting it, not him. "You. May. Test. His. Strength. Lily. Sama."
Lily brandished her machete. "Don't worry, I'm not as strong as big bro or big sis," she said with a grin.
'Yeah, but no one else is…' Brain thought to himself while brandishing his sword. For a split second he was a bit worried of hurting Lily, but then he realized just how stupid that thought is. This little girl is the same one who went face to face with the Great Demon Jaldabaoth and dubbed as the Angel of War by the Guards of E-Rantel. Hurting her is the least of his worries.
The two combatant bowed at each other as Cocytus walked between them.
"A Test. Of. Strength." Cocytus slammed his halberd. "Start!"
Brain has seen true strength before, once when he was a mere bandit, and just now when fighting with Cocytus. Each one teaches him just how utterly weak he is. So it was a breath of fresh air to see Lily lunging at him at a normal speed.
Don't get him wrong, Lily is much, much faster than most foe he's fought. But compared to monsters like Shalltear and Cocytus, her strikes and her movement are closer to that of a human than a god. So when he managed to deflect her strikes and actually fought back, he was sorta proud.
'Lily's a Magic Caster' Brain reminded himself. 'If she uses magic, I'm no match for her'
With this thought in his head, Brain decided to do his best at defeating her. Sure he cannot win if she were to use magic, but he should at least be able to beat her in his own turf. Hell, with a little bit of Martial Arts he should be able to…
"If you use Martial Arts, Imma use magic!"
Nevermind, he's not going to use Martial Arts. As experienced Brain is in Martial Arts and as green Lily seems to look, he is no match for someone who's capable of giving Nabe a run for her money. He decided to do this the old fashioned way and see if he can win.
After delivering blows after blows, Lily suddenly lost her footing. Brain took that moment to hold the sword right at her neck, ending the match.
"Match. Over." Cocytus spoke. "Brain. Is. Victorious."
The girl fell on her back and chuckled a little. "Ahh… I suck at this…" she said. "Ne, Brain, can you teach me Martial Arts? I wanna beat my big bro,"
Teaching her martial arts? He can try, that's the very least he can do. But he's not so sure it's possible.
"It would be my honor, Lily sama,"
"Just call me Lily," the little girl then turned towards Cocytus. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot," she did a little jog towards Cocytus. "Ne, Cocytus, Ainz sama asked if you'd like to bring Brain on the Lizardmen subjugation mission,"
'Lizardmen Subjugation mission?' Brain thought.
"Ah you must be confused, Brain," Lily turned towards him. "You see, Ainz sama is just running his usual godly errands,"
Right Ainz Ooal Gown is a God, he'd better remember that. "What do gods do?"
"Well, once upon a time there were a biig tribe of Lizardmen!" Lily goes on to say something wholly unrelated like always. "And then they start fighting because they can't make food, however," this time she gestured at Cocytus. "Ainz Ooal Gown forces the tribe to befriend each other with Cocytus's help!"
"Ahh…" that does sound like something a god would do on a daily basis. "What would they need me for?"
"I dunno," Lily said.
Brain turned towards Cocytus who simply gazed at him emotionlessly. He then turned back towards Lily. "Lily. Sama. How. Powerful. Is. The. Time. Dilation?"
"A day here is an hour in outside world,"
Cocytus nodded. "Tell. Ainz. Sama. That. Brain. Will. Join. The. Subjugation. Force."
Lily grinned and waved her hand. "Okay! See you later Brain, Cocytus, I'll tell him immediately!"
The girl vanished into thin air, leaving Brain alone with the Vermin God once again. The icy plains somehow turned hot as a sudden pressure came from Cocytus. Brain gulped a little when Cocytus slowly raised his halberd.
"You. Shall. Be. Fighting. Under. The. Name. Ainz. Ooal. Gown," Cocytus spoke. "Defeat. Is. Not. An. Option."
The five seconds delay between death and resurrection was the only semblance of rest Brain had for the next years ahead.