Nero the chūnibyō

After closing for the night, Rika and Waki ventured into the abandoned mall. "Really is creepy here," Rika remarked.

"It truly is unnerving walking through this place at night. Remind me WHY we are here!?" Waki glared.

"Cause I wanna scope out how much we can renovate. Maybe we could set up a train that travels through the place. Oh, and you could eat while riding on it. Maybe we could even have different themed seating areas like a rainforest area and a western area-"

"Do we even have funds for that?"

"Er, ask Masaru. He handles all the paperwork."

As the two reached the area where a hotel had once been, Rika immediately went on guard and began to tremble. "We aren't alone," she whispered as someone walked towards them.

The figure was a thin and scruffy man with blonde hair clad in a black military uniform, trench coat, boots, gauntlets, and top hat. He had sharp pointy teeth as well as bags under his eyes and carried a tiny bottle containing an ominous black flame within it.

"Who are you?" Rika demanded.

"Me? I'm Nero," the man responded as he turned and headed back.

"W- Why are you just leaving?"

"I'm saying you're good to sleep here, just don't come near my room and I won't bother you," Nero snickered as he left.

Rika and Waki immediately ran away.

...

"I couldn't sleep," Waki nervously laughed as she and Rika were the first to arrive at the restaurant the next morning.

"Me neither, I've never been so terrified in my life," Rika nervously smiled as she unlocked the door.

"Why do you two look so tired?" Mimi asked as she walked up.

"We went scouting the rest of the mall for renovation ideas, but ran into some creepy hermit squatting here," Rika stated.

"Creepy hermit?"

"Said his name was Nero and-"

"D- Did he have a bottle containing a little black flame!?" Mimi trembled as she went pale.

"Yeah-"

"THAT'S REALLY BAD! Nero's one of the most dangerous assassins ever. Despite his paranoid demeanor and scrawny appearance, he's insanely dangerous! That black flame he carries around in bottles can destroy literally anything, and it apparently hurts like hell if you touch it!" Mimi stated.

"Paranoid?"

"Yeah he-"

"YOU DAMN BIRDS GONNA STOP SHITTING ON ME!?" Nero's voice rang out.

The three turned to see Nero scowling at a giant crow flying over him.

"You nearly shat on me you damn bird!" Nero raged as he chucked his bottled flame at the bird. Upon making contact, the bottle broke, and the bird let out a loud painful squawk as it was engulfed in the black flame that had been contained within the bottle. Not a trace of the bird or bottle remained once the flame vanished. "Ah, it's you two. Sleep nicely? Well in that case, a simple fruit smoothie will satisfy me," Nero mused as pulled another flame bottle out of his coat.

"N- Nero? W- Why are you here!?" Mimi trembled.

"Long time no see Mimi. I hear Murr Mantis is on the prowl, so I figured I'd include this area in my domain. I can easily protect this place and I'm quite territorial you know."

"We aren't open for another 30 minutes though," Rika trembled.

"This cash isn't just for show. Besides, the mantis is on his way here. Wouldn't want patrons to get caught up in the fight," Nero snickered as he flashed a 10,000 yen note.

"So, what exactly do you want?" Rika nervously asked as she unlocked the door.

"How about a tropical fruit smoothie with mangoes, guava, passion fruit, dragon fruit, and peaches," Nero mused as he sat at a table.

"C- Comin right up!"

As soon as Rika returned to the kitchen, her nerves calmed down. "Huh, guess the kitchen really does have calming vibes," she shrugged.

"Anything else we should know about Nero?" Waki asked Mimi as the two entered the kitchen.

"Well, he doesn't like animals very much, also acts crazy and insane. He claims that flame he has is from a guy named Muramasa Jouzu, the dark dragon emperor that's also an '0mnipotent-god', or '0mni-god' as he puts it. And yes, he claims it's spelled with a zero instead of an O and is a more powerful boundless tier of power compared to a mere omnipotent being. As for the flames, he claims the flames can destroy anything, except Muramasa Jouzu himself. As for why that is, he claims Muramasa Jouzu is the flames of destruction himself, thus can't be destroyed. I've never touched those flames myself, but everyone that has ends up releasing the most painful scream their vocal cords can produce!" Mimi stated.

"So, he's a crazed chuuni then?" Rika glared.

"Chuuni? Oh, yeah, guess he could be. Except he really is OP and dangerous! Worst of all, he has no issue fighting allies if they get mind controlled or brain washed. That guy can be crazy sadistic at times. Especially if he's getting in a fight."

Rika then finished blending the smoothie and took it to Nero. "Your smoothie truly is refreshing. No need to worry, you're now under my protection," Nero grinned as he gulped down the smoothie.

"Is it really a good idea to get close with him?" Waki whispered.

"I'd rather be friend than foe. Never have I ever encountered someone so menacing. I'd say he's the most powerful person I've ever come across," Rika trembled.

"You're that scared?"

"I can tell when someone's killed someone else, and that monster's killed tons of people. He may be a chuuni, but he's strong."

"Well, I guess it's better to be friendly with him than not. That guy can destroy us effortlessly with his flame bottle if he chooses," Mimi shuddered.

"Yeah, I could, but I won't. In fact, I'm gonna go kill that mantis right now. I'll be back for another smoothie," Nero grinned as he slammed his cash down and headed for the exit.

Suddenly, Murr Mantis entered with all his weapons drawn. "Right on que," Nero grinned as a sadistic smile spread across his face.

"You here for a bite?" Rika glared.

"Yes, I'm here to take a bite, out of all of YOU!" Murr Mantis manically laughed as he began spinning his hypnotic umbrella around.

"Oh no! He's gonna use his hypnosis!" Mimi cried as she covered Rika's eyes.

Waki, however, got hypnotized. "By the will of Master Murr Mantis, you must be purged," Waki growled in a monotone voice as she threw her poison needles at Nero. However, black flames appeared out of Nero's back and destroyed the needles instantly.

"Hmm, immune to hypnosis? Well, let's see how you struggle when forced to fight a friend!" Murr Mantis laughed as Waki charged at Nero from behind.

"'Psycho switch, ON!" Nero sadistically smiled as Waki suddenly coughed up blood and went flying back into a wall. She let out a loud grunt before slumping down to the floor unconscious. "Relax, she isn't dead. I barely used any power," Nero snickered as he crushed his flame bottle in his hand, engulfing his gauntlet in black fire.

"Impossible!" Those flames destroy everything, so how can you possibly survive them!?" Murr Mantis shouted as he swung his weapons.

"Didn't I tell you years ago, the flames destroy everything except Muramasa Jouzu," Nero sadistically smiled as he effortlessly parried Murr Mantis' weapons and destroyed them with his flames.

"No, but that would mean-"

"Dark Dragon emperor’s canon palm blaster punch!" Nero shouted sadistically as his eyes glowed red, and he punched Murr Mantis in the gut at breakneck speed.

Murr Mantis was engulfed in black flames and screamed as he was sent flying away. He crashed through multiple buildings before the flames incinerated him.

"One, two, three... Three buildings before he was destroyed. Maybe I should have let him fly a bit longer before destroying him with the flames," Nero snickered as he gazed at his path of destruction. Three whole buildings had large holes in them from where Murr Mantis had been punched through. "Relax, it was early so no one was out about in the war path," Nero smirked as he sat back down to get another smoothie.

"Wait, how is your hand OK!? I thought your flames destroyed everything!" Mimi gasped as Rika tended to Waki.

"It destroys everything except Muramasa Jouzu. You know what that means right?" Nero menacingly smirked.

"Y- You're a chuuni?" Rika asked.

"Anyway, how bout I explain why you remember Denmark as Danablu, Mimi."

"He... completely changed the topic."

"So, the reason you remember things differently is because you're originally from a parallel world that I merged with this one. Only the names of the countries were different, but I made sure all your friends just thought the countries changed their names at some point to make things easy."

"Yeah, he's crazy. Though I guess he's also aware that he's from a parallel world. Guess it's possible this chuuni was the one who hit the button that caused the worlds to merge. I wonder if he's gonna say something like, 'I did all this according to my master plan!'" Rika thought as she made another smoothie.

"It is thanks to me that your Danablu card remains after the merger. In fact, I'm the one that made it so that you were transported here to Japan. All so you could become a waitress here, according to my plan," Nero smirked.

"Yep, called it," Rika glared.

"S- So what is your master plan Nero?" Mimi nervously asked.

"Entertainment!" Nero proclaimed as he surrounded himself in black flames before reemerging looking more like a dragon. Now his face was covered in black scales and horns, while his eyes and teeth became grey.

"Nice disguise. It looks really good and scary," Mimi nervously smiled.

"Here's another smoothie. It's on the house for exterminating the bug," Rika nervously smiled as she brought Nero his smoothie.

"Well, I figure watching this place will bring me entertainment," Nero laughed as he chugged the smoothie.

"You know, Nero can be crazy scary, but now that I know what a chuuni is, he seems a little less scary when he's just talking crazy," Mimi chuckled.

"Oh, I can get VERY scary," Nero laughed as he engulfed himself in black flames and returned to normal.

"I'm surprised your flames don't destroy the chairs and tables," Rika nervously chuckled.

"I'm quite skillful at destroying things and controlling my dark flames of destruction. Well, I'll be back for more smoothies... Actually, I think I'll take another one or three now for the road," Nero grinned.

"Coming right up, though no freebies for these ones," Rika nervously smiled.

"No worries," Nero smirked as he slammed some more money on the table.

...

Once Nero left with a carrier full of smoothies, Rika let out a relieved sigh. "Talk about a terrifying customer. But as long as he doesn't cause us harm, no problem in letting him eat here. Maybe I'll call the smoothie I made for him, "Nero's Fruit Smoothie of Destruction" or N.F.S.D. for short," Rika mused.

"Well, he is a dangerous guy, but he can be a somewhat good ally. Plus, he seems a little less scary than he was back then," Mimi nervously chuckled.

"Ugh, what happened? Last thing I remember is that damn bug showing up," Waki groaned as she got up clutching her stomach.

"Er, Nero killed him, and we made a bunch of smoothies for him," Rika nervously smiled.

"Why's my body aching though?"

"Uh, I think he hit you when you were being hypnotized by Murr Mantis. As soon as he flips his 'Psycho switch' he has no qualms beating up his brainwashed allies. Heck, when everyone from my old spy team, but me, got brainwashed once, Nero went full sadist and wouldn't stop beating everyone up until they were bloodied and unconscious. The bastard that brainwashed them was more terrified than me though, probably because he ended up being next on Nero's beatdown list. Bastard ended up getting brutally killed by Nero's 'Dark dragon emperor’s flame fist barrage of death'," Mimi nervously chuckled.

"Yeah, he's definitely a chuuni if he's got named attacks like that," Rika glared.

"Lovely. I think I might need to lie down for a bit," Waki grumbled as she stumbled towards a booth.