Esper Harem in the Apocalypse

"How do you know all this?!"

Rudy pointed the gun at Rusher and said, "There are five bullets in the gun right now. If you let me press the trigger once, I will tell you the truth. If you don't, I will tell everyone about your incestuous activity with your sister. What do you think will happen to the Ross Syndicate after everyone finds out about it?"

"You are truly a demon!"

"It's your choice. Would you rather risk your life to discover the truth and save the Ross Syndicate from falling, or be a coward and let everything get destroyed in front of your eyes?"

"Ross Syndicate is now under my daughter. I can't let her future get destroyed like this!" Rusher stood still and looked into Rudy's eyes as he said, "Go ahead and shoot me."

"At least you are not a full piece of shit."

Rudy pulled the trigger and shot Rusher.

SHOT!

However, it turned out to be an empty shot.

PHEW!

Rusher sighed in relief and opened his mouth to ask, "Now, tell me—"

SHOT! SHOT! SHOT! SHOT! SHOT!

Rudy shot five more times and emptied the gun.

Rusher's legs grew weak, and he fell to his knees. He sweated as heavily as his breaths and tried to comprehend the situation.

"Oops." Rudy laned the gun to Rusher and said, "Looks like I missed."

He patted Rusher's shoulder and smiled at him before saying, "Let's get along, brother-in-law. Or should I call you father-in-law?"

After saying that, Rudy walked through the door.

Rusher looked behind him at the wall and saw the bullets were in a pattern of the shape of his head, seemingly barely missing him.

"Did he… really miss it…?" he stuttered while muttering.

He grabbed the gun and rushed after Rudy, only to find him standing outside the room as though he had already predicted that to happen.

"What's wrong, father-in-law? Missing me already?" he scoffed.

"What… do you want from Maria…?"

"Nothing. Not a thing. I want to give her a happy life which you couldn't give her in spite of being the wealthiest syndicate in the underworld."

"I did all that to protect her! Ever since she was a kid, there have been several attempts to assassinate her! Even last week, someone tried to kill her. The same with my daughter. You have no idea how scared I feel all the time.

I can't sleep at night thinking about their safety. My father has lost his mind and barely speaks something that makes sense. My mother is sick. This syndicate is dying. I have so many things I need to take care of!

You would understand if you were in my shoes. You are trying to take advantage of my each and every weakness. You might have won, but what will you do next?"

He asked while scoffing wryly.

'Damn, this just got serious all of a sudden. I thought he was a tough dude, but he just had a breakdown in front of me. Well, I am partly to blame, but I did what I had to do.

If I had not acted how I acted, he would have shot me, although it's not like I would have died.'

"Listen, I don't mean any harm to anyone in your family or in the syndicate. I genuinely want to protect Maria just like you do. I like her, and that's why I want to gamble alongside her.

And I didn't know about the assassination attempt on her. She never talks about herself much, even when we are together. However…"

The guns from the hallways dropped to the floor because of the sudden rumble from Rudy's fury.

"Rest assured, father-in-law. Your syndicate is now under my protection. I will find the ones trying to kill Maria and bring their heads to you," Rudy asserted with a furious look on his face.

"I… will be indebted to you if you do that."

"I have a feeling that I will find them in the gambling tournaments. If not in tonight's matches, then surely in the next ones."

"Can I ask for your name? Who are you, exactly? Are you from another Mafia organization?"

"I took Maria's name. From hereby, I am officially taking the family name Ross. I am Rudy Ross, the benefactor of the Ross syndicate. The guardian who doesn't need guns or weapons. I am Maria's gambling buddy and probably her lover."

Rusher lowered his gaze and asked, "Can I trust you?"

"You don't have to trust me, nor do I need you to trust me. Don't get the wrong idea. I am not doing this for your syndicate or because of your sad story. I don't give a shit about all that.

I am doing this for Maria. She will be sad if something happens to you, your family, or this syndicate. I am doing this because I want to do that. I am doing this for me, to sate my selfishness.

If Maria was from another organization, I would have let you all perish for all I care. And yeah, I don't expect anything in return, but if you want to give me something, then you already know what I want."

"...." Rusher raised his gaze to look at Rudy and asked, "Money…?"

"No, you dumbass! How did you get that wrong after I said it so many times?! I am obviously referring to Maria!"

"Oh…"

"How did you run the syndicate with this small brain of yours?" Rudy sighed in disbelief.

"..."

"Whatever, I will wait for Maria in the living room. The tournament starts at 9, right?"

"Yeah, but the first matches are for the citizens of the underworld. And it will take two to three hours for your match, so you can relax for a while. Maria will accompany you to the tournament ground," Rusher said calmly.

"Obviously.

"Hey, listen… don't tell Maria that I am her… you know…"

Rudy left without answering Rusher's plea and made his way to the living room, where another incident occurred with him.

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This is a bonus chapter for yesterday's Castle gift. Thank you for the support.

More Bonus chapter on reaching the Golden Tickets target-- 500 = 1 extra chapter.