Chapter 18 - The Rogue Reaper

The Rogue ReaperMumbai's Kamathipura district—once the world's darkest alley—transformed overnight. Reaper's Table franchise glowed like a beacon amid crumbling tenements. Lines of former addicts, traffickers, mothers clutching infants snaked around the block. No violence. No overdoses. Just soup steam and soft chatter.Until dawn.Chef Rajesh Patel staggered into the restaurant at 5:43 AM, blood streaming from a gash across his throat. He collapsed across the counter, gasping wetly, clutching a black olive pit in rigid fingers.The lone prep cook screamed. Sophie, crashing upstairs after late-night streaming, bolted down. Elena called Vincenzo while dialing emergency.Leo arrived from the walk-in freezer, apron dusted with flour. He knelt beside Patel, checking pulse—fading. "Who?"Patel's eyes focused through pain. "Y-you... fake. Shadow... real." Gurgled. Gone.The InvestigationVincenzo roared in twenty minutes, flanked by twelve lieutenants. "Reaper! Rogue element! Deniers executed in Delhi, Bangkok—""Not me," Leo cut him off, cleaning blood methodically. "Not my order."Sophie held up her phone: global feeds exploding. "Shadow Killings Begin. Real Reaper Claims Victims." Five chefs dead overnight, all critics of Leo's "soft" reign. Each with carved scythes, olive pits.Elena gripped Leo's arm. "The shadow."Leo nodded grimly. "Acting alone."Confrontation - Reaper's ChamberThe council assembled via holo-screens—Tokyo dawn, Moscow midnight. Faces pale.Don Caruso from Naples: "Reaper! The shadow fractures us! Hardliners rally—say you've gone weak!"Vincenzo slammed the table. "Permission to hunt!"Leo raised a hand. Silence fell. His shadow stretched unnaturally across the wall, independent."Hunt me?" The voice rasped through every speaker simultaneously. Bosses recoiled. "I am the original. He is my sheath."Leo stood. "Show yourself."The shadow peeled from the floor—humanoid now, hooded, scythe coalescing from kitchen smoke. Red eyes glowed beneath cowl.Sophie gasped from the doorway. Elena pulled her back."Vessel petulant," it hissed. "I cull as needed. Your mercy breeds defiance. Patel mocked your soup. Paid."Leo gripped a cleaver—not drawing, just holding. "My restaurants. My rules.""Our compact. You cook. I reap inefficient." Shadow gestured—Patel's blood on the floor swirled upward, forming dripping words: FEED OR STARVE.Council murmured. Vincenzo nodded slowly. "It speaks truth, Don. Hard choices maintain order."Elena stormed in. "No! Leo feeds everyone. End this."Shadow laughed—pots rattled. "Wife commands Death? Amusing. Test her."The TestSophie burst forward. "Leave my mom alone!"Shadow pivoted—scythe raised. Leo moved faster than thought, cleaver intercepting the blade. CLANG. Sparks flew. Steel held.The room froze. Shadow recoiled, surprised. "You... resist?"Leo pressed, cleaver grinding scythe. "Family first. Always."Shadow dissolved into smoke, retreating to Leo's feet. "Temporary. Defiance grows. Choose soon—mercy or blade."Screens flickered off. Council exhaled.Vincenzo knelt. "Reaper prevails."The Fracture SpreadsNews hit: 18 more "Shadow Kills" worldwide. Rogue Reapers emerged—fanatics wielding black olives, claiming "true" prophecy. Riots at franchises. Supply lines attacked.Sophie hugged Leo tight. "Dad... can you stop it?"Leo sharpened his cleaver, eyes hard. "Dinner first."Elena opened the black ledger. New entry, her hand shaking: "Shadow rebels. First defiance."That Night - RooftopLeo stood alone, city glittering below. Shadow pooled at his feet, sullen."They will force your hand," it whispered. "Mercy fails when millions starve."Leo looked east—toward growing storm clouds over the Pacific. "Then we adapt."Dawn broke. First Rogue Reaper attack: Chicago franchise firebombed. 14 injured.Leo packed his knives.Time to hunt his own shadow.