No Room for Affection

As evening approached, Elim headed to the room provided by the drinking parlor owner and his wife. It took a while for the man to attend to him, thanks to the troublemaker Odomudo bossing the man's wife around until her feet ached. In his room, Elim tried to shove thoughts of Odomudo's wicked acts aside. "No more fights!" he reminded himself, settling into the warm bed. Despite the loud drumming and chaos in the beer parlor, he eventually drifted off to sleep. In his dream, he found himself about to behead the King of Maribah when the giant, Odomudo, intervened. Waking up distressed, the next day, Elim rose early for a meal and a brief rest before embarking on his journey.

Seated in the parlor, contemplating the route to Maribah, chaos erupted as a body crashed onto his table, breaking it and spilling his drink. Elim stood immediately to find the owner on the floor, holding his waist and trying to rise while grunting in pain.

"I asked you to bring me fresh palm wine, and you brought this disgusting drink," Odomudo bellowed, striding briskly to the man on the floor and pouring an entire gourd of palm wine on him.

That was the breaking point for Elim! He could no longer tolerate it. He literally became an assassin to rid the world of people like Odomudo.

"You've caused enough harm to this man and his wife! If you don't like their service, kindly leave instead of treating them poorly!"

"What?" Odomudo questioned before erupting into mad laughter. His laughter echoed, and some men, likely his accomplices, joined in.

After the laughter, he hurled a chair against the wall and stood face-to-face with Elim. "Does he even know who he's talking to? No! Probably not!" Odomudo cracked his fist adorned with gold rings. "You could have just taken your drink and continued your miserable existence, but instead, you decided to question Odomudo."

"Please, don't harm any more of our customers! I beg you!" pleaded the petite wife of the owner. Odomudo turned menacingly toward her, ready to strike, but Elim's strong grip halted his movement.

"You've caused enough harm! Let them be!" Elim gritted through his teeth while Odomudo laughed even harder. Odomudo shrugged Elim's hands off and walked gallantly back to a seat, watching Elim as if he were nothing.

"Feeble men make the most noise! Even in the presence of greatness, they can't help but overreact and try to act brave. Well, I honestly can't waste my time teaching you a lesson; my men will handle it," he declared, crossing his legs as his men advanced toward Elim.

He didn't want a fight but Elim wasn't one to run away from one. Even though he was weak from all the fighting, he couldn't let someone be humiliated under his watch. But he must be smart because these men weren't ordinary bullies, they looked like killers. The giant man spat on the floor and four of his men rushed towards Elim to fight him. 

Odomudo kept laughing as Elim took on four men. The first, broader than him, threw a hefty punch, but Elim managed to dodge with his elbow. However, he didn't see the shocking blow that landed in his lower rib, causing him to fall to the ground. The man who struck him laughed, and others joined in, creating echoes of laughter as Elim held his side in pain.

They assumed they had weakened him, but when the next man attempted to kick him while he was still on the floor, Elim swiftly retaliated, slicing him with a sharp knife he had spotted on the ground.

"What have you done! He cut me! I am bleeding! Deal with that useless man!" The man howled in pain, pointing at Elim, who had now regained his feet. Odomudo sat up on his seat, a frown on his face, not expecting the trick Elim had just pulled on them.

"Please, you shouldn't fight them. It won't end well for either you or me or even my business! Just apologize, and they will let you be!" the owner pleaded in a hushed voice as he hurried to where Elim stood.

But Elim paid no mind to the owner. He was furious, cracking his fist as he awaited the next three men to face him. They approached one after the other, more cautious this time due to what Elim had done to their comrade. One threw a hefty punch, catching Elim's jaw and causing blood to spill, scattering across the area. The man turned to celebrate with Odomudo when Elim swiftly caught him, threw him to the floor, and pounded his face with his strong fist until the man begged for mercy.

The other men hesitated to engage Elim, looking to Odomudo for approval before unsheathing their hefty swords.

"This fight has lasted longer than I expected. Deal with him already, Zinge!" Odomudo screamed as the two remaining men launched an attack at Elim. He could barely evade their swings, the swords slicing carelessly without concern for who might get hurt. In defense, Elim threw large stools at one of the men from where he hid. As that one tried to recover, Elim jumped on the other and brought him down.

Despite his injury, the other man who was bleeding from his head rushed in to cut Elim after Odomudo yelled for him to continue. Elim saw him coming , and positioned his colleague in a chokehold. Instead of cutting Elim, the man ended up slicing the back of his own teammate.

"Enough!" Odomudo screamed, rising in fury as stools and furniture crashed around the place.

Elim attempted to defend against the brutal kicks and blows, but he couldn't. He fell to the ground, and Odomudo continued stamping on his body. Reaching for a knife, Elim was thwarted as Odomudo kicked it out of reach. About to kick Elim in the face, Odomudo was interrupted when a maiden struck him on the head with a stool. But he didn't fall.

Turning menacingly to deal with whoever had dared to hit him, Odomudo left himself open, and Elim used the opportunity to land another stool on his head from behind, causing the giant to collapse with a thud.

"Is he dead?" the young girl asked.

"Maybe!"

"Please, he can't be!" the owner rushed to Odomudo sprawled on the floor like dead meat.

"He's still breathing, and you must leave now!"

"I have no place!"

"Please! He will surely kill you and all of us if he wakes up to find you here!"

"And what makes you think I shouldn't kill him now so he wouldn't come after me later?"

"Because you will be bringing more trouble to us. Don't you know who he is? He's Odomudo, the great assassin who wipes out anyone in the way of a rich man or a king! He's killer for kings and noblemen. He has taken more lives than anyone can imagine! Please leave now so we won't suffer for your sins!"

"I have no place to go!" Elim replied, realizing that leaving now would only put him in more danger.

"He fought that brute for us! The least we can do is save him from them!" the man's wife insisted, dragging her husband to a corner. She then gestured to Elim to come to the inner part of the parlor.

"You must leave now!" the man echoed, making it sound like he was sending Elim away to Odomudo's men lying half-conscious on the floor.

"Pretend you are leaving! But we will hide you because if you continue your journey, these men will come looking for you and won't let you be until they have killed you!" the man whispered to Elim. Sighing, Elim listened to them and pretended to be on his way, only to use another entrance into their home. It might not be the ideal situation, but it was better than risking his life on the road with his injuries.

When Odomudo woke, a loud growl like that of an angry animal on the prowl echoed through the area. He ransacked the entire parlor in search of Elim but couldn't locate him. The owner informed him of Elim's departure and he growled in anger. Frustrated, he mounted his horses with his men, despite their injuries, and set off in pursuit of Elim.

"I will find him, and when I do, I shall have his head!" he screamed as his horse galloped away. Meanwhile, Elim remained hidden in the safety of the inner room, tended to by the brave young girl who had confronted Odomudo. Despite her beauty and the kindness her family had shown him, Elim never spared her a glance, even though she watched him curiously. His focus was on healing and finding his way to Maribah without inviting further trouble upon himself, he reminded himself as she cleaned his wounds.