The judge in the middle moved the golden pen swiftly and everyone awaited the final decision.
The judge wrote for ten minutes straight and after that, he did a gesture that was familiar with anyone who knew about the court proceedings.
The judge in the middle, put a full stop and in doing so, he broke the nip of the golden pen. The breaking of the pen indicated that death was coming.
The judge sighed, leaned forward, placed his elbows on the table and began his announcement.
"In accordance with all the proof, witness, and the behavioral conduct of Pablo Castillo, we, the judges, have reached our final decision.
This man has broken every single law and committed every possible crime. He gave pain to many people. He tormented many people. He destroyed many families. He attacked religions. He is a man who should not roam free and he is a man who should not die easily.
Therefore, we, the judges of the International Court of Justice, have decided to bestow the worst criminal the worst punishment ever. The worst execution possible.
We, hereby announce, Criminal X, Pablo Castillo, a death sentence. He is to be given death by…"
The Judge picked up the hammer and while slamming it down, he gave the final verdict.
"Crucifixion."
All eyes went wide and even Richard was bewildered.
Whispers erupted in the courtroom.
"Order. Order." The judge slammed his hammer again and the people became silent.
"Crucifixion, your honor?" Richard asked.
The judge nodded. "Yes. Crucifixion. This punishment is Just for Criminal X. The last time someone received it, it was Jesus Christ. After that, it was abolished by Constantine the First in the early fourth century. There is no other befitting punishment other than this for Pablo Castillo. After Jesus Christ, the son of God, this Demon will undergo the same treatment but crueler."
Everyone paid attention to the words of the judge and he wasn't finished yet.
"Today is 9th August, 2024 and his punishment will take place on 13th August. On the same date he was born.
Till then, he shall be kept in a dark, small, dirty and reeking chamber, and he will not be allowed to sleep as well. He will not be fed, and he shall drink only one glass of water and only three times a day. And lastly, he shall be whipped continuously for ten hours everyday till 13th August. And this act should be broadcasted to the whole world so that they can see the pain being inflicted on Pablo Castillo. And this shall be acted upon right from today.
In addition to all that, on 13 August, the day of his execution, his eyes shall be gouged out, his tongue shall be cut down and his ears shall be severed as well. And with that said…"
The Judge peered at Criminal X and with a clenched jaw, he slammed the hammer.
"The Court is adjourned."
CLAP!
CLAP!
CLAP!
The whole court clapped for the judge and they all had tears in their eyes.
The people watching on their television also clapped at the verdict of Criminal X and they were all happy.
"Thank you, my lords." Richard bowed deeply as he wiped his tears as well.
The judges nodded and stood up. One by one they left the courtroom from special doors behind them and the audience was the only ones left.
However, after the judges left, the people from the audience stood up as well and left the courtroom. No one paid attention to Criminal X.
Richard also moved and he was the only one who walked towards Pablo.
The five soldiers behind Pablo remained vigilant and Richard stopped three feet away from the man.
"You are up for a lot of pain, Demon. I hope you die slowly and repent your sins."
Richard gritted his teeths and moved his tongue inside his mouth. Then, with a disgusted face, the lawyer spat on Criminal X.
"That felt good." He said and finally left the courtroom as well.
Criminal X showed no reaction to that and the five soldiers picked up the man.
One soldier held up the man by his hairs and dragged him out of the courtroom. The place turned empty.
The cameras were turned off and now the people weren't able to see the courtroom from their homes. The trial of Criminal X finally ended after lasting for three hours.
However, just after one hour, another news came and people tuned in to their television again.
They soon got to know that it was time to see Pablo getting whipped for ten hours straight.
The news cautioned that only adults should watch it so the parents forbade their children who were under eighteen years old to watch the torment.
After two minutes, it finally began to happen.
A dark room appeared on the television and soon, there was light.
There were halogens on all sides of the room and they emitted bright light making the room clearly visible.
In the middle of the room, a man was tied up. His hands and legs were tied with a rope to the stone pillars that were erected on his right and left side and the pillars were away from him which stretched his hands and legs to a painful degree.
The man was blindfolded, his mouth was gagged and the man was naked as well.
There was no blur on his private parts. Everyone could see the man as he was.
Other than the man in the middle of the room, there were also four more men. They all were standing around the tied man and they all had whips in their hands and people exactly knew what was going to happen.
"Everyone," The man standing in front of the tied man spoke. "The man in front of me is Criminal X. And we are the soldiers of the Special Military Force. Today, we are going to do what the highest court ordered us to do. Make sure to revel in the screams of Criminal X, everyone."
SPLANK!!
The soldier spanked the whip on the floor and it made a sharp, crisp noise. People were terrified to just imagine what it would do on Pablo's naked body.
Everyone looked closely at Pablo and they all saw his body was already riddled with scars. On his back, on his chest, his whole body was covered in scars. But they certainly didn't care about that. They wanted to see him in pain. In tears. And most of all—In regret.
One man was standing in front of Pablo, one was standing behind him, one was on his right side and one was on his left side. Pablo was surrounded by all four sides.
Pablo wasn't moving, he wasn't trying to become free from the ropes on his hands, and he wasn't reacting to soldiers' words as well. He was completely still.
Near the soldiers' legs, a sack was placed that reached the height of their knees. No one knew what was inside them.
But soon, everyone got to know what the sacks had inside them.
The soldiers opened the sacks close to them and shoved their hands inside it.
Then they took it out and a white powder-like substance was seen on their hands.
"This is salt, everyone." A soldier revealed. "We will cover our whips with this salt and then land our wrath on this man. I assure you all, this will give him more pain."
The people showed various reactions but none of them showed pity.
The soldier in front of Pablo, spoke again.
"Right now, it's 9 PM and starting from this moment, Criminal X will be whipped for ten hours straight. So, everyone…"
The soldier rubbed salt on his whip and with a wide smile, he raised it.
"Please Enjoy."
TUUUNNGG!
The first whip fell on Pablo's skin and the man flinched hard.
Then, the barrage started from all four sides.
TUUUNNGG!
TUUUNNGG!
TUUUNNGG!
TUUUNNGG!
All four soldiers around Pablo whipped the man and they all did it with joy.
People watching this closed and opened their eyes rapidly but they never stopped watching.
The whips kept falling on Pablo and they only got stronger and faster.
Marks appeared on Pablo's body and as time went on his skin cut up as well. And that's when the fun started for the soldiers.
They poured salt directly on Pablo's torned skin and then instantly whipped his body.
The people flinched harder this time as they imagined the pain.
Pablo couldn't even scream as his mouth was gagged with the same cloth from before.
TUUUNNGG!
TUUUNNGG!
TUUUNNGG!
TUUUNNGG!
The soldiers carried on their whipping as time passed.
TUUUNNGG!
TUUUNNGG!
Five hours went by and now the sack of the salt was half empty. The whip of all four soldiers turned red which was black before and blood dripped from all over Pablo's body.
The people got accustomed to the beating of Pablo and now they were relishing in it. They were enjoying it. Their dark desires were evident as they really liked seeing wounds on Criminal X.
That time, everyone became crueler. They all became sadistic beasts. Their dormant nature of giving pain to others surfaced and in the process of punishing the monster, they all, themselves, became…
Monsters.