The moment Shirahoshi finished delivering her verdict,
the Fish-Man prisoners erupted into despairing wails.
"No! I don't want to die!"
"Your Majesty the Queen! Spare us!"
"I truly know I was wrong!"
They had known all along that they might die, but now that the moment had truly arrived, they still did not want to die.
Who would willingly seek death when they could live?
But the executioners had already stepped forward, escorting the Fish-Men one after another toward the gallows.
The first to be led up was the young man named Carlos.
He was the young Fish-Man who had cried out earlier that his mother was still waiting at home for him to eat.
At this moment, his face was as pale as paper, his legs trembling uncontrollably. He could barely stand as two executioners held him up and led him, step by step, toward the gallows.
"No... don't... I don't want to die... My mother is still waiting for me..."
His voice trembled with despair, tears and snot streaming endlessly down his face.
But the executioners showed no hesitation.
They slipped the rope around his neck.
"Save it. At least you didn't drag your mother down with you. Heh, when you were committing crimes, why didn't you think of your mother?"
One of the executioners muttered. The next moment...
The rope tightened.
Crack!
Carlos struggled desperately, his feet kicking wildly in midair. His face turned bright red, his eyes nearly bulging from their sockets.
But as time passed,
his struggles gradually weakened.
The light slowly faded from his eyes.
His body gradually stopped trembling.
In the end, his head drooped limply.
The second, the third, the fourth...
One Fish-Man after another was led onto the gallows.
Some begged desperately, their voices so hoarse they could barely be heard.