Yuki Judai wants to challenge the strongest-looking professor, Professor Moushou!
By the time Tenjo Hikari returned to the Fusion Department after finishing his tasks, he had already heard the news.
Whether Professor Moushou is truly the strongest professor, Tenjo Hikari couldn't say for sure, but from appearances alone, Professor Moushou is probably even more formidable than Professor Cobra, as he looks outrageously robust.
The duel is scheduled for the day after tomorrow. After Professor Moushou completes his patrol duties and rests for a night, they will have a lecture before he takes over the next round of patrols, and they will duel during that class.
Once this matter arose, it spread like wildfire among the students.
Originally, being trapped on the island and deprived of the internet, there wasn't much to talk about. Plus, with the constant threat of spirit attacks, everyone was living on edge. But with such an event happening now, everyone eagerly discussed it as if it were a treasure.
This is precisely why the topic spread so quickly.
After all, occasionally at Duel Academy, there are scenes of professors dueling with students. But now things are different. In these special times, Judai dueling with Professor Moushou seems rather "interesting" no matter how you look at it.
And the reason for the duel made students even more eager to discuss it.
Judai challenged Professor Moushou because he saw him kill a spirit barehanded!?
This—
Doesn't seem to be an issue, does it?
Many students thought this way.
These spirits invaded their academy, even disguising themselves as classmates to attack, and now they want to surrender to save their lives? No way!
To be precise, the vast majority of students think this way.
But there's a group of students who think Judai's choice isn't without reason. Since they surrendered, wouldn't it be normal to spare them and imprison them?
Even on the battlefield, there are protocols for prisoners, right?
However, the problem lies here.
If you show mercy and spare the opponent, can you guarantee they won't commit evil again later?
If other spirits rescue them, resulting in harm to another classmate later, who would be responsible then?
This issue caused heated arguments between the two groups of students.
In the eyes of the former, it's more straightforward and safer for their classmates to root out the problem completely, rather than expending more effort on extensive supervision. For them, safety is the utmost priority, and everything else should be secondary.
But for the latter, if you indiscriminately kill all spirits without distinguishing right from wrong, what makes them different from their adversaries? Moreover, if they keep some captives, they might extract vital information from the spirits. Wouldn't that be better?
Both sides have their reasoning, and the arguments echo across various parts of the academy. Even in the Fusion Department, many students are amidst heated debates.
Tenjo Hikari sat half-slumped in his chair, listening to his classmates' discussions while rubbing his brow.
"Minister, if it were you, what would you choose?" As the discussion grew intense, someone wanted to seek advice from "authority" and thus called on Tenjo Hikari, hoping he would answer.
Tenjo Hikari smiled without responding, but many already had a good guess.
What would he choose?
What else could he choose!?
They knew Tenjo Hikari's temperament well!
Root out the evil!
Not to mention spirits, he wouldn't show mercy to anyone. How could he possibly hold back when the opponent surrendered?
That's impossible.
Everyone familiar with Tenjo Hikari also knew well that their pride in the Fusion Department, the "Hero" who saved classmates at the Critical Point, Yuki Judai, would never choose like that.
If the opponent was willing to admit wrongdoing, he would likely show mercy, no matter who it was.
Unless... it's the real deal like the Dragon Lord of the Dark World or the Mad King of the Dark World who by their nature never repent.
Of course, Judai has indeed harbored enemies with the idea of "No matter what, I want him dead!", such as... well, Akaba Leo.
Tenjo Hikari wouldn't answer this question.
Because it's not a question he can "decide" or "instill".
Such matters should always be judged by the eventual outcome. If it were up to Judai, he would certainly say he would choose to spare them.
What if they do evil again later?
Then he would go to protect others.
What if he fails to protect others?
Then it's his fault. Fault lies in not being able to protect everyone, not in his choice being wrong.
Sparing them might gain new allies or could result in them regrouping and returning, potentially beneficial or detrimental; some aren't willing to take such risks, but Judai is willing to assume these risks.
To be honest, it's somewhat extreme, but when expanded, it's even more so.
Because it's not only the "spared" spirits, but even if a spirit he has never seen attacks classmates and causes injury, in Judai's view, it's unacceptable and it's his fault for not protecting his classmates in time.
However, the good news is…
Perhaps having spent a long time with Tenjo Hikari or having faced "The Supreme King," the current Judai isn't as extreme as Tenjo Hikari remembers him at the same timeline. Instead of challenging, the former Judai would have directly dueled the professor on the spot without any agreement to wait until the professor finished work for the duel.