Chapter 362: The Choice (4k, seeking monthly votes)

Judai Yuki is going to challenge the strongest-looking warrior among the professors!

By the time Hikari Tenjou finished his business and returned to the Fusion Department, he had already heard the news.

Whether the Warrior Professor is truly the strongest professor is hard for Hikari Tenjou to say, but judging purely by appearance, the Warrior Professor is likely more capable in a fight than Professor Viper; he is absurdly muscular.

The duel is scheduled for the day after tomorrow. Just after the Warrior Professor finishes his patrol work and before he rests for the night to hand over to the next shift, there happens to be a class; they will hold the duel during that time.

Once this matter broke out, it spread like wildfire among the students.

Originally, because they were trapped on the island without internet, there wasn't much to talk about here. Furthermore, because they might encounter spirit attacks at any time, everyone was living in fear. Now that such an event had occurred, everyone had to discuss it as if it were a precious treasure.

It was precisely because of this that the matter could be discussed so instantly.

After all, usually, scenes of professors and students dueling occasionally appear at Duel Academy. But now it is different; this is a special period. Judai dueling the Warrior Professor at a time like this looks "interesting" no matter how you look at it.

And the reason for the duel made the students want to discuss it even more.

Judai challenged the Warrior Professor because he saw him kill a spirit with his bare hands!?

This—

Doesn't seem to be a problem, right?

Many students thought so.

These spirits invaded their academy, disguised themselves as classmates to attack them, and then wanted to survive after being defeated and surrendering—how could there be such a good thing?

To be precise, the vast majority of students thought this way.

However, there was also a group of students who felt that Judai's choice was not without reason. Since the opponent had surrendered, wouldn't it be normal to spare them and lock them up?

Even on the battlefield, there are protocols regarding prisoners, right?

However, the problem lies right here.

If you soften your heart and let the opponent go, can you guarantee that the opponent won't do evil again later?

If other spirits rescue them, and they end up harming another classmate later, then who is to blame?

Based on this question, the two sides of students argued heatedly.

In the eyes of the former, cutting the weeds and eliminating the roots is always more worry-free and effortless than spending more energy on special supervision, and it is also safer for the classmates. For them, the most important thing now is safety; everything else should be discarded.

But in the eyes of the latter, if they really killed all the spirits without distinction, then how are they any different from the opponent? Moreover, if they kept prisoners, perhaps they could get some information from those spirits; wouldn't that be better?

Both sides had their own reasons and were arguing endlessly in various parts of the academy. Even in the Fusion Department, many classmates were debating with each other.

Hikari Tenjou half-slumped in his chair, listening to the students' discussion, rubbing his brow.

"Department Head, if it were you, what would you choose!" As the discussion became intense, some wanted to find an "authority," so they called out to Hikari Tenjou, hoping he could answer.

Hikari Tenjou smiled and did not respond, but in fact, many people knew very well.

What would he choose?

How else could he choose!?

They had always known Hikari Tenjou's temper!

Eliminate evil completely!

Let alone spirits, he wouldn't show mercy even to humans; how could he show mercy when the opponent surrendered?

That was impossible.

Everyone was familiar with Hikari Tenjou. Naturally, everyone also knew clearly that the other pride of their Fusion Department, the "hero" Judai Yuki who once saved his classmates at the critical point, would absolutely not choose that way.

If the opponent was willing to admit their mistake, he would probably show mercy to them, no matter who they were.

Unless... it was a truly irredeemable existence like the Dark World's Dragon God or the Dark World's Mad King.

Of course, Judai did have an enemy that made him think, "No matter what, I must make him die!" That was... uh, Leo Akaba.

Hikari Tenjou would not answer this question.

Because this kind of question is not something he can "decide" or "instill."

For things like this, one can only look at the final result. If Judai were to choose, he would inevitably say that he would definitely choose to let the opponent go.

What if the opponent does evil again later?

Then he will go and protect others.

What if he doesn't protect others?

Then it is his fault. The fault lies in his inability to protect everyone, not that his choice was wrong.

Letting the opponent go might lead to new help, or they might gather helpers to make a comeback; it might be beneficial, or it might lead to losses. Some people don't want to take this risk, but Judai wants to take this risk.

Honestly, it's a bit extreme, but in fact, if you expand on it, it's even more extreme.

Because it's not just those "spared" spirits; even if a spirit he had never seen before attacked a classmate and caused them injury, in Judai's view, it was still unacceptable, and it was his fault—his fault for not protecting his classmates in time.

However, the good news is...

Perhaps because he had been with Hikari Tenjou for a long time, or perhaps because he had seen the "Supreme King," the current Judai was far less extreme than the version Hikari Tenjou remembered at the same point in time. If it had been that Judai, he would have dueled the professor on the spot; he wouldn't have "challenged" him, nor would he have agreed to duel only after the professor finished his work.

"Hikari, what do you think?" Judai lay on the table for a long time until, as if he had thought of something, he looked up and asked him.

"Ha, idiot." Hearing that Judai finally had some spirit and was ready to ask, Chazz finally breathed a sigh of relief and then scolded, "Your stupid brain doesn't work well; wouldn't it have been better to ask earlier?"

"Lightning, I don't allow you to belittle yourself like that."

"Hey!"

Even when his mental state was poor, Judai never lost in a war of words with Chazz.

Judai turned back to look at Hikari Tenjou and asked, "Hikari, if it were you, would you let..."

"Judai, don't ask questions like this." Chazz sighed, "You should know very well what Hikari would do."

Today, Chazz saw with his own eyes Hikari Tenjou kill a professor for the sake of humanity; there was almost no other possibility for the choice Hikari Tenjou would make.

Asking such a question, how do you expect Hikari to answer?

If he told the truth, it would probably lead to an argument, and by then, the atmosphere of the academy would probably be even worse.

"...Would I do that?" Hikari Tenjou folded his hands into an arch, thinking, "That's hard to say."

The two looked at Hikari Tenjou in surprise.

They didn't expect Hikari Tenjou's answer to be like this.

"Because it's really hard to answer." Hikari Tenjou shook his head, "To be precise, it should be... it depends on the situation, right?"

"Depends on the situation?"

"Yes—I would never forgive the spirits this time, but in other situations, it depends on the circumstances at the time."

The two listened quietly to Hikari Tenjou's words.

Hikari Tenjou recalled, thought, and spoke based on his own experiences: "After all, we cannot know what kind of enemy we encounter each time. Perhaps some people are controlled by accidents or incidents?

For example, the spirits previously controlled by the Fusion Army's power; they were brainwashed and controlled, so it was impossible to kill them.

But besides that? Some want to actively invade; those guys cannot be allowed to exist, right? If they launch an invasion and just say 'I surrender' verbally, they can just walk away... how could there be such a good thing in the world?

And whether they can truly repent, I cannot be sure; it depends on time to observe."

Hikari Tenjou spread his hands and said, "It's too complicated."

Yeah—

Chazz patted his head.

In most cases, it depends on the specific situation.

Even in the Fusion Army, there are actually people Hikari Tenjou doesn't dislike, such as the current third-year department head of the Fusion Department. Even though he is a genuine member of the Fusion Army, he was monitored after relevant information was investigated, but his relationship with Hikari Tenjou is actually quite good. Like Professor Seraf, who was the initiator who involved the power of Darkness in this world; in a sense, he can be said to be a sinner against all humanity. Hikari Tenjou did not show mercy, which is a matter of course.

After all, in practical terms, what Professor Seraf did was much more serious than Leo Akaba, even much more so.

In this case, if Hikari Tenjou showed mercy, that would be irresponsible to humanity.

But when encountering other situations, who can decide before encountering the event?

"Hmm..." Judai frowned, "Then have you encountered this situation?"

Hikari Tenjou tilted his head, suddenly dazed, and then clapped his hands: "I actually have."

You really have?

Hikari Tenjou stood up: "No time like the present, Judai. Since that's the case, let's go and see directly. Let's go early and return early; there shouldn't be any accidents here."

Another dimension?

Judai understood.

Because time was urgent, and to prevent any sudden accidents at Duel Academy, Hikari Tenjou called Judai and came to the third floor.

Hikari Tenjou tried to activate the dimensional gate, but the dimensional gate could not be used normally because of the power of Darkness.

This is also one of the reasons why Duel Academy cannot establish contact with the outside world now. Even the dimensional gates in the school are basically unusable. Except for the "non-direct" dimensions like the Great Universe Workshop or the Curry Dimension connected by Professor Hurashiyama, others have been severely blocked.

Hikari Tenjou debugged the machine, increased the power, and then took out the Emerald Book, pressing the whole book onto it. Relying on the power of the entire book and the "Philosopher's Stone" within it, he finally started the machine.

He couldn't waste energy, so Hikari Tenjou didn't waste time, quickly took Judai, and came to a place he wanted Judai to see...

Fluffal Sanctuary!

The demons of this dimension once reached an agreement with the Fusion Army and then invaded the X Dimension. Later, they were backlashed and attacked by the soldiers of the Fusion Army. Finally, under Hikari Tenjou's rescue, they settled down and became stable.

From the root, they are actually not "innocent."

But from the result, Hikari Tenjou did not deal a death blow to them.

Judai came to this dimension and saw that most of the spirits here were very busy. He asked Hikari Tenjou and learned that since Hikari Tenjou left here, the Fluffals—to be precise, all the spirits including Edge Imps and Fluffals—had been busy running around. They traveled through various spirit dimensions every day, trying their best to find and rescue people who had been harmed before.

Not only that, they also made an agreement with Hikari Tenjou that if humans from the X Dimension came for revenge, they would definitely bear the anger of the humans from the X Dimension.

This is what an attitude of "I was wrong" looks like.

Judai stayed here for more than an hour and even played with some newborn spirits for a while. Seeing that the time was almost up, he hurried away from this dimension and returned to Duel Academy.

After returning, he was still preoccupied. It seemed that although he had figured out some things, more questions had arisen, and the smile on his face was more or less fake.

These questions in his heart were not something Hikari Tenjou could answer; Hikari Tenjou could only help as much as he could.

Just like that, one day later, the students of Duel Academy gathered in the same classroom again, which was rare.

Professor Viper silently found a seat. He already knew that Seraf had been defeated, but he didn't make it public.

For him, the death of a colleague would not affect his affairs; he wouldn't care.

The students took their seats one after another, and then Judai and the Warrior Professor stepped onto the stage.

The Warrior Professor's uniform was open, revealing the shirt inside. Whether it was because he was too exhausted during this period or had completely let himself go, he took a cigarette out of his pocket, put it in his mouth, blocked the wind with his left hand, lit it with a lighter in his right hand, and then took a deep puff, exhaling a ring of smoke.

"Phew~~"

He looked at Judai, noticed that Judai was frowning, and couldn't help but laugh: "Haha, Judai, how is it? How have you been thinking about it these past two days?"

Judai shook his head: "I still... feel it's not good."

His mind was still dizzy.

"Hahaha, I understand, I understand everything." The Warrior laughed. He had always appreciated Judai. After all, when he taught, Judai was the most active and the most willing to cooperate with him, so he was familiar with Judai.

Based on this, he also understood Judai to some extent.

In his view, Judai's only problem was not kindness, but "I want everything."

Wanting to protect friends while not wanting to hurt other beings is a bit difficult.

Edo pulled up a seat, sat down next to Hikari Tenjou, and looked at the stage.

He could also understand Judai's thoughts, so he was not surprised that Judai challenged the Warrior Professor.

Although both are "heroes," Judai's hero is more of that pure, radiant, brilliant hero. He might use Evil HEROes, but the ultimate goal is always protection.

"Honestly, I'm actually quite happy, Judai."

"The professor is happy?" Judai was quite surprised instead.

"Hahaha—of course." The Warrior Professor laughed loudly, "You look at the professor's rough appearance, you should understand, right? The professor wasn't a teacher before...

I used to be a soldier in the international peacekeeping force and even received medals several times."

Viper was silent. He had seen the Warrior on the battlefield; he was indeed the elite of the elite in the peacekeeping force.

"A... soldier in the peacekeeping force?" Hearing the professor's past profession, Judai was slightly surprised.

He didn't expect that the Warrior Professor, who killed spirits with his bare hands, was actually a soldier in the peacekeeping force.

"I didn't use the name 'Warrior' before." The professor said while smoking, "But when I resigned, the boss said that if I used my original identity, I might be targeted by some big drug lord, so I changed my name."

The students were also quite surprised by this identity. Of course, the most surprising thing was, as a soldier in the peacekeeping force, why did he become a teacher for no reason?

The professor took another puff of his cigarette.

"Anyway, most of you should have seen it; I'm really not very good at teaching—usually, I just play videos or use myself as an example." The Warrior laughed, and Professor Crowler next to him couldn't help but smile.

Indeed, among the many professors, even the few who were just making up the numbers, perhaps they didn't have any special talents, but they had mastered the basic skills of teaching and educating people quite well.

Only the Warrior Professor was truly completely incompetent, so he usually taught blindly, teaching whatever came to his mind.

"If this continues, won't my professional qualification assessment be ruined? So I am very grateful to you, Judai," he casually pressed the blade-shaped Duel Disk on his chest. The Duel Disk automatically unfolded, and he then put his deck into the Duel Disk, automatically shuffling it, "If I continue to teach normally, I might have to drink the northwest wind next semester—but, you challenged me. This way, no matter the result of the duel, I think the classmates will more or less understand me and understand you.

Now, isn't my professional rating assessment stable?"

Although before that, he might be severely reprimanded by Professor Crowler for smoking in class.

"After all... for duelists, you only need to duel to understand each other, right?"

Judai's mood finally became high.

It seemed that the professor was not a brutal war maniac who would kill everyone with one blow—

What he was actually most worried about was that the off-campus professor he was closest to would be a war maniac.

"I see—that's great! Professor! Duel!" He hurriedly and excitedly equipped his Duel Disk.

Warrior Professor, LP: 4000.

Judai Yuki, LP: 4000.

"I'll go first, draw—" The Warrior Professor's physical fitness seemed to be even more terrifying than Judai's, as he actually grabbed the first move.

He casually raised it in front of him, and the card automatically popped into his hand. He looked down and grinned: "Ha, good draw, then—activate the Continuous Spell Card, War Legacy - Treacherous Rebellion."