Priest Seto (manga)

Seto is a character in the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga. This is the original depiction of Priest Seto.

Seto was one of the six high priests that guarded the Millennium Items, and is the first cousin of Pharaoh Atem. Seto Kaiba is his modern-day incarnation. Seto is named after the Egyptian God Set.

Biography
Seto took part in the exorcism of Dark Spirit of Chaos from a criminal. After the monster ka had been exposed by Akhenaden, Seto used the Millennium Rod to seal it within a stone tablet. Seto suggested that the criminal be executed for the amusement of the Pharaoh and to set a warning for future thieves, but Akhenaden argued that it was unnecessary, as the evil ka had been removed and that it was the duty of a priest to show mercy. Seto then scolded Mahado over the recent influx of trespassing in the royal tombs, before asking that the Dark Spirit of Chaos tablet be taken to the Shrine of Wedju.

Bakura, King of Thieves entered the palace, carrying the treasures he plundered from the tomb of the deceased Pharaoh, Akhenamkhanen, and Akhenamkhanen's corpse and insisted the priests hand him their Millennium Items. When he exposed his ka, Diabound, Seto sealed it in a tablet using the Millennium Rod. However Diabound's power was too great and it shattered the tablet, breaking free. Seto was surprised at first, but eager to show Bakura the true power of the priests and the Millennium Items. He ignored Akhenaden's advice to combine their power, insisting his was enough. He summoned Galestgoras, which engaged in battle with Diabound. Seto thought Galestgoras had killed Diabound at one point, but Diabound used its ability to phase through solid matter to move through the walls and into Galestgoras' tablet and shattered it, destroying Galestgoras.

After Bakura insulted Pharaohs Akhenamkhanen and Atem, Seto and the other priests summoned more ka to battle Diabound. Mahado was about to use his ka to protect Atem, who was taking Akhenamkhanen's corpse back from Bakura. However Seto insisted his ka was too weak and used his Battle Ox to distract Diabound. This allowed Mahado's ka, the Illusion Magician, to cast the "Curse of Illusions" on Diabound, preventing it from using its phasing ability. The priests attacked Diabound together, hoping to defeat it before their heka was drained, but Diabound used its "Spiral Surge" ability, deflecting all its enemies and dispelling the "Curse of Illusions" all at once. Atem saved the priests and revealed to them that he was the one capable of summoning the gods, by summoning Obelisk the Tormentor and forcing Bakura to retreat.

Seto met with Akhenaden at the Shrine of Wedju to discuss Bakura. He believed that they would need to kill Bakura in the interest of security. He doubted the monsters they had gathered would be powerful enough, as they had all been collected from criminals. Akhenaden reminded Seto that Bakura was also a sinner, yet he had a strong ka. Akhenaden theorized that its power stemmed from Bakura's strong hatred. He disclosed to Seto that the Millennium Items, as Bakura claimed, did secretly have an evil side hidden within them and together are keys to opening the underworld and can be used to forge a contract with the great evil god. Seto proposed that they find people in the kingdom, possessing ka with hidden abilities, and capture and torture them. This would cause their ka to become strengthened by hatred. Akhenaden thought the plan was mad and said that the Pharaoh would not allow it. Seto was aware and argued it is the Pharaoh's duty to protect the world's peace, but in times like this the priests must step up and protect the royal house using shadow politics. He believed he could create a ka to surpass a god and asked that Akhenaden leave everything to him.

In preparation for further attacks from Bakura, the priests conducted mock battles to strengthen themselves and their ka. In one such battle, Seto was teamed with Akhenaden and Shada to battle Mahado, Isis and Kalim. Seto attempted to attack with his personal ka Duos. However his opponents used defensive abilities to block his attacks. Seto's teammates managed to counter the defensive abilities, but became immobilized in traps in the process. Seto then used Duos ability, by attacking his teammates monsters, Duos original strength doubled for each ally sacrificed. Duos then proceeded to destroy all three opponent's monsters at once.

After the mock battle, Seto scolded Mahado for having a weak ka, insufficient for protecting the Pharaoh's tomb. Kalim questioned the value in Seto's win, when it meant sacrificing his allies. Seto replied that war is not won by the number of soldiers or words and said he would listen to Kalim after he becomes a more worthwhile opponent. Atem explained to Seto that a battle relying on strength can sometimes reveal an unforeseen weakness and that true power would never mean hurting one's friends. Seto requested a demonstration of such power and Atem agreed to a mock battle. Seto looked forward to seeing the power of the gods, but Atem choose to summon Kuriboh. Seto saw this as an insult and got Duos to shatter the tablet before Kuriboh could materialize. However a Kuriboh materialized from each fragment of the broken tablet. Atem explained that this was Kuriboh's special power and by attacking without thinking, one loses.

When Mahado and Atem were discussing new security measures, Seto warned Mahado that he would not get a second chance to clear his name. He suggested that Mahado be stripped of his priesthood should a Pharaoh's tomb be robbed again. However Mahado's trap involved using his own suicide to merge himself with his Illusion Magician to become the Dark Magician. When Seto learned of Mahado's death, he was thought Mahado had been too rash. He believed Mahado died a "dog's death" and was concerned over whether or not Bakura had survived and taken the Millennium Ring. He requested the Pharaoh's permission to take his men to search the city for Bakura. Atem granted it, but instructed him to make sure none of the civilians were harmed, as Bakura was their only target.

Seto enrolled Shada for the hunt. He explained that the true intent of their mission was to find ka and that he required Shada to use the Millennium Key to look into people's hearts to examine for ka. Shada protested to performing tests on innocent people, but Seto insisted that it was in the interest of security and issued the order to arrest those who refused to leave their dwellings.

At the Winking Camel Bar, Seto's men found an exiled criminal, who had returned to the city. He was brought before Seto, who ordered Shada to search his soul for ka. He found the low-level, Saggi the Dark Clown, but commented that it could become a threat if let grow unchecked. Seto sentenced the criminal to be taken to the underground prison. He told his men that they were limiting their search to criminals, but that they were to show them no mercy. Shada protested when Seto ordered him to test the next criminal. As he and Seto argued, the first criminal commented that what they had was not authority and they would eventually be judged by the white dragon.

During the ka hunt, they encountered a group of citizens, stoning Kisara, whom they believed to be a witch. Seto told the people off for attacking a defenseless woman. As his men helped Kisara up, the Millennium Key began to react. Shada reported that her Heka was too strong for it to measure and that her ka had the form of a white dragon.

Ka

 * Battle Ox
 * Blue-Eyes White Dragon
 * Duos
 * Duos Dragon (fusion of Duos and Kalim's Curse of Dragon)
 * Galestgoras