Priest Seto (manga)

Priest Seto is a character in the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga. He is named after the Egyptian God Set. This is the original depiction of Priest Seto.

Seto was the son of High Priest Akhenaden and nephew of Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen. Although he grew up thinking his father was a man, who died in battle. Seto joined the priesthood as an orphan and eventually became a high priest, wielding the Millennium Rod and serving his cousin Pharaoh Atem, initially unaware they were related. He partook in the battles against Bakura, King of Thieves and led a ka hunt, hoping to find monsters capable of defeating Bakura's Diabound. However he and the other high priests were otherwise successful in doing so. Due to Bakura and the Millennium Eyes influence, Akhenaden became tempted by darkness and was desperate to make Seto pharaoh. Seto learned that Akhenaden was his father, after Akhenaden summoned Zorc Necrophades, became the High Priest of Darkness and tried recruiting Seto to rule the new world with him. Although Seto refused, Akhenaden killed Kisara, whom Seto had come to harbor feelings for, in order to give Seto her powerful ka, The White Dragon, and possessed Seto forcing him to battle Atem. However Kisara's spirit turned the dragon on Akhenaden, freeing Seto.

In the twentieth century, Seto's existence was known through a tablet, depicting his battle with Atem. Connections were drawn between him and Seto Kaiba due to their identical appearance and use of The White Dragon, which Kaiba used through the Duel Monsters card, "Blue-Eyes White Dragon". Seto and Atem appeared to Kaiba and Dark Yugi in visions during Battle City. Dark Yugi saw him again, when he played the Shadow RPG, replaying the events of his life, as Pharaoh Atem. In this version of events, Atem was able to give Seto the Millennium Pendant, before leaving, requesting him to take over as Pharaoh.

Ancient Egypt
Seto was the son of Priest Akhenaden, who was the brother of Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen. When Seto was young, Akhenaden led the Kul Elna massacre and forged the Millennium Items. Seto was scared the first time he saw his father with the Millennium Eye. Akhenaden left his family, hoping to protect them from his sins. So Seto lived with his mother, believing his father to have been a soldier who died in battle. As the holder of the Millennium Eye, Akhenaden was granted one, so he wished that Seto would become pharaoh.

Seto joined the priesthood as a child. He met Akhenaden again there, but did not know this was his father. Akhenaden thought him about morality, philosophy, order and the law of Ma'at.

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 dragging Akhenamkhanen's corpse and carrying the treasures he plundered his tomb, 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. Seto instructed his men to give Kisara a room in the palace and to say nothing to the pharaoh.

Seto reported to Akhenaden that the ka hunt went better than he expected and that they had confined about twenty people possessing ka to the tower dungeon. Fearing they were going down the path of darkness, Akhenaden urged him to let the prisoners go. However Seto informed him of The White Dragon ka, saying it had power to rival the gods and that its power was still in its infancy. He explained that he was letting Kisara regain her strength, after which he planned to find a way to draw the greatest amount of power from her ka. He planned on torturing the prisoners to find the best way to do that.

Shortly after their meeting Akhenaden was attacked by Bakura. When Seto heard of this, he issued a search for Bakura, but Bakura escaped the palace and was chased by Atem. Seto, Kalim, Shada and some soldiers caught up in time to save Atem, by getting Duos to cut off Diabound's hand. Bakura and Diabound turned invisible,, but with Diabound wounded its attack range was shortened. This allowed the priests to determine its position after it attacked. When Diabound destroyed Atem's Slifer, Seto attempted to get Duos' "Aura Sword" to impale Diabound and mark its position. However Bakura summoned Illushu as a decoy to absorb the attack. The battle ended with Bakura stealing the Millennium Pendant from Atem, who fell into a chasm.

Seto was adamant that Atem be found and said that they must not lose faith in the pharaoh, whose dream to protect the country is still strong. Akhenaden thought to himself that faith and dreams were not enough to protect the country and that Seto needed power. With the Millennium Tauk, Isis predicted a "swell" that would drown them in tragedy, unless they got a "vessel" to hold the swell. When Seto learned that Kisara had woken up, Akhenaden accompanied him on his way to see her. With Atem absent, Akhenaden reminded Seto that they had lost the protection of the three gods, to which Seto replied that they needed a ka stronger than the gods. Akhenaden said that they also needed a new pharaoh, with the power of new gods, and that he believed Seto was the "vessel" from Isis' prediction.

Gebelk took Seto and Akhenaden to the palace's underground prison. He showed them an arena, where two prisoners with powerful ka were battling. He explained that monster ka was strengthened by the wielder's desire to live and that originally ten prisoners with weak ka had been put in the arena to fight to the death. Kisara was brought before Seto and she thanked him for saving her life. Seto learned Kisara's name and that she was unaware that she harbored a ka. Gebelk proposed that they get her to battle the two prisoners to test the strength of her ka. Seto was uncertain, as he thought Kisara would not be able to control her ka, but Gebelk said that if she possessed a god, it should be no problem for her to defeat two criminals. Akhenaden urged Seto to agree, saying that they needed a new god. Seto was surprised by Akhenaden's sudden passion and consented.

Kisara was put in the arena, but put up no resistance, so Seto interfered with Duos. He ordered the prisoners to stop, but they decided to take the chance to get revenge on Seto. Although he had originally planned on letting the prisoners live, Seto got Duos to cut the chains on the suspended platform. Ha caught Kisara and held onto a chain, as one of the prisoners fell. However one of the prisoners had his ka, Gudoul, spin a web to save himself from falling and immobilize Duos. As Gudoul was about to kill Seto, The White Dragon emerged while Kisara was unconscious. Seto attempted to wake Kisara, but Gebelk warned him that the ka only appears when Kisara sleeps, so waking her might make it vanish. The White Dragon shielded Seto and Kisara with its tail and launched a light-based attack from its mouth, killing the prisoner and Gudoul. The attack burst through the dungeon's ceiling, sending a pillar of light into the sky.

When Seto and Kisara were taken out of the arena, Gebelk explained Kisara's ka and ba seemed to be united, meaning The White Dragon was possessing Kisara and using her as a vessel. Akhenaden said that Seto must become the vessel of the dragon, which Gebelk said would be possible by freeing Kisara's soul from her body. Seto was not happy with the idea of killing Kisara. He said that they were getting ahead of themselves and should focus on finding Atem first.

Seto was curious about Akhenaden's order to kill Kisara and desire for Seto to become pharaoh. He had understood Akhenaden to have always been merciful. Seto felt it was his duty to protect the pharaoh and thought he wanted to be heir to the one who protects the throne, heir to Akhenaden. When Seto heard that Atem was still alive, he laughed and ordered for Kisara to be transferred to another room and that he was to be the only one told her location.

Seto, Siamun Muran, Isis, Kalim and Mana went to Kul Elna to help Atem and Shada, who had confronted Bakura. Kalim used the Millennium Scale to combine his Curse of Dragon with Seto's Duos, forming Duos Dragon. Mahado, as the Dark Magician, doubled Duos Dragon's power. While strong enough to equal Diabound's "Spiral Wave", Duos Dragon could not match its combined "Sprial Wave" and "Thunder Force" attack. Seto allowed Duos Dragon's arm to be blown off, blocking Diabound's attack, in order for it to get an opening to attack Diabound. The attack began to penetrate the shield created by the ghosts of the Kul Elna villagers, until Bakura got his Bone Snapper ka to attack Kalim. However Duos Dragon created a big enough hole in the shield for the Dark Magician to attack and kill Diabound. Although Bakura was defeated, Akhenaden managed to gather the seven Millennium Items and place them in the Millennium Stone, resurrecting Zorc Necrophades and becoming the High Priest of Darkness.

Atem, the priests and their soldiers engaged in battle with Zorc and the High Priest of Darkness. When Atem was too weak to summon a god and all the priests, bar Isis, Seto and Akhenaden, had been killed, Akhenaden confronted Seto, who demanded to know why he had betrayed them. Akhenaden said that the last time he saw that look on Seto's face was when Seto first saw him wearing the Millennium Eye and revealed that he was Seto's father. Seto attempted to attack Akhenaden, but Akhenaden destroyed Duos with his shadow magic. Akhenaden raised an army of the dead to battle Atem's side, while he took Seto to the palace.

At the palace, Akhenaden informed Seto that Kisara would die soon and her great power would become Seto's. He planned on then making Seto king in the new world of darkness. He asked Seto to join him, kill Atem and rule the world. Seto refused to sell his soul to darkness and ran to save Kisara. He took Kisara form her cell and she asked him if the recent catastrophes were caused by the monster that resides in her. Seto informed her that the catastrophes were caused by monsters, called "man", who had been seduced by evil and it was not a monster that lived in Kisara. He took Kisara outside the palace and advised her to go as far away as she could, where "the fires of fire" would not reach her. Akhenaden asked Seto, why he let Kisara go. Seto replied that Akhenaden was not his father; the best part of his father died long ago. Akhenaden decided he would force Seto to accept his gift and proceeded to kill Kisara.

Seto carried Kisara's body to a tablet. He apologized to her and said that for him the world would never be truly bright again. He said that he had never wanted to let her go and that it was her he wanted, not her spirit ka. Seto then heard her voice saying she would protect him with the light of her spirit.

Akhenaden urged Seto kill Atem and claimed that he could erase the stain of failure in their blood. He said that he loved Seto and merged his soul into Seto's. Just then Atem arrived and Seto, possessed by Akhenaden, challenged him to a battle, for the title of king. With the Millennium Rod, Akhenaden had sealed The White Dragon in the tablet. Seto summoned it and Atem countered with Mahado, the Dark Magician. The White Dragon quickly destroyed Mahado's tablet, leaving Atem defenseless. However the spirit of Kisara stopped the dragon attacking and turned it on Akhenaden, killing him.

Atem defeated Zorc, by sealing his own soul and Zorc's within the shattered Millennium Pendant. Afterwards, the tablet depicting Seto and Atem's last battle was created.

Battle City
In the late twentieth century, Ishizu Ishtar exhibited the tablet, depicting Seto and Atem's battle, at the Domino City Museum. She believed it had the power to attract Duelists. Before convincing Seto Kaiba to host the Battle City Duel Monsters tournament, she showed him the tablet and noted similarities between his and Priest Seto's use of the White Dragon. Although Kaiba was skeptical of its authenticity. When Dark Yugi saw the tablet, he was immediately convinced the tablet depicted himself and Kaiba.

During Kaiba's quarterfinal Duel against Ishizu, Kaiba saw a vision of Priest Seto holding Kisara before the White Dragon tablet, after her death. This prompted Kaiba to use the White Dragon's card, "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" to win the Duel. This interference disrupted Ishizu's prediction of Kaiba losing using "The God of the Obelisk".

Shadow RPG
When Dark Yugi played the Shadow RPG against Dark Bakura, in the twentieth century, he replayed his life as Pharaoh Atem. Each player had a deck of blank cards, which filled in as they regained memories. Among Dark Yugi's cards were the priests, including Seto. The players could use cards containing people to control their actions. When the players did not issue commands to their cards, they behaved according to the motives they had in the original course of events. Events concerning Seto were largely the same in the RPG as the past.

Major differences included:
 * After Diabound defeated Slifer the Sky Dragon, Yugi Mutou, as a non-player character, gave Atem strength, so he coud summon The Winged Dragon of Ra. Ra used the light of the sun, to expose Diabound, who was hidden in the darkness and Seto placed all of his ba in Duos' sword, allowing Duos to block an attack Diabound launched at Ra. Ra proceeded to kill Diabound, defeating Thief Bakura. However Dark Bakura, playing the RPG, used an hourglass to reverse time and distracted Yugi before he could help Atem again.
 * When the priests defeated Thief Bakura, Dark Bakura used another hourglass to freeze time. This gave Akhenaden time to take the Millennium Items from the priests, including the Millennium Rod from Seto. Zorc proceeded to attack Seto and his companions, while time remained frozen, despite objection from Akhenaden. However the non-player character, Hasan blocked the attack.
 * Atem did not shatter the Millennium Pendant to defeat Zorc. So he was able to give it to Seto, as he requested that Seto take over as Pharaoh. Seto insisted that he must first defeat Atem in a battle. However as Atem had no memories beyond that point, his body began to disappear, as he exited the Memory World.