Chapter 17: Dangerous Duel

Seto steped forward. "How dare you enter the royal palace, you heretical imbecile! I'll show you the true power of the priests with th Millennium Items!"

"Good! That sounds fun! Come on, all of you! Fight me!" Bakura said with his evil grin.

"Why would he want every priest to attack him? He'd be ambushed," said Vash.

Juliana shook her head. "Not quite. His goal is the Millennium Items. I suspect Bakura's creature has secret abilities we are unaware of, and is more powerful than we sense. If so, Bakura could drain the priest of their ba at once if faced with an all out battle and take every one of the Items like it was nothing."

"Oohh...that's right."

"And Priest Seto has become stubborn...he wouldn't let the other priests help. See?"

"Yeah...but there's more, isn't there?"

"Of course. There is always more than meets the eye..." Juliana looked down as the duel had already commenced. Priest Seto had summoned his servant creature, Galestgoras, and was in a fierce battle with Bakura's Diabound. Soon Galestgoras had Diabound by the tail and swung it to the ground, then raising to tackle it. But once the dragon creature came down, Diabound had disappeared.

"Diabound is gone!" someone shouted.

"How can this be? Did it return to its host!" Seto said looking at Bakura.

Bakura smirked. "No! I activated Diabound's special ability...When a person has a ka in his soul, it develops the powers that he wishes he had...it reflects his most secret desires! As for me...I am a thief! What power would help me steal treasure...? The power to move through solid stone!"

"That's an unfair advantage! His ka can move through any wall!" Vash said.

"Not just walls! Look at Seto's stone slab!"

The image of Diabound began to appear on the stone slab, then it shattered into a million pieces as the monster broke out. Galestgoras faded away into nothing. "This is boring...I want to fight the Pharaoh! How about it?" Bakura grinned at Pharaoh Atem. "If I lose, you can have my head. But if you lose, I'll take your life, your gold finery...and your Millennium Items!"

"Have you no respect!" demanded Priest Akunadin. "How DARE you say such things to the Pharaoh, the divine king! There will be no mercy for you!"

And now Atem spoke: "Bakura! Why do you want the Millennium Items?"

He smirked and pulled on the rope holding the mummy, putting his foot on its back. "Why don't you ask him?"

Every priest in the room gasped. "You barbarian! How dare you step on the body of Pharaoh Akunumkanon? I'll flay that foot to the bone!" Seto cursed.

Juliana growled and was about to jump from the balcony when Vash held her back. "Juliana don't. We can't blow our cover now."

"But...Pharaoh Akunumkanon..."

"We're all mad, but if Bakura finds out we're here, we may just be making things worse."

Akunadin stepped forward toward Bakura and Diabound. "Bakura...the Great Pharaoh Akunumkanon ruled for 40 years...he put an end to the wards between countries, and brought peace to this land!"

"Peace for you..."

"Pharaoh Akunumkanon wished for a millennium of peace for this war-torn country...it is for that purpose that the he made the Millennium Items!"

Bakura only laughed. "I know this story! To stamp out all evil...to purge all sinners...he left us these seven holy items imbued with the power of justice and righteousness! Hahahaha! Justice! Don't make me laugh! Don't you know the truth? The Millennium Items are forbidden artifacts of black magic! The evil power of the darkness dwells within them! The one who owns all seven of them can forge a contract with the dark spirits of the afterworld!"

Vash gripped his hand into a fist and growled. "He sure does like to hear himself talk...black magic? Pharaoh Akunumkanon would never do something like that!"

"But...it doesn't seem that absurd..." Juliana said. Vash looked at her and blinked. "You know about the dark power within Mahado's Millennium Ring that he had to trap with his own heka? Perhaps it's because the darkness within has began to take hold. Maybe it's only a matter of time until the other Items require the same treatment."

"But listen, what's this now Bakura's talking about some shrine in Kuruelna? That place is nothing but ruins."

'No...it's not...'

The thief continued to laugh. "Did you ever think maybe THAT'S why your Pharaoh made the items? Maybe Akunumkanon was after that evil power...just like me! Not just Egypt...he wanted to rule THE ENTIRE WORLD with the power of darkness!"

Pharaoh Atem growled and jumped from his throne, pointing at Bakura. "Bakura! Get your foot off that body!"

"So...I finally got your butt off the throne..."Great Pharaoh"..."

The six priests on the ground all stepped forward, their Millennium Items glowing. "That does it! To insult the Pharaoh means death! We priests will carry out your execution!" Priest Shada said raising his Millennium Key. Stone slabs rose up from the ground as each priest summoned their own creatures. The monsters were called out of the slabs and flew in to attack Diabound. Soon a great battle commenced, but even with Diabound ambushed, it still did not go down.

"HAHAHA! You're no match for my Diabound!" Bakura laughed.

"Move." said Pharaoh Atem as he pushed Bakura out of the way. During the battle he had walked away from the throne and around the creatures next to Bakura. He knelt down and lifted Pharaoh Akunumkanon's body off the ground, staring at it sadly.

"Heh heh...an emotional reunion, eh Pharaoh...? Some pieces might have fallen off on the way here..."

"Stay right there...I'm going to destroy you." He then began walking back to the throne, Diabound coming right at him.

"Look out, Great King! You're too close! Don't turn your back on him!" Akunadin shouted.

Atem only continued walking as yet another large battle began. He walked staring at his father's body sadly and gently placed him on the ground in front of Priest Siamun.

"Do not fear, Great Pharaoh. This insult to Pharaoh Akunumkanon will not go unavenged! As the agents of the gods, the priests will punish this malefactor!"

"He's not the Pharaoh...this torn and beaten body...is my father!" As the ka of the priests were dispensed of and the priest were weakened, Atem walked forward and stood between them and Diabound. I'm going to fight! The rest of you get back."

"So the "Great Pharaoh" himself joins the battle! H-ha ha...you'll join your father as a mummy!" Bakura smirked with a crazed look on his face as the snake attached to Diabound swirled toward the Pharaoh with its mouth wide open.

"Pharaoh! Look out!"

Pharaoh Atem only stood as the Millennium Puzzle around his neck began to glow. "Justice is in the name of the gods...and the name of the god is...OBELISK!" An enormous bright light shot out from the sky and struck down behind Atem. "I'll show you one of my three great allies...one of the three hidden gods!" The image of Obelisk the Tormentor emerged from the light. Bakura could only stand and watch in awe and horror. "Bow before the gods, Bakura!"

"Whoa...one of the Egyptian Gods that protects our country..." stared Vash.

Juliana nodded. "Obelisk the Tormentor...that reminds me." She looked around at the floor below. "Where is Naru?"

"Hm? I don't know." He looked around as well, then back at Juliana. "I'll go see if I can find her. Remember, don't move from here unless you truly need to."

Juliana nodded and watched Vash run out the same door Naru had disappeared through, and looked back down at the two large beasts that faced each other.

Bakura stood in shock, but only for a moment and smirked. "...well. My plan was to kill all seven of you and take the Millennium Items...I never though I'd be stopped by a God...But if that's what it takes...Diabound will destroy your God...and then we'll see who the real God is!"

"Bakura! The Millennium Items were forged with my father's dream of freedom and peace. I will never forgive the person who tries to steal them!" Atem said.

"'Freedom'? 'Justice?' Don't make me laugh...the Millennium Items are made of good AND evil...they're like a double-edged sword. Whoever possesses them must beware...because, you see...the Millennium Items will respond to the evil that lives in every person's soul...and drag them into a world of evil. The rich and powerful LOVE to talk about 'Justice'! The right to punish those you fear...to kill those you hate...and call it execution, not murder! Is that really justice? Or is it evil? What you really fear is your enemy's idea of justice! No one can truly draw the line between just and unjust, good and evil. Only the Millennium Items can tell...they are the compass of the soul!"

'How could he know all this? Bakura has never owned a Millennium Items as far as I know. He speaks as if he himself was born of a Millennium Item," Juliana thought.

"Even now, 'Great Pharaoh'...look behind you at your self-righteous priests...can you be sure there isn't one who covets your throne?"

"What are you saying!" Akunadin demanded. "We priests swore absolute loyalty to the Great Pharaoh!"

"H-heh heh heh...I claim justice on my side as well...I'll kill every one of you...I'll make myself Pharaoh...and with the power of the throne and the Millennium Items, I'll rule the world!"

"Murder! Grave robbing! Just where is the 'justice' in your actions! You won't get away with this!" shouted Atem.

"Diabound! Destroy Obelisk! Surpass the power of the Gods! Spiral Wave!" Diabound charged its energy and fired a huge beam of energy directly at Obelisk. The God brought up its mighty arm to block the attack and stood unscratched. Bakura's eyes widened.

"Bakura...I'll show you how flimsy your 'justice' is...with the iron fist of a God!" Obelisk's arm began to glow and it punched Diabound hard in the stomach, sending both Diabound and Bakura flying back into the wall.

Bakura slowly rose to one knee, gripping his stomach with blood dripping from his mouth. He and Diabound slowly stood up right and Bakura smirked. "I see. So that's what your God can do...you're better than I thought...but next time it won't go so well for you. 'Great Pharaoh'...heh heh heh...So long!" Diabound put a hand in front of him and they both slowly disappeared within the walls, but not before Bakura looked up and smirked at Juliana.

"Oh no! He went through the wall...! His human body too! Quick! Follow him!"

Atem looked up at Juliana and she nodded. She jumped down from the balcony, landed perfectly on the ground, and followed the guards outside. "Alright! I want one squad to search the city! I'll need a squad with me! Hurry now, be quick!" They all ran for horses and rode off into the desert. Once they got far enough, Juliana split the group up into three, having only two soldiers follow her. She had a very good guess where Bakura would be...