Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 316 Aura Shield!!

I would rather have a heat shield over here. The upcoming week promises to be brutal when it comes to the temperature where I live, a little behind the rest of the country, but still WAY above average for this time of year. Thankfully, it doesn't seem that the heat is going to rise into the triple digits this time, since my home doesn't have AC; I've promised funds that could be going into air conditioning to a new roof instead. It'll still be pretty uncomfortable, though, especially for little Grimalkin, all covered in fur. Wish us luck!

With thief!Bakura also feeling the heat, it's nice to know I've got company. BAD company, but still...

As the magic blows continue to fall on Diabound, he groans and screams, more blood just pouring out of his mouth and from under his hair. I don't know if he has enough blood left in his body to keep going before too long, let alone that all-important magical power. The smoke from the attacks hasn't even cleared yet before Yami is questioning rather hopefully if Diabound is finally dead. Thief!Bakura huffs and scoffs while he kneels on the ground, then looks up and grins through the layer of his own blood. Chuckling, he acknowledges that the Magus's training in the afterlife gives his attacks more of a bite, but it's STILL not enough to beat him.

What do they have to DO? Push him into a vat of molten steel???

Staggering to his feet, thief!Bakura reiterates that he's going to kill the pharaoh and the priests, get all those Millennium Items into their spots in the mold, and seize that power of Zorc Necrophades for himself. No hint as to WHY the dude is SO indestructible to be found. Yami notices with alarm that Diabound is still snarling and upright, and still has some strength left. Thief!Bakura is compelled to correct Yami - he says that he's going to make Diabound even stronger than ever. 

Oh good, one of my guesses as to a source of power for this guy seems... kind of true. 

Indeed, Diabound is perky and energetic after this little recharging, writhing performatively before Yami. Thief!Bakura laughs that the souls he just took into himself will double Diabound's power. Because this battle DEFINITELY isn't overstaying its welcome at this point. Yami, Shada and Mahado stare in horror as thief!Bakura commands the newly pepped Diabound to attack and send the three of them to Hell, BACK to Hell in the case of the latter. 

It freaks Yami the fuck out that Diabound isn't even bothering to turn invisible, and tells Mahado to be careful, because they don't know if this thing has managed to gain yet ANOTHER new unknown power suddenly. Thief!Bakura silently acknowledges that Diabound CAN'T actually turn invisible in direct light, so that's out of the question right now, but he also thinks being invisible isn't needed anymore.

Not exactly sure what that first move was, Mahado, but you sure did make it! Good job!

Apparently it was fast too, because when Mahado zips into Diabound's snarling face, thief!Bakura comments on his speed with awe. Yami commands the Magus to attack, and he lets loose yet another Thousand Magic Blasts. But as the volley hits Diabound, it raises its arm against it, and both Mahado and Yami are in utter disbelief, thief!Bakura wearing a triumphant smile at Diabound's defensive pose.

I'm guessing these ghosts went to the same afterlife battle training course that Mahado did, just enrolled a decade ago? 

Yami panics over Mahado, while the maniacal thief!Bakura bids the Magus a very lovely DIE. Spiraling energy starts to swirl from the center of Diabound's chest, and Mahado watches with alarm, not using that incredible speed thief!Bakura was commenting on a minute ago, for some reason. The Spiral Wave ejects from Diabound and right into the inexplicably frozen Mahado. 

Thousand Magic Blasts must have rooted him to the spot or something.

Legs splayed, Mahado is blasted right into a pillar behind him. I feel kind of bad for laughing, but I really couldn't help it. It was very Looney Tunes. What's not funny is both Yami and Mahado spitting up some blood, the former worrying over the latter with Shada looking helpless in the background. Thief!Bakura laughs that Mahado will never return to this world again, promising to rend him limb from limb THIS time. 

Don't know if he's familiar with a myth from his very own culture that features a god getting reconstituted after being dismembered by his own brother, but someone should tell him that chopping his enemy up isn't any GUARANTEE here.

As they Yami and Shada stare impotently at Diabound hovering menacingly over Mahado and stuttering his name, Mahado himself groaning that he can't move. 

Don't get me wrong, I love a good creative trapezoidal panel, but all these slanted box boundaries are kinda difficult to cut out on the computer...

Yami is certain that it's over if Mahado gets hit again and screams his name. Shada growls with frustration and holds out his Millennium Key, asking it to accept his ba and summon something. But before he can say what that something is, thief!Bakura refuses to let him go any further with this request and his shelled friend behind him starts to build an attack in its gaping jaws. The shot fires right through Shada's back, eliciting a groan of agony from him as the key tumbles from his hand. 

Thief!Bakura gleefully mumbles that he'll take this third treasure for himself as well, and proceeds to TELEKINETICALLY draw it right to him from the air. Where did THAT ability come from?? Did the ghosts bestow this little gift on him too while they were powering up Diabound???

He yells at the hated magician to die now, because Diabound is done fucking around at this point, I guess. 

No sooner does thief!Bakura start to think that ALL his inexplicable advantages had finally gotten rid of the Magus that he has to do a bit of a double-take in disbelief, wondering where the body is when he sees the lack of bloody remains at the base of the shattered pillar. Uuuuuhhhh, Mahado is already dead. Why would he leave a body behind? I think perhaps thief!Bakura has lost a bit too much blood and isn't thinking clearly. Not that he was thinking clearly before...

He looks up at a voice from above asking a master to hang in there. 

Hey! I recognize that wide-neck off-the-shoulder vaguely eighties chic getup! Both Mahado as he's being dragged upward and Yami below recognize Miss DMG here as Mana in amazed disbelief.

Girl must have gotten her STUDY on recently - not just of magic, but also her master's ability to just kind of show up places with no discernible method of getting there.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? It really seems that, in order to amp up the drama and stakes for this battle, KT was giving thief!Bakura all KINDS of legs up with damn near NO explanation. As I'm so fond of saying, while I can come up with my own explanation for most of this, it is preferable to have something more concrete understanding from the source material itself. Sure, we COULD say that the ghosts from Kul Elna have learned a fair few more things about influencing the physical world from the afterlife than Mahado, given their longer stint in it. We COULD say that their numbers and greater seniority in the Beetlejuice-style courses for haunting give them an overall greater amount of power, making it easier for them to tip the scales by giving thief!Bakura and Diabound more abilities. Or, we COULD say that the Millennium Items are more inclined to lend THEIR unique powers to the one guy who has more of them than anyone else in the room.

But, does the narrative indicate any of these explanations? I personally don't think so. As a reader, it's natural for me to come up with my own interpretations of the text, but this is a bit more work than I'm used to doing to make things seem plausible instead of just being confused about where these dramatic elements came from. It is more than a little possible, with the compressed timeline for wrapping the story up, this particular confrontation was meant to be two or even three different ones, with their own points of evolution for thief!Bakura/Diabound, and KT was forced to combine them. Unfortunately, we will probably never know if that's the case now.

As jarring as some of these out-of-nowhere elements, and the continued radio silence on WHY thief!Bakura was so powerful to begin with, have been, they ARE still effective in making things a bit more uncertain and tense for the protagonists. When all is said and done, the reader simply doesn't KNOW where thief!Bakura's limits are. Just when you think he HAS to be beaten, he bounces back with a fresh wind in his sails, if I can mix my metaphors a little. Even if you can't for the life of you tell WHY he's got so many reserves of improbable strength, you worry all the same about what this means for our heroes.

And I can't in good conscience say THAT'S not some great writing slight-of-hand.