The throne was not large, only about a hundred meters tall. Slumped atop it was an indescribable mass of rotten flesh. Amid the tangled pipes and purple Void Coral, a vaguely humanoid outline could barely be seen.
Yet unlike the previous eight Void Knights, the being on the throne exerted pressure on Li Aoz like a mountain. Merely approaching it made him feel insurmountably oppressed, almost unable to summon any desire to resist.
This was the "King."
Li Aoz slowly stepped forward and raised the nine High Table Knight masks he had collected. The power of the Void swiftly took them over. Bathed in purple radiance, the masks spun, melted, and layered together until they finally fused into a dragon-faced mask. It slowly descended onto the King's face, where thin purple tendrils reached out to pull it into place, sealing it perfectly.
The next moment, a tremendous sound rang through the entire hall.
Buzzz...
The vast, empty hall rapidly changed. Great quantities of Void Coral burst from the ground, while the floor shattered apart. Things hidden underground were drawn out one after another by an invisible force and floated into the air. Among them, a figure imprisoned within a light-forged cage slowly drifted before Li Aoz.
"Oh my, you really did make it here."
The creature speaking was around thirty centimeters tall. Its three squirrel-like fluffy tails, moon-colored fur, and head somewhere between a fox's and a white tiger's allowed Li Aoz to recognize this long-unseen being at a glance.
"Knight Mirrid, Granny Baba Yaga... and Qualia-Direction."
Li Aoz raised a hand and used weak force to erase the cage.
His words made Qualia-Direction smile.
"There's still some time before this fellow awakens. Let's catch up, young man."
The next moment, they transformed into the image of Knight Mirrid, with