His handsome and youthful appearance was specifically created at the sponsors' request. Igniz became the leader of NESTS after he killed his father years ago. After the events of the '99 and 2000 tournaments, Igniz decides to host the "King of Fighters 2001" tournament in hopes of becoming a new god, deciding to test his newly acquired power against the finalists. His hopes are short-lived, however, as he is defeated by the K' Team. Cursing his failure and declaring himself a demon instead, Igniz attempts to destroy the planet by plummeting NESTS' main headquarters out of orbit; his attempt fails, and Igniz dies in the process. In "King of Fighters XIV", Igniz is one of the souls inside Verse.   are a new group of antagonists that appear in the 2003 tournament. They are mysterious, and supposedly inhuman, warriors who want to get the power of the Orochi so that they can give it to their shrouded master. It is implied that they are the European counterparts of the Orochi Clan. The organization is destroyed after Saiki's death by Ash in "The King of Fighters XIII", but their actions triggered the birth of Verse.   is the hidden final boss in "The King of Fighters 2003". His appearance was designed with the concept of petrification in mind. Mukai's primary power is his control over many things related to stone. He can form stone, either in crude rocks to throw at foes, or as elaborate pillars to crush them. He speaks in very pious, grandiose declarations, but appears to have a cautious attitude toward the potential of humans. He makes a prompt appearance in "The King of Fighters 2003" tournament seeking strong opponents and to test his strength. Mukai reveals that his group had organized the 2003 King of Fighters tournament so that they could break the Orochi seal and give its power to the group's unknown leader. Mukai wanted to battle against the winning team of the tournament, seeing if they had what it takes to survive in "the new age". Mukai is defeated but manages to escape. However, in "The King of Fighters XIII" he is killed by Saiki after disobeying his boss.   makes his first appearance in "The King of Fighters XI" as the sub-boss. The character was conceptually designed to be one of Ron's daughters, though developers decided to change his gender to startle and appeal to fans with his androgynous appearance. Shion is an enigmatic character whose past is unknown.