From Mukade's perspective, it seemed his life had reached its end.
He had arrived in Rōran six years early, taken the name Anrokuzan, and climbed step by step to his current position.
He had assassinated the previous queen when she began to question his false loyalty and kept the new queen wrapped around his finger.
Rōran was already his, and the dragon vein had become a vital resource for growing stronger.
How comfortably he had lived those six years, wearing luxurious clothes every day, watching the red-haired girl on the throne respectfully call him "Lord Anrokuzan," watching the people he had imprisoned work for him, watching the entire city's population slowly be replaced by puppets.
He had almost come to believe he was a god.
But the blond young man who had hunted him six years ago had also arrived in this time.
He was still just as powerful, destroying two of his puppets the instant he appeared.
Then, somehow, he had persuaded the young queen Sara to find Anrokuzan's residence.
He was so arrogant, treating Anrokuzan as though he were beneath notice.
Those blue eyes, as vast as a lake, were filled with contempt. He looked at Anrokuzan as though he were an ant.
Mukade-no, Anrokuzan-was furious.
That fury surged from deep within his chest, scorching his blood vessels and nerves.
He had amassed so much power, so many trump cards over those six years, yet the blond man looked at him exactly as he had at the Rōran Ruins six years ago.
He summoned every Dragon Vein Puppet he had aboveground in Rōran, and they surrounded his residence.
The whole world seemed shrouded in darkness, with only the purple glow of the dragon vein flickering within it.
They represented six years of painstaking effort. Every puppet had been