Chapter 1218

It was Miguel. Somehow, he was still breathing. He looked utterly ravaged. Battered and disheveled, he lurched toward them like something barely clinging to life, a phantom of the imposing figure he’d once been. Yet his eyes blazed with ferocious intensity, locked onto the ornate box nestled in Elliana’s grasp.

Miguel halted several paces away from Elliana, thrusting out a hand that trembled with equal parts exhaustion and determination.

“Surrender the Sovereign’s Orb to me,” he commanded, his voice grinding out like stone scraping stone.

He had wagered everything for this prize—spilled his own blood, danced at death’s threshold. All for the Sovereign’s Orb and the intoxicating power to bend the Griffiths family beneath his will. He refused to simply stand by and watch while Elliana claimed what burned in his chest as rightfully his.

“I am a descendant of the Griffiths family!” Miguel snarled, fury sharpening every syllable into a blade.

“Their blood flows through my veins like fire! The Sovereign’s Orb and the mantle of leadership belong to me. Relinquish the Sovereign’s Orb immediately!”

But the Sovereign’s Orb alone wouldn’t satisfy the hunger consuming him. He wanted Elliana as well.

Seeing the hatred twist across Miguel’s face, Elliana could read his thoughts as clearly as if he’d spoken them aloud. But she had no plans to indulge his desires. If anything, she intended to make the devil who had destroyed her mother suffer until he begged for mercy.

The moment Miguel’s demand left his lips, Elliana’s mouth curved into a cutting smile. Without hesitation, she flipped open the box, letting the Sovereign’s Orb gleam brilliantly before him. Miguel’s eyes widened, burning with a hungry, almost feral light. Though he bore the Griffiths bloodline, he had never once seen the fabled Sovereign’s Orb with his own eyes. His lowly status had denied him that privilege—he’d grown up hearing about it only through hushed tales and family lore. Now, faced with the real thing, greed surged in his veins. He could almost feel its power pulsing against his palms, calling to him.

“Give it to me!” he shouted, his voice hoarse with desperation.

Let your imagination soar with gα?ησν?s．?ο

Elliana didn’t move. Her smirk only sharpened, her words slicing through him like a blade.

“You want it that badly, Miguel? Then take it—if you can. Did you really think I’d just hand it to you? Keep dreaming.”

With a snarl, Miguel lunged forward. But the motion tore through his chest like fire, and he stumbled, coughing up blood that splattered darkly at his feet.

Elliana didn’t even blink. Her sneer deepened.

“In your state, you should be more worried about surviving than snatching the Sovereign’s Orb.”

Miguel said nothing. He knew she was right. Ever since that near-fatal escape from the underground base, he’d been living on borrowed time, chasing Maxine with nothing but hatred keeping him upright.

.

.

.