056, Phoenix

"Eh... an unexpected surprise?" Sylphiel circled back to Rimuru's side and handed him the seed. "It seems to be an extremely pure essence of flame. Red Fox's trump card? In any case, I don't really like that aura."

"..." Rimuru examined it for a moment, then simply turned his hand into swirling black mist and swallowed the Seed of the Phoenix whole for analytical identification. Immediately afterward, Shinji Matou lunged at him in despair, only to be kicked away again by Sylphiel.

"Looks like it's something important."

"Not that important..." Once the analysis was complete, Rimuru spat the Seed of the Phoenix back out. Holding it in his hand, he frowned slightly. "It's merely the concentrated essence of Nirvana Flame. A high-grade protective charm?"

The true nature of the Seed of the Phoenix was a blessing condensed from the essence of Nirvana Flame. It allowed someone to undergo nirvana within flames, rebuilding their body with Nirvana Flame while enhancing their affinity and talent for fire.

However, Phoenixes were essentially energy lifeforms, and the highest-level power within a Phoenix Sequence holder was Nirvana Flame. Consuming its essence was no different in principle from a vampire like Lilith consuming the blood essence in her heart—it was an ability with enormous consumption and a severe cost.

Though it seemed unimportant, it was actually an exceptionally precious material.

At that thought, Rimuru's expression turned strange.

Back then, since Great Sage had been able to obtain a vampire's power from Lilith's blood essence—or rather, had directly obtained the power inherited through Lilith's bloodline—even without any formal title, Rimuru truly could be considered Lilith's successor in terms of power. Otherwise, Lilith probably would not have favored him so much.

And now... having obtained this Seed of the Phoenix, didn't that mean...

Rimuru, do you want to