I’m a Holy Knight, but I Contracted with an Evil God - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 10.
Deep within the 2nd Knight Order Headquarters.
There existed a zone where access was restricted not just to outsiders, but to ordinary knights as well.

The Baekya Corridor.
Known also as the White Arena, this was no mere training ground.
It was the crucible and forge where the Order of Light shaped its sharpest blade—the Elite Knight—and into this hallowed space, a foreign shadow now crossed the threshold.

Two sets of footsteps rang out crisply against the marble floor.
Leon followed in Ayla’s wake, his eyes sweeping silently across his surroundings.
The corridor was immaculate—the kind of fastidious cleanliness that tolerated not a speck of dust—and rows of shut doors spaced at regular intervals lined the walls.
Even the faint but sharp aura that permeated the air itself.

It was all familiar and yet utterly strange.
Before the regression, for more than twenty years of his time in the Order, this place had been forbidden to Leon.
A sanctuary reserved solely for the 2nd Knight Order and, more precisely, for Elite Knights and their candidates.
Now, stepping foot in a place he could not access even as a formal Holy Knight, Leon felt the weight of new emotion.

“From today on, this will be your domain.”

With those words, Ayla opened the massive door at the end of the corridor.
Beyond lay an enormous Training Arena, the air thick with the heat radiating from several trainees locked in their exertions.
The moment the two stepped inside, every movement in the arena ceased as though a switch had been thrown.
The noise that had filled the space vanished, and seven pairs of eyes snapped toward the pair in unison.
Particularly toward the unfamiliar face behind Ayla—toward Leon.

【New competitors, then.】
‘Yes. Those seven are all Elite Knight Candidates.’

The Order of Light selected a total of seven Elite Knights.
Since Elite Knights held authority and independence equivalent to that of a company commander, the selection process was notoriously harsh and exacting.
Moreover, an Elite Knight could only be promoted when a vacancy opened due to the death or retirement of a predecessor.
Because of this, even those of exceptional individual skill often found themselves lingering in candidacy for years, only to be displaced by younger aspirants—a fate that was all too common.

The candidates vying for Elite Knight status were themselves formidable, and the sudden intrusion of an uninvited outsider sent down from above into such a fiercely contested position should have been unthinkable.
Ordinarily, it would have been.
Even among Apprentice Holy Knights, territorial bias ran rampant throughout the Order.
Among Elite Knight Candidates, such in-group hostility would be beyond imagination.

“You said you entered yesterday, didn’t you? You’ll need to stay there for a while. There aren’t any empty rooms yet.”

Ayla broke the taut silence with an unusually flat tone.
Of course, Leon did not take her words at face value.

‘She’s testing me.’
【You brought him here after selecting him, though.】
‘That was her judgment, yes.’
【Then?】
‘But I’m a special admissions candidate. Isn’t it natural that the regular selectees would push back?’
【So she chose you, but you have to overcome the resistance on your own.】
‘Exactly. If I can’t handle this much, there’s no point to the special admissions pathway.’

Prove to them that you are special.
That was what Ayla was saying.
Ordinarily, this would be the moment to crumble—for individual excellence and the mental fortitude to endure external pressure are not one and the same.
But there was one thing Ayla did not know.
Leon was far too accustomed to situations like this.

‘Before the regression, I spent all my years in the Order under constant torment and ridicule. This is nothing.’
【You’re confident, then?】
‘Right. And besides, they’re far more civilized than those juvenile brats.’

By virtue of being Elite Knight Candidates, the trainees were considerably older than the Apprentice Holy Knights.
Moreover, since these were men with plenty to lose, there wouldn’t be anyone as blatantly provocative as Theoren.

‘Any challenge they throw will be subtle—the kind that stops just short of causing real trouble.’

And weathering that sort of political maneuvering was one of Leon’s greatest strengths.
It was in that moment that Leon spotted a golden-haired boy among those watching him—one who stood out unmistakably from the rest.

‘Is that one the front-runner?’
【The blond over there】
‘Yeah. His looks would suit the 1st Knight Order better than the Elite Knights.’

There was no way he could forget a face like that.
Leon thought it through carefully, retracing his memories, but the face was unmistakably unfamiliar.
Given the nature of the Elite Knights, it wasn’t particularly strange that Leon—who had been an ordinary Holy Knight—had no prior connection with him.
What gave Leon pause was something else entirely.

A conspicuous appearance was no advantage for an Elite Knight, whose missions were often solitary and required discretion.
Yet the presence this boy carried was undeniable, which meant one of two things.
Either he was such a capable man that he’d managed to remain unremarkable, or he was already dead by the time Leon advanced to full Holy Knight status.

‘Either way, he won’t be easy.’
【His aura is certainly extraordinary】

Still, nothing changed.
Leon’s goal wasn’t merely a candidate—it was a full-fledged Elite Knight.
If the boy before him was the strongest contender, then he was simply an obstacle to be overcome.
If anything, Leon felt his competitive spirit kindle.

‘Good. At least the target is clear.’

If one person dominated the atmosphere, overwhelming that single person could reverse the entire dynamic.
Just as the Apprentice Holy Knights had lost all nerve to challenge Leon after he overwhelmed Theoren.

A faint smile crossed Leon’s lips.
This won’t be boring.

“This is Leon. He’s joining us today.”

Despite Ayla’s hearty introduction, the response was lukewarm at best.
Hostile murmurs erupted from various corners, yet because it was the captain speaking, no one dared step forward in open defiance.
It was the golden-haired boy Leon had noticed at the entrance who broke the uncomfortable silence.
He stepped forward with unhesitating stride and opened his mouth with a composed expression.

“If it is the captain’s decision, then there must surely be a sound reason behind it. Isn’t that so?”

His manner was clean and courteous, yet his words contained two underlying premises.
That the decision of Ayla Harven, captain of the 2nd Knight Order, was made without personal bias and with perfect fairness.
And that Leon was exceptional enough to warrant such an exception from her.

“Of course. My eye for talent doesn’t deceive me.”

Ayla spoke with certainty, her gaze settling on Leon.
This was a clear provocation.
Prove yourself, it said.
An ordinary person would have been utterly demoralized, but Leon instead felt his competitive spirit surge.
Leon looked around with a smile.

“Of course.”

Yet the tension in the room refused to dissipate.
The fair-haired boy, as if reading the discomfort in the air, spoke again.
“Commander, would it be alright if I sparred with Leon?”
“…You and Leon, Ilbar?”
“Yes, Commander. You already know Leon’s skill level, but the other candidates should verify it too—that way, future training won’t be unnecessarily difficult.”

He deftly mediated the tension born from the candidates’ discontent and the hierarchy’s resistance.
His ability to defuse a situation was considerable.
Watching the fair-haired boy work, Leon realized once more that his initial judgment had been correct.
Just as he’d suspected from the start, this boy Ilbar was clearly steering the mood among the candidates.
As he spoke in measured tones with plausible reasoning, agreement finally settled over the group.

“Fine. Let’s do it that way.”

With Ayla’s approval given, the fair-haired boy Ilbar retrieved a Practice Sword from a corner and handed it to Leon.

“Ilbar Lisend.”
“Leon.”

After the brief exchange of names, both took their stances.
Leon deliberately adopted a basic stance that revealed no distinctive features, while Ilbar assumed the textbook Swordsmanship stance taught by the Order of Light.
Clean and orderly, stripped of all excess.
Compared to Theoren, Ilbar’s stance was incomparably more refined and orthodox.

【That Theoren or whatever is no match for this.】
‘Comparing him to Theoren would be an insult. He’s an Elite Knight Candidate, after all.’
【Which makes the outcome all the more important.】
‘Right.’

If the match with Theoren had been nothing but a petty power struggle between peers tainted by personal grudge, this bout with Ilbar was a different fight entirely—one on which his future hinged.
Personal vengeance mattered, but in terms of importance, this far outweighed it.
Of course, Ilbar was far from an easy opponent like Theoren.

‘…No one here expects me to win.’

He felt the weight of countless stares upon him.
A different pressure than when facing Theoren.
Not a soul in this room—not even Ayla, who’d seen his skill—would expect Leon to best Ilbar.
An entirely reasonable expectation.
But Leon refused to accept it as inevitable.

‘I’m sick of it.’

This moment, where no one expected anything of him.
Leon had endured such situations far too many times.
That had been the whole substance of his life before the Regression.
But now, he wanted no part of it.

【Is there a way?】
‘…There is.’

One.
There existed a single method by which Leon, with his current abilities, could not merely lose to Ilbar—could perhaps even hold his own against all of Ilbar’s superior circumstances.

Was it because of his conversation with Acridise?
To Ilbar’s eye, Leon seemed utterly unfocused on their upcoming match.
It didn’t quite read as nervousness; there was something subtly off about his demeanor.
In the end, Ilbar had no choice but to call out to him.

“……You’re not concentrating? Did something rattle you?”

At Ilbar’s words, Leon’s gaze shifted to meet his.
The moment their eyes locked, Leon’s lips curved into a smile.
It was clearly a provocation, but Ilbar accepted it gladly.

“Ha!”

With a sharp cry, Ilbar’s sword came rushing forward.
Leon couldn’t help but admire the almost textbook-perfect form of that attack.

Clang!!

Ilbar wielded his blade with an elegance that resembled a dance, each movement flowing and precise.
Clean footwork without unnecessary flourish, swift and powerful strikes, and the tactical sense to strike and withdraw at exactly the right moment.
His sword was faster and straighter than anything Theoren could manage—there was no comparison.
In pure technique alone, he was nearly the equal of Leon before the Regression.

“……!”

Contrary to everyone’s expectation that Ilbar would overwhelm him, Leon evaded every one of Ilbar’s attacks by the narrowest of margins.
But that wasn’t enough.
The Swordsmanship Ilbar employed was the foundational technique taught universally by the Order of Light.
Leon had drilled it to exhaustion, so the technique itself was one he knew intimately.
Yet the two of them were twenty and fourteen years old, and there was nearly a full head’s difference in build.
The only advantage Leon possessed was experience.

“Ungh!”

He could predict the sword’s trajectory, the timing of the attacks, the next movement—everything. But Leon’s body was merely an untrained fourteen-year-old child.
Though taller than his peers, his untempered frame struggled against a well-trained twenty-year-old. He could predict the moves, but his physical capacity couldn’t keep pace with that foresight.
Each time Leon evaded Ilbar’s strike by the thinnest margin, sighs and quiet mockery rippled through the trainees watching.

“All he does is dodge.”
“Somehow he hasn’t taken a hit.”
“That’s all he’s got. One solid strike lands and it’s over.”

This was different from the match with Theoren—the spectators were of a different caliber entirely.
Because their training levels differed, the other candidates watching the bout could pinpoint exactly what was lacking and where the problem lay.

As the exchange wore on, the murmuring grew louder, but Leon paid it no mind.
His objective was clear.

【If you only dodge, the match will go nowhere.】
‘Doesn’t matter. I just need one opening.’
【You have a plan?】
‘I need to make Ilbar use his Holy Power. That’s the only way to turn this around.’

What Leon sought was a single moment of vulnerability.
Just one opening to crack that marble-like composure.
A single opening to provoke Ilbar into drawing upon his Holy Power.
That was Leon’s plan.
To be continued ▶
A Holy Knight Contracts with an Evil God
Author
Ram Dat
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Pentagram Publishing
Inquiry Email
[email protected]
Publication Date
March 27, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227066
※ This e-book is a copyrighted work protected under copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and copying are prohibited. Violation of these terms may result in criminal and civil legal liability.
※ Pentagram welcomes your precious manuscripts.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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