I’m a Holy Knight, but I Contracted with an Evil God - Chapter 17

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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 17.
In the moment Leon hesitated, a branch—so blackened it appeared ash-grey—coiled around Bercello’s throat in a single, fluid motion.
The charred, vine-like tendril moved as though alive.
And it wrapped itself around Bercello’s neck while his attention was wholly fixed on the exchange between Sirent and Ilbar.
“Choke……!”
“Bercello!”
“What—what is that?”
“A branch?”
“Idiot, have you ever seen a branch move like that?”
“It’s obviously a Corrupted Being!”
Even amid the chaos, the serpentine wood twisted relentlessly around Bercello’s throat.
The pressure was not forceful enough to snap his neck outright, yet far too strong for him to escape on his own.
As the strangling grip tightened, his struggles grew progressively weaker.
“Help…….”
Ilbar and Kyle were too far away, locked in combat with Sirent.
The closest person to notice the change was Leon, who had been approaching Bercello from behind in pursuit of the Flag.
‘How is there a Corrupted Being in Acalon?’
In that instant, Leon’s mind recalled documents about Acalon that he had discovered in Zone 2.
The question surfaced, but he pushed it aside just as quickly.
For now, Bercello’s survival was the only priority.
Rather than seize the Flag before him, Leon struck directly at the branch that was choking Bercello’s breath from his body.
Screeeech!
“……!”
The blade’s edge transmitted a texture far too fibrous, far too alive to be wood, and a strangled, suppressed cry escaped the Corrupted Being—a sound that issued from a clenched throat.
It was a sensation Leon knew well.
This was…….
‘……a Spirit Tree?’
Corruption was a phenomenon by which existing life was twisted by Chaos into something other.
And Spirit Trees were the collective name for plants and plant-like organisms that had fallen to Corruption.
The impossibly resilient skin and serpentine branches that no ordinary tree should possess moved with terrible, living animation.
While plant Corrupted Beings like Spirit Trees were less dangerous than their animal counterparts, their appearance was deeply grotesque.
‘The Destruction Method is…….’
Simple.
Once a formal Holy Knight qualification had been obtained, basic weapons and Holy Power alone were sufficient to kill one.
All that mattered was finding and destroying the core.
His hesitation was brief, his action swift.
‘The core’s location—inside that joint nearest the wall, yes?’
【Slightly deeper in.】
‘Deeper? Then I’ll just destroy it all.’
Leon located the core through Ecrisae while beginning to strike repeatedly at the branch holding Bercello.
The training sword distributed to each candidate for the midterm evaluation was not sharp enough to face a Corrupted Being, so Leon brought it down like a club while deliberately concentrating his Holy Power along the blade’s edge.
Not much was needed.
And it was familiar work.
In those days when his Holy Power was negligible compared to a novice priest, he had become adept at applying even that meager strength with ruthless efficiency!
Crack!
The moment the branch nearly severed under the club-like swing of his blade, a grotesque shriek pierced through the ears of every Candidate.
Screeeeeeeech!
As the tendril jutting from the wall snapped and the Spirit Tree released a cry of agony, its branches suddenly extended and went rigid.
The branch strangling Bercello’s neck, now devoid of strength, drooped limply.
At last, Bercello could draw a proper breath.
“Bercello? Are you all right?”
“I’m f—fine…….”
“You’re absolutely certain you’re fine?”
At Leon’s suspicious question, Bercello’s bloodshot eyes fixed on him with a glare.
【The ingratitude of it. Talk about attacking the hand that saved you.】
‘Yeah, well. He’s an elite Holy Knight Candidate like the rest of us.’
Even having nearly died, that much grit wouldn’t abandon him.
That was what Bercello’s face seemed to shout.
Leon held his gaze for a moment, then stepped back.
Ilbar’s team, unable to approach while Leon and the Spirit Tree were locked in combat, now rushed toward Bercello.
“Are you alright?”
“Can you continue?”
“Nothing broken, I hope?”
Worried voices from his teammates tumbled over Bercello, who looked half-dazed.
When they asked if he could go on, Bercello nodded firmly in response.
Rather than join the fuss, Leon approached the wall where the Spirit Tree’s stem jutted out from the surface against which it had been leaning.
The wooden tendril drooping down from the wall was quite thick.
‘Must have been an enormous tree originally.’
【Appears so.】
‘Can you tell how much is buried in the ground?’
【Not certain, but it feels like a tree with a severed trunk buried in the wall. Not much is actually embedded—probably about as much as what’s protruding.】
‘Is that so? Then there’s no need to dig into the wall.’
Since the core had been destroyed, it should be dead, but plant-based Corrupted Beings often possessed multiple cores, so Leon examined the Spirit Tree’s fragments carefully.
As he did, Ilbar approached Leon’s side.
“A Spirit Tree?”
“Likely so.”
“Are you checking for additional cores?”
“…Yes.”
So he does know the characteristics of plant-type Corrupted Beings after all.
Leon observed Ilbar’s face, now close beside him, with this thought in mind.
Then he asked.
“Isn’t a Spirit Tree also a kind of Corrupted Being?”
“That’s right.”
“Then that means Acalon has been corrupted?”
“…Yes.”
Ilbar affirmed Leon’s question and swallowed hard.
Though Leon might not realize it, this was quite a serious matter.
Acalon was a site under the Religious Order’s management, used as a testing ground for Candidates.
The discovery of a Spirit Tree—a type of Corrupted Being—in Acalon, and moreover, one that had attacked a Candidate, was no trivial incident.
This was by no means an ordinary occurrence.
“A Spirit Tree?”
“How did a Corrupted Being get into Acalon…?”
“Is that a problem?”
Shock and criticism erupted at once.
A Spirit Tree, no less!
The unexpected appearance of a Corrupted Being sent confusion rippling through all the Candidates.
“We need to report this to the Director.”
“We should. The appearance of a Corrupted Being on Religious Order property is a significant incident.”
“Then I’ll go to the Director right away—”
Just as Sirent stepped forward after hearing the exchange between Leon and Ilbar, a cold voice cut through everyone’s ears.
“That won’t be necessary.”
The Candidates’ gazes snapped toward the speaker as one.
Leon also looked up, and saw Aila standing not far away, her expression far more rigid than usual.
“Ilbar. Report the situation.”
After a short breath, Ilbar gave a concise account of events from the moment Bercello was attacked to when Leon subdued the Spirit Tree.
Aila kept her eyes on Leon throughout Ilbar’s entire report.
When all the reports were finished, Aila made her declaration.
“The test is suspended.”
A bittersweet sigh rippled through the Candidates.
They all regretted the interruption of the test they’d been anticipating.
Sirent in particular made no effort to hide his disappointment, knowing his team had been on the verge of victory thanks to Leon’s performance.
Victory had slipped away by the narrowest of margins.
But that disappointment was instantly dispelled by Aila’s next declaration.
“Test parameters are revised. Search for remaining Corrupted Beings, including the Spirit Tree. Scope: all of Acalon. Proceed in pairs.”
The sudden announcement brought mixed reactions.
After a brief moment of confusion, the eight Candidates quickly formed pairs.
Teams were decided in an instant, yet organized swiftly in ways that complemented each member’s strengths.
Leon paired with Sirent.
“Any team that discovers additional Corruption is to avoid engagement and report to me. Regroup here in thirty minutes. Now—disperse!”
* * *
“Ah, what a shame.”
Even as Sirent quickened his pace, he muttered ceaselessly.
The muttering bordered on self-talk, yet it wasn’t difficult to guess that it concerned the victory they’d narrowly missed moments before.
Leon felt the same regret, so he didn’t bother to stop Sirent’s grumbling.
Rather than echo Sirent’s sentiments, Leon turned to Ecrisae.
‘This can’t be the end of it, can it?’
【Likely not. It went down fast enough, but it was moving actively—there’s almost certainly a Corruption zone somewhere supplying it with Chaos.】
‘Exactly, I thought—wait.’
Mid-conversation with Ecrisae, Leon stopped in his tracks.
Sirent tilted his head, puzzled.
“What is it?”
“The Spirit Tree is… well, it’s still a tree, isn’t it?”
“…I suppose? Corrupted Beings generally retain many characteristics of what they were before corruption, after all.”
Leon’s question was so straightforward that Sirent answered readily, despite his confusion.
It didn’t sound like mere ignorance.
“Trees absorb nutrients through their roots.”
“Right?”
“If nutrients—especially water—are scarce around the roots, the tree would spread them deeper, wouldn’t it?”
“…Probably.”
“The Clock Tower sits in the Central Plaza, which is fundamentally just well-maintained paved road. So wouldn’t a tree growing around there naturally send its roots downward?”
“That’s true.”
By the time Leon finished, Sirent seemed to have grasped where this was leading.
“…So the groundwater’s likely been contaminated?”
“That does seem the most probable. Do you remember which direction the water sources of Acalon were flowing on the map we examined?”
Sirent nodded at Leon’s question.
Without hesitation, he turned his body toward the direction the stream that bisected Acalon was flowing.
“This way!”
* * *
What Sirent and Leon found was a modest Chapel on the outskirts of Acalon.
Beneath the Chapel, a water source flowed across the mountain range, connected to the groundwater system.
If the water had been contaminated, then this Chapel’s water source would be contaminated as well.
And that assumption proved correct.
“…Ugh.”
The moment they pushed open the decrepit door, a stench hit their noses.
A rot-smell reminiscent of decay but markedly more vile hung thick in the air.
Leon and Sirent both grimaced almost simultaneously.
“…It’s larger than I expected.”
About two paces from the water source that cut across the Chapel’s floor sat a typical Corrupted Being.
A gnarled, ancient tree twisted beyond recognition, with what looked like chunks of flesh clinging to it, pulsing rhythmically.
It was enormous—so much so that it seemed incomprehensible they hadn’t discovered it sooner.
“The Corruption’s progressed considerably.”
“Destruction alone won’t be enough.”
“We can’t manage this ourselves, no matter what we do. We’ll need to bring the Captain.”
“Yes. There were also orders to follow.”
Sirent chewed his lip, then spoke to Leon.
“Check the area around the Chapel a bit more, would you? I’ll go fetch the Captain.”
“Understood.”
He agreed readily enough, but the moment Sirent was far enough away, Leon turned to Ecrisae.
“Ecrisae, help me. We need to destroy this before the Captain arrives.”
To be continued ▶
A Holy Knight Who Made a Contract with an Evil God
Author
Ram Dat
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Contact
[email protected]
Publication Date
March 27, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227066
※ This e-book is protected under copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and duplication are prohibited. Violations may result in criminal and civil legal liability.
※ Pentagram awaits your precious manuscript.

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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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