I’m a Holy Knight, but I Contracted with an Evil God - Chapter 58

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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 58.
“Touching devotion, truly.”
Leon muttered the words darkly, positioning himself where the aura felt most concentrated.
He unslung the sword from his back and drew it from its sheath.
It was that old blade where Ecrizei dwelt.
【Wait, wait a moment! You’re not—!】
“It’s not that. Calm down.”
Leon answered Ecrizei curtly—the spirit rarely panicked—and planted the sword into the ground.
Then he began digging, using the empty sheath like a spade.
“You’re not seriously planning to dig with a sword.”
【I thought you’d be capable of it, but I suppose not.】
“……There’s still time. Want a taste of dirt?”
【……No.】
As Ecrizei’s grumbling subsided, Leon pressed deeper into the earth.
When he’d cleared away considerable soil, his foot brushed against something hard and unfamiliar.
“These bastards really are consistent, aren’t they.”
Beneath the Frost Mushroom colony lay a half-decomposed corpse.
And where the heart would have been when the body still lived, Leon found a familiar fragment.
The moment Leon’s hand touched the fragment, the Holy Mark pulsed—as if waiting—and devoured the fragment’s power.
“……Ugh.”
It was considerable force, enough to have tainted an entire mushroom colony, but thanks to days of recuperation spent expanding his capacity, he could bear it.
Still, the revulsion that always came with Corrupted power remained unchanged.
【You’d think you’d grow accustomed to it by now.】
“This is something I’d rather never get used to.”
Leon swept his gaze across the clearing.
The vast Frost Mushroom colony that filled the open ground withered black the instant he absorbed the fragment’s power.
As if the fragment itself had been the source of their vitality, the brilliant snow-flower carpet vanished, leaving only the stench of rotting mycelium hanging over the clearing.
“At this point, I’m starting to wonder where these creatures keep finding your fragments.”
【I’m curious myself.】
Since his return, Leon had encountered fragments of Ecrizei—large and small—at each Corruption incident.
Even accounting for the heightened senses that came with growing power, there was an uncanny feeling he couldn’t shake: that everything these creatures did seemed to unfold through Ecrizei’s fragments.
“Is anyone around?”
Leon expanded his senses fully as he asked.
By now, his and Ecrizei’s detection ranges were nearly equal, but he asked to be certain.
What he was about to do could not be seen by anyone.
【Not a single ant.】
At Ecrizei’s answer, Leon let out a soft laugh and settled onto the ground.
This time, he laid the sword where Ecrizei dwelt horizontally across the earth.
【What are you doing?】
“Let me do some maintenance before we leave. There’s been too much commotion around here to do anything proper.”
With that, Leon withdrew from his breast the fragments of Ecrizei he’d been keeping.
The fragment that had knocked him unconscious in the Eastern Canyon and left him bedridden for days.
The power within the fragment had been absorbed through the Holy Mark, but the shell of the fragment itself remained intact.
Just as he had in the solitary cell before, Leon lifted the hollow fragment above Ecrizei’s blade.
The fragment melted like liquid the moment it touched the steel, seeping in to fill the rust and fissures of the blade.
“Good. The rust seems to be fading now. Though it doesn’t look like a proper sword yet.”
Leon murmured this, turning the blade this way and that in the moonlight.
The nicked and deeply oxidized edge had shed its dull, bludgeon-like state and begun to take on the proper character of metal.
“If I extrapolate from how your blade is recovering, it must have been considerably large in its original form?”
【Likely so.】
“You don’t sound certain.”
【Have I not told you this before? I have no memory.】
That was the fundamental problem.
If Ecrizei’s memory were intact, hunting these creatures would be far simpler.
Ecrizei didn’t even know why he’d been shattered, and though he was called one of the Evil Gods equal to the Three Main Deities, he couldn’t remember why he was bound to a sword at all.
“I wish your memories would return as your power recovers.”
【The recovered power is too slight, I suspect. We might have a chance if we find a larger fragment.】
“Maybe. Could be.”
At Ecrizei’s words, Leon laughed bitterly and drew another object from his breast.
An old ring he’d picked up at the Shadow Marketplace.
“Why did you tell me to keep this?”
【A humble ring, but I can feel Sernatio’s power in it. No harm in holding onto it.】
“Sernatio?”
【A being similar to me. One of those entities you humans call Evil Gods.】
“……Sernatio was?”
At Ecrizei’s words, Leon examined the worn ring more closely, but found nothing particularly strange about it.
To Leon’s eyes, the ring appeared old and ordinary.
【Just like when we first met, it seems our names aren’t well known among you humans.】
“Well, Evil Gods? The only names commonly known are the Three Main Deities.”
Arcerel, which Leon belonged to, the powerful Vaniser in the north, and Erionel controlling the west—these were the names familiar to humankind.
Other entities could only be found in texts, so it was only natural that ordinary humans would know nothing of them.
Above all, what they had in common was that they were benevolent deities who brought good to mankind.
Standing on the opposite side, the Evil Gods were notorious only for the misdeeds they were said to have committed; their names were scarcely known.
Unlike the Three Main Deities who were revered, the names of Evil Gods had been deliberately erased from history.
So while humans were aware Evil Gods existed, it was difficult to know their exact names.
Unless one heard it directly from the beings themselves, as Leon had.
【I believe I mentioned it then as well—we have never directly harmed your kind.】
“I think you did mention it. That those with power need a sense of responsibility for it.”
Leon’s gaze grew noticeably colder as he looked at the sword in which Ecrizei dwelt.
“If you saw what Evil God worshippers have done borrowing the power of Evil Gods, you couldn’t say such things. The Three Main Deities revered by humans at least restricted humans from wielding their own power as they pleased. Lending out power and then claiming ignorance of how it was used—as a human myself, that sounds irresponsible to me.”
【I see your point.】
“……Let’s drop it.”
Leon abandoned the conversation and pulled a monocle and a small pendant necklace from his pocket.
Both items emanated an uncommon aura.
“These look expensive enough at first glance to be easily mistaken, but…given their track record, that can’t be right, can it?”
【Are you suggesting they were deliberately smuggled out?】
“The princess acquired the Tears of Adbena at auction. It’s no coincidence these were in the marketplace either.”
【Do you know what these items are used for?】
“I don’t know about the necklace, but this one I recognize. It looks like Nord Basques’ monocle.”
Among the Sacred Artifacts Leon knew, there was only one shaped like a monocle.
It was a relic treasured by Saint Nord Basques, the former Grand Inquisitor of Vaniser, said to retain the strong power of the saint’s ability known as the Eye of Truth.
【What’s its purpose? It seems to have a use, like the ornament you wore when you became a follower of Arcerel.】
“Discernment, or judgment. Similar to the owner’s ability in life.”
【Are Sacred Artifacts almost always made that way? Could something you’ve used for a long time become a Sacred Artifact later?】
“I’m not sure. Those bearing the Holy Mark don’t necessarily leave behind Sacred Artifacts, and Sacred Artifacts don’t only appear from items used by the Holy Mark bearers.”
As he spoke, Leon rose to his feet and brushed off his clothes.
Dawn light was spreading blue beyond the forest.
Leaving the withered mushroom grove behind, Leon turned his steps toward Pnebeln.
* * *
What greeted Leon upon his return to the village was an atmosphere of relief tinged with anxiety.
Through the morning mist, Colman waited for Leon at the village entrance.
“Have all the residents who consumed the mushroom been accounted for?”
“Yes. Just as you predicted, all those showing symptoms were those who had eaten the Frost Mushroom.”
“How many in total?”
“Twelve adults and four children.”
“Are there any Frost Mushrooms remaining?”
“No. We searched every home thoroughly, but nothing was left.”
Leon nodded and handed Colman a leather pouch.
Collected before removing the Fragment buried beneath the earth, the Frost Mushrooms in the pouch still displayed their unnaturally lush appearance.
“Please verify once more whether any Frost Mushrooms are being stored, and if any remain, collect and burn them all. It has been confirmed that the cause was contaminated mushrooms. This is a sample for the report.”
“What? I was certain it was just a matter of eating the wrong mushrooms…….”
“Ordinary mushrooms wouldn’t cause such symptoms.”
Colman examined the inside of the leather pouch Leon had handed him and asked, sounding quite puzzled.
It was a deeply strange turn of events.
“So this is a contaminated mushroom? It really does look like an ordinary Frost Mushroom on the surface.”
“It’s not at a critical level. Likely the spiritual energy beneath the Frost Mushroom grove became turbid for a time—rare, but it happens occasionally. Since I’ve resolved the source, there’s no need for further concern. However, I ask that you inform the villagers to avoid approaching that clearing for a while.”
Since Leon had removed Ecrizei’s Fragment, he intended to close this incident as an accidental disturbance caused by a contaminated mushroom grove.
Just as his explanation to Colman suggested, while uncommon, such occurrences were not unprecedented, so no one would suspect anything.
It seemed Leon was the first to discover this contaminated Frost Mushroom grove.
【Your deception doesn’t slip up anywhere, does it?】
‘There’s no way around it. I can’t report that your fragment was the cause.’
Eckhardt’s handling was so cavalier by Leon’s standards as to be incomprehensible, yet precisely because of that carelessness, he’d acquired the fragment from an entirely unexpected quarter—and by results alone, it was more than satisfactory.
“Should I report it to the Baron as merely a disturbance caused by naturally occurring contamination?”
“Yes, please do. Once you show me the draft report, I’ll add any necessary supplementary remarks.”
He took care to add the pretext of revision, ensuring he’d have grounds to review the final report before it reached the Baron’s hands.
The incident in Pnebeln had to end as nothing more than a minor disturbance.
“Then I’ll go see Delan.”
“Pardon? Now? You’ve been up all night…….”
“This much is fine.”
Leon turned from Colman and made his way to Delan’s cottage.
Delan was in the midst of sorting through a list of patients—those showing signs of contamination—to request treatment from Leon.
“Ah, you’ve returned? The clearing…….”
“I’ve handled it. Your concern was warranted.”
“Was it truly the Frost Mushroom that was the problem?”
“Yes. A colony of contaminated Frost Mushrooms had formed there, so I removed them entirely and cleared the surrounding area. I left samples with Colman, so you can verify them yourself.”
“Then there’s no risk of contagion…….”
“Since ingestion of the Frost Mushroom was the original cause, there shouldn’t be any. However, there may still be mushroom spores lingering in the clearing, so it would be safest to restrict access to the area for some time.”
At Leon’s matter-of-fact words, Delan released a breath of relief and pressed a hand to his chest.
“How are the other patients faring?”
“The child treated by Leon yesterday was the most severe. The rest of the patients show symptoms, but nothing of that magnitude.”
“If you’ll gather the patients, I’ll help treat them.”
“If you would do so, all of Pnebeln would regard Leon as a lifelong benefactor.”
“I’m merely fulfilling my duty.”
At Leon’s humility, Delan’s lips twisted into a bitter smile.
“No, truly—it will be so. Pnebeln ought to stand under Vaniser’s protection, yet it is a knight of Arcerel, not of Vaniser, who has stepped forward in their stead. That is no ordinary thing.”
Delan was no fool.
The other inhabitants of Pnebeln were no fools either.
Every resident of Pnebeln keenly felt how passive Vaniser had been in this affair.
Leon also smiled bitterly.
“Among Arcerel’s teachings is this: ‘You are the light of the world—let your steps illuminate all places so that none are left in shadow.’ I have merely followed that teaching.”
“Arcerel’s teachings seem to offer much to learn. A knight who visited some time ago spoke similar words.”
“……You mean another knight from Arcerel came through here?”
“Yes. He introduced himself as Dorkanel, of Arcerel.”
At the unexpected name that fell from Delan’s lips, Leon froze.
Bregvar Dorkanel.
One of the Elite Knights, like himself.
“……Who did you say visited?”
To be continued ▶
A Holy Knight who made a contract with an Evil God
Author
Ramdot
Publishers
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Inquiries
[email protected]
Publication Date
March 27, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227066
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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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