Chapter 36: Two on the Battlefield

The duel begins with Thorkell swinging two axes against Thorfinn's paired shortswords. Reading each attack before it lands, Thorfinn stays calm and slips clear, and the watching warriors cheer, calling it the finest bout they have seen in ages and noting how hard nimble fighters are to bring down. Thorfinn lands a cut on Thorkell's side but draws no blood, foiled by chain mail worn beneath the coat, while Thorkell laments the damage to a garment he happens to like.

Thorkell observes that Thorfinn shows no fear of his axe and credits that nerve to Thors. Taking the bait, Thorfinn asks how the giant knew his father. Thorkell corrects the boy's belief that Thors was born to a jarl, explaining that it was his wife Helga who carried the noble bloodline, while Thors earned his renown in battle. He offers to share more only if Thorfinn makes the fight worth his while, and Thorfinn coolly agrees, joking that holding back just enough to keep him talking will be the tricky part. When the men laugh, Thorkell crushes one mocker's skull with the back of his axe and declares Thorfinn a true warrior deserving respect. He names Thors far stronger than himself and demands Thorfinn prove beyond doubt that the blood runs in him. Steps away, Askeladd plucks the arrows from his body one by one, grumbling that the boy returned only to get himself killed, leaving Bjorn alone to shield the prince against ten pursuers.

Resting on a makeshift bed, Canute listens to the nearby fighting and, longing to sleep forever, refuses to open his eyes. In a dream he meets Ragnar, who confirms he has come to say goodbye. Ragnar admits he failed as a teacher, raising the prince as a farmer would a son rather than as a king, against Sweyn's wishes. Weeping, Canute asks what was wrong with that, since Ragnar honored his wishes more than his own father ever did, and cries that he never wished to be a prince and would have lived far better as Ragnar's son. Moved, Ragnar holds him, then rises, reminds him that loss teaches its own lessons, wishes him well, and tells him it is time to wake from the dream.

Canute wakes to the sight of a berserker Bjorn pounding the pursuers with bare fists as several rush him in vain. Seated on a barrel and drinking, Willibald tells the prince the men are fighting over him and that he will belong to the victor. Asked why a holy man does not stop the slaughter, Willibald replies that those who seek death should be left to find it. Canute recounts his dream of the ever-dutiful Ragnar and grieves that no one is left in the world to love him. Willibald grants that he has reached a great realization but insists he has it slightly wrong, then asks whether Ragnar's feeling was truly love, given that he allowed sixty-two innocent villagers to die for the prince's safety, and presses Canute to say what love even is.

Thorfinn and Thorkell begin their duel, with Thorfinn dodging blows but unable to pierce the giant's hidden chain mail. Thorkell reveals that Helga, not Thors, carried the jarl's bloodline and offers more if Thorfinn earns it. Askeladd removes his arrows and worries for Bjorn alone against the pursuers. Ragnar appears in Canute's dream to say a tearful farewell. Willibald confronts the grieving prince with the question of what love truly means.

Opening the Volume 6 material, this chapter is adapted within Episode 18 and carries the Japanese title Senjo no Futari. It begins the philosophical exchange between Canute and Willibald that reframes love, loss, and discrimination, a dialogue that becomes central to the prince's transformation. Ragnar's dream farewell marks the emotional turning point that pushes Canute out of his grief and toward his awakening.