Chapter 42: Verdict

With the fighting finished, Atli discovers that his entire raiding party lies dead. He then spots his brother Torgrim still breathing and rushes over in joy, only to be met with blank confusion when Torgrim asks who he is. Nearby, Thorkell accepts that his own men shattered the rules of combat by pinning Thorfinn to the ground, and he orders the boy released so he can at least keep what dignity remains. When Thorfinn urges Askeladd to slip off while the chance holds, Askeladd refuses and tells him to stay put and see the interesting part unfold.

Canute approaches the exhausted giant and asks for a sled and provisions. Thorkell, reluctant to free prey that fell into his grasp, presses him for a reason. The prince lays it out plainly: he holds no worth as a captive, since his father Sweyn dotes on the elder son Harald and dispatched Canute to die in England so the kingdom would not fracture. He states that if let go, he will travel to Gainsborough to confront the king, having little life left worth mourning even should he lose.

To weigh whether the prince truly means it, Thorkell drives a fist toward his face and stops a hair short. Canute never so much as blinks. The giant recognizes in that stare the same quality he once saw in Thors, and admits his single deepest regret was failing to follow Thors years earlier. Declaring he would oppose Sweyn in any case, Thorkell pledges his strength to the prince. Askeladd then bursts into wild laughter, kneels, offers his own blade hilt first, and confesses that he killed Ragnar. Rather than take his head, Canute assigns him Ragnar's former burdens as atonement, then announces to all that they now ride to pull the king from his throne.

Torgrim's survival comes at the cost of his memory, and he cannot recognize his grieving brother Atli. Thorkell formally forfeits the duel and frees Thorfinn. Canute exposes his father's scheme to be rid of him and states his intent to march on Gainsborough. Moved by the prince's fearlessness under a feigned blow, Thorkell swears himself to Canute. Askeladd admits to Ragnar's murder and is spared, ordered to serve rather than die, and Canute proclaims the campaign against Sweyn's crown.

Titled Saitei in Japanese, this forty-second installment ends Volume 6, and its contents were adapted in Episode 19 of the anime. The volume's closing material features a map tracing Thorfinn's travels, two bonus comics drawn by Yukimura's assistant Haito Kumagai in a Shigeru Mizuki style, and an afterword where the author reflects on hoping his own sons might one day read the lessons he poured into the work.