Chapter 86: No Going Home

Thorfinn and Snake trade blows across the farm, each surprised by how capable the other proves. Snake cannot understand how an unarmed opponent keeps slipping away from his blade, while Thorfinn recognizes a seasoned fighter faster than anyone he has previously faced. When Thorfinn stumbles on a stone, Snake uses the opening to station himself right at the cart where Gardar lies. Arnheid pleads for mercy and Sverkel offers to cover the loss of the five guards who died, but Snake brushes both aside. To him the matter is not about coin, and the lives of his drifter crew are not something anyone gets to write off. Getting no answer to his question of why Gardar deserves more than five men, he drives his scimitar into the captive's chest.

Gardar, thought finished, rises and clamps a hand around Snake's throat until the commander blacks out. Thorfinn strains to peel the arm loose but cannot break the hold. Arnheid changes everything by simply telling Gardar it is time to go home, that no one will stop them now and that Hjalti is waiting. Bleeding heavily, Gardar releases Snake and asks after his son. Sverkel hands over the cart so the couple can leave, and Arnheid, knowing her husband is past saving, climbs aboard beside him. As they roll away he wonders aloud how big the boy has grown and swears he will never abandon them again, then slumps against her. Fox and the guests begin closing in as Arnheid weeps over him.

Snake fatally stabs Gardar in the chest after rejecting Arnheid's pleas and Sverkel's offer of compensation. Gardar briefly chokes Snake unconscious before Arnheid's words persuade him to let go. Sverkel gives the couple his cart, and Arnheid departs with her mortally wounded husband. Gardar collapses as the two ride off, sharing a final conversation about their son Hjalti while Fox and the guests approach.

The chapter belongs to Volume 12 and adapts to Episode 41 of the anime. Its Japanese title, Kaerenai Futari, renders as roughly the pair who cannot go home, underscoring the doomed reunion at its center. The featured quote comes from Snake, defending the worth of his outlaw subordinates.