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While it has been some time since Askeladd passed away in Vinland Saga season 1, he is still a very important character when it comes to plot progression. Earlier, he was the person Thorfinn based his life's purpose on, as he looked forward to killing him. However, later Askeladd's vision helped him stray off violence.
That being said, Askeladd was a very secretive person, who had only one friend, Bjorn. Nevertheless, he ended up killing him in a duel close to the end of the first season. So, why did Askeladd kill his only friend? What happened between them that led them to have a duel in the first place?
Vinland Saga: Why did Askeladd fight Bjorn?
From the very beginning of the series, Askeladd had been the leader of a band of Viking mercenaries, a chief member of which was Bjorn, who was the "muscle" of the group. He had been part of Askeladd's band for the longest time and hence rose the ranks to become his right-hand man and companion.
In the anime, it was pretty evident that Bjorn was very close to Askeladd as he was the only person capable of counselling him. Nevertheless, the two seemingly did not share their backstories as Bjorn was unaware that Askeladd was half-Welsh and hated the Danes.
This lack of communication did not seem to affect them as Bjorn was the only person in support of Askeladd when his band started doubting him. Even the latter himself was sure that Bjorn would choose his side. This happened during the time when Askeladd instructed his band to run from Thorkell.
Once when Bjorn was single-handedly defending Canute from an attack by using his Berserker mushroom, he was stabbed by Atli, a former member of Askeladd's band, who betrayed them and moved over to Thorkell's side. Bjorn realized that his wound could never heal, hence he knew he was about to die. Thus, he challenged Askeladd to a duel.
As per Norse mythology, there was an afterlife called Valhalla where Viking warriors are sent after their death to drink and dine with the Gods after their noble death as a proud warrior. However, if Bjorn were to die of blood loss, he could never enter Valhalla. Thus, he entrusted the person he trusted the most, Askeladd, to kill him in a duel.
While Askeladd was part-Welsh and hated the Danes, he knew of Norse mythology and what it meant to them. Thus, he, for whom, Bjorn was his only friend, decided to help his friend out by fighting him. While the fight went on for some time, the results were predictive as Bjorn was too injured to defend himself.
However, Askeladd could not kill his friend with a single strike and had to repeatedly attack him. He was horrified at the thought of causing his friend pain, which is when Bjorn told him that the only thing he wanted to do in life was to become Askeladd's friend. Upon hearing the same, the latter was able to finish him off and tell him that Bjorn was indeed his only friend.
