Said theory being that that one match will have Brunhilde be the Valkyrie who forms a bond with the human warrior. Win or lose that match, she’ll die. Thus Goll will take her place as leader, despite being the youngest, amongst the remaining Valkyries who won their matches.
Seeing as how there are 13 Valkyrie and 13 matches, that would mean Brunhilde and Goll would end up participating. But Brunhilde never made Goll take up the oath the other Valkyries did, way back in the early chapters. So I assume she never intended for Goll to participate but instead she’s grooming Goll to be her successor. Seeing as how Goll made the choice this chapter to care about Jack, whom she despised earlier, it seems like it’s working. And Brunhilde herself seems to be gearing up to make a sacrifice for humanity.
If Buddha fights for humanity, that means only 12 Valkyries will participate in matches.
Of course then again, let’s be real, we all wanna see every human listed take part in a fight so one getting shafted would suck - plus that means the gods are one god short now. So who knows what’s gonna happen.
I’m glad the manga is shaking up the plot a bit now tho, I’m excited to see what happens next!