It is by far the most emotional addition to this season of Mushoku. Throughout his whole ordeal, my mind has been reminding me of the Man God's warning about Rudeus regretting going to save Zenith. We got death flag after death flag, once Rudeus successfully saved Roxy I knew that things were going too well and that someone had to die.
As an anime-only, I suspected Paul for a couple of reasons although this episode did a fair job of redirecting me with the Elinalise scares. She was the first to be injured and when she blocked for Rudeus the blood splattered on his face a trope often used to symbolise witnessing death.
Why I Suspected Paul
My first noted major flag was Rudeus's vision about having Paul and the family together. Another reason I suspected Paul was the talks he was having with Rudy now that he was married, coming of age can be very passing the baton.
How I Saw It Going Down
Although I suspected Paul would die this episode or next the way it happened surprised me. Until now, we had only really seen Rudeus's eye from the perspective of attacks against him. His seeing Paul's movements made me think that he would see Paul's death directly before it happened and be unable to do anything about it.
Which death flag sticks out the most to you in your mind?
Darth Rudues
The shadow cast by the loss of Paul is so great that the loss of his arm seems meaningless. Rudeus himself said that "I beat a hydra and only lost my left arm".
I do not think that Rudeus's lost arm will be permanent at all. I think it was Rudues's first time using such advanced healing magic, I never heard it before but I know it is more advanced than anything anime Rudeus has used in the anime before.
It was like a way of saying if he cannot even regenerate an arm it's not even worth trying to save Paul from the condition he was in. Rudeus himself said that more advanced healing magic could regenerate his arm so it's only a matter of time before he gains that type of knowledge or perhaps a healing scroll. My current best guess is that Nanahoshi can help him she was there when Orsted nearly killed him the last time and he was fixed up as good as new. Maybe she has an item or knowledge he can use to heal his arm.
After they found that moving doll does anyone like the idea of Rudeus getting a mechanical arm he can move with magic?
Last Thoughts
This is where I think the light novel readers can chip in if it is not a future spoiler, Paul's final thoughts. Paul died knowing he had saved Rudeus, not Zenith. He told Rudy to save his mother even at the cost of his own life something he knew a father should not say. I guess that his last thoughts were something like see your father is dependable in the end with an alive Rudeus being his last vision.
What Do You Think Paul Was Thinking To Himself?