A brave and noble man made the ultimate sacrifice on tonight's episode of The Shannara Chronicles: To ensure the safety of Eretria -- and, in the process, Wil and Amberle -- he stepped in the line of fire and offered his own life.

So who made such a selfless, heroic choice? Cephelo.

Yeah, we bet you didn't see that one coming.

The last time we saw the deceitful rover, he'd committed yet another act of treachery: Cutting a zipline that was suspended across a mountain (LINK HERE), he sent Amberle, Wil and his very own daughter into what could have been a fatal plunge.

Tonight, karma was a bitch: The princess and her half-human, half-elf honey (yes, they hooked up again -- score!) found Cephelo caught in an elf trap...and immediately ripped him a new one for what he did on that mountain.

"You deserve to die, alone in a cage, like the dirty animal you are," Wil said.

But alas, Cephelo was able to talk his way out of the predicament: After insisting that he could help the two find Eretria, who'd been sold off at a human colony called Utopia, Amberle agreed to free him -- with one warning.

"Cross us again, and I'll gut you like the pig that you are," she said. Sassy, right?

Before long, Cephelo had indeed led Wil and Amberle to Utopia; with his work done, he bid the two adieu and even gave Wil a hug. Too bad he was really pick-pocketing the blond adventurer in an attempt to steal his elf stones.

But again, karma is a bitch: Eventually, Cephelo was captured yet again, this time by the very humans who were busy charming Eretria in Utopia. By episode's end, he was tied to a post and being offered to hungry trolls -- right along with Amberle and Wil, who'd also been screwed over by Utopian leader Ty.

"I never thought I'd end up as dinner," Cephelo said.

But he didn't, thanks to Eretria and that handy-dandy gun. Before long, though, an armed Ty and his cohorts arrived, with a full-on shoot-out ensuing. During the mayhem, Cephelo made a surprising offer.

"Give me [the gun], and I'll hold them off for you while you guys make a run for it," he told Eretria.

When his daughter doubted his intentions, he pulled his coat aside and revealed that he'd already suffered a sure-to-be-fatal wound. "Kid, you can trust me," he said. "I got nothing to lose."

And then, in a moment that made us feel kinda-sorta bad for all the times we dragged him, he apologized for his sins.

"I'm sorry," he told Eretria. "I'm sorry I cut the line at Pykon. I'm sorry for all of it. You're the best thing I ever did -- let me make up for it."

With that, the ultimate tough girl handed him the gun and fled with Wil and Amberle. Cephelo, meanwhile, charged the humans. His very last words to Eretria: "Go make me proud, kid -- go save the world." And then, he was gunned down in a blaze of bullets.

RIP, Cephelo. And hey, Eretria -- listen to the old S.O.B. and make him proud.

Tell us: Were you shocked by Cephelo's demise? And do you have sympathy for the rover, or was his apology too little, too late? Express yourself in the comments section, then be sure to catch The Shannara Chronicles Tuesday at 10/9c!