@datonegui I still haven't seen after confirmation of death, but at this point, I'm just imagining him being alive because the plot doesn't hold. His clothing aren't made of mithril or some other unobtainium. Pertaining to his character, he attempts to shove off the prince to save him and is unable to act. I don't buy the author's cheap tension for revenge.
What I argue is he was slowed down by the evil powers of the dark gods (read: the author) who for cheap tension prevented him from acting correctly in order to save his brother.
At the end of the story, he'll discover this and seek to destroy the author in order to free his world from stupid plot hijinks and vitriol. I imagine once said task is complete, his world will dramatically improve and his brother may even return from the dead as a consequence of the actions of the merciful gods intervening on the MC's behalf.
This is my projected story outline.
[Begins eating popcorn to await the reveal of the Bigger-Bad, since the descendent/sperm factory doesn't make the cut for even a Big-Bad.]
Note: "after confirmation of death" means proof post mortem of demise. As in, all-dead vs mostly-dead. See TVTropes for details.