#572 Seems to indicate Belkar is quite doomed. TBH it will probably be the one of the OOTS comic's coffin nails since Belkar has plenty of fans. Rich even swung a backhand at them in panel #5 of 788.
It will come down to what the fans want vs. the Artiste's vision.
"Belkar will draw his last breath - ever -"
To me, this sounds more like he's going to become undead or something like that. If he was going to die, the panel would've probably been more clear in meaning.