In the story, his death looked inconsequential and was not really detailed at all. He did not die. He was killed off. There has to be a reason for this. (besides the need for pointless violence) I think that in the upcoming "final battle" having a character with teleportation power was too much of an edge. If one guy can evac an entire toa team, doesn't it take off a bit of suspense? I say he was killed because it would detract from the suspense at the end of the story, and because they can't afford to have such a powerful character go unused. (If he lived.)