I am not going to jump to conclusion till the end of the series, I am sure there is some BS way for him to come back.
When Mavis tried to stop him, I was thinking "no he is long over due to die", and he went through with it. It is still to early to tell if Makarov is truly gone, when Juvia and Gajeel were thought to be dead, I was okay with them not dying, they shouldn't die, but a character like Makarov is long over due.
That being said, I am going to miss you Makarov, though you never know it could still exist as a spirit, that would be okay I guess.
Now I am tired of waiting, time for Erza and Irene to finally meet and let's find out the nature of this relationship, enough is enough Hiro, this is even worse than Silver in the Tartarus arc.
Next chapter, Broken Bonds, Natsu and Gray they need to chill out, we are in the middle of a war, now is not the time.