Something got caught in his eye!

You're not the only one, Frau Eva. The last episode made me think of Akio in a much  more nuanced light than I had previously -- not just when he cries when speaking to Anthy, but the fact he used "aishiteru" when talking to her (which as I understand it is an extremely serious statement of love?), and how he attempted to help Utena up on her way to the gate. Not that I think he cares about Utena, really, but that attempt, and his later whimsical reflections on her and his past, made me regard him much more as an individual (a bastardly individual) who had a certain outlook and agenda than "the bad guy." Of course, he's not a character whose development I've thought about/analyzed to the same depths of Utena's or Anthy's, so it could be I'm missing something.

In regards to the cry, I'm pretty sure Akio genuinely fears the swords -- who wouldn't? Perhaps he feared they'd turn on him -- though that seems unlikely given he doesn't have Utena's soul sword, and he specifically says the "prince's sword" is what they were drawn to, so he probably guessed they'd head for Utena (though the swords are also shown to be pretty wantonly destructive, so maybe it was the destruction of the castle as well as the fact he might be endangered himself). There's also the possibility that he realizes that because Anthy is no longer taking the swords for him, she may not serve as his Rose Bride again (which, if you subscribe to the idea that Akio actually DOES want to revolutionize the world, means his chances may be gone).  But he seems so surprised when she leaves that this is suspect, too.

I don't know, though, as completely astounding as the last episode is, there's lots of weird things that happen with  no explanation - Anthy's falling away, for instance, doesn't make a whole lot of sense (to me at least), it just works well dramatically. So it's hard to say.