Maka had informed them that the barrier was weakening, she had been anxious to get back there ever since it happened, but they hadn't been able to break the seal. Even if they could have done it, they weren't sure they wanted to, after all Corona sacrificed themselves to stop the Kishin who actually was immortal, so most people hadn't been too keen on trying it too soon.

Not that that would stop Black star, he had already surpassed gods after all.

This wasn't an empty boast either, he had beaten Stein even when Stein was armed and he unarmed, and he had beaten Kid, making him the strongest as far as anybody knew. The only ones left to beat where the other 'grate old ones' and Maka's mom, though she was definitely weaker than both Kid and him.

Maybe that old witch hag too?

The guy in the book of Eibon, they had the other copy of the book, but couldn't get into the Kishin to rescue Corona with it. He was powerful, madness of power was his thing, right, but he didn't want to fight so Black Star let him be.

The kids aroundShibusen weren't anything special, having never faced a real battle in their life they couldn't hope to compare to the old Spartoi team. But that was alright not like they'd ever need to considering Shibusen had Black Star now.

He still looked like he did at twenty, even if he was close to fifty now, and didn't seem to age at all, so there's another way in which he had become as good as the gods.

Black Star was standing on the moon, if the barrier was getting weaker he needed to be there in case it opened up, even slightly.

The other members of Spartoi where... around. Close enough that they might be able to help, but far enough to stay out of his way. Maka and Kid where closer than the rest, they'd need Maka to go ad fetch Corona, after all, and kid would keep her safe, allowing him to focus on his 1v1.

Maka and Ox where 'getting to old for it' but where still there, while Kilik was growing weaker, in a sense, but still ready for a fight. Kim and Kid where as young and spry as him.

Tsubaki had somehow been able to stay young, same with Jaqueline, and Fire and Thunder where younger than the rest of Spartoi, but the other weapons where definitely getting there, Liz in particular was always complaining about aces in her lower back, and everywhere else.

He saw the barrier thinning out a little, almost to the point that if there had been light in there he'd be able to see what was going on in there, but it covered up quickly. Maka was definitely right about the barrier so the next time it got weaker, Star would bust through.

He gave the signal, a big boost in his soul wavelength, as he charged his shadow, Tsubaki was in her Masamune form, the black katana.

He saw the weakness appear just as Maka and Kid made it there, just as Star released an attack on the weak-spot, the instant before he burst through the opening he just made.

He sensed the Kishin before he saw him, the madness strong enough that even he, without soul detect, could feel it, and he sent the rest of his attack that way.

The barrier closed up behind him, but he had caught a glimpse of the moon and had memorized the direction of things. From there on the occasional echo of battle sounds would be his only way of orienting himself, but it'd be enough.

The slash came fast and hard, starting off with his infinite style, he stabbed Asura with five blades, and starting off a flurry of attacks. Ashura blocked a fair number, but failed to counter him as he quickly moved about, slashing away at the Kishin. He drew blood every time sword met skin, but didn't make any significant damage. The Kishin didn't even bleed that much thanks to the black blood.

The plan had been clear from the start, he'd give Maka an opening to go fetch Corona, hold off the Kishin until they resurfaced, then he'd kick some god butt, proving once and for all that he really had surpassed gods.

It had been simple, Star would be on the moon starting when Maka sensed that the barrier was weakening, just in case it broke without them realizing. After that once he noticed that it was falling apart, possibly before Maka felt it, he'd communicate this to them by flaring his wavelength, which Maka would notice.

Meanwhile the rest of them, Shibusens current elite, the old Spartoi team, now older going on old, would be close by, strategizing. They knew that if they wanted to save Corona, they'd have to do it before they dealt with the Kishin, so first thing would be for Maka and Soul to enter the Kishin like last time, find Corona and get them out. Shed contact Star by whispering, his hearing was known to he superhuman even all those years ago, before the Kishin was even awakened, and he'd further honed it since.

After that Star wanted to face him one on one, which she doubted would work. Not because she didn't believe in him, but he was up against an immortal god! Even if he had surpassed the gods, or whatever, how could he kill an immortal. So they'd made plans for sealing him.

When they entered the sphere they where completely blind, with no light reaching in through the already closed hole Star had made, of course that was a property of black blood, and where it not for their soul sensing ability all they'd have to go on was the vague direction of the madness and the sounds of battle happening all around them, as was she could still just barely follow them as they moved quickly all over the place. Star in particular was too fast for her to track at all, so she only saw him when he got close Asura.

Soul activated the black blood, as Maka tried to tune into the madness.

"I'm ready, standing by for an opening."

Tsubaki changed into the Chain of Blackness, a sword with a chain trailing behind Star. He wrapped it around the Kishin as Asura charged his death sphere.

It hit home. He heard his bones crush as he flew away from Asura, felt it too, just like he felt it when he hit the moons chin. His left arm felt like it had been completely destroyed, but he could still move it so it'd fine.

Star got right up again, Tubaki now in Leaf of theMoonlit Night form, the enhanced version of the giant shuriken, dashed forward, deflecting another death sphere along the way, and hit the Kishin hard through the hole in her center, making a good sound with it as the blades flared up.

Maka flew in fast as Asura reeled from the blow and Star pressed his advantage. Using Chain of Blackness he wrapped the Kishin again then slashed at him hard, making a deep gouge in his neck. When he took out the blade he was greeted by a pool of blood sealing the wound, one Maka used to enter the Kishin.

His left arm screamed out in pain, as a flab of Asura's skin was wrapped around it, and he slashed at his opponent while retreating.

With Tsubaki in Severed Shadow form, a kunai enhanced by that deer he dashed about, stalling. The battle would only really start when Maka returned, but he'd still need to fight until then, and he'd need to pay Asura back for the arm thing.

Kid was worried. The sealing plan they'd come up with wasn't the best, really. They figured they could do what his father had done years ago, drain all the blood then trap him in a sack made of his own skin.

On paper it might not look too bad, but they where fuzzy at best on how to actually accomplish it.

Maybe Corona could control the blood, make it leave Asura, like how they had made the barrier, but that was a big if considering the state of the barrier itself.

Other than that, their only plan was cutting him up repeatedly, but his blood was black now so...

All in all, they didn't have much.

Maka, after locating Corona using her soul perception, made her way deeper into the kishin. She gets there before long.

"Corona!"

"Maka?" Corona seems surprised, almost like they forgot that Maka had promised to come for them.

"Yeah, it's me. Now come on, we're getting out of here."

"You can't be here! It's dangerous."

"What are you talking about, we came here last time too." Maka was in a hurry to get out, so as much as she wanted to let Corona take things slow, she needed to shut them down fast.

"But it's different now... I'm about to be consumed, I'll die and then you'll die too."

"No we'll just leave, like me and Soul did last time."

"Ah, this might not be the best time to mention it but..." Soul said. "Remember how we evacuated everyone close to the moon?" He was cautious, delivering bad news.

"Yeah?"

"So, last time we only found our way out because I used the souls around us to make a breadcrumb trail to lead us back out..." That was... she hadn't thought of that. She should have, but she had been to distracted thinking about Corona, and how to deal with them.

"Oh."

"They've been in there for too long now Star! I hate to say it but maybe they've been consumed." Kid was shaking in perfectly symmetrical frustration.

"Maybe they're just lost." A quick movement allowed him to get around the Kishins guard and stab him in the side. "MAAAKAAA! YOU STILL IN THERE?!"

It was hard to sense, almost like it wasn't there. But it was, Black stars soul wavelength, pulsing, calling out too them. She grabbed coronas hand, and pulled them along as she flew towards it using Soul.

Asura moved to grab him, but But star was too fast even as he repeatedly stabbed the Kishin, calling out too Maka.

He saw a light appear where Tsubaki, in Severed Shadow form, was stabbing into Asuras liver, so he backed off, giving them room to exit.

The Kishin charged another ball of death, those hurt a lot, and seemed to aim it at... his feet? No, he was aiming it at where Maka would appear!

The Chain of Blackness sliced at his neck. Again. Again. Aga-

Asura fired at Star, point blank, when the next strike hit. His lungs and ribs burned up. His ribs must have shattered, or broken.

He was flying, no, falling. He was falling off of the moon, he'd been blown away by that strike. He saw Maka and Corona, they'd made it out fine. His ribs felt like hell, but they weren't broken, maybe fractured? He flew back, fast as he could, and slashed at Asura.

He used every shadow-star form of Tsubaki on the Kishin, repeatedly drawing blood, but only ever insignificant amounts, stalling his enemy without hurting him long-term.

Star wasn't winning. It didn't even look like he might be able to deal any serious damage before getting himself killed! This was awful! But expected.

"Corona, can you control the black blood in the Kishin? Make him bleed it all out?" Kid really hoped that the answer was yes, otherwise all of Spartoi would have to launch a full out assault to gradually bleed it out, drop by drop, and they would probably fail.

Asura would get away and, while he's weaker than Kid, since Kid became the new shinigami after their father, his madness would be a real problem. It would infect the world and the only counter was to use the madness of order... And that wouldn't really make things better.

"No." Oh. Well, damn. "I'd have to become a part of him again, but right now he'd absorb me before I finished bleeding him out."

"Not even with Brew?" While they where in there, Maka and Soul seemed to have fetched both the book of Eibon and Brew as well. Or rather, they had picked those up the last time around and left them with Corona, so Corona had already had them within reach.

"Sorry."

"We're not doing that, Kid." Maka didn't want to lose her friend again, after having waited so long to save them, but it might be their only option. If Corona could get out two thirds, no, even half would be huge!

"KID!" Star was calling out to him, was he conceding? "I told you to stay out of my fight!"

"But..."

"No! I just need to get past this black blood bullshit! I keep cutting him but his wounds don't bleed." That is the problem I was trying to solve you moron. "Hey, Corona, how does it work anyway?"

"Well, Medusa made it. It's a synthetic substance similar to blood and..." Kid could barely make out what Corona was saying as they mumbled their way through the explanation.

"Never mind! Maka! The short version!"

"It's basically like blood until it comes in contact with a madness wavelength, then whoever the wavelength belongs to can control it. Mostly subconsciously."

"But loosers like Asura or that Soul kid won't be able to do more than shift it between hard and soft!" Ragnarock appeared, somehow he ad survived inside Corona all along it seemed, though there was no sign of the black clown.

"So what happens if there are two different madness wavelengths?" The Kishin, Asura, ran.

He was always afraid, that was nothing new, he was made of their fathers fears after all, but when Black Star had said that, he lost that aura of superiority he had still somehow fostered.

With a cut to his back, black blood sprayed everywhere, draining more blood than all the cuts up until that point combined! That strategy might actually work! Except...

The look in Black Stars eyes, as he gave into the madness within him, it was an ugly look. Black Star backed off, his wavelength returning to normal.

"Sorry. That was a mistake." He looked sad, disappointed in himself?

"What are you talking about, you where doing it!"

"Have you forgotten what happened when you where in that book!?" In the book of Eibon? They'd met the grate old one of power, Kid had given into the madness of order, and Black Star had pulled him out, had rejected the madness of power. "That is the path of the demon! When I took this sword, when I tamed that deer, I promised that I'd stay on the path of the sword, that I'd show them all where it leads..."

Of course. That had been his mistake, madness wouldn't be the right way.

"Sorry. I'll let you fight him your way." The right way would be trusting his friend. "So Black Star, you better kick his butt!"

Of course, if it reacted to soul wavelengths, maybe his big wave could do it.

He got in close again, and hit him hard, nothing. He tried hitting through Leaf of the Moonlit Night again nothing. He was hurt, but he could fight, no problem. He might not be able to use the madness strategy but a bigger big wave should do it. Hopefully.

"Star!" It wasn't Kid or Maka this time, but his partner, Tsubaki. "Send it through me, amplifying wavelengths is what weapons where made for."

"But the big wave is too much, you'll get hurt!" Even when he'd used Leaf of the moonlit night, it hadn't been through Tsubaki as such, just with a boost from the deer.

"I'm your partner, Star. The honorary member of the Star clan, I can take it." That... "Besides, you're already getting hurt, how can I call myself your partner if I'm not willing to take on some of that burden."

"Heh. Alright, but if it becomes too much you'll just let me know and I'll figure something else out."

The big wave hit hard. It hurt like hell, as it surged through her. Of course it wasn't really damaging her much, otherwise that'd mean that she was incompatible with Star, which just wasn't the case. But it was a lot more than she was used to handling, and even at 100% resonance it still damaged her to take it all on, like blowing up a balloon past its capacity she felt like she'd break. But she did her job, and Black Star cut the Kishin with the Chain of Blackness.

It wasn't a lot but some blood did drop from the wound after the cut.

"Alright! Well do this then. Can you handle more?"

"Of course." As it flowed through her, in larger amounts than ever before, she noticed it. The madness.

It wasn't a lot, only one part in ten thousand, but it was there. Like Kids madness of order was there in his obsession with symmetry, so was Stars madness of power ever present without being consuming.

She focused on it. Tried to amplify it.

It hurt a lot, but the blood flowed freely now, even seconds after the cut. It wasn't the spray it had been when Star dipped into the madness, but it would be enough. With this much he would bleed out completely if they just kept it up for a short while.

Asura was a pain in the butt. He wasn't even all that strong, even as a kid Star had survived his attacks just fine, he was just immortal and hard to cut. Once they got him bleeding it wasn't even a challenge. Slice his throat, dodge under a punch, gut him, dodge a quick laser, almost. Kick him away a dozen meters.

He used Leaf of moonlit night to cut dozens of times per second, only surface level but enough to bleed out quite a bit, then switched it up with the Chain of Blackness.

It wasn't like he didn't get hurt doing this but as he moved about, and pushed the Kishin around, Asura was the one who took the most damage.

When a cut came up dry he chopped at his opponents neck, cutting a major artery but only drawing a little blood. He repeated the process a few times until not even major arteries bled.

"Is he dry now?"

"I can't feel any madness of the black blood in him! Corona what about you?" Maka supplied.

"I- I wouldn't know, but I think you drained his blood. You might need to suck?"

"Let's just go with yes for now, Star!" Kid said.

He used the one shadowstar form he hadn't used till now, the upgraded version of dummy star, Branched Darkness. Then both of them, him and Tsubaki grappled the Kishin, pulling at his skin.

They moved to make a skin sack out of it, but just then Asura, in a last frantic tussle, freed himself and ran, or flew, away.

Star chased him for just a second, Tsubaki in Severed Shadow form, caught him, and knocked him down again. He landed with a heavy crash, adding another crater to the moon. Star wrapped him up, and that was that.

Star did it. He said he'd do it, used his soul wavelength attack then cut him up, with Tsubaki filled to the brim with his madness.

It was crude, and more to the point dangerous, because she tried to resonate with Black Star's normal wavelength, rather than the one she was amplifying. Resonating with the madness might have been dangerous in it's own right for a cursed blade, but it wouldn't do that sort of damage.

Star put him in a sack made of his own skin, like it was nothing, made a knot, then walked up to them holding his incapacitated enemy.

Kid fired his guns, both at 45 degree angles, up at the sky. Again, and again. It was a sign, one thy had agreed upon before hand, it meant that the battle was over, and to send a med team. Kim wouldn't be far away.

Star bent down and picked up the book of Eibon, when had she dropped that?

He opened it. "Hey, Index, you like collecting things, right? I've got a present for you so open up wide." Then the book ate Asura.

Kim arrived.

"You have to treat Tsubaki now!" Without questioning Maka, Star threw Tsubaki over to Kim, And she changed from her weapon form Back to human, she looked awful, not bleeding anywhere, or like she had broken bones, but her soul... And the way she was standing didn't inspire confidence. When Kim touched her Tsubaki transformed into her ninja blade form.

"Is Tsubaki hurt that bad?" The concern was written all over his face. "Was it the grappling? Or the big wave?"

"It was the way she amplified it, you dum dum. You think amplifying just one aspect of your wavelength is easy? And she made the mistake of resonating with your normal wavelength rather than the madness."

"Madness?" Oh. He hadn't noticed.

"She... She amplified your wavelength, but she focused on the madness portion.

"I think she knew what resonating with that much madness would do to a cursed blade, so she resonated with your normal wavelength instead, meaning it was as if she took a madness powered big wave every second."

"So you're saying she took like a hundred big waves and could still stand?"

"...Yes?"

"Tsubaki, you hear that? You're even more awesome than we thought!"

"Are you dense!? Tsubaki might die, and you're here saying stupid shit!" He didn't react, like he hadn't heard a single thing she had said.

"No, Maka. He's trying not to think about it, maybe even help Tsubaki with some classic Black Star levity." Kid... "More importantly, Asura isn't properly sealed and now that he's in the book of Eibon it'll take a while before we can do it."

"Don't worry about it, the index will handle that."

"I don't think you understand Star, my father-"

"Sealed Asura using his own soul, yes. Index doesn't have access to a shinigami soul, but he's got the grate old one of power.

"I doubt he'll seal it the same way, the old guy wouldn't let himself be locked down like that, but he can use the proximity or something."

"...You- You thought of something like that?"

"Of course I did, I'm not stupid. I figured you would try sealing yourself like your dad did, but that wouldn't be verry good, since you'd be stuck like him too. So I just thought of something else."

A quick peak inside the book had confirmed that Black Star's plan had worked.

Index had found a way to seal the Kishin using the grate old one of power, it was some elaborate thing he didn't understand, and it wasn't pretty (or symmetrical) but according to some of his people, and some of the witches, it should do the job well enough.

At least as long as the grate old one didn't decide to leave. But regardless of which copy he'd leave through, they'd notice, and could act accordingly.

Corona was adjusting well enough, or as well as could be expected for them, and was living with Maka and Soul for the time being.

Tsubaki had stabilized and would make a full recovery as long as no one actually used her for a while but, with how strong Star was, that'd only be necessary if a grate old one decided to cause trouble.