SEVEN

I watched the appearing Lunarians, some of them playing music. Flutes and drums mainly. Wait, music?

"Hey, Phos, why are the Lunarians playing music?"

"I don't know either, maybe because they're throwing a party while hunting?"3

"Maybe. Or they're just arrogant pricks. Either way that's not the point, they're firing!"+

The Lunarians aimed their bows and spears, firing an entire wave at Diamond.

Hey, they're using spears instead of arrows? That's new to me.

Diamond twirled around and blocked the spears with their sword. Although some spears hit their arm, they didn't shatter. Instead, Diamond threw the spears stuck in their sword upwards, sending them flying back to the Lunarians.

That were direct hits, I could see multiple Lunarians disappear in a puff of vapour.

"A... Amazing!" Phos started shouting enthusiastically while jumping. "You knocked them right back! Your something else, Diamond!" she exclaimed while running towards Dia.

"No..." Dia stopped the blueish-green gem.

"This isn't over."

Looking up, I could see new Lunarians rise to their feet, almost immediately throwing their spears towards us.

Specifically, Diamond. They don't seem to care about either Phos or me.

Dia swung their sword again, blocking yet another wave or spears. However, under the impact, the sword began to break. It didn't break into two and fall off, but the sharp section of the blade has been damaged to the point where it had caved in.

"Huh?" I heard Phos utter.

Dia swung her sword back, sending the spears back to the Lunarians again.

More Lunarians were gone.

"What are they...?"

More spears were thrown.

"Just a bit more." Dia told themself, then throwing the spears back at the Lunarins yet again.

More Lunarians disappeared.

Another time.

This time though, when Dia was hit, I could hear a loud ringing sound.

Tinnitus? Do gems suffer from that? Probably not. Where have I heard that ringing sound though? It feels so recent.

"Dia. What's that sound?" I heard Phos utter.

"Don't worry," was the reply. "The usual technique just isn't holding up. No need to fret."

Another wave of spears is thrown.

Dia swung her sword back...

... and promptly threw it away, leaving their arms open for impact.

'Whoa! Dia!" I blurted out.

The sword landed bladefirst behind us, sticking out of the plains.

"Huh?" Phos uttered as both them and I turned back.

And both of us were promptly grabbed and thrown forward.

"Dia?!" That was Phos.

"Run!" Dia ordered.

"Dia!"

Dia looked back.

We looked back at them.

Phos turned around to look at me just as I did the same.

Without warning, Phos got up and began running towards Diamond.

"Dia!"

"Phos!" I got up and started chasing her. If Dia couldn't take those hits without breaking, Phos certainly won't! Idiot, don't! I don't want to go back crying after losing you two!

The spears got closer.

Phos was still running, and I was still chasing her.

Dia looked at the spears.

Which were promptly stopped by another blade.

Huh?

Phos and I stopped running.

Throwing the spears back to the Lunarians, the newly-arrived gem landed in front of Dia. Black, long hair. Dia seemed really pleased.

The gem jumped up towards the cloud, and promptly sliced the big Lunarin straight down from the center.

"Wow," I uttered.

But the fight wasn't over yet. One Lunarin aimed its bow at the black gem. They threw their sword, managing to headshot the Lunarin, but the arrow (oh, the arrows were double-tipped, like a trident without its center tip. I'm an idiot, damn) has already left the bow.

No matter though, as the gem managed to dodge it.

As the gem began to land, Phos and I walked towards Dia.

We watched as the black gem landed on the water.

'Amazing, right?" Dia began. "This is how it always is. Bort's gotten so strong lately; doesn't even let me fight." She turned back and walked a bit.

"All of us in the diamond class have the maximum hardness level of ten. But there are two classes of durability among us. I may be hard, but fragile under impact. Bort is special though," she explained as she went to retrieve her sword.

"Not a monocrystal like me. With a body made from a synthesis of mycrocrystals, even when hit from the weakest angle, the shock does not travel throughout the body. Which leaves Bort in a special class entirely. The hardest and most perfect among us."

"I am the one who truly wishes to change," Dia finished, grasping their sword. "I wish I could be strong like that."

"Strong like Bort?!" Phos exclaimed. "No way! I don't care how strong that is, that's so creepy!" She hugged herself and quivered. "Our kind, little Dia is much better," they added on, reaching out to place a hand on Dia's shoulder.

Dia turned around and smiled. I could only watch from where I stood from, I have no right to join in, in absolutely any way.

"But you know..."

"Huh?"

"A weak diamond is no diamond at all," Dia said, while trying to pull out their sword. "So Bort is the only true diamond," they concluded, pulling the sword out of the ground.

Not true, Dia. People usually yearn diamonds mostly because of their beauty and ability in fashion, like how beautiful you are. Industrial diamond in construction industries may be brittle, but they get the job perfectly done. So, no, you are perfect the way you are.

"It's true," Diamond continued, not hearing my thoughts at all. "But... sometimes... I think that if only it weren't for Bort..."

"What?" That was Phos.

"Right?" Dia said, giggling a bit as she looked at Phos. "It crosses my mind... despite how much I love Bort."

Love?

They giggled. "It's terrible, isn't it?"

"Can't live with them or without them..." Phos wondered.

Is Phos thinking about Cinnabar?

"Do you understand what I mean?"

"No, I-"

"Find a word to describe this feeling, then."

"What? Why?"

"We wouldn't have to worry as much if we could describe it, right?"

I felt Bort pass by me.

"Your encyclopedia is supposed to categorized things, isn't-"

Bort grabbed Dia's right arm and turned her around.

The white diamond gasped.

"Bort..." Phos muttered.

Bort then proceeded to break Dia's arm off, taking it along with her glove.

"No!"

Dia stumbled back, a bright light coming from the cross-section of their arm, just before/after the arm ankles, along with that ringing sound. It soon died down, leaving the signature diamond look inside.

Oh, right, Jade made that sound when Rutile hit them with that hammer.

Phos looked at Bort in shock, while I sprinted towards them.

"That sound from earlier," Phos said, "that was it, wasn't it?"

"I'm sorry, Phos, Dan, for putting you two in danger like that..."

"I thought I could handle it..."

"Why, you..." Bort began to shout.

"First you disappear on me and then I find you testing your weird fighting style out here!" they shouted as they forcefully grabbed Dia. "I am sure I told you your body can't handle it! What were you thinking?!"

Dia looked terrified.

"Well..." they began, looking down, "The way you're always the one protecting me, it's just not right! I'm a diamond too! But if I can't do anything myself..."

Dia closed her eyes, using her other hand to hold onto her remaining arm section.

"... what's the point of me even being here at all?"

"What a load of nonsense!" Bort yelled back.

"Listen up, Bort!" Phos had crawled behind Dia and just in between her legs. "Stop picking on Diamond!" they said, before moving downwards, spreading out Dia's legs and popping their head in between them.

Dia yelped and blushed.

"Boom!" Phos said.

"O-okay, see, I just happened to run into Phos here and tried to lend a hand!" Dia explained while Bort roughly released their grip on Dia, threw her arm downwards and unsheathed her sword. "I don't know what for exactly, but Phos was trying to come up with some new idea, you see..."

"Yeah, yeah!" Phos confirmed.

"Do you think you may be able to help, Bort?" Dia asked.

Bort put her sword back and stepped back. "Yeah."

"No way!" Phos shouted in excitement.

But Bort hooked onto Phos' tie using the scabbard of the sword, pulled her forward and held her up.

"Haphazard assistance will never solve your problems," Bort said as they threw Phos roughly on the ground along with the scabbard.

Bort, now sword unsheathed, raised it up, preparing to strike.

"Allow me to obliterate your worries altogether."

Bort pulled back.

"Bort!" I heard Dia shout as I automatically rushed forward.

With my both hands, I clapped the blade in between my palms and pushed back.

I didn't care whether my palms will fragment.

I don't give a damn about whether it hurts.

"Watch it. If you want even just a piece of Phos' hair," I said before throwing the sword back as hard as I can, "you'll have to get through me first! Know your damn limits! Phos may be three and a half, but this seven and a half will protect her! Pick one closer to your size, can't you?!"

Bort reeled back in surprise.

I just want to protect Phos.

Before anything could proceed further though, Bort looked up in shock, completely ignored the three of us and ran off, putting the sword back in its scabbard.

Turning round, Phos, I and Dia looked up. A Lunarian cloud was headed towards.

We could only stare as it covers us in its shadow.

But the Lunarians completely ignored us and headed towards the school.

Wait. Oh! No, the school!

I started to run, but Dia grabbed my shoulder. "Look at that," pointing her broken arm towards a large glowing object on the cloud. "That's too big to be a halo... They're right above the school though, so I'm sure Sensei will-"

"Sensei's meditating," I thought out loud.

"Uwa!" Phos shouted, coming to the same conclusion. "Yes, Sensei's taking a nap," they reaffirmed.

"Huh?"

"What?" Bort gasped along with Dia.

"This..."

"...is bad," they finished.