The girl wiped the tears from her laughter.
"Don't worry… I'm not an enemy. I just couldn't help laughing while looking at his reaction." She pointed at Dan.
Ethan's expression turned into a scowl, clearly dissatisfied with her.
"What's wrong with my friend being terrified of dead bodies? What's more suspicious is how calm you are with it," he said, his voice sharp as he crossed his arms tightly over his chest.
"Sorry, sorry~ I'm your neighbor. I just came here after I heard someone fighting monsters and saw you," she explained. "I'm Claire… oh, and I have what you called a 'screen' earlier, too."
Claire introduced herself.
"Hello? Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on here? Monsters? What the hell are you guys talking about? Am I the only one who has no idea about this?" Dan finally spoke up after observing the situation.
"As I told you before, those insects outside that rained down caused people to turn into monsters," Ethan explained vaguely.
Claire nodded, but Dan was still processing everything.
"Yes, yes~ I saw it clearly. One even entered my body, and then I suddenly had a blue screen show up in front of me. I thought I was going insane at first, but it seems you guys have it too."
Ethan looked at her. 'She's so loud,' he thought to himself.
"So… what ability did you get?" Ethan asked with a raised eyebrow.
Claire let out a chuckle and replied teasingly.
"Tell me yours first~ after all, if things go the wrong way… it's a two-to-one fight and I'll be at a disadvantage." She said it shamelessly, but it was the reality of the situation.
This happened often in his previous life; seeing that this girl was the cautious type, she probably lasted a long time in his past timeline.
'But… why didn't I see her in my previous life?' Ethan thought, looking at her before he nodded.
"I don't have an ability yet. And my friend over there has Metal Metamorphosis."
Claire had a conflicted gaze.
"You don't have an ability yet, and you've already killed many monsters?" Her stare intensified, but Ethan just nodded.
Confirming that Ethan didn't seem to be lying—and having seen Dan's metal form earlier—she believed them.
"I have an ice-type ability. It's called Absolute Zero." She showed them as an icicle formed in her palm.
Ethan shifted uncomfortably.
He didn't have a good impression of icicles, but he knew this girl had a unique elemental strain.
'Absolute Zero? Hm… where did I hear that ability before…' He thought about it but still couldn't place it, so he dismissed it. 'It's probably not a big deal.'
"So, why did you approach us?" Ethan didn't use any flowery words and asked her directly.
"Uhm… I know it's a bit shameless, but I can't survive alone. When I saw you fighting the monsters earlier, I thought it would be beneficial for both of us to stick together." Claire didn't lie.
Ethan also knew the weaknesses of elemental strains. Although their attacks were explosive and powerful, their stamina was trash.
He studied Claire.
She didn't seem to be lying, but Ethan had been betrayed many times before for that exact reason.
"Beneficial for both of us, huh? I don't know about that. Dan and I can survive without you," Ethan said, hitting the sore spot directly.
He didn't want to gamble their survival on trusting a stranger again.
But Dan was different. He wasn't a reincarnator, nor had he already suffered betrayal.
Dan stepped up.
"Come on, dude. Are we really going to leave her behind? Can't we just bring her along? Didn't you always say, 'the more the merrier'?"
Ethan looked at Dan and sighed.
He couldn't argue with that, and if he pushed any further, Dan might start looking at him suspiciously. His eyes lingered on Dan for a moment before he reluctantly agreed.
"Ha… alright."
Dan immediately patted Ethan's shoulder.
"I knew it, my friend is still as kindhearted as ever! Let's go!!!" Dan's optimism made Ethan's heart shake.
Reality wasn't as bright as how Dan saw it, but Ethan couldn't say that to him directly.
He could only do one thing: promise himself that even if the world turned chaotic like in his previous life, he'd make sure Dan wouldn't have to face that reality.
'As long as I'm here, you can save as many as you want. You'll be the hero you always were,' it was a silent promise to himself.
This time, I'll make sure to pay back what I owe you properly.
It wasn't a grand gesture, nor did Dan even hear it, but it was genuine.
"Here." Ethan retrieved the fire axe from his inventory. "Use this and hit the monsters' heads. Only target their heads, as that's their only weakness."
"B-But… doesn't that count as killing people too?" Dan asked as he reluctantly received the axe.
Ethan gripped his shoulder.
"Dude, don't you want to save others? The more we kill, the safer others will be. And don't worry—they're not human now, and they won't be in the future either."
Dan looked at him. "Why are you so sure about that? Maybe… the government will develop a cure for it."
Of course, that was a normal reaction. That was also what Ethan had believed in the past, but that was never the case.
Ethan just nodded.
"You might be right, but for now… to save others, we must survive first. Dan, I know you're a good guy, but this isn't the time for that. You know that too, right? We must grow stronger first before we can even think about saving anyone else."
Ethan's words hit Dan; he was right.
If he blindly tried to save everyone without the strength to do so, he would only delay their demise, not solve it.
"Ha… you're right. I'm sorry if I'm being a pussy right now, dude."
Dan finally steeled himself while Claire just observed them.
'Even in this situation… they still try to understand each other,' she thought to herself.
She didn't have that kind of friendship, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't jealous.