The tension in the hospital room was thick after Helena’s warning about the golden-eyed man. Andrey opened his mouth to ask for more details but his phone suddenly vibrated sharply in his pocket.

He glanced at the screen. Sarah.

A flicker of unease crossed his face. She was supposed to be resting at the apartement, still recovering and barely able to move comfortably on her own. She wouldn’t call unless something was wrong.

"Excuse me for a moment," Andrey said to Helena, stepping slightly to the side but keeping the call on speaker so Sein and Lisa could hear. He answered quickly, voice calm but alert.

"Sarah? What’s wrong?"

There was a short pause on the other end, followed by Sarah’s voice low, tense, and quieter than usual, like she was trying not to make noise.

"Andrey... there’s a strange person standing right in front of the door."

Andrey’s posture changed instantly. His shoulders straightened, and his free hand curled into a fist at his side. "Don’t open the door. Whatever you do, don’t do anything rash. We’re coming back right now."

Sarah’s voice came back urgent, almost breathless. "Then hurry up!"

The call ended with a soft click.

Andrey lowered the phone, his expression grim and focused. He turned to Sein and Lisa without wasting a second.

"We have to go. Now. Sarah says there’s someone suspicious standing outside the apartement door."

Sein’s eyes narrowed, a faint spark of crimson mana flickering around her clenched fists. "What the hell? At the apartement? Who the fuck would—"

Lisa’s face had gone pale. "Is she okay? Can she even move properly right now?"

"She sounded okay, but she’s still not at full strength," Andrey said, already heading for the door. He looked back at Helena one last time, voice steady but clipped. "I’m sorry, something urgent came up at our base. Thank you for the information. It was incredibly helpful. We’ll contact you as soon as we can."

Elena nodded, her expression serious and understanding. "Go. And be careful. If this is connected to what we talked about..."

Andrey didn’t wait for the rest. The three of them hurried out of the room, down the quiet hospital corridor, and into the elevator. The ride down felt longer than it should have.

By the time they reached the van, Andrey was already unlocking it. He slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine before Sein and Lisa had even fully closed their doors.

"Seatbelts," he said, voice low and tight as he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road, accelerating faster than usual. "Lisa, keep your barrier skill ready. Sein, stay sharp. We don’t know what we’re walking into."

Sein leaned forward between the front seats, eyes scanning the road ahead like she was already looking for a fight. "If that bastard lays a finger on Sarah..."

"We’ll handle it," Andrey cut in, gripping the steering wheel tighter. His voice was calm on the surface, but the tension underneath was unmistakable. "First priority is making sure she’s safe. Everything else comes after."

The van tore through the city streets at dangerous speeds. Andrey’s hands were locked tight on the steering wheel, jaw clenched, eyes flicking between the road and the rearview mirror like he expected an ambush at any second. Every red light felt like an eternity. Every slow car in front of them made his patience fray thinner.

He swerved into the residential complex faster than regulations allowed, barely slowing for the security gate. The guard recognized the van and waved them through with a startled look. Andrey didn’t even park properly, he just stopped the van half-crooked in front of their building, killed the engine, and was already out the door before the others had fully unbuckled.

"Stay behind me," he ordered, voice low and sharp as they hurried up the stairs. His hand was already on the door handle, Ki pulsing faintly around his fingers in case he needed to blast it open.

He unlocked it in one smooth motion and pushed inside, body tense, ready for a fight.

What greeted them was... not what they expected.

Sarah was lounging comfortably on the big couch, legs tucked under a blanket, a large cup of boba tea in her hands with the straw between her lips. She looked perfectly relaxed, cheeks slightly puffed as she sipped. Next to her on the coffee table was an open bag of snacks and another drink. Sitting cross-legged on the floor with her usual bright, sunny smile was Hope, happily munching on a piece of mochi while scrolling through something on her tablet.

Both girls looked up at the same time as the door slammed open.

Sarah blinked, then smiled lazily. "Oh, you guys are fast! Hope brought boba~"

Hope waved cheerfully with the hand that wasn’t holding mochi, completely unfazed by the three armed-and-ready people who had just burst in like they were raiding a demon nest.

"Heyyy~! Sorry if I scared her. I was in the area after hearing about Miguel and thought I’d drop by to check on everyone. Brought snacks too!"

Sein stood frozen in the doorway for a full three seconds before her face slowly contorted into pure disbelief.

"...You called us in a panic," she said slowly, voice dangerously calm, "because Hope was standing outside the door?"

Sarah shrugged, completely unbothered, and took another long sip of her boba. The little pearls made a soft rattling sound in the cup. "I was half-asleep on the couch and saw someone standing there through the peephole. They weren’t moving, just... standing. I panicked a little. My bad~"

Andrey just stared at her, the adrenaline still crashing through his system with nowhere to go. His shoulders slowly dropped. He ran a hand down his face and let out a long, shaky breath that was half relief and half exasperation.

"Sarah," he said, voice tight. "You said ’strange person standing in front of the door’ like you were about to get murdered."

"I mean, it was strange," Sarah replied innocently, swirling her boba. "Hope doesn’t usually just stand there like a statue. I thought maybe it was one of those demon scouts or something."

Hope at least had the decency to look a tiny bit sheepish, though her smile never fully disappeared. "I rang the bell a few times but no one answered, so I was waiting to see if anyone was home. I didn’t want to just barge in if Sarah was resting. My bad for the creepy vibe."

Lisa let out a weak, relieved laugh and finally lowered her hands, the barrier magic fizzling out. "At least everyone’s okay... I almost had a heart attack on the way here."

Sein dragged a hand down her face and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "I’m going to set something on fire later," before stomping over to steal Sarah’s boba and take a long, aggressive sip.

Andrey just stood there for another second, the image of worst-case scenarios still burned into the back of his mind. Then he sighed, closed the door behind them, and locked it.

He looked at Hope, expression softening just a fraction. "Thanks for coming to check on us. We... have a lot to talk about. But first—" he glanced at Sarah, who was now pouting because Sein had stolen her drink, "—no more panic calls unless there’s an actual emergency, alright?"

Sarah gave him a lazy two-finger salute and a cheeky grin. "No promises~ But the boba’s really good. Want some?"