"We're live in five... four... three... two... one!"
They focused the camera on Caitlyn when she first spoke but when she introduced Ray, it suddenly shifted to his face.
"Good morning USA, I am Caitlyn Lee of BNN news and I am here today with the recently popular cultivator, Machine Lord!"
At that moment, Ray was glad that he bought a mask to use. Chills suddenly ran down his spine and he finally realized that interviews were this scary.
"Hello, I am Ray Kelly otherwise known as Machine Lord."
Ray thought of the most suitable introduction for the situation and steeled his voice to hide the shaking that manifested.
"We're going to start right off the bat here. Hope you don't mind, sir?"
"Oh, no not at all."
The interview was going better than he thought, so most of the nervous chills disappeared, well most of them.
"Mr Ray when you first came to light was it your intention to kill those people to gain popularity?"
'They really didn't waste time at all, frigging reporters!'
Ray laughed a bit and tried his best to answer the question.
"No in fact, I didn't even intend to kill those people you speak of."
'Heh, dodged a bullet' Ray sighed in relief and realized his mistake. She got him cornered.
"So what was your reason for killing ten people and nearly killing more?"
Caitlyn targeted some of the more morally disturbing parts of his origin and even made them sound worse than they already were.
"I was actually trying to kill some monsters by sensing their heat and destroying them from afar using small-scale heat-seeking missiles. As you know, monster heat and human heat is different, so there's no need to explain that. The first humans that were killed on that faithful day actually had heat resembling monster heat."
Caitlyn nodded for a second and looked at him as though trying to see through the mask.
"From the way you speak, it would almost appear you're okay with killing those people."
It wasn't exactly a question, but a technique that reporters used to pressure the people they were trying to get information from.
"I am not at all okay with killing those people. In fact, I regret doing so and if I could I would definitely find a way to bring them all back to life."
The reporter stared at him for a good second and once she found she could not ask any more questions regarding that subject, she immediately dropped it.
"Other than the ten people you killed that day, there were also thirty-three people whose deaths you account for."
"Yes, those people were criminals from A to C rank classification on the USSO's criminal database. They asked me to take care of them with some of my other unique set of skills."
"Could you expatiate on that?"
"Other than my complete control over machines, I also use sympathetic magic, which is commonly associated with voodoo."
Ray was sure that if not for Caitlyn's professionalism, she surely would have gasped when he said voodoo. He smirked, knowing he had an edge over her. This was the reason he didn't care about revealing too much of his skills; so people would think twice before stepping up to him.
"Cough, do you have any more plans on working with the USSO?"
Ray pretended to give it a long thought and answered after a while.
"No, not as of yet."
She didn't receive the desired answer, so she kept on pressing for more juicy and gossip-worthy answers.
Ray kept dodging the question though, making her work fruitless.
"Anyway, what is your take on the recent thoughts and ideas developing?"
"Which ones, I don't keep in touch with the outside unless I need to hunt monsters."
Ray of course knew what she was talking about, but he said those words to instill fear and admiration in the hearts of the viewers.
"The 'Every man for himself' idea for example. It has become a more prevalent saying ever since the Dark Aristocrat's descent. This states that if one has to, one should steal and if one has to, one should kill."
Ray actually thought a little about what she said and raised his voice a little.
"Hmm, that thought is ludicrous!"
"Oh, what makes you say that?"
Caitlyn looked at him interestedly and gave a slight gaze to some crew members to record his next words.
"Why I say that? No particular reason except the fact that no person can survive by living off of the hard works of other people. This may not make a lot of sense, as many people have already done that, even before His descent. Now, look at it from my perspective Caitlyn.
Let's say I killed a man and took his things; wife, money and other objects. Nothing is going to happen to me except someone steals these things, or worst-case scenario kills me.
I believe in karma, people who have survived by killing and stealing are inevitably going to be killed and stolen from, tell me otherwise and you can go die in a ditch."
His words were outrageous, but this was exactly what they were looking for.
"What about the sub-thought originating from the 'Every man for himself' idea?"
Caitlyn asked him again, not bothering to disguise the joy in her voice.
"Which one are you talking about, they're over five of those."
"The one that states: 'The strong rule and the weak suffer for being weak', what are your thoughts on that one?"
Ray had read enough web novels to understand that one completely, so he answered immediately.
"That one actually has some merit to it. If one is strong, you can have control over your life and others and never feel an ounce of regret. This thought is flawed in several ways, especially regarding the fact that no one is actually strong. As observed with the Dark Aristocrat, there is always going to be someone stronger, so this idea is not permanently lasting."
It wasn't exactly what they were looking for, but his answer contained a lot of merit to it. After a few more questions, the interview was coming to a close.
It was shorter than Ray had expected, but it actually felt easier towards the end.
"One last question Mr Ray."
"Ask what you will, Caitlyn,"
"What do you plan on calling yourself?"
"Do you mean title?"
"Haha I haven't really given it thought yet, but I guess I'll call myself the Magic Lord."