Samuel Hart settled into the chair facing Lassen, his recorder placed carefully on the table between them. The silence in the room was almost suffocating, broken only by the faint hum of holographic devices projecting maps and reports onto the walls.

    Lassen, seated with a relaxed posture, exuded an aura of control. Yet his eyes, cold and sharp, betrayed a tension that stood in stark contrast to his outward calm.

    Samuel activated his recorder and took a deep breath.

    "I''m going to get straight to the point."

    Lassen gave a slight nod, urging him to continue.

    "Was it you who annihilated Geria''s military base?"

    The silence that followed lasted only a fraction of a second, but it felt heavy and deliberate. Then Lassen answered without hesitation.

    "Yes."

    Samuel blinked, momentarily stunned by the directness of the confession. He had expected denials or vague responses—not such blunt acknowledgment.

    "So you''re admitting to destroying a foreign military installation? An attack of this scale... Do you realize what this means?"

    Lassen leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.

    "I know exactly what it means. And I want the world to understand why I did it."

    Samuel grabbed his pen and notebook, scribbling quickly while keeping his eyes on Lassen.

    "Why? Explain it to me. Why target a military base? Why now?"

    Lassen gestured toward the holographic screens, which lit up with images.

    "Because they struck first."

    Samuel frowned.

    "Do you have proof?"

    "Of course."

    Lassen swiped his hand across the main screen, pulling up thermal surveillance footage. The first clip showed armed men infiltrating an isolated property—Samuel immediately recognized it as Lassen''s villa. The images depicted coordinated movements, firing positions, and even a military drone circling overhead.

    "These images were captured the night of the attack," Lassen explained. "They sent an elite squad to eliminate me. They failed."

    Samuel leaned in to get a better look.

    "And that''s enough justification to destroy an entire base?"

    Lassen''s lips curved slightly, though his eyes remained icy.

    "That''s far from the whole story."

    He swiped again, revealing intercepted communications.

    Filtered voices and encrypted military codes played over the speakers. Samuel listened closely, his brows furrowing as he heard orders to "neutralize the target" and "erase all traces."

    "They didn''t know who I was," Lassen said. "But they knew I was a threat. What they didn''t anticipate was that their failure would have consequences."

    Samuel couldn''t hide his unease.

    "But... you destroyed an entire base. Soldiers. Staff. Not just the ones who gave the orders."

    Lassen shrugged.

    "Soldiers following orders, yes. But does ignorance absolve them? I simply responded to a direct attack. If I hadn''t, you wouldn''t be sitting here asking me questions."

    "You think I want chaos?" Lassen''s voice dropped lower, more dangerous. "No. I want stability. But to build something new, you first have to demolish what''s rotten."

    Samuel frowned deeply, his grip tightening around his pen.

    "And who decides what''s rotten? You?"

    "They decided for me," Lassen snapped, leaning over the table, his eyes piercing through Samuel. "When they sent armed men to kill me. So yes. I decide now."

    A shiver ran down Samuel''s spine, but he refused to look away.

    "You''re ready to start a war?"

    Lassen''s expression softened into something resembling a smile, but there was no warmth in it—only certainty.

    "The war has already started," Lassen said, his voice like steel. "I''m just responding."

    Samuel set his pen down and hesitated before switching off the recorder for a brief moment.

    "Everything you''ve said will be broadcast. You know that, don''t you?"

    "I''m counting on it."

    "And if this makes you public enemy number one?"

    "Let them come." Lassen''s words cut through the air like a blade, sharp and unyielding.

    Samuel turned the recorder back on and straightened in his seat, trying to steady himself.

    "What''s your message to the world?" he asked, his voice quieter now, almost a whisper. "Not to Geria, but to everyone."

    Lassen paused, his eyes narrowing as though he were carving each word carefully in his mind.

    "My message is simple."

    He stood straighter, his presence filling the room like a storm brewing just beyond the horizon.

    "Don''t provoke me."

    Samuel opened his mouth to respond, but Lassen raised his hand sharply, silencing him.

    "I''m not a tyrant. I''m not a terrorist. But I''m not a victim either. I''m a builder. And those who try to destroy what I build will watch their own foundations crumble."

    Samuel recorded every word, the weight of the declaration sinking in like a heavy stone in his chest.

    "And what if some see you as a monster?"

    Lassen''s lips curved into a slow, deliberate smile—cold, calculated, and utterly fearless.

    "Then they''d better pray they never see what I can truly become."

    Samuel reached over and pressed the stop button on his recorder, letting out a breath he didn''t realize he had been holding.

    "That''s the most direct—and terrifying—message I''ve ever heard."

    "It''s also the most honest." Lassen extended his hand across the table, his grip firm, unshakable. "Now it''s your turn."

    Samuel shook Lassen''s hand, feeling the confidence and certainty radiating from the man in waves.

    "I''ll publish this interview," Samuel said, though the words felt heavier than he had anticipated. "But you know what this will trigger—investigations, attacks, attempts to silence you."

    "Let them try." Lassen grinned as he stood, his presence towering. "This is just the beginning."

    Samuel stood as well, gathering his equipment with a quiet efficiency, though his mind still reeled from everything he had just witnessed. He stole one last glance at Lassen—the man who, in just a few words, had declared war on the world and dared it to fight back.