There is only one effective method to overcome the fears, and it's facing them.
Of course, you need to face your fears gradually. If you start by facing your worst fear, then the end result will be that your fear became even worse.
Fortunately, we are in the perfect place to overcome Claire's fears. After all, the monsters here are illusions and don't emit killing intent. For Claire, whose fear originated from the assassin's killing intent, these monsters are the perfect place to start.
But even so, facing a fear is not easy.
"No!" Claire closed her eyes and swung her sword crazily. I heaved a sigh when I saw the third-layer enemy circling around her and attacking her back.
Helpless, I could only kill it before it hurt Claire and worsened the situation.
"Claire, you can't close your eyes." I said for the umpteenth time.
Claire put on a self-deprecating smile. "Sorry, I could not help it." I could see that her body was trembling slightly.
"This is not working." Looking at Claire, I shook my head. Although her current state is better than before, she still can't overcome her fear.
This can't go on. If Claire is unable to gather her courage and face the monsters here, where they are illusory, then her future as a cultivator will be cut off.
Moreover, she will probably live in constant fear from today onwards.
Wrinkling my brows, I decided to take things a step further. Anyway, I already decided I would help her.
"Claire, take my hand." I said.
Claire was slightly startled before nodding. With a slight blush, she grabbed my hand and intertwined her fingers with mine.
I put on an amused smile and pulled her in direction of another monster.
At the same time, I prepared myself to use a more drastic measure.
In a few seconds, the next monster appeared before us. It was a fifth-layer wolf, a monster even stronger than Claire.
As expected, Claire froze when she saw the monster. She tightened her hand around mine and became pale.
"Cousin, I can't do it..."
"Calm down, I'll help you." I said with a smile and patted Claire's head. A small thread of my mana entered Claire's body to help her to calm down.
When Claire finally relaxed, I took a deep breath.
"I'll try something, don't resist." I said.
Claire was startled, but she nodded in the next second.
Instantly, a strange pulse of energy entered her mind.
Without giving her time to react, a thread of energy emerged from my soul and burrowed into Claire's soul. Claire's soul instinctively tried to reject it, but my powerful soul instantly overpowered her and forced the thread of energy inside.
Claire paled. Her beautiful blue eyes trembled with a bit of fear, but in the next instant, her eyes opened wide.
Then...
"Nnn...~" A soft moan escaped from her lips. Claire's cheek turned red, and a look of shame appeared on her face.
She hurriedly bit her lips to suppress the strange pleasure she was feeling, but then, an even stronger pleasure originated from her soul. Claire's legs involuntarily buckled, and her body fell into mine.
"Cousin..." Claire breathed seductively on my chest and bit her lips.
But although I was tempted, I knew it was not the time for it.
"Focus!" I sent a stream of thoughts into Claire's mind that instantly cleared her out of her strange state. Claire then opened her eyes wide and turned red.
"S-Sorry..."
"Now is not the time for it! Go and face the monster!"
"Y-Yes." Claire nodded and instinctively rushed towards the monster. But suddenly, she realized that her feelings of fear had vanished from her mind.
[Soul] is my strongest suit and my area of expertise. Even my reincarnations are soul-based, although to be honest, it was more of an accident than something I achieved on my own.
Things like brainwashing or erasing memories are very easy for me. So easy I can do it with my eyes closed. Unfortunately, they are not the best method to cure Claire's trauma. After all, brainwashing, in essence, harms the target's soul.
So, I used a gentler approach.
Connecting my soul to Claire's, I used the connection to send at Claire thoughts of courage and bravery. This way, my stronger soul easily suppressed the fear inside Claire's weaker soul.
However, this method has some side-effects.
After all, connecting souls like this is often used to dual cultivate.
Despite it, however, we quickly saw the effects of this method. Although Claire felt a bit uncomfortable at the start, she also found that she was no longer afraid of facing the monsters.
Furthermore, even when she saw a sixth-layer bat-like monster, she got the feeling that she could kill it.
I had stopped the connection after she killed the third monster, but Claire's fear did not return. Instead, she had become braver and braver.
But beside it, the urge to turn around and hug me became increasingly stronger.
After killing around ten monsters, Claire suddenly stopped.
"How is it?" I asked.
"... I think I'm much better."
"Is it so? I'm glad."
Looking at me, Claire started to rub her legs. "... Cousin."
"Hm?"
"Can I hug you?" Claire suddenly asked.
I put on a strange expression, however, I didn't have a reason to reject a nice meal.
With a smile, I replied. "Of course."
Instantly, Claire rushed towards me.
She hugged my body tightly and breathed my smell. Her beautiful silver hair waved softly with the wind and hit my arms.
"Cousin... I-I like you."
"I see."
"... Can I kiss you?"
I looked into Claire's eyes and nodded. Then, Claire jumped and hugged my neck.
The next second, her soft lips encountered mine.
I responded to her kiss fiercely. One of my hands held Claire's butt, and the other started to caress her back.
In her excitement, Claire wrapped her legs around my waist. I used my lips to open her mouth and slowly invade inside with my tongue, while Claire closed her eyes and let out a muffled moan.
But at that moment, we heard two voices from afar.
"... Are you sure that big bro is this way?"
"This is the only other path. I'm sure they are here."
"... I wonder why they are taking so long."
Instantly, Claire froze.
I smiled wryly and patted the little loli on her back.
"Get down, I don't want to die yet."
"Fufufufu..." Claire giggled and licked her lips, but she obediently released her koala hug, although not before giving me one last kiss.
I shook my head with a bitter smile. Sigh, sometimes even I'm destined to suffer from blue balls.