I Enslaved The Goddess Who Summoned Me

Pandora was rampaging again — and everyone knew this was very, very bad news.

It wasn't the first time she'd lost control. Sadly, it had become something of a pattern. There had been several moments in the past where the seal inside her cracked, her emotions spiraled, and the power of the Box surged outward like a raging storm. Each time, Athena and a few other Gods had intervened at the perfect possible moment, restraining Pandora just before she could accidentally slaughter everything within reach.

But there was a catch. A dangerous one.

The more Pandora lost control over the Box inside her… the weaker the stability of that Box became. Every outburst chipped away at her resistance, leaving her more fragile than before. Each "save" only pushed her closer to the next explosion. It was as if the Box itself remembered every failure — and punished her by tightening its grip.

Worse, the Gods had all realized something they didn't want to admit: forcefully stabilizing Pandora, like Athena and the others routinely did, was not helping her. It was actually making things worse. Every divine intervention, every magical suppression, every emergency seal — all of it only deepened Pandora's instability.

And so the uncomfortable truth became impossible to ignore.

This couldn't continue. Not for Pandora. Not for the world.

That was why Athena, along with several other Gods, eventually reached the same conclusion: Pandora needed something that wasn't force, wasn't magic, and wasn't divine interference.

She needed a reason to stay calm. Someone who made her feel safe. Someone she could genuinely feel at ease with — someone she could love.

Someone whose presence alone could steady her heart enough to keep the Box quiet. To help her forget, even briefly, that she carried a nightmare inside her.

But that was a long-term solution.

Right now, Pandora had lost control again — and this time, something was off.

Her energy wasn't just unstable; it was violent. Too violent even for her normal episodes. The barrier trembled from every pulse of her power, screaming in protest.

Dionysus paced back and forth like a frustrated lion before finally growling,"What is Athena doing?"

His voice echoed with impatience. Athena was the best — the one who always knew exactly how to soothe Pandora before things became catastrophic. So why wasn't she here yet? Surely she could feel Pandora's aura spiraling out of control.

Hermes, who was standing beside him with one hand raised toward the shimmering barrier restraining Pandora, didn't bother hiding his strain."She's fighting Remus," he said through gritted teeth. Even he seemed annoyed by the absurdity of the situation.

Dionysus froze."That wolf? Who cares about it? The entire world is at risk if she doesn't come. At worst Rome takes some damage, but that can't be helped!"

His tone was harsh, even heartless — but unfortunately, he wasn't wrong.

Hermes shrugged, though he didn't look relaxed at all."Well, you know how Athena is. She's got a soft spot for her little Romulus and Remus."

Dionysus scowled deeper."No. She's smarter than this. Athena understands priorities better than anyone. She should already be here — this isn't like her."

He wasn't wrong either.

It reminded them all of the Trojan War, when Athena willingly took the mantle of the villain, siding with the Greeks and feeding the flames of conflict because she knew Troy needed to fall. If it didn't, the future would spiral into disaster. Her heart was large, yes… but she never let personal affection outweigh the survival of the mortal world she cherished.

So why now? Why Remus? Why leave Pandora at her most volatile moment?

Hermes exhaled slowly, eyes narrowing as he considered that same question."Who knows…" he murmured. But his voice carried doubt. Now that he thought about it, Athena abandoning Pandora's side — of all times — was bizarre.

He didn't get to finish the thought.

Because suddenly his eyes widened, staring at something approaching at high speed from below.

A figure — a human figure — was flying straight toward Pandora.

Dionysus whipped his head around."What is he doing?" he barked, stunned.

Their shock was shared by every God present. Even the ones who had been silently observing broke into surprised murmurs.

A mortal… flying directly toward a rampaging Pandora?

Was he insane?

Or did he genuinely have a death wish?

"Maybe he has a plan~."

Ishtar's smile curved even wider as she materialized beside the other Gods, her voice lilting with that familiar teasing confidence. The golden light around her flickered softly as if reacting to her amusement.

Dionysus shot her a look of pure disbelief.

"A plan? Is that a joke?"

Ishtar tilted her head.

"Otherwise why would he throw himself to his death? He's not stupid — not enough to misunderstand Pandora's danger. And Athena has been pampering him, training him, molding him specifically to be Pandora's partner. So yes… he might have a plan."

Hermes shook his head lightly."Hard to believe."

As impressed as he was with Nathan — and he truly was — Hermes still couldn't imagine how a mere mortal could stabilize Pandora now, in this state. Her curse energy was practically tearing reality apart.

Isis crossed her arms, calm as ever, her serene eyes fixed downward."Then let's watch," she said simply.

Silently beside her stood Amaterasu, her usually composed expression tightened with worry. Sunlight shimmered faintly around her like trembling heat.

She trusted Nathan — of course she did. He was reckless, idiotic, stubborn…but capable. Always capable.

Yet this was Pandora they were talking about. The walking apocalypse. The living vessel of the Forbidden Box. If Nathan miscalculated even slightly, he wouldn't just get hurt — he would be erased.

Her chest tightened. She realized she was worrying about Nathan's safety more than her own, even though her life was directly tied to his via the slave seal. If he died, she died. But strangely, that thought wasn't even what frightened her the most.

She didn't want him to disappear.

A little further away, mostly hidden behind a veil of soft pink light, Aphrodite also watched. Her expression was serious, but a small, knowing smile played on her rose-colored lips.

Unlike the others, she wasn't concerned about whether Nathan had a plan. She already knew he did.

He'd explained it to her beforehand — and to Amaterasu and Khione as well. Naturally, all three had been worried, especially Khione, but Nathan had stayed calm in that infuriating, Nathan-like way of his. The plan was insane, reckless, borderline suicidal…

But it was also perfectly suited to him. If anyone could pull it off, it was him.

High above the ground, Nathan flew through the sky like a dark comet. The wind tearing around him only made him accelerate more. His eyes narrowed, pupils turning into those dark, demonic slits as he locked onto the swirling storm of curse energy ahead.

In the next instant, he plunged straight into the divine barrier created by the Gods.

The moment he crossed the threshold, agony exploded across his entire body.

The curse particles from Pandora's Box clung to his skin, eating into it, dissolving flesh as if he were being dipped into acid. It felt like thousands of burning needles digging into every nerve at once.

Nathan clenched his jaw so hard it almost cracked.

This pain wasn't foreign to him — but it was far worse than he remembered.

He immediately coated his entire body in Darkness Magic.

It wasn't the strongest magic, not by a long shot. It lacked raw force. But that wasn't what he needed right now. Darkness Magic excelled in absorption, suppression, and nullification. It could weaken what it couldn't destroy.

The darkness wrapped around him like a living armor, swallowing a good portion of the curse particles. But even then, many still pierced through, digging into his flesh, trying to eat him alive from the inside.

Nathan didn't care.

He didn't come here to fight the curse.

He came to reach her.

Every movement felt like trying to sprint through a swamp made of thick, toxic mud. His limbs grew heavier with every second, and the air burned his lungs so fiercely he had to stop breathing entirely to keep from inhaling the deadly particles.

His vision darkened — and then sharpened.

His demonic eyes glowed with a deep, eerie power as he scanned the storm.

There.

Pandora.

A lone figure swallowed in chaos.

Nathan's grip tightened on both his swords. With a powerful sweep, he slashed through the air, tearing apart enough of the surrounding particles to create a small, temporary path. The dark energy parted like a curtain, and Nathan rushed forward with everything he had.

Straight toward Pandora.

When Nathan finally pushed through the last layer of the curse storm, he saw her.

Pandora floated there in a trance, her head tilted upward as if searching for something in a sky she couldn't see. Her entire body crackled with writhing black energy, dark lightning dancing violently across her skin. Jagged black marks spread over her arms, legs, and face—spreading like cracks on fragile glass ready to shatter.

The moment Nathan entered her proximity, the pain hit him like a tidal wave.

His entire body screamed.

Even with his Darkness Magic wrapped around him and the black stone forged by Hephaestus hanging from his neck, the curse gnawed through everything, tearing into his nerves and bones. Without those protections, he would have disintegrated the instant he reached her.

But none of that mattered.

Not compared to her.

Nathan forced his shaking arm forward. Every motion felt like lifting a mountain while being crushed under another. Finally, he reached her… and pulled Pandora into his arms.

The reaction was immediate and brutal.

"Nghhh!!" Pandora's pained groan tore out of her throat—raw, distorted, filled with agony so intense it barely sounded human.

Nathan felt it.

He felt everything she felt.

The curse pulsed violently, and a spike of pain stabbed through his chest so sharply he nearly blacked out. His vision shook. Blood ran down his cheeks, his ears, even from the corner of his eyes as tears mixed with crimson.

It was a pain beyond anything he had ever experienced—beyond anything he had imagined. No wound in battle, no near-death moment, not even divine attacks had ever hurt this much.

And Pandora…

She lived like this every time she lost control?

A sickening realization twisted in Nathan's heart.

Is this what she goes through… every single time?

His teeth sank into his tongue to keep himself from screaming. His entire body convulsed, but he didn't loosen his grip even for a second. If anything, Nathan held her tighter, pulling her trembling form against his chest as if trying to shield her from the world itself.

"I'm here," he whispered, voice breaking but steadying as he spoke. The words weren't loud, but they carried a weight stronger than any godly spell.

Slowly, painfully, Nathan lifted one hand and pressed it against Pandora's back.

A soft white glow ignited in his palm—pure, gentle, in complete contrast to the violent darkness devouring them.

It burned against Pandora's skin, seeping through her like warm light cutting through the deepest night.

Nathan inhaled sharply, gathering everything he had left.

And then he muttered the words that could either save her… or break him.

"Forbidden Seal."