From her bedchambers, Cruciata senses Rev. Church blowing on the magic trumpet she had given him. Finally, time to kick things off! She conjured a fiery portal, donned her human disguise, and slipped into the Earthly realms. She found herself standing before an abandoned church that looked like it was probably built in the early 1800's. This must be the secret chapterhouse of Rev. Church's cell of the Iron Knights.
Just before Cruciata could enter, she saw a fiery portal open out of the corner of her eye. On the other side, she saw the many-eyed face of her father, Archduke Beelzebub. "Father?" she asked. "Do you have a message for me? Surely you must approve of my plan!"
"I do," Beelzebub said, "but there are developments you must be made aware of. Heaven and Hell alike have declared total war on the Iron Knights."
"What?!" Cruciata gasped. "But you were so certain that Heaven sponsoring the order!"
"I was apparently wrong," Beelzebub groaned, massaging his temples. "Both God and Lucifer want them gone for good, and they've made your pet pastor the highest priority target."
"Why do they want Rev. Church dead so badly?!" Cruciata gasped, terrified of being implicated if Rev. Church was interrogated before his execution.
Beelzebub cringed as he went over the facts. "It would appear that when he learned of Princess Miasma's upcoming wedding to that pitiful ex-human called Rachel, he responded by viciously assaulting Rachel's mother, angering Lucifer, and then one of Jehovah's daughters who was dating Rachel's brother, which infuriated God. Lucifer and Jehovah may have their differences, but they can be a lot alike as well... especially in terms of what they can do to anyone who harms their family. You know what was done to Judas Iscariot in the afterlife."
Cruciata shuddered at the thought. "Yeah, this is bad. But I can't turn back. If this pays off, it will really pay off."
"It's your choice to make," Beelzebub said grimly, "but you need to get those men off of Earth as fast as possible and disguise them well."
"Way ahead of you," Cruciata grinned wickedly as she dismissed the portal. "Bye!"
With that, the daughter of Beelzebub entered the abandoned church. She was greeted by Rev. Joshua Church and three other man armed to the teeth with blessed cold iron knives and guns no doubt loaded with bullets made of the same material as the knives.
"Good, you're here," said Rev. Church. "Here's the other local Iron Knights. This is Rev. Hank Cromwell..." He gestured to a burly man with close-cropped brown hair and a short beard dressed mostly in black leather. "...and this is Rev. Jeremiah Mather..." Rev. Church pointed to a stern-looking, grey-haired man wearing a trenchcoat and fedora. "and this..." Rev. Church cringed but forced himself to be civil to the final man. "This is Dr. Abdullah Bashir." Rev. Church gestured to a dark-haired imam with a Quran tucked under his arm.
"I wouldn't have thought a man of your temperament would collaborate with a Muslim," Cruciata remarked, glancing at Dr. Bashir.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Rev. Church answered. "If I didn't think so, I certainly wouldn't be working with a demon like you, impure one."
"This is no time to get snippy, human," Cruciata frowned. "We have to hurry. My father Beelzebub says that Heaven and Hell alike are planning to attack your order's chapterhouses tonight and destroy you."
"Why would Heaven want us dead?" Rev. Hank Cromwell asked indignantly.
"Because Rev. Church has managed to some attack both the mother of the Devil's daughter-in-law AND God's own daughter," Cruciata said in a tone suited to chiding a naughty pet who that had just swallowed her favorite necklace.
"Lies!" Rev. Jeremiah Mather shouted in a raspy voice. "God has no daughter!"
"We can argue cosmology later!" Cruciata snapped. "Point is, we need to get off Earth fast if you want to live. Once we're in Hell, you will infiltrate the royal court and pose as minor officials. You will then await the opportune moment to discreetly kill Lady Tenebra, also known as Rachel Church. Here, you'll need disguises."
With a wave of her hand, Cruciata caused the physical appearances of the four pastors and the imam to change. The began to grow horns, wings, and tails. All five men began to panic as their forms became demonic.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO US, SPAWN OF EVIL?!!" Dr. Bashir screamed.
"It's just a superficial disguise," Cruciata said with an annoyed roll of her eyes. "You five aren't really demons. Your human essences are unchanged. With this illusion, your enemies will not recognize you, and you will be able to play the part of five unimportant Hellish courtiers. Only my father, my slave-bride, and I will know your true identities. Remember, you're DEAD if anybody else finds out who you really are. Now follow me."
Cruciata conjured a portal into her suite of rooms and stepped through into Hell. After sharing a nervous glance with each other, Rev. Church and his band of zealots followed her into the comparative safety of Hell.