Rev. Church stepped out of Beelzebub's kennels for a moment, wondering if the poisoned lunch had done its deadly work yet. Suddenly, a blinding light filled his eyes and his headache returned with a vengeance. After a brief, terrible moment, the headache vanished and Rev. Church found himself standing alongside the other Iron Knights in a chamber of gleaming white marble with a pool in the middle. Before him was a harsh-looking angel with alabaster-white skin and jet-black hair that flowed down to his waist. Six pairs of black-feathered wings that almost looked like they should belong to a demon unfurled from his powerful back. A silvery halo hovered over his head, and he was clad in silver robes. A sword with a silver hilt and a blade carved from a black opal was sheathed in his belt.
"Greetings, Reverend Joshua Church Sr.," said the angel. "I am Kushiel, your benefactor. You have done well in killing Archduke Beelzebub, along with 36 of his personal courtiers. Now we we may hopefully go to war with Hell before they unleash the true enemy."
"What enemy is that?" asked Rev. Mather. "What could be worse than Hell?"
"How does the Bible begin, Rev. Jeremiah Mather?" Kushiel asked.
"'In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,'" Rev. Mather quoted. "'And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.'"
"And how does Chapter 21 Verse 30 of the Quran go, Dr. Bashir?" asked Kushiel.
"'Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder?'" recited Dr. Bashir. "'We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?' Why are you asking us these things?"
"The primeval waters of which your holy books speak are the dominion of Chaos before God drove out the abominations native to it so that he could structure that realm into an orderly universe where humans could live," said Kushiel. "My agents tell me that Beelzebub was dabbling in sorcery stemming from the beings of Chaos, even conjuring some of the lesser ones... and even the 'lesser' ones are terrifying. Worse, the Inquisition has found that other demons have been dabbling in Chaos magic as well. Adrammelech and Nergal are two of the worst. It's a pity they weren't at the poisoned meal."
"We'll help you stop them!" Rev. Cromwell vowed resolutely.
"I can't prove how extensive Chaos sorcery is among the demons," Kushiel went on, "but I'm convinced it runs deep. My theory is that Lucifer rebelled because he became a secret worshiper of Chaos. If I'm right, the bastard is out to destroy God's entire creation out of spite."
"How can we help you?" asked Rev. Church.
"This is the private chapel of the Heavenly Inquisition," said Kushiel. "It is here that I transform Earth's finest into angels and induct them into the Inquisition."
"How can a human become an angel?" asked Rev. Church.
"You just walk through the pool," said Kushiel. "Once you become angels, you will join my Inquisition. God has given me free rein to recruit new angels from the ranks of Earth's great inquisitors, crusaders, jihadists, and zealots to bolster the ranks of the Heavenly Inquisition. I don't even have to fill out any paperwork. So, are you ready?"
"This is a pretty huge step," Rev. Cromwell said nervously.
"It's in your best interests," Kushiel said sternly. "You are wanted across the cosmos. The Chaos magic used in your disguises should fool even Life and Death themselves, but this is an even better guarantee. Once you emerge from the pool, you will be REAL angels, completely fooling Thanatos and Juventas. As Grand Inquisitor, I won't even have to document who you were as humans. You will finally be safe."
The Iron Knights all shared a glance. "We're in," Rev. Church said, speaking for the group.
Kushiel guided Rev. Church to the pool. The pastor stepped in, flinching as the fire Kushiel's Inquisitorial chaplain lit consumed his clothes. He made his way through the waters, emerging as a hawk-headed angel with four red-feathered wings and an orange halo.
Rev. Mather went next. He emerged as an angel with a pair of wings made from blue fire and veins of gold running all over his lily-white body.
Next went Rev. Cromwell. He emerged as a blue-winged angel whose eyes appeared to be a pair of glowing sapphires.
Dr. Bashir want last. When he emerged from the burning water, he had become an angel with four wings of white light and the head and tail of a lion. All four men were now incredibly tall, muscular, and well-endowed.
The chaplain approached the angelic Iron Knights. "Do you proclaim yourselves to be Angels of Heaven?" he asked.
"We do," said the Iron knights.
"Do you give your allegiance to King Jehovah on His throne?" asked the chaplain.
"We do."
"Do you agree to serve only the Light and to honor the will of God?" the chaplain went on.
"We do."
"Do you agree to only worship the Light and to never turn your back and embrace Darkness?" the chaplain asked gravely.
"We do."
"Good, then I welcome you to stand among the holy ranks of angels for all time and grant you the names Baziel..." the chaplain looked at Rev. Church. "...Esh..." He looked at Rev. Mather. "...Polytimos..." He looked at Rev. Cromwell. "...and Ariel." He looked at Dr. Bashir as he spoke the final name.
Kushiel shook the hands of his new recruits. "Welcome to the Heavenly Inquisition, gentlemen. You are now elite agents in the service of God." What Kushiel didn't tell them was that he meant himself rather than Jehovah. Once Hell was dealt with, Kushiel had every intention of seizing the position of God for himself. "I'll be in my office. Deputy Director Semyaza will supervise your training."