Not exactly. I don't think it would actually count as lifting strength due to the circumstances of the feat. I'll try to explain: Mark Space uses all his mid-combat prep to summon a mass of Telesma from the Archangel Uriel. Narration makes it pretty clear this is very superior to his normal magic and beyond what normal magicians can accomplish.
"That's just the thing." Mark must not have had the strength to stand up because he shook his head where he was. "I do not need to be faster than you for each individual attack." Mark paused for a second. "After all, when I am using a single powerful attack, I merely need to use it once."
By the time Wyss felt a chill run down her spine, it was too late.
The world's largest marine resources survey ship, the Blue Research, was created from three 500-meter tankers lined up next to each other with countless metal plates connecting them. The entire ship started creaking ominously. A massive amount of power was causing space itself to tremble.
[...]
"Its elemental color is yellow. Its directional location is the front. And most importantly, it is the one who rules over wind and air," Mark chanted.
He slowly lifted his head while still collapsed on the ground and spoke as if calling out to a friend.
"Hey, glorious archangel. How are you doing?"
The summoning of an angel.
Naturally, he was not dragging down an angel in its entirety. That was not something that could be done by a mere magician.
Mark Space was only calling in a mass of Telesma.
Most likely, what was categorized as an angel among Golden-style cabals was nothing more than a small fraction of their power.
However, whether it was only a tenth or even a hundredth of their power, it was more than enough to do away with a magician or two.
(Sorry.)
Mark recalled the conversation he and Patricia had had.
He recalled the handheld game she had been playing.
(My poor skills are not enough to display any details like the armor of this wind angel.)
It might have been possible if one used all 22 cards of the major arcana, but Mark was not as skilled as Birdway. And what he had was more than enough to defeat Wyss Winered.
With this he easily defeats Wyss Winered, who had him against the ropes due to only being slightly weaker than him but being able to fire off spells much faster. He still has Telesma stored in his cards. The Blue Research is attacked by a plane using devices to create a down wave:
It showed a giant pit with a diameter of 500 meters and a depth of around 70 meters.
Patricia had called it a waterspout. It must have been something similar to when a washing machine agitated the water around. As was evident when one stuck a hand in a bucket of water and spun it around, the center of a whirlpool created a pit.
And this giant "down wave" was approaching the Blue Research at tremendous speed. On its current route, the ship would surely be swallowed up.
Mark realizes that by lifting the Blue Research slightly they'll pass over the down wave. But he can't simply lift it using wind, it's far too heavy for that.
An ocean cliff 500 meters across and 70 meters deep approached. If it reached them, even the world's largest marine resources survey ship would be smashed to pieces. As long as the ship was something that floated in the water, it had no way of fighting against the ocean surface itself falling away.
(I can only use the element of wind and air. I cannot directly manipulate the water, so I cannot destroy the ocean cliff or change its path.)
There was still hope left.
The ocean cliff damaged sailing vessels that floated on the ocean surface. In other words, it had no means of sinking something that floated in the air. If he could cause the Blue Research to float a few centimeters or even a single millimeter in the air, the ocean cliff would pass below them causing no damage. But…
(No, even if I can manipulate the wind and air, I cannot lift up such a huge ship like it was a hovercraft. This is not a problem that can be solved by just charging in at it.)
So he solves the situation another way:
"A down wave suddenly occurred in the Arctic Ocean, but the entire crew of the world's largest marine resources survey ship, the Blue Research, is confirmed to be safe."
The announcer reading the script must have been glad he was reading positive news because a slight hint of pride could be heard in his accurate pronunciation.
"According to the crew, a sudden tsunami lifted the entire Blue Research up temporarily, allowing the 'cliff' of the down wave to pass below them."
[...]
"So a massive amount of bubbles was mixed in with the seawater below the Blue Research to explosively increase the volume of the water. The ship was lifted up with simple explosive force rather than with the buoyancy of the water. I suppose that is a way of manipulating the ocean surface with only the element of wind and air."
A dark aura exploded out from Birdway.
Her displeasure was on full display.
"It seems some idiot called in an idol of an angel to crush a single freelance magician and then secretly lifted the world's largest marine resources survey ship to keep its crew from falling into the down wave. This idiot saved those people despite doing so also interfering with Academy City's plan and destroying the Anglican Church's pride. Hmm."
