Not even I'm 100% certain whether that aura is artistic license or not.
One of several key differences between Elliot and Ellen is that Ellen is WAY more introspective than Elliot. She's evaluated the heck out of herself, and given her origins, that means there are some ways in which she knows Elliot better than he does.
Granted, this isn't one of those times. He's totally aware of everything Ellen's saying in this comic. He's just too "Elliot smash" at the moment for it to matter.